In the first official playoff bracket, both the Kentridge and Kentwood high school girls flag football teams are heading to the inaugural WIAA Class 4A state tournament after advancing through the district tournament.
In 3A, Kentlake also advanced to the state tournament, securing the final spot in the West Central District tournament.
Kentridge entered the tournament with a 10-2 record and sat in third place in the NPSL behind Kentwood and Stadium.
The Chargers took on Graham Kapowsin in the opening round of West Central districts in a game that brought out all the dramatics. The Chargers narrowly beat the Eagles to keep their season alive in double overtime, with a 27-26 win.
“I got a resilient group and we have been through a lot these last few games. We lost arguably the best player in the state in Genesis Miller and so we have been trying to find our offensive identity because she is such an integral part in what we do,” Kentridge head coach Dave Fowler said.
Someone who has helped in Miller’s absence is Mya Williams, and the quarterback was on full display against GK.
“Mya is a team leader. This is her third year playing flag football for us. She’s been my defensive MVP the last two years and likely a third. She’s really embraced that role. We go with her legs and her arm. She’s a competitor. She’s one of those coaches players. You hope to have a warrior like that,” Fowler said.
Overtime in flag football has some rules to follow. Teams can go for one, two or three points, and teams have three chances to score no matter the result. Teams going for one point start at the five yard line, two points from the 10-yard line, and three from the 15-yard line.
In their second game, the Chargers took on the NPSL champion and No. 1 seeded Stadium Tigers. Kentridge couldn’t find the endzone and fell 18-0 as the Tigers shut out the Chargers for the second time this season.
Kentwood got in that situation with an overtime win of their own against Rogers, 22-21. From there, the Conquerors took on Emerald Ridge, a formidable foe in the flag football world.
Emerald Ridge and Kentwood were locked in battle and for the second game in a row, Kentwood went to overtime. Kentwood converted on all three of its possessions in overtime, but went for one point each time. Emerald Ridge went 2 for 2 and instead of going to a second overtime, they opted for the win and went for two points. On the play, a controversial incompletion was ruled pass interference, putting the Jags on the five to get two points, and they converted to win, 39-38.
“We have a running joke that they always count us out. We were 11th in the state, one out of the top ten, second in the league, one away from a title. Then we were the fifth seed, one away from the first round bye. I think the grind we went through are testament to what they went through,” Kentwood head coach Von Phothisane said.
The defense showed up for Kentwood in the first game and the offense showed up in game two.
“These two games show the beauty and adversity that we faced. Our team isn’t limited to how good our defense is or offense is. There isn’t a group of girls that can perform better than our girls,” Phothisane said.
The loss set up a winner to state game against Kentridge on Jan. 31.
Kentwood and Kentridge were tied after a late score from the Chargers brought the two sides level at 14-14. But Kentwood fumbled the ball in the endzone with five seconds remaining to punch the Chargers’ ticket to state.
The Conks’ chance to move on was not over yet. Kentwood took on Curtis in the final game of the tournament with a chance to punch the final ticket to the state tournament.
Kentwood went to overtime a third time in the playoffs and managed to fend off Curtis to win 31-29.
“Football isn’t won by one play. Your season isn’t won by one game. It is a collection of wins and you have to stack the successes,” Phothisane said.
Kentridge is the No. 10 seed and takes on South Kitsap, and the winner plays No. 2 Sumner. Kentwood (No. 12) has a rematch against No. 5 Emerald Ridge with the winner of that game taking on No. 4 Stadium in the quarterfinals.
In 3A, Kentlake’s journey was similar to Kentwood, but far from identical. Kentlake took on Auburn Mountainview and trounced the Lions 28-0 for an opening round win. The Falcons then took on the 3A No. 1 seed in Lincoln, but fell to the Abes and were shut out in a 35-0 loss.
Kentlake had another opportunity to punch their ticket to state against Todd Beamer High School, but the Titans handed Kentlake their second straight loss 28-7 on day two of the tournament.
“We felt pretty positive coming into this one today. We know them well, they are a good football team and well coached. We knew we were going to play them the distance,” head coach Gregory Naegle said.
The Falcons were then put in a win-or-go-home game against Enumclaw to snag the final spot in the state tournament. In their one meeting this year, Kentlake defeated the Hornets, 21-7.
Kentlake handled business for the second time this season against Enumclaw with a 35-7 win over the Hornets. Kentlake was given the No. 16 seed in the tournament and has a rematch with Lincoln.
“Not a lot of team sports at Kentlake make it to state. We talked about this morning taking advantage of this opportunity. They were really ready for that,’’ Naegle said.
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