KM rebounds from opening
kickoff return to beat Huskies
The son of a former Kings Mountain football player returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to give visiting homecoming foe Hunter Huss an early lead of 7-0 but the Mountaineers rebounded for a 44-14 victory in their first Big South 3A Conference game Friday at John Gamble Stadium.
The Huskies, who came to town with less than 30 players and would lose a few more from injuries during the contest, stayed right with the home team for the first half after sophomore Jayden Gash, whose father Daryl played for the Mountaineers in the early nineties, made that early stunner.
The Huskies’ defense held the Mountaineers to three and out on their first possession but the KM defense began turning the tide moments later when it blocked a Huss punt which Robert Kendrick recovered at the Huskies’ 38. Teddy Jeffries had three straight carries behind good blocking by the O-line to set up a three-yard touchdown run by big AJ Richardson and Jaden Ellis split the uprights for the tying extra point. Kings Mountain didn’t trail again but Huss was still in the game until late in the third quarter when the Mountaineers broke away from a 22-14 halftime lead to put its fourth straight win in the bag and drop the Huskies to 1-3.
“Everybody was slow getting going,” noted KM offensive coordinator/line coach Kevin Cruise. “We didn’t play our best but we got a lot better in the second half.”
The Mountaineers took the lead for good after the second Huss possession. After Ellis’s kickoff was returned to the Huskies’43 the Huskies were penalized 25 yards for holding and a late hit on the same play. Facing third and six from the Huss 18, KM’s Jason Melton sacked Huss QB Javorion Brown to force a punt which gave KM the ball at the Huss 45. A 28-yard Lamont Littlejohn to Jake Lloyd pass gave the Mountaineers a first down at the Huss 17 and Caleb Holland covered the distance on just two carries to put the Mountaineers up 13-7.
The Mountaineers covered 65 yards in less than two minutes to take a 19-7 lead on consecutive catch and run pass plays from Littlejohn to Xzorion Lenair for 37 yards and 25 yards and the TD to Teddy Jeffries. The Huskies dialed long distance again, though, as Headley got loose for a 75-yard TD to make it 19-14.
Kings Mountain moved the ball steadily down field behind the running of Holland and Jeffries and a big sweep of left end by Zay Smith to the Huss nine. Ellis came on to kick a 28-yard field goal to put the Mountaineers up 22-14 at intermission.
The defense came up big with a blocked punt at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter that set up the Mountaineers at the Huss 13. Holland had runs of six and 12 yards sandwiched around a five-yard illegal procedure call and Ellis again was true on the PAT for a 29-14 lead.
With Huss attempting to go for it on a fourth and 10 from their own 45 to get back in the game, KM’s Curtis Simpson and Eli Lipscomb sacked Headley. Littlejohn’s scrambling pass of 12 yards to Jake Lloyd and Zay Smith’s first down run of 10 yards for a first down at the Huss 12 set up a Jeffries’ two-yard TD run and a two-point conversion pass from Bryson Brown to Simpson for a 37-14 lead with 10:18 left.
With Huss facing third and 23 from its own 15, Simpson and Eli Lipscomb combined for a sack and the Huskies had to punt. Xzorion Lenair returned it from the 50 to the Huss 11. Smith got off a 10-yard run for a first and goal at the one. Huss was able to come up with two tackles for minus four yards before Robert Kendrick scored from five yards out and Ellis kicked the PAT to round out the scoring.
“It was good to get off to a 1-0 start in the conference,” said Mountaineer head coach Greg Lloyd. “Huss came to play. They were improved and we were impressed. They played really hard and they have good team speed.”
The Huskies, who came to town with less than 30 players and would lose a few more from injuries during the contest, stayed right with the home team for the first half after sophomore Jayden Gash, whose father Daryl played for the Mountaineers in the early nineties, made that early stunner.
The Huskies’ defense held the Mountaineers to three and out on their first possession but the KM defense began turning the tide moments later when it blocked a Huss punt which Robert Kendrick recovered at the Huskies’ 38. Teddy Jeffries had three straight carries behind good blocking by the O-line to set up a three-yard touchdown run by big AJ Richardson and Jaden Ellis split the uprights for the tying extra point. Kings Mountain didn’t trail again but Huss was still in the game until late in the third quarter when the Mountaineers broke away from a 22-14 halftime lead to put its fourth straight win in the bag and drop the Huskies to 1-3.
“Everybody was slow getting going,” noted KM offensive coordinator/line coach Kevin Cruise. “We didn’t play our best but we got a lot better in the second half.”
The Mountaineers took the lead for good after the second Huss possession. After Ellis’s kickoff was returned to the Huskies’43 the Huskies were penalized 25 yards for holding and a late hit on the same play. Facing third and six from the Huss 18, KM’s Jason Melton sacked Huss QB Javorion Brown to force a punt which gave KM the ball at the Huss 45. A 28-yard Lamont Littlejohn to Jake Lloyd pass gave the Mountaineers a first down at the Huss 17 and Caleb Holland covered the distance on just two carries to put the Mountaineers up 13-7.
The Mountaineers covered 65 yards in less than two minutes to take a 19-7 lead on consecutive catch and run pass plays from Littlejohn to Xzorion Lenair for 37 yards and 25 yards and the TD to Teddy Jeffries. The Huskies dialed long distance again, though, as Headley got loose for a 75-yard TD to make it 19-14.
Kings Mountain moved the ball steadily down field behind the running of Holland and Jeffries and a big sweep of left end by Zay Smith to the Huss nine. Ellis came on to kick a 28-yard field goal to put the Mountaineers up 22-14 at intermission.
The defense came up big with a blocked punt at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter that set up the Mountaineers at the Huss 13. Holland had runs of six and 12 yards sandwiched around a five-yard illegal procedure call and Ellis again was true on the PAT for a 29-14 lead.
With Huss attempting to go for it on a fourth and 10 from their own 45 to get back in the game, KM’s Curtis Simpson and Eli Lipscomb sacked Headley. Littlejohn’s scrambling pass of 12 yards to Jake Lloyd and Zay Smith’s first down run of 10 yards for a first down at the Huss 12 set up a Jeffries’ two-yard TD run and a two-point conversion pass from Bryson Brown to Simpson for a 37-14 lead with 10:18 left.
With Huss facing third and 23 from its own 15, Simpson and Eli Lipscomb combined for a sack and the Huskies had to punt. Xzorion Lenair returned it from the 50 to the Huss 11. Smith got off a 10-yard run for a first and goal at the one. Huss was able to come up with two tackles for minus four yards before Robert Kendrick scored from five yards out and Ellis kicked the PAT to round out the scoring.
“It was good to get off to a 1-0 start in the conference,” said Mountaineer head coach Greg Lloyd. “Huss came to play. They were improved and we were impressed. They played really hard and they have good team speed.”