Over the last six years, The King’s Academy has faced Carmel three times in the Central Coast Section playoffs, and in each meeting the Knights have scored increasingly more points against the Padres, culminating with the 47 they rattled the scoreboard with last Saturday afternoon at Carmel High School.
Unfortunately, as in their previous two section showdowns with the Padres, the Knights’ point total was not nearly enough to fend off a first round playoff exit. The King’s 2015 season came to an abrupt end as Carmel outlasted the Knights 50-47 in the first round of the CCS Division V playoffs.
Previously, Carmel had crushed King’s Academy 59-6 in the opening round of the 2009 playoffs and trounced the Knights 50-21 in the first round in 2010. The Padres went on to win their only section championship in ’09.
Last Saturday marked the fifth appearance in the CCS playoffs for the Knights, with the last four years (2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015) ending in first-round losses.
Unlike the first two times the Knights met the Padres, King’s Academy stood toe-to-toe with the co-champions of the Mission Trail Athletic League. (Carmel finished in a three-way tie for their league title with Soledad and Pacific Grove, all ending up at 6-1).
Behind the dynamic duo of freshman quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. and sensational sophomore running back Maurice Washington III, the Knights led 14-7 at the end of one quarter, 21-7 midway through the second quarter, 28-21 at the half and 41-36 entering the final period, but could not hold off the relentless Padres in the game’s final minutes.
Between them, Johnson and Washington accounted for all but five of King’s Academy’s 525 yards of total offense.
Johnson completed 23 of 36 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns, while Washington carried the ball 11 times for 126 yards and a pair of TDs and caught seven passes for 156 yards.
The talented twosome helped the Knights jump out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter when they hooked up for a 51-yard TD pass, and then Washington returned an interception 80 yards for a second score. It was Washington’s third pick of the season.
Carmel got on the scoreboard for the first time late in the opening stanza on an 11-yard touchdown run by Covossary Windham, who was just getting started.
Before the night was over, Windham would score five more touchdowns on runs of 20, 13, 4, 10 and 22 yards, the final one coming moments after King’s fumbled deep in its own territory late in the fourth quarter, and putting the Padres ahead 50-41 with less than five minutes left in the game. The Carmel junior finished the night with 325 yards rushing.
Johnson’s touchdown passes to Markweese Smith for nine yards and to Washington for 56 in the second period provided the Knights with their seven-point halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Washington reached the end zone on pay dirt jaunts of 49 and nine yards to keep King’s in front.
In the fourth Carmel overtook the Knights on a Windham score with 7:41 remaining to be played, putting the Pads up 43-41.
After Windham tallied his sixth touchdown to give the Padres a 50-41 lead three minutes later, the Knights drew within three points on a Johnson 8-yard touchdown run, but could get no closer.
The Knights ended the year with an 8-3 overall record.
Much of this year’s success, as well as the Knights’ bright prospects for the future, can be directly attributed to the performances of Johnson and Washington.
Johnson had a remarkable QB rating of 137.7 for his freshman year, completing 61 percent of his passes (110 for 180) for 2,258 yards and 25 touchdowns (against only three interceptions). He also ran for 358 yards and four TDs.
Washington piled up 1,827 yards on just 142 rushing attempts, an average of 12.5 yards per carry, and scored 29 touchdowns. He also caught 18 passes for 418 yards and tallied five more TDs.
Unfortunately for King’s, they lose a pair of outstanding receivers to graduation–Smith, who caught 33 passes for 745 yards and nine scores, and Paul Majchrowicz, who hauled in 37 passes for 773 yards and seven TDs.
In all, there were a dozen Knight seniors who participated in their final high school football game last week. In addition to Smith and Majchrowicz, the Knights will be losing the services of Laurence Kim, Timothy Farnham, Matthew Bianchi, Boaz Chum, Dan Skover, Ryan Kim, Jaret Falkowski, Early Locke Jr., Joseph Clinton and Jonathan Cheng.
