Cumberland County’s 30-6 loss to Kingston last week in a tough non-region football matchup may be a little misleading to Jet fans.
The score looks like it was a dominant win for Kingston. After all, KHS was playing host to Cumberland County High School and the Yellow Jackets were looking to protect their home field.
But take away the short stretch through the second quarter, the game was a lot closer than the score indicates. Cumberland County did not play poorly.
“I was really proud of the kids’ effort on defense,” said CCHS Coach Noah Repasky. “We had a turnover and a few big stops. We even had a goal-line stand on the first drive of the game.”
The loss drops Cumberland County, playing as an independent program for this year and next, to 0-4 on the year. Kingston improves to 2-1.
The Cumberland County Jets came up big on the first drive of the game. Kingston drove all the way to the 1-yard line, but were forced to turn the ball over on downs.
Unfortunately, the Jets were tackled in the end zone on the next play for a safety, giving KHS a 2-0 lead.
The game remained 2-0 until midway through the second period. Kingston, facing a third-and-long from its own 42, broke loose for a sweep that was taken in for a touchdown. The extra point kick was good and Kingston took a 9-0 advantage with 4:09 to go in the first half.
A Cumberland County turnover helped Kingston on the Jets’ ensuing possession as the Yellow Jackets recovered a fumble deep in the CCHS territory. KHS scored on the next play. The kick was good and with just over two minutes on the clock, Kingston led 16-0.
“We tackled a little high last night, but overall we were pretty good,” Repasky said. “We gave them two scores. Most of their points were not earned.”
Cumberland County did get on the board before halftime. Quarterback Isaiah McMillan capped a long drive with a 12-yard run. The drive was highlighted by a long pass play to Liam Stephens. The extra point kick was no good, and the Jets trailed 16-6 at the break.
“Their size was just hard for us to handle,” Repasky said. “We really struggled to block all night. Outside of a few plays, we struggled offensively.”
Kingston tacked on two more scores in the second half. Kingston returned a kickoff for a touchdown and then scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass later in the third period. Both extra point kicks were good to post the final 30-6 margin.
Cumberland County is back on the road Friday when the Jets travel to Howard High School. The Tigers are 1-2 on the season with their only victory coming at Sequoyah.
“Howard will be fast and athletic,” Repasky said. “I hope we can finally get some silly stuff cleaned up before next week. If we do, we have a chance to win.”