Kent Island falls, turns its focus to playoffs

CENTREVILLE - The Kent Island football team will gladly trade a loss to Queen Anne's last night for a win in two weeks when it matters more.

The Buccaneers became the first team to lead Queen Anne's and scored more points on the Lions than any other opponent this year, but still fell, 35-21, in front of a capacity crowd.

Queen Anne's (10-0) secured its second straight North Bayside Conference title and will be the top seed in the Class 2A East Region playoffs. The Lions will host Wicomico in the first round on Friday night.

Kent Island (9-1) is the No. 2 seed and will host North Caroline. If both teams win, they'll meet again at Queen Anne's in two weeks for the second straight year in the region final.

Joey Kirby scored on a 4-yard run on the opening drive to give Kent Island a 7-0 lead, but Queen Anne's scored 28 consecutive points to take control.

"I thought we played a fantastic first quarter, but we just didn't play well in the second quarter and came out flat in the third," Kent Island coach Bryon Sofinowski said.

The Buccaneers moved 62 yards on eight plays on the initial drive, but only recorded one first down the rest of the half to trail, 21-7.

Queen Anne's built the lead to 28-7 early in the third and had a 35-14 advantage in the fourth. Kent Island made it 35-21 with three minutes left and recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Lions' Matt Fitzgerald intercepted Ben Schaffle's pass to seal the win.

"We know that we have another game next week," Sofinowksi said. "This loss is over and we'll play next week. We have a lot more football to go."

Kirby added a 3-yard touchdown run late, and Matt Baxter had a 55-yard touchdown run for the Buccaneers, who have now lost seven straight to the Lions, including last year's region final.

Queen Anne's quarterback Tyler German scored three touchdowns, including runs of 63 and 32 yards on plays that came after timeouts.

"We listen to what the kids tell us in the huddle," Queen Anne's coach Donnie Graf said. "We listened to Tyler, and he's right probably 75 percent of the time."

Baxter led the Buccaneers on the ground with 92 yards on nine carries, while Kirby caught three passes for 109 yards. Schaffle threw for 151 yards, and Nick Narvesen recovered a fumble for Kent Island, which turned the ball over four times.

"You can't win football games against an excellent team like that if you make those kind of mistakes," Sofinowski said. "We'll learn from this."

Kent Island (9-1) 7 0 7 7 - 21

Queen Anne's (10-0) 0 21 14 0 - 35

First Quarter

KI - Kirby 4 run (Earls kick)

Second Quarter

QA - German 1 run (Murphy kick)

QA - Fitzgerald 31 run (Murphy kick)

QA - Terry 41 pass from German (Murphy kick)

Third Quarter

QA - German 63 run (Murphy kick)

KI - M. Baxter 55 run (Earls kick)

QA - German 32 run (Murphy kick)

Fourth Quarter

KI - Kirby 3 run (Earls kick)

PASSING: KI - Schaffle 8-19-0-3=151 yards; QA - German 4-5-1-0=107 yards; RECEIVING: KI - Kirby 3-109; QA - Terry 1-41-1; RUSHING: KI - M. Baxter 9-92-1; QA - German 11-132-3.