Federal Way falls to Kentwood in defensive battle

Published 11:40 am Friday, October 16, 2015

Federal Way and Kentwood once again found themselves in a defensive struggle against each other as the Conquerors went home with a 16-13 victory on Thursday.

Last season, Federal Way won 14-10 against Kentwood.

The first five minutes of the game seemed to indicate a high scoring night would be in the making, but both defenses showed up for the majority of the game.

After a quick Federal Way score, Kentwood charged back down the field. Quarterback Brian Campbell found Jacob Moore in the endzone. The extra point was botched and the Eagles led 7-6.

A couple of offensive drives later, the Conquerors took a brief lead over the Eagles with a short field goal. They managed to get the ball inside the Federal Way 10-yard line, but the defense ultimately stopped them.

The 9-7 lead was brief as Federal Way scored another touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half to take a 13-9 lead.

Ultimately, a Federal Way turnover proved to be their costliest mistake of the night. A toss bounced off the hands of running back Jovan Vongasaveng and Kentwood’s Davonte Sanchez recovered in Federal Way territory.

A few plays later, Campbell and Moore connected again in the endzone for the final score of the game as Kentwood took a 16-13 lead.

Despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for the Eagles.

“We had every opportunity to win this football game against a team that’s 100 percent going to the playoffs,” Federal Way head coach John Meagher said. “That’s a good sign.”

Federal Way forced multiple turnovers in the game to end Kentwood drives. After a long kick return to open the game, Federal Way got to Campbell, as he scrambled and forced a fumble.

The Eagles scored the first touchdown a play later when Bobi Sims caught a Chris Williams fumble on the run and took it 60 yards for a touchdown.

In the same quarter, Federal Way ended another Kentwood drive in the endzone when Ben Koler picked off a tipped pass.

Marcus Tate intercepted Campbell in the fourth quarter in Federal Way territory to end yet another good Kentwood drive.

The defense also stopped Kentwood from regaining the lead midway through the third quarter when the Conquereors drove deep into Federal Way territory.

A sack for a seven-yard loss on third down by Darius Bourne looked as though it would end the threat, but an 11-yard run on the following play gave the Conquerors a first down. Federal Way commited a few penalties that extend the drive, but ultimately stopped Kentwood on fourth-and-goal at the two-yard line.

The second touchdown for Federal Way came on a Ben Koler run, but the extra point was blocked.

“I was proud of the effort of the entire team,” Meagher said. “That’s a good football team in Kentwood. It’s a team we felt like we matched up well with and we did. Obviously we have to fix some things execution-wise. I’m not proud of some of the things we’re doing discipline-wise. We’ve got to get some of those things cleaned up.”

“We get back into league play next week and we just have to continue to get better. That’s our mantra.”

Federal Way (1-5, 1-1) heads to Highline Stadium to face the Mount Rainier Rams (1-5, 1-2) at 5 p.m. on Friday.