Region finals: Lafayette slams door on Simon Kenton

Simon Kenton brought a higher ranking into its Class 6A regional matchup at Lafayette, but the Generals brought a three-headed monster.

Behind offensive outbursts from Walker Wood, Cameron Morgan and Quentin Brown, No. 7 Lafayette dropped No. 6 Simon Kenton, 63-41, on Friday to set up a semifinal grudge match with Scott County next week.

Wood was in vintage form once again. The senior quarterback and University of Kentucky commit rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 216 yards and three more scores, bringing his season total to 52 touchdowns, 26 each on the ground and through the air.

Brown was the only Lafayette receiver to catch more than one of Wood’s 12 completions, grabbing eight balls for 137 yards and two TDs. He corralled an onside kick after the Pioneers cut the lead to 56-41with three and a half minutes left in the game, then brought a dagger to the party when he reeled in a 40-yard strike from Wood on fourth-and-10 with 1:36 to play.

“Quentin has always been a great player and he was tough tonight,” said Wood. “He was sick this week and he came and toughed it out and played his heart out. I’m really proud of him.”

Morgan rushed 32 times for 250 yards and two touchdowns and carried the load late in the fourth quarter as the Generals ground down the clock.

“It’s a wonderful feeling when you know your team can count on you to get the ball downfield and get first downs when we need them. Especially when we’re trying to put a team away,” said Morgan. “The linemen were just giving me gaps and I was fitting in where I could.”

Wood had the offense rolling from the opening possession, giving the Generals the lead with a six-yard TD run to cap a nine play, 61-yard drive during which he completed a 27-yard pass to Brown on 3rd-and-11.

After the Pioneers struck back with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cam Racke to Fisher Hayden, Wood sent a deep ball down the left sideline which Dekwan Edwards hauled in over a defender for a 45-yard score.

Simon Kenton cut the lead to 14-12 when Hayden caught a quick pass from Racke and broke a tackle then raced to the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown, but as the second quarter wound down Lafayette responded with a 15-yard TD strike from Wood to Brown and a one-yard plunge by Wood for a 28-12 halftime lead.

Simon Kenton cut the lead to 28-20 with a 61-yard bomb from Racke to Luke Vance halfway through the third quarter. But Ean Shaw, son of Lafayette head coach Eric Shaw, stopped the Pioneers’ momentum dead in its tracks on the ensuing onside kick. As players on both sides stood waiting for the ball to roll ten yards, Ean Shaw raced in, scooped it up and galloped 63 yards for a touchdown behind a line of stunned Simon Kenton special teamers. That was the first of three unanswered Lafayette touchdowns.

“That’s a ‘Shaw thing’,” said Wood. “We call him ‘Shaw Baby’ and only a Shaw would do that. That was a big play, we needed some life right there and Shaw Baby gave it to us.”

Lafayette also ended Simon Kenton’s season last year. The Generals won 42-28 on the road in the state semifinals to reach the title game for the first time since 1985.

The Generals will host Scott County next with a repeat trip to the Class 6A championship on the line. The Generals were credited with a 1-0 victory via forfeit over the host Cardinals back in September after inclement weather caused a postponement and the teams couldn’t agree on a make-up date.

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Region finals: Lafayette slams door on Simon Kenton ."