Kellyville’s Homecoming game against the Perry Maroons was a show of force that ended in an upbeat 49-28 win for the Ponies.
Both teams entered the field undefeated, and speculation was that it would be a high-scoring game. Bookended by two high-scoring quarters, Kellyville ran the Maroons up and down the field all day long.
The game started much like it ended: offensively. In under 2 minutes, Perry had put 6 points on the board and Kellyville knew they had their work cut out for them. They didn’t let it bother them though, as Kellyville ran the ball downfield after a stuttering start and went from 0 to 7, and we’re not even 5 minutes into the game.
And so it went. Each team relied on their offense almost to a fault, but Kellyville had enough power to their line that they were able to stop the running plays. Perry tried to switch tactics to passing, but out of 24 passes in the first half, only 14 were complete. Meanwhile, Kellyville only threw 8 passes, but caught 5 of them. That means that Kellyville was able to have a 63% completion rate, while throwing the ball only a third of the time.
Standout Players
The standout player of the game was #3, Junior Hayden Hutchins, who plays both Running Back and Free Safety. While it looked like playing both sides of the line would cause him to tire out more quickly, he was able to stretch out that second wind (and third and fourth winds) to put yards where they mattered.
On two occasions he showed how much of a Running Back he was—when he broke the tackles and got in the clear, he could put miles between himself and the defense.
But more often than not, he carried the ball a few yards at a time. Hutchins was able to get Kellyville past the Marker on 4th Down more than once.
Also able to go the distance was #11, Junior Dylan Pickering, who made a fantastic 75-yard run early in the 2nd quarter that helped get to the 22-22 tie in the first half.
The Second Half
At the start of the second half, Kellyville had a bizarre combination of penalties and a fumble (their first in the game that wasn’t at the snap) that forced them to punt. Even so, this is where their defense began to shine, as Perry tried and failed to gain any points in the 3rd quarter.
A strong Kellyville defense kept Perry at bay the rest of the game, as they were only able to score one more TD in the fourth, bringing their final score to 28.
And a stronger-still Kellyville offense helped them finish with a bang, racking up 7 points in the 3rd, and 20 points in the 4th, bringing Kellyville’s final score to 49.
What to Watch Out For
For reasons unknown, Kellyville had multiple penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. These, paired with a few others for holding and delay of game, cost the Ponies some yards that they’d have needed, were Perry’s offense playing better tonight.
Kellyville defense also needs to watch their wide receiver coverage just a little more closely. There were a few times where Perry would chuck the ball long and if not for the fact that there just wasn’t enough connection between the QB and the receivers, they would’ve scored at least twice, maybe more.
All told, the game was a fantastic show of strength for a new team of Ponies that is widely becoming known as the best team Kellyville has produced in over a decade. They keep it up and it’ll be two.
Kellyville plays the Bristow Pirates at home next Friday, the 22nd. Kickoff is at 7pm.
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All photos courtesy of Chelsey Roth Photography. Kaleb Chambers contributed to this story.
