Class 4A football playoffs: Kentwood KOs No. 2 Puyallup

KENT — It will go down as one of the biggest victories in the illustrious history of Kentwood football.

But coach Rex Norris admitted the Conquerors' 26-13 upset of second-ranked Puyallup last night was a little bittersweet because it came at the expense of his mentor, Tom Ingles.

"I'd have to say that," Norris said after No. 9 Kentwood (9-2) punched its ticket into the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs and handed the Vikings (10-1) their only loss. "Tom is a good friend of mine. As I've said before, I'm a big Puyallup fan unless we're playing them."

Ingles was Kentwood's head coach for 14 years before going to Puyallup this season, and Norris was one of his assistant coaches from 1993 to 2000. Both coaches tried to downplay the emotional part of the game all week, and Ingles called it "just another football game" when it was all over.

Kentwood will play the winner of today's first-round game between No. 7 Gonzaga Prep (10-1) and No. 8 Southridge (9-2) in the quarterfinals next Saturday in Spokane or the Tri-Cities.

Injuries helped end Puyallup's season. The Vikings, who came in averaging better than 40 points per game, lost athletic quarterback Johnny Spevak to a separated shoulder just before halftime. Spevak, who scored Puyallup's second touchdown on a 1-yard run, returned as a receiver in the second half, but didn't catch a pass. Little-used reserve Eric Jarvis hit his first two passes for six yards, but then tossed nine straight incompletions.

Running back Makai Borden, the South Puget Sound League's leading rusher, gained 104 yards in the first half and scored once, then aggravated a sore toe and was clearly affected. He finished with 119 yards.

"All of our skill kids were pretty much down," Ingles said. "It was a tough game. But I thought they played real well."

In a game filled with gigantic plays, it was one of the smallest players on the field who made the biggest one. Julius Young, a 5-foot-7, 145-pound senior, returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards to break a 13-13 tie and send the Conquerors to their ninth consecutive victory.

"I just came through the hole and there was nothing but green," Young said.

It was Kentwood's first kickoff return for a touchdown this season, and the first Puyallup had given up. The Conquerors also used a 27-yard run by Travis Nauta on a fake punt to set up another score just before halftime.

"It was about time we had our special teams pick it up," Norris said.

Nauta, who rushed for 136 yards and one touchdown, made the play on a fourth-and-3 play from the Kentwood 46.

"I had to do something to ignite my team," he said.

Aaron Boyce then made a leaping grab of a 24-yard pass from Andrew Stephenson to set up a 3-yard TD run by Joseph Titialii. Alex Phillips' PAT kick tied the score at 13 with 1:17 left in the half.

Boyce later caught a 17-yard TD pass from Stephenson early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Kentwood's first score came after a poor snap prevented the Vikings from getting off a punt on their opening possession, giving the ball up on their own 33.

The Conquerors needed just five plays to score from there with Nauta crashing over from the 1-yard line with less than 3-1/2 minutes gone in the first quarter. The conversion kick was blocked after a low snap, and Kentwood had to settle for a 6-0 lead.

Puyallup answered, marching 79 yards in 13 plays, with Borden scoring on a 6-yard run.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com