Kentwood’s Terrance Grady said his teammate Brandon Sytsma would make big plays this season and that’s exactly what the senior running back did Sept. 6 when Auburn visited French Field.
Sytsma scored two touchdowns in the space of one minute, 37 seconds in the fourth quarter to swing the momentum from the Trojans to the Conquerors. Sytsma ran for a 21-yard score with 3:27 left in the game to give Kentwood its first lead of the contest. On Kentwood’s next offensive possession following a defensive stand which forced Auburn to punt, Sytsma took it 64 yards on the first play from scrimmage to give Kentwood a comfortable 29-19 lead with 1:50 on the clock.
There were moments in the first half, however, when Kentwood’s offense sputtered while the defense contained Auburn.
Auburn scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game and Kentwood’s offense followed by going three and out, with a punt putting Auburn on its won 44 yard line. Kentwood’s defense was able to hold Auburn on the next drive, but on the next Kentwood possession the snap flew over the quarterback’s head and out of the end zone for an Auburn safety, putting Auburn up 9-0.
At the beginning of the second quarter penalties cost Auburn, nullifying touchdowns on back-to-back plays and Kentwood was able to hold Auburn and get the ball back. Kyle Capperauld picked up an Auburn turnover and returned the ball some 90 yards for a Kentwood touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half. The extra point made the score 9-7 in Auburn’s favor at the half.
Later in the third quarter Auburn picked off the ball and returned it for a touchdown, making the score 16-7. An Auburn field goal with 2:25 left in the third quarter gave the Trojans another three points for a 19-7 margin.
At the start of the fourth quarter Derrick Bell came up with a big play and carried the ball from the Kentwood 39 to the Auburn 10. Brain Campbell then followed up with a carry up the middle for a touchdown. The extra point cut the Trojans’ lead to five with 9:18 to go. The defense once again held Auburn and Kentwood took the punt at its own 17 yard line. Grady hauled in a pass for a pick up of 30 yards on third and 10. Sytsma picked up the first down on the next drive, which he then followed with the 21-yard touchdown to put Kentwood ahead, pouring it on to end the night with the 29-19 victory over Auburn.
South Puget Sound League 4A North
Week One:
Kentlake opened the season with a stunning 32-7 loss on the road to Thomas Jefferson as the Raiders ran over the Falcons in the first half.
Jefferson scored 26 points by halftime while containing Kentlake to seven and the Raiders never let up. Jordan Axelson had the Falcons’ lone touchdown when he scored from one yard out in the first quarter.
Kentlake had a 7-6 lead going into the second quarter, but a fumble on the Falcons own 40 was scooped up by a Raider and run back for a touchdown to give Jefferson a 12-7 lead after a failed two-point conversion. The Raiders never looked back.
This Friday Kentlake plays Kent-Meridian at 7 p.m. at French Field. The Falcons look to avenge an upset loss in 2012 to the Royals.
Tahoma opened its season by crushing visiting Kent-Meridian 51-6 which featured a banner evening for senior quarterback Shane Nelson and receiver DeShon Williams.
Nelson finished the evening 22-for-34 passing, piling up 348 yards and four touchdowns while Williams hauled in nine catches for 195 yards and a touchdown to go with a 95-yard score on the opening kick off return. Denham Patricelli, a senior who missed last season after having elbow surgery, caught nine passes for 76 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively Elijah Suka had 13.5 tackles while Amandre Williams added two tackles for a loss.
Tahoma travels to Bethel Thursday night for a non-league game which will be broadcast on ROOT Sports.
