The start of the Northwestern District schedule brought extra urgency to Kettle Run’s showdown against previously undefeated James Wood last Friday.
Played before a pumped up Homecoming crowd, the Cougars began their playoff push with a needed win, building a big lead and holding on to beat the talented Colonels 42-28.
In a game that had plenty of thrills, Kettle Run (4-1) used an 80-yard pick six interception return by Kamran Dinicolantonio to take a 7-0 lead and never trailed, building solid leads of 21-7, 28-7, and 35-14.
But James Wood (3-1) made life nervous for Cougar faithful, fighting back to make it 35-28 late in the third quarter.
“We made it a point to reiterate that we were still ahead, and not to let the wheels fall completely off,” said Kettle Run coach Charlie Porterfield. “Knowing how good James Wood’s staff is, we did not expect them to let up. We knew they still had stuff in their playbook they wanted to get out.”
Coming in for injured running back Peyton Mehaffey with the game on the line, freshman Colton Quaker rescued the Cougars with four huge runs in a game-clinching drive. Quaker’s 11-yard touchdown run with 8:11 left accounted for the game’s final points.
“That was a great spark from a young kid. He was the next fullback in. We thought he was our next best guy,” said Porterfield of Quaker, who also starts at linebacker.
Other Cougar stars were Beau Lang, who completed 11-of-15 for 193 yards and two TDs and was also named Homecoming King. Jacob Robinson had six catches, for 117 yards and a TD and Peyton Mehaffey had 76 rushing yards.
Senior placekicker Ella Slevin continued her superb season by going 6-for-6 on extra points.
Kam's pick six
After stopping Kettle Run’s opening drive, James Wood drove deep into Cougar territory. Upon reaching the red zone, Colonels quarterback Jared Neal saw his swing pass pop off the hands of receiver Jaden Ashby right to Dinicolantonio near the right flat, and he raced untouched for 80 yards to the end zone to make it 7-0 after Ella Slevin’s kick.
“Kam jumped the play and read it and it tipped into his hands in full stride. I don’t think a cornerback could be in a much better setup (for a pick six),” said Porterfield.
James Wood responded less than 15 seconds later when Wes Brondos raced 34 yards for a TD to make it 7-7 with 7:17 left in the quarter.
The Cougars scored three straight TDs in trying to turn the game into a rout.
Abram Chumley looked like a baseball outfielder as he twisted to catch a 50-yard TD pass from Beau Lang in the middle of the field, then ran up the right sideline to make it 14-7.
Lang made it 21-7 on a 15-yard TD run, then later connected with dangerous Jacob Robinson on a 25-yard TD strike across the middle of the end zone as the Cougars bolted ahead 28-7 early in the second quarter.
James Wood blocked a punt midway at the KRHS 6-yard line and soon scored on Jaden Ashby’s 7-yard run to make it 28-14.
Kettle Run tried to put the Colonels away in the third quarter as Jordan Tapscott scored on a 19-yard reverse to complete an 11-play, 69-yard drive and make it 35-14 with just 1:23 left in the third.
Surely, the Colonels were done, right? Not so fast.
Kettle Run kicked deep to the speedy Ashby, which proved a mistake, as he went 79 yards through the Kettle Run defense to make it 35-21.
Lang threw an interception on Kettle Run’s next series, and James Wood soon made it 35-28 when Neal hit a wide-open Zack Rose on first down for a 37-yard TD to make it 35-28 with 28 seconds left in the third.
But the Cougars had a response. Taking over on their own 30, they went 70 yards in four minutes to rebuild the lead. Peyton Mehaffey had two huge runs of 23 and eight yards before leaving with a leg injury.
In came Quaker, who had four straight runs of nine, seven, five and 11 yards for a TD to give his team a huge lift. “I’m proud he handled it so well,” said Porterfield of Quaker.
“No one ever panicked. We were still up and felt in control,” said Porterfield of the dwindling lead.
Still, he admitted kicking deep to James Wood’s Ashby was a mistake, as were the interception and subsequent TD pass that tightened it.
“We would have been happier if we had made stops on those two plays. But the defense settled down, and the offense got it back for a drive and eating up the clock one more time late in the game,” he said.
Liberty-Kettle Run next
After dropping their season opener to Heritage, Kettle Run has won four in a row. Now the Cougars are 1-0 in district heading into Friday’s game at Liberty (0-3), which is coming off a bye.
“People are trying to discredit them but we’re not doing that over here. They’re a good team and when they figure it out they’re going to be hard to stop,” Porterfield said.
“Anytime we play those guys it will be a tough one.“
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September 29, 2021 at 04:27AM
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FOOTBALL: Freshman Quaker's late TD helps Kettle Run hold off James Wood, 42-28 - Fauquier Times
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