Highlights: Dunbar finally beats Lexington school, UK recruit goes off (again)
Paul Laurence Dunbar 28, Lafayette 24: After erasing an early two-score deficit, the host Bulldogs held off a late charge from the Generals on Friday night to notch their first win over a Lexington school in nearly two years. Dunbar beat Henry Clay, 40-21, in October of 2016. After going winless last season and losing their first three games of this year’s campaign, the Bulldogs (2-4) have now won two of their last three.
It looked bleak for Dunbar early, as Jaylen Lawson gave Lafayette (1-6) the early lead with an 87-yard touchdown run and TJ Robinson expanded the advantage to 12-0 with a 3-yard rush. But early in the second quarter, Dunbar’s Isaac Robinson returned a fumble 25 yards for a score, the first of four unanswered touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
A 5-yard touchdown from Alex Bard gave Dunbar the lead, then Tanner Cox threw a 27-yard touchdown to Dre Thurston to push the halftime advantage to 21-12. Moments into the second half, Nate Thomas put the Bulldogs ahead 28-12 with a 5-yard rush, then Lafayette made its push.
TeAndre Newcomb had touchdown runs of 7 and 26 yards, pulling the Generals within 28-24 with 6:40 left to play. But on its next two possessions Lafayette turned the ball over on downs, then Newcomb was sacked near midfield as time expired.
The Generals outgained Dunbar on offense 384 yards to 179, but they were undone by turnovers. The Bulldogs recovered three Lafayette fumbles and intercepted two passes while turning the ball over just once themselves. Dunbar’s defense also combined for four sacks and six tackles for loss. Howard Jackson led the way with nine tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Mitchell Joseph led Dunbar with 79 yards on the ground, while Jaylen Lawson rushed for 132 yards on six carries for Lafayette.
Lexington Christian Academy 49, Middlesboro 8: The host Eagles leaned on the big play to rout the Yellowjackets for their third straight win. Lexington Christian (5-2) routinely ripped off huge chunks of yardage, scoring five touchdowns that covered at least 50 yards apiece and accounted for 321 of it’s 388 total yards.
Xavier Brown got LCA on the board with a 55-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Will Vernon’s 76-yard rush gave the Eagles a 29-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Jayden Barnhardt threw four touchdowns, including a 70-yarder to DeArious Smith and a 51-yarder to Brown. Backup quarterback Mason Moore completed his only pass of the game, a 69-yard TD to Elijah Hammond to set the final score.
Eric Helton converted a 1-yard touchdown run for the only score of the game for Middlesboro (1-6).
Frederick Douglass 46, Bryan Station 0: Demarco Fishback ran wild for 161 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 48 yards as the visiting Broncos (7-0) remained undefeated and kept Bryan Station (0-6) winless. Cameron Jones completed 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns for Douglass, ranked No. 3 in Dave Cantrall’s Rating the State.
Jalen Burbage again provided the bulk of the offense for Bryan Station, rushing for 105 yards and passing for 79.
The Broncos face a major test next week when they host No. 5 Scott County, which was upset by No. 24 Henry Clay in Georgetown on Friday.
Western Hills 32, Washington County 0: University of Kentucky recruit Wandale Robinson was sensational once again as the visiting Wolverines (5-1) rolled to their fifth straight win and held scoreless a Washington County (4-3) offense that came into Friday averaging more than 30 points per game.
Robinson rushed 19 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns and caught a TD as well. He also completed a 15-yard pass and made 12 tackles on defense.
Franklin County 42, Collins 13: Nick Broyles had himself a night, passing for 253 yards and two scores and adding 46 rushing yards and another TD and the host Flyers (4-2) won for the third time in four weeks. Jesse Thurman ran for two touchdowns in the win and Cameron Phelps caught five passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Franklin County outgained Collins 422 yards to 194 and intercepted Collins (1-6) quarterbacks five times. Henry Robbins returned a kickoff for a TD and caught three passes for 24 yards in the loss.
Anderson County 43, Grant County 8: Brennon Maxberry rushed for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns as host Anderson County (6-0) kept its record spotless. Charles Collins caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jagger Gillis for the first score of the game and the Bearcats were off to the races, building a 28-0 lead after one quarter.
Gillis completed four of five passes for 165 and two TDs. Kynan Russell caught two passes, one for a 91-yard touchdown that capped Anderson County’s scoring. Russell also returned a blocked field goal 93-yards for a score and had a 5-yard touchdown run. Grant County (1-6) avoided the shutout when John Skilling recovered a blocked punt in the end zone halfway through the fourth quarter.
Conner Knipp threw for 124 yards for Grant County, which has lost six straight after winning on opening night.
St. Xavier 21, Trinity 7: Keegan Sullivan threw for 236 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes as the Tigers (4-2) beat the Shamrocks (1-6) for the first time since 2014 at the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Stadium.
The game was tied 7-7 heading into the fourth quarter, when Sullivan hit Brycen Harkins with a 10-yard touchdown pass then later connected with Desmond Andrews-Ogbogu for a 25-yard score.
The Shamrocks managed just four first downs and 112 yards of offense. The loss ensures Trinity of its first losing record in the regular season since 2013.
This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 12:07 AM.