Football: Knights State Title Dreams Dashed by Tough Calls

It will sting.  The way that they lost will not ever be forgotten.  After a tremendous season and a trip to the Prep Bowl, Kingsland football’s state title game experience will be denoted by a couple debatable officiating calls on critical plays.  The #5 Knights (Section 1 Champ, 13-0) out-played #3 Nevis (Section 5 Champ, 12-0) offensively.  The Tigers had just three first downs, Kingsland 18.  The Knights out-gained Nevis 339 to 97.  Nevis really did not win the game.  At best, they did not lose it.  Their defense played strong; bending and not breaking.  But they were also on the good side of two officiating calls on scoring plays. 

Nevis’ first drive included two Kingsland sacks and it went backwards 10 yards.  After a punt, Kingsland’s first play was an excellently executed flea-flicker, Beau Wiersma, back to Kaaleem Reiland, to Ayden Howard for a 52-yard TD pass.  Early on, the Knights led 6-0.   Nevis then came back immediately with a 48-yard pass play from Eli Lewis to Joe Houchin (who extended an arm to get extra separation).  Two plays later, Lewis scored from one-yard out.  Josha Sammons added the PAT to make it 7-6 Tigers.  Six of the next seven drives were then punts.  Kingsland worked against field position, taking over inside the 25 four times.  The Tigers used that to their advantage for their second score.  Starting at the Knight 38, it took just three plays for them to find paydirt.  Ayomide Ogundeji broke two Knight tackles on his way to a 32-yard TD run.  With another PAT, Nevis led 14-6.  Then came the game’s first controversial call.  A Knight screen to Ayden Howard was bottled up, but he made enough moves, kept he feet, avoided a mass of humanity, and found open space for a spectacular 87-yard TD reception!   But the Knights were flagged for an Aiding the Runner penalty, wiping away the TD.  Noah House fleetingly centered Howard, guiding him up field as they ran into each other.  It was a peculiar ticky-tack call rarely seen at any level.  The Knights drive ended in Nevis’ end.  The Tigers went to half up 14-6. 

Kingsland then statistically dominated the second half.  Nevis’ first three possessions were each three-and-outs.  They had 23 yards total offense (before intentionally kneeling late).  The Knights drove to Tiger territory with their first possession, but were stopped on fourth down at the 38.  Kingsland’s second drive of the half went 67 yards in 10 plays. Beau Wiersma’s longest run of the game (24 yards) was big.   A Wiersma four-yard run on 4th and 2 from the 10 was bigger yet.  Reiland then capped the series with a 6-yard TD scamper.  The conversion pass failed, leaving the score 14-12 Tigers.  Kingsland’s next possession made the 15-yard-line, but Wiersma was stripped of the football and Nevis’ Houchin recovered.  After a Tiger punt, the Knights went back to work as time ticked away.  They started at their own 46, got a 29-yard pass play from Reiland to Howard to make the Nevis 20.  Wiersma then trekked 11 yards for a first and goal at the nine.  The Knights had the ball 3rd and goal at the two.  On fourth and goal at the one, Reiland tried to sneak in.  He was initially stopped, but spun back around and came down backwards with the ball on the end zone line.  Officials ruled him down at the one.  Despite replay making it appear as if he scored, the officials did not overturn the call, leaving the television announcer to offer up an incredulous, “What!”  With 2:04 left, it all but sealed the Knights fate.  Nevis got one first down (only their third of the game) and knelt out the clock.  By 14-12 final, the Knights fell agonizingly, as two touchdowns were prevented by hard-to-swallow calls.   Kingsland’s defense held Nevis to 95 yards total offense.  The Knights amassed 339 (222 rushing, 117 passing).  They did have two turnovers to the Tigers’ zero.  Nevis defense held off five drives into their end of the field.  Wiersma (29-152), Reiland (21-70, TD rushing, 9-16, 117 yards, TD, INT passing), and Howard (7-113, TD receiving) naturally led Kingsland.  Ogundeji (17-69, TD rushing), Houchin (48-yard reception, interception), and Lewis (2-8, 47 yards passing, TD rushing) led Nevis.  Parker Johson (1 ½ sacks) and House each had 2 ½ TFLs. 

Coach Matt Kolling on whether he thought Reiland scored, “Obviously, yes.  Clear as day to me.  It is a call (down or touchdown) they had to make.  I thought with replay we had a really good chance on it… because he twisted and spun at the end.  We were confident it was going to be called a touchdown…  …but we don’t want to dwell on that.  These kids had a phenomenal season, phenomenal careers.  I’m super proud of them.” 

Beau Wiersma on the question of handling the emotionality of possibly having two touchdowns taken away, “It hurts.  But we can’t hang our heads.  Great opportunity we got here today.  Can’t dwell on it, like coach said…” 

Coach Kolling further elaborated, “We learned a valuable life lesson today.  Life is not always fair….  …you’ll have stuff that does not always go the way you think it should.”  Coach Kolling on the Aiding the Runner call, “I’ve never seen that kind of call before in high school.” 

The Knights finish at 13-1 as state runner-up.  But they handled the difficult loss with class.  Seniors Wiersma, Howard, Sam Snitker, Acelee Kohn, Jackson Rowe, Courtland Drury-DeBoer and Noah House took the program from nothing to state runner-up.  Coach Kolling, “With this group, the only thing I ask of them is to leave the program in better shape than they found it.  I think it’s very obvious they did that and more.”