Kingston tops Roosevelt for first win of season
The Tigers’ 13-12 victory was first in 17 months amid pandemic-shortened season
KINGSTON, N.Y. » It had been a long time coming — 17 months, or 521 days — so it was very satisfying for Kingston High’s football team to get a much needed, hard-earned football victory Saturday night.
The Tigers celebrated Senior Night with a big 13-12 comeback triumph over Roosevelt in Section 9 play at Dietz Memorial Stadium.
A pair of Dylan Noble touchdown passes to ShaCorey Jones in the first half and a big point-after kick by Tyler Longo put Kingston ahead 1312 at halftime. The Tiger defense stopped the Presidents twice on fourth down deep in Kingston territory in the second half to secure the win.
“We talked all week about earning the right to win and playing four quarters, and we did that tonight,” Kingston Coach Quintin Johnson said. “We talked about it before the game. We talked about it at halftime and they found a way to finish the fourth quarter on top and I’m proud of them.”
Kingston’s last victory was the Oct. 30, 2019, season finale against Warwick. The COVID pandemic postponed the 2020 season and the virus
and the condensed spring 2021 campaign made things frustrating. Two games were canceled because the opponent had to go into quarantine pause; two games (Warwick and last week’s fill-in contest with Wallkill) were conducted as scrimmages. Officially, the Tigers were 0-1 (a March 19 loss at James I. O’Neill) coming into the weekend.
To earn the victory, Kingston had to overcome the heroics of Roosevelt quarterback Jayden Bennett. He rushed 20 times for 188 yards and one touchdown and also caught two passes for 38 yards and a TD.
The Tigers stopped Roosevelt three inches shy on a fourth-and-4 play at the Tiger 30 late in the third quarter.
Kingston’s offense then followed with a 19-play drive that consumed more than 11 minutes. Freshman Isaiah Thomas, who led the team with 71 yards rushing on eight attempts, converted a pair of fourthdown plays on the march, including a direct snap for a 7-yard run on a fake punt.
He also raced 29 yards on a second-and-22 at midfield. By the time Longo missed on a 45-yard field goal when the drive stalled, the Presidents got the ball back on their 20 with just 4:59 remaining.
Roosevelt converted a third-and-1 at midfield and James Lipinski hooked up for a 21-yard pass to Bennett to get it inside the Tiger 30. Three straight runs by Bennett brought the ball to the 19, but a juggled handoff led to a fumble on fourth-and-2 and senior lineman Brian Sweeney recovered to clinch the win with 1:13 left.
“Our defense has been outstanding all year. Offensively, we’re in long distances often with holds and it seems like a lot of penalties, so our defense has really been picking us up,” Johnson noted. “I’m proud of our defense. The kids played great. We were able to get a couple of guys to go one way instead of two ways today, which really showed at the end of the game. We seemed like we had our wind a lot longer.”
The Tigers scored on the very first play of the game. After a 41-yard kickoff return by Jones, Noble found him for a 38-yard TD pass.
Roosevelt tied it at 6-6 just a minute into the second quarter when Bennett shrugged off two tacklers in the backfield and raced 79 yards for the score.
The Presidents pulled ahead with 2:18 left in the half when Bennett made a sliding catch in the end zone of Lipinski’s perfectly laid 17-yard pass over the back shoulder. On a busted extra-point kick attempt, Lipinski’s pass went incomplete.
Noble, who had one of his best days of the season with 6-of-10 passing for 93 yards, threw a 51-yard TD to Jones to tie with 1:10 left before intermission. Longo’s kick was good for what eventually proved to be the winning point.
Jones finished with three catches for 75 yards and also 33 yards rushing on seven carries.
Sweeney had two fumble recoveries and Sy Lyons stripped a punt returner of the ball to lead Kingston.
Aiden Plant had a sack and Kelvin Potter an interception for Roosevelt, which will play at Minisink Valley on Saturday, April 10.
Kingston is scheduled for a bye week. Unless they pick up a game, the Tigers will close out the season April 16 at home against longtime rival Newburgh Free Academy.