CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Both teams were looking to get off of the schneid coming into Friday, as Kenwood hosted Northeast in the Region 7-5A opener.
The mood shifted slightly throughout from home stand to away stand, but it was Kenwood who rode the momentum late to give Les Greer his first win as head coach of the Knights.
“It’s awesome,” Kenwood head coach Les Greer said of the victory. “I’m just so happy for these kids. They work extremely hard. We’ve had a great two or three weeks of practice. They’ve shown a lot of improvement. We came out today, played as a team and played complementary football.”
Kenwood’s defense was able to keep Northeast’s Tomario Vereen out of the end zone, something most teams haven’t had success doing to this point in the season.
“They played good,” Northeast head coach Brandon Clark said. “They kind of played a bend but don’t break defense with our passing game and did a good job of that.”
The Knights struck first late in the opening quarter, as Trelon Gadson took the Jaylen Washington pass for 33 yards and touchdown.
In the second quarter, Northeast answered quickly on a quarterback keeper from J’Lin Powell, making it 7-6 before the missed extra point.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Kavarius Moody took the end-around 66 yards to pay dirt, extending the Knights lead to 13-6.
A high snap from the Eagle center resulted in a safety on Northeast’s next series.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Washington threw a laser over the middle to Moody who turned on the jets for six.
Unsportsmanlike penalties on Kenwood set up Northeast’s second score of the game, as Powell found Jalin Miller on a fade pass to pull the Eagles within ten points before halftime.
Moody came down awkwardly in the back of the endzone right before the first half came to a close and had to be helped off the field. The senior playmaker for the Knights missed the entirety of the second half as a result.
“We’ll check with the trainer,” Greer said of Moody’s future availability. “I think he’ll be okay. He’s a hard-working kid, so he’ll work his tail off when he is ready to get ready. No doubt our trainer is fantastic, so she’ll get him right.”
The third quarter belonged to Northeast, as the Eagles received two quick scores, including Miller’s second of the game to go out in front 24-22.
Clark discussed how his team can find the consistency it needs to on offense moving forward.
“We have to find ways to eliminate mistakes,” Clark said. “We’re getting better every week at that, but we’re still making mistakes that are costing us. Once we fix those issues, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have that momentum the entire game.”
Kenwood looked to regain the lead late in the third quarter, but the Knights ballcarrier lost the ball at the goal line, giving it back to the Eagles.
Washington was razor sharp through the air on the night, dotting the Eagle defense in key situations. He called his own number early in the fourth quarter, plunging into the end zone for the eventual game-winning score. After the successful two-point conversion, Kenwood led 30-24.
Greer enjoyed seeing his signal caller sling the ball all over the field on Friday.
“He’s a really good quarterback,” Greer said. “He’s a great kid and he’s coachable. He doesn’t make mistakes. He’s special. He executes the offense and we see it in practice. We don’t do anything on the field that we don’t do in practice.”
The Eagles had a glimmer of hope with three minutes remaining, but put the ball on the deck on the kick-off return, sealing their fate after the Knight recovery.
For Greer, it was his team’s resilience that stuck out to him the most in the victory.
“That was the next step,” Greer said. “Coming in, I heard that was something that they’ve struggled with in past years. It was big for us. Don’t worry about what happened previously, just play the next play. Play as a team and we did tonight. I’m so proud of those kids.”
Kenwood (1-2, 1-0) hosts Hillsboro Friday, Sept. 13.
For Northeast (0-3, 0-1) it’s back to the drawing board, as they will host Rossview (1-2) Friday, Sept. 13.
“We worked really hard this week doing the little stuff,” Clark said. “We showed improvement tonight, but we’re going to keep working ball security and getting conversions on offense. Defensively, we have to get stops. Inexperience is hurting us, but by game four we should have found that experience.”