Kentwood shuts out Bothell

KENT — Kentwood sophomore Demetrius Bronson missed out on a potentially big scoring night Friday.

As it turned out, his lone touchdown was enough as Kentwood secured its seventh consecutive Class 4A state-tournament berth with a 14-0 shutout of Bothell in a loser-out contest at French Field.

The Conquerors of Covington (8-2) will enter their 17th state playoff overall since 1982 next week when they host an opening-round game against the winner of today's South Kitsap-Arlington matchup.

"We wanted to be the first to have that seven straight," Kentwood senior lineman Don Thomas said after collecting two sacks.

Bothell, which advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2003, finished 7-3.

Bronson capped the game's opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.

His apparent 4-yard score early in the second quarter was nullified by a penalty, and the Conquerors came up empty on the drive when Alex Phillips' 32-yard field-goal attempt was wide right.

Then, late in the half, Bronson was headed to the end zone at the end of a nifty 13-yard cutback run when he was stripped of the ball. Teammate Rusty Phillips pounced on it just across the goal line to give Kentwood a 14-0 halftime lead.

"Nah, I'm not disappointed," said Bronson, who gained 64 yards on 17 carries while platooning with senior teammate Sean Jones (12 carries, 66 yards). "It's a team sport."

And Bronson contributed on both sides of ball, adding a sack as the Conquerors smothered the visitors.

"We talked about getting on 'em early and letting the defense take control of the game," Kentwood coach Rex Norris said. "But, my gosh, we sure shot ourselves in the foot."

The two first-half scores were more than enough for a defense that limited the Cougars to minus-13 rushing yards and 108 total.