Kentwood started out hot and things stayed that way Friday night as the Kangaroos rolled to a 47-14 win at Basile, La., in the quarterfinals of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 1A playoffs.
The Kangaroos (11-1) racked up 416 total yards and coupled that performance with a dominant defense to earn a berth in next Friday’s semifinals at Ouachita Christian School in Monroe, La.
Freshman Shyheim Carter ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries and Robert Trout and Jaquavis Roberts added a pair of touchdowns for Kentwood.
“They couldn’t stop us offensively,” Kentwood coach David Currier said. “We could do what we wanted the entire night.”
Kentwood jumped out to a 27-0 lead after the first quarter on a pair of touchdowns by Carter and Roberts. Carter hit the first big play of the night with a 29-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 10:54 in the opening quarter.
After Carter punched one in from 5 yards out, Roberts added a 21 yard run and then closed out the quarter with a 30-yard TD catch off a double pass from Trout.
Kentwood added two more scores before the half and took a 40-7 lead into the break.
“We played good football,” Currier said. “It was a big game. The loser was out and we got a win.”
The Kangaroos’ defense was on par with its offense, forcing three turnovers and holding Basile to 224 yards. Ray Henry, Chance Coleman and Travis Winters all recorded interceptions for Kentwood.
“We took them out of their game,” Currier said. “The defense shut them down. The defense has been playing well the entire year.”
In the second half, Kentwood’s only score came on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Tavarious Battiste to Trout. Battiste finished the game 9 of 12 for 146 yards and also added 53 rushing yards.
Kentwood will now travel to OCS with a trip to the Superdome on the line. OCS (13-0) destroyed Southern Lab, 44-8, on Friday to advance to the semifinals.
