4A Playoffs | Snohomish comeback conquers Kentwood

KENT — Derek Jones wouldn't be denied.

The Snohomish running back was determined to carry his Snohomish football team into the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, even if it meant carrying some Kentwood tacklers along the way.

Jones' bullish 8-yard carry on third-and-six with less than three minutes to play helped the eighth-ranked Panthers hold on for a 13-12 victory Friday night at French Field in the preliminary playoff round. Jones, who finished with 152 yards on 26 carries, moved the pile the final 3 yards to give Snohomish (9-1) a first down.

"You just never stop until you get past the [first-down] sticks," Jones said.

Snohomish plays fourth-ranked Edmonds-Woodway next weekend, while Kentwood finishes the season 6-4.

Jones won the battle with Kentwood running back Demitrius Bronson, who worked hard for his 111 yards on 27 carries. Entering the game, Bronson averaged more than 10 yards, but he still is hampered by an ankle sprain that forced him to miss 2-½ games.

"It kills me," said a frustrated Bronson, a Washington recruit. "If I was 100 percent, I would have broken about three of those runs."

Instead, Bronson had no jaunt longer than 21 yards.

"Everyone knows he's a great running back," Jones said. "He's got speed and great moves. He started scaring me late in the game where he got those 10-, 15-yard plays. Our D-ends and whole defense did an amazing job of holding him in check."

Snohomish's "other" running back, Miles Semanskee, scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run with 6:34 left in the game on a third-and-seven play. That capped a 14-play drive that ate up more than seven minutes.

Jones set the tone from the first snap, running for 46 yards on his first carry as the Panthers knifed through Kentwood's defense. They needed just five plays to cover 69 yards on their opening drive. Jones had all but 7 and scored on a 13-yard run with just more than two minutes gone.

Dayton Wiseman added what proved to be a crucial conversion kick for a 7-0 lead.

Kentwood of Covington took 14 plays to march 76 yards, eating up nearly seven minutes, with Bronson scoring from 3 yards. But Matt Bell's kick was partially blocked.

Kentwood took a 12-7 lead on Luke Angevine's 14-yard pass to Tyler Weinbrecht in the third quarter.

Other games

Edmonds-Woodway 24, Ballard 6

At Edmonds Stadium, Kyle McCartney ran for two touchdowns, and Tony Heard added 169 yards and a TD as the fourth-ranked Warriors (10-0) ended the Beavers' season with a preliminary-playoff win. The junior Heard, who had 26 carries, scored from 30 yards to cap a 17-point second quarter. McCartney scored from 47 and 5 yards for E-W, which had averaged 43 points in its first nine games. Ballard (5-5) was held to 176 yards.

Graham-Kapowsin 33, Evergreen 28

At McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver, Marcel Smith scored three touchdowns and ended the Plainsmen's (8-2) eight-game win streak. G-K plays the winner of tonight's Kamiak-South Kitsap preliminary playoff next week in the first round of the state playoffs. Smith, a 185-pound senior who has rushed for 2,231 in 10 games, scored from 9 yards in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles ahead 33-14.