If there were doubts that Antoine Lee and the Kentwood High School Conquerors weren’t legit, the Conks looked to prove those doubters wrong with a 46-44 win over Auburn on Oct. 18.
Just based off the outlook for the season, Auburn, Auburn Riverside, Kentwood and even Stadium are all within a game of each other. Having a head-to-head tiebreaker could be massive for all three of those teams down the stretch.
In the game against Auburn, running back Antoine Lee left little unknown. In his 2024 campaign against schools from the city of Auburn, he has 518 yards on the ground and 10 total touchdowns.
Against the Trojans, Lee ran for 308 yards and just showed the dominance that he possesses.
“I took pride in this game all week and they say I’m overrated and I can’t do nothing. I wanted to show ‘em,” Lee said.
Kentwood got out to as fast of a start as you could get. Freshman Trayvon Mayfield used his speed and ran the kickoff back going 78 yards for the first score of the game.
After Auburn scored on a 44-yard pass inside of two minutes before halftime, the Conks got within scoring range on a screen pass to Zach Hernandez, and set up Kentwood with 1:30 left in the half. Lee recorded his third touchdown in the half on a jet sweep from the Auburn 15 yard line to take a 26-22 advantage.
The Trojans came out like gangbusters in the second half, scoring on their first play from scrimmage. This was the first of back-to-back-to-back scores for the Trojans, and in the fourth quarter, the Trojans led 38-26.
With 10:10 left in the game, Kentwood battled their way back, and quarterback Brandon Tagle found Hernandez in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, which cut the lead to just two points.
On the very next Auburn possession, the Kentwood defense rose to the occasion. Ethan Heidal knocked the ball out of Auburn quarterback Baylen Erdmann’s hands and fall on top of it for a massive turnover for the Conks, which might have been the turning point in the game.
After the strip sack, Lee took the ball 43 yards for the score and draw level with the Trojans at 38-38.
A popular theme in the second half was the Trojan offense having its way with the Kentwood defense under the leadership of quarterback Baylen Erdmann. With 5:24 in the game, Auburn took a 44-38 lead.
When the Conks got the ball back, Kentwood looked to be dead in the water. It was fourth and three from the Auburn 38 yard line and Kentwood needed a touchdown. Lee got the handoff and bounced off one tackle and beat the rest of the Trojan defense to the end zone for the score.
The game was tied 44-44 and Tagle ran a quarterback run to the right and found the endzone for the go-ahead conversion.
Lee said he saw Tagle use his basketball leadership and experience in the clutch to get Kentwood in the right mindset before their final drive and on the two-point conversion.
On Auburn’s final possession, the Conk defense was flying around and making plays. The Trojans’ final play came on 4th and 11, which resulted in an incompletion, and Kentwood went on to win.
