SPSL 4A | Kentwood rides Bronson to a berth

KENT — Looking for a spark with their season on the line, the Kentwood Conquerors went to their powder keg.

Demitrius Bronson shook off an ankle injury and exploded for 114 of his 127 yards in the second half as Kentwood beat rival Kentlake 35-19 on Friday night at French Field to earn the No. 2 playoff seed out of the South Puget Sound League North Division.

The Conquerors (6-3, 5-2) play Snohomish in preliminary playoff game Friday at 7:30 p.m. at French Field.

Bronson, who missed nearly 2 ½ games with the injury, did not start and played sparingly in the first half, which ended in a 7-7 tie.

"I told coach, 'It's either now or never,' and he just trusted me," said Bronson, who had indicated earlier in the week he did not expect to play.

Kentwood had its hands full with a fired-up Kentlake team that knew there would be no playoffs, win or lose. A Kentlake win would have put Tahoma in the playoffs, but the Falcons (3-6, 3-4) had plenty of incentive, looking for their first victory over Kentwood since 2003, and led 13-7 late in the third quarter.

"Our kids felt they could play with Kentwood," coach Mike Shepard said.

While the return of Bronson was key, so was the improved play of junior quarterback Luke Angevine, who ran 26 yards for one touchdown and threw a 43-yard pass to Danny Kondikoff for another. It was his only completion of the night, but one that helped Kentwood take a 28-13 lead with 6:36 left.

Bronson, who has committed to Washington, wasn't Kentwood's only 100-yard rusher as Korey Rodriquez finished with 114 on 16 carries.

Kentlake welcomed the return of quarterback Lewis Larson, who had been out since the second game of the season with an injured collarbone. He shared time Friday with Matt Smith. Raphael Hall caught three TD passes.

Other game

Federal Way 42, Jefferson 22

At Federal Way Stadium, six Eagles had TDs as Federal Way (8-1, 7-0) beat the Raiders (1-8, 1-6) in a North Division game to complete a perfect league season. Federal Way will host Cascade of Everett in a preliminary playoff game next Saturday at 7 p.m.