HOLTON- The Kent City football team had to wait three weeks to play a football game, and the Eagles were getting antsy.

They had to forfeit their Sept. 17 game against Morley-Stanwood due to Covid-19 issues. That game could have easily changed the trajectory of the CSAA Silver division championship race, which Morley-Stanwood currently leads by a game, but the Eagles could not take the field.

Then last week the matchup between Kent City and Hesperia was called a no contest due to COVID issues on both teams, forcing the Eagles to the sidelines again.

But they proved that the long layoff did not erode their skills when they overcame an early 10-point deficit and beat Holton 50-38 at Red Devil Stadium on Friday in a key CSAA Silver contest.

Kent City running back Mason Westbrook (23) stiff-arms a would-be Holton tackler. Photo/Steve Gunn

Kent City is now 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in league play, while the Red Devils fell to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in league play.

“It feels phenomenal,” said Kent City coach Bill Crane about getting back on the field. “It was horrible, honestly, to have two weeks off. We had to cancel right before our game against Morley, which was obviously a big game for us.

“But this feels great. The kids had a great week of practice and we responded after a two-week layoff against a much-improved team.”

The Red Devils opened the scoring on a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Austin Fowler to Brett Hosmer with 8:41 left in the first quarter. Fowler added a two-point conversion to give Holton an 8-0 lead.

Kent City quickly responded three plays later with a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Mason Westbrook with 8:07 remaining in the first. A failed two-point conversion kept the Red Devils up by an 8-6 margin.

Holton’s Kevin Erickson goes in for a tackle while Austin Fowler (7) and Brett Hosmer (23) converge on the play. Photo/Steve Gunn

Holton increased its lead to 16-6 with a nine-yard touchdown completion from Fowler to Rice Robins, along with a two-point conversion completion by the same players, with 8:17 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles cut their deficit to 16-12 with 6:47 left in the second quarter on another 17-yard scoring run by Westbrook.

Kent City stopped the Red Devils on their next possession, then scored on a 62-yard run by quarterback Kyler Larson with 1:05 left in the opening quarter. Westbrook completed the two-point conversion with a run.

The Eagles led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Holton regained its lead on a six-yard touchdown completion from Fowler to Kaleb Nichols with 10:40 left in the second quarter. A completion from Fowler to Robins for the two-point conversion gave the Red Devils a 24-20 advantage.

The Eagles responded with a pair of touchdowns to take a 36-24 halftime lead.

Holton’s Rice Robins (4) looks for running room while Kent City’s Hayden Carlson (11) and Kyler Larson (12) converge. Photo/Steve Gunn

Larson scored on a 31-yard run, then converted a two-point conversion run. The Eagles closed out the scoring with 25 seconds left in the half, recovering a fumble in the end zone after trying to convert on fourth-down from the one-yard line.

Kent City opening the second half scoring with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Larson to Dylan Sutton with 6:49 left in the third. Larson added a two-point on a run and the Eagles led 44-24.

The Red Devils responded with a five-yard touchdown pass from Fowler to Nichols to cut their deficit 44-32 after a two-point conversion on a pass from Fowler to Robins.

The Eagles scored on their next possession with a 22-yard completion from Larson to Joe Vanoffelen to increase thei lead to 50-32 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

Holton closed out the scoring on its next possession with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Fowler to Hosmer.

Holton’s Jarid Coburn (73) gets a tackle while Dylan Cartwright (58) trails the play. Photo/Steve Gunn

The Eagles were paced by Westbrook, who had 230 yards rushing on 27 carries and two touchdowns.

“It was mostly because of my offensive line,” said Westbrook, who is in his junior season. “We had amazing blocks that made me hit my wide-open holes for great yardage.

“I was pretty upset not getting to play the last couple of weeks. I am not going to lie, I kind of cried because football is my favorite sport and I live for it.”

Larson threw for 93 yards on 2-for-5 passing and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 127 yards on eight carries and two scores.

The Red Devils also had some outstanding offensive numbers, despite the loss.

Fowler threw for 296 yards on 25-for-39 passing with five touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Hosmer caught two passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns, Kevin Erickson had 10 receptions for 143 yard and Robins had six catches for 73 yards.

“We have a lot of guys who enjoy playing offense, but as you can see by the score, they do not enjoy playing defense,” said Holton coach Alex Smith. “I was impressed and happy about our fight. but not impressed about our effort on defense.”