KINDER — Kinder was its own worst enemy Friday night during its Non-select Division III regional playoffs game against Westlake at John C. Buck Stadium but they overcame their mistakes to win 28-12.

No. 4 Kinder fumbled the ball away three times in the third quarter and watched the Rams score on their opening drive of the second half. Ryan Allen’s 33-yard reception from Brody Anderson cut the Yellow Jackets to 20-12.

“We put our defense in a tough spot there in the third quarter,” Reed said. “For the whole quarter, really, I think we ran two plays on offense, both fumbles.

And man, those guys just, they didn’t flinch, they didn’t blink. And they just kept getting back out on the field and kept making plays, and kept playing their butts off. And they made it happen when it counted.”

Kinder’s third fumble of the quarter nearly led to the Rams having a chance to tie the game, but John Roberts recovered a fumble at the Kinder 5-yard line to thwart Westlake. The Yellow Jackets were able to flip the script to put together a 95-yard, 9-play drive and pad their lead on a 32-yard pass from Thomas to Noah Romero with 11:18 left in the game.

Westlake failed to capitalize on its three gifts. The first led to a punt, while the second chance ended when Bryson Eaglin and Brayson Bowring sacked Westlake quarterback Brody Anderson on fourth down.

Kinder’s defense continually came up with big plays, including 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage led by Eaglin (4 TFL, .5 sack). Romero had an interception and broke up four passes.

Kinder sophomore quarterback Isaiah Thomas threw for 251 yards (12-22-1) and three touchdowns

“He’s a baller,” Reed said. “I think a lot more people are gonna know his name in the next couple of years, and he’s a mature kid for a sophomore.

We put a lot on his plate. He makes a lot of decisions for us at the line of scrimmage, and I don’t think he made a bad decision tonight. I was glad he was on our team, I can tell you that.”

Running back Logan Lebeouf had 151 yards on 24 carries and Brandon Perkins caught four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

The win moves Kinder (9-2) to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2020. They will host No. 5 Union Parish (8-4) next week.