Kindred barely outlasted Jamestown 28-21 in a first-round Division AA playoff thriller on Friday night, a game that had Kindred breathing a huge sigh of relief at the final buzzer. The top-seeded Vikings had their hands full with Jamestown, a team their head coach, Bill Nelson, later declared battled “with the best team in 11AA.”
The Blue Jays Came Out Firing
Jamestown, making their first playoff appearance since 2024, showed up ready to play spoiler. Late in the first quarter, the Blue Jays strung together a fantastic drive, capped off by a four-yard touchdown pass from Brady Nenow to Kale Verke. Chase Traut drilled the extra point, putting the Jays up 7-0 with just over two minutes left in the first. Kindred’s Myles Thielges responded with his eighth touchdown of the year to knot things at 7-7, but Nenow and the Blue Jay offense were not done. They put together another drive that ended with a 20-yard strike from the senior quarterback to Braden Hemminger. Traut’s PAT was good, sending Jamestown into halftime with a surprising 14-7 lead. What a start!
Kindred’s Surge and Jamestown’s Valiant Fightback
The second half kicked off with a tough break for Jamestown when they muffed a punt, and Kindred immediately capitalized. Luke Starcevic hauled in a 20-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 14 points. Just a couple of plays later, Graham Hesse picked off a pass and took it to the house for a pick-six, giving the Vikings their first lead of the game. Kindred pushed their lead even further with 9:40 left in regulation when quarterback Jackson Schlieman connected with Myles Thielges for a six-yard touchdown pass, putting Kindred up by two scores for the first time.
But Jamestown just refused to quit. They converted a crucial 4th and 1 with a pass to Edison Walters, then Aiden Skari scrambled for 21 yards to get another first down deep in Kindred territory. Skari, now under center, then launched a 41-yard bomb to Verke, who strolled into the end zone to make it 28-20 Kindred. Traut’s third and final PAT brought it back to a one-score game, and the tension was palpable. Jamestown stuffed Kindred on the next two downs, and after an illegal shift, an incomplete pass gave the Blue Jays the ball back at their own 19-yard line with two minutes left on the clock. Nenow fired a 14-yard pass to Verke for a first down, and the Jays kept converting, pushing deep into Kindred territory. But it was not to be; the Vikings made one last interception to seal the game and end Jamestown’s season. Nenow ended his final game as a Blue Jay with 222 yards and two touchdowns, completing 29-of-41 passes. Verke was a beast, catching 11 passes for 102 yards and two scores, while Braden Hemminger had five catches and a touchdown.
Kindred, now 10-0, will host Dickinson in the state semifinals on November 6. For Jamestown, their season ends at 3-7, but coach Bill Nelson’s words say it all: “They never ever quit working, we were in it right up until the end. I am tremendously proud of this team, the players, the coaches.” That fight? That’s what you play for.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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