Kennedale pulls away late to down long-time rival Alvarado in defensive showcase

Kennedale and Alvarado are long time rivals on the gridiron so it wasn’t a stretch to think that this would be a knock down, drag out fight.

The 38th meeting between the two schools turned out to be just that as the Wildcats used a strong defensive effort to down Alvarado, 27-12, on Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.

Alvarado (1-1) pulled to within 14-9 on a 21-yard Dylan Cox field goal with 6:50 left in the third quarter and opened the fourth quarter driving again. The Indians up-tempo offense was visibly wearing on Kennedale’s defenders and Alvarado moved, quickly, from its own 1 to the Wildcats’ 41.

But one of Kennedale’s two defensive stars, safety and Kansas State commit Kameron Sallis, stepped in to save the day. Sallis, a 3-star player and No. 32 in the Star-Telegram Top 100, jumped in front of an Indian pass and raced 66 yards for a score to give the Wildcats a 20-9 cushion.

“My coaches just put me in position to make the play and they trust me to make every play on the field,” said Sallis. “It felt great to step up for my team at a big moment like that.”

Another field goal by Cox, this time from 42 yards out, pulled Alvarado to within one score with 4:15 left in the game. But Kennedale running back Jeremiah Clea put the game away with his second rushing touchdown of the game from 38 yards away with 1:56 left.

The first three scores of the game all came after gaffes by the opposing team.

Kennedale (1-1) punted for the second time with 7:33 left in the first quarter, but the return man for the Indians muffed the kick and the Wildcats recovered it at their own 46.

Kennedale’s methodical running attack took 11 plays to cover the 54 yards with Clea taking a jet sweep 20 yards for the score giving the Wildcats a 7-0 lead at the 2:15 mark of the opening period.

Three-star Oklahoma State commit Poasa Utu and defensive mate Daniel Cooper wreaked havoc on the Indians backfield much of the first half. Alvarado rushed 13 times for 13 yards in the opening two quarters with Utu and Cooper regularly conducting meetings at the quarterback.

Utu, No. 25 in the S-T 100, capitalized on Alvarado’s next turnover when he scooped up a fumble and raced 68 yards to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter.

“Shane Hull put a big hit on the quarterback and knocked the ball out,” said Utu. “I saw it on the ground and picked it up and just ran. We’ve been preparing for this since Monday and coach repeatedly told us to just get back there fast, fast, fast.”

Alvarado defensive end Gavin Pocasangre swung the momentum back to the Indians midway through the second quarter when he blocked a Kennedale punt and recovered it at the Wildcat’s 31.

Facing a fourth-and-5 at the seven, Alvarado quarterback Cardea Collier found Oliver Monrose in the back of the end zone to cut the lead to 14-6 with 3:35 left in the half.

Monrose just got a foot in bounds on the play and limped off after.

Clea led Kennedale with 79 rushing yards on six carries while Cameron Lyles add 59 yards on 19 rushes.

Jaylon Bridgewater had a nice second half for Alvarado and finished with 78 yards on 20 carries while Collier went 13 of 35 for 138 yards through the air. Lance Sansom was Collier’s favorite target with eight catches for 91 yards.

“We just play together and our motto is ‘attack,’ said Sallis. “We attack our opponents and when Utu and I are clicking together then it’s over with. No one is going to do anything on us.”

“They’re just exceptional players,” said Kennedale coach Richard Barrett about Utu and Sallis. “They’re so coachable and as good of players as they are they’re such good kids.

“When you see a really good kid and a team captain and then you see how they play you can see why Oklahoma State and Kansas State want them to come and play for them.”