Kingston opens season with 27-0 defeat to Warwick
After long layoff, Tigers hurt by penalties and fumbles in 27-0 loss
Kingston lost to Warwick High 27-0 on Saturday in the first football game for both teams in more than 16 months.
The short spring football season is the result of the fall 2020 season being postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of protocols, there were no high-fives, no postgame handshakes, and the crowd was sparse with only two family members per athlete allowed at the game.
“It was really great to get back on the field,” Kingston coach Quintin Johnson said. It had been 500 days since the Tigers’ last game.
James Bailey rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns and Nick DiMarco threw for 124 yards and one TD to lead Warwick.
“The second thing I got to say is I really got to do a better job preparing the team,” Johnson noted. “I was frustrated with a lot things that we didn’t do well and that just means I got to coach it better. I told the kids that.
“With six games, we can’t be history majors. We have to learn and grow and move on.”
After falling into a 16-0 hole in the first quarter, the Tigers played well the remainder of the game on defense and special teams.
The Kingston offense floundered in its first time out since October of 2020.
The Tigers did well with their ground game., averaging 3.6 yards per carry as it gained 107 yards on 30 attempts. Freshman Isaiah Thomas led with 45 yards on a dozen carries, while a pair of juniors shined: Myles Gordan (30) and Owen Niles (22).
Kingston, however, couldn’t sustain a drive and only entered Warwick territory once. The Tigers
reached the Wildcats’ 28 late in the first half, but Sean Najafipour tipped quarterback Dylan Noble’s pass and Logan Hurd intercepted it in the end zone.
Hurd put Warwick ahead just 2:29 into the game, scoring on a 54-yard punt return. The Wildcats took a 16-0 lead midway through the first quarter when DiMarco capped a 12-play drive with a 10-yard fade
pass to Joe McLaughlin for a TD. DiMarco completed 12-of-27 passes on the day.
Bailey opened the second quarter with a 1-yard TD run and scored again on a 4-yard burst late in the third.
“I was proud of the effort we got defensively,” Johnson said. “We came into this in a way blind. We had no film. We had film from last year (2019).”
Niles made an impact on defense for Kingston, sacking DiMarco twice, deflecting a pass at the line, and also recovering a bad snap.
“The biggest problem
was we were self-destructive with the penalties and the fumbles. My frustration was how we offensively couldn’t get into a rhythm, mainly because of our own issues,” Johnson said.
Kingston is back in action Friday night, March 19, with a 6:30 p.m. game at James I. O’Neill. The Raiders were 3-6 as a Class B school in ‘19
and have dropped to Class C this year.
Kingston, a Class AA school, is playing an independent schedule this spring. It is facing three Class A schools in Warwick, Monticello and Roosevelt, plus Class B Red Hook. The Tigers’ only AA opponent is rival Newburgh Free Academy in the season finale.