Gates' 4 touchdowns lead Southfield over King

Detroit — Nearly a year after losing in the first round of the playoffs to Birmingham Seaholm, Southfield upset host Detroit Martin Luther King, 40-12, on Friday night in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs.

Southfield will play Oak Park next week.

Jeremy Gates was the story for Southfield (7-3). He rushed nine times for 85 yards and three touchdowns. He added a 21-yard touchdown catch from Kanye Harris — the senior quarterback's only completion.

Southfield coach Tim Conley spoke about Gates — who he said was arguably the best player on the team — and his four-touchdown performance.

"We (our coaches) were talking about who we want to be All-State and it's Jeremy Gates," Conley said. "He's like one of those kind of guys — he plays offense, he plays defense. We're very happy with him."

However, Gates wasn't Southfield's leading rusher Friday. Adrian Carter carried the ball 15 times for 115 yards. He also scored twice.

After a quiet opening eight minutes, Carter started the scoring for Southfield with 4:19 left in the opening quarter, putting his team ahead 6-0 after the failed point-after attempt.

On the following drive, King went three-and-out. Southfield blocked King's punt and scored on the first play of the ensuing possession — a 19-yard run from Gates with 2:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Southfield took that 13-0 lead into the half — a lead it would hold for the rest of the game.

King (8-2) was led by Mikale Washington, who completed five of 10 passes for 116 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

"They had good years for us," King coach Dale Harvel said. "They gave us big plays all year."

King scored both of its touchdowns in the second half.

Washington found Dontre Boyd from 48 yards out at the 6:28 mark of the third quarter and backup quarterback Julian Jordan — who replaced Washington in the fourth quarter — scored from less than a yard on fourth-and-goal with 8:06 remaining in the game.

Harvel said the short field — a problem his defense faced a lot Friday — provided opportunities for Southfield to capitalize.

"Four of (Southfield's) touchdowns came on short fields — maybe 30 yards or less," he said. "That creates a problem for your defense. You can't play good teams like that."

Conley said he was not focused on last year's early exit.

"We don't talk about last year like we don't talk about tomorrow," he said. "It's today. This is it. Really this is how we are. I would do a disservice to these guys. They're one of the best teams I've coached — maybe the best team I've coached. For me to talk about last year or next year — I can't do it."