Highlights: Sayre, Douglass roll; Bell County, Frankfort coaches reach milestones
Sayre 56, Fort Knox 6: As head coach of the Class A Sayre Spartans, former NFL QB Chad Pennington has watched a football team flourish from the ground up.
The Lexington school restarted its football program under Pennington in 2018, with the 2021 season marking the first senior class of Sayre players since football returned.
“It’s been really neat to watch the growth and development of our senior class since they were freshmen. They’ve really developed into great leaders (and) they’ve developed into really great football players,” Pennington said. “We talk about developing the whole player academically, athletically, socially, and so it’s been really neat to watch them grow and develop and bond together and really be the leaders of the program, and they have led by example.”
The latest demonstration of this growth came with a 56-6 demolition of Fort Knox on Friday night. That followed a season-opening 35-6 win against Eminence.
Senior Jackson Marshall had rushing scores of 22 yards and 5 yards in addition to a 6-yard receiving touchdown against Fort Knox.
Senior quarterback Cole Pennington, Chad’s son and a Marshall commit, threw three touchdown passes and senior running back Caleb Kern had 145 rushing yards along with a receiving score.
It’s not just the upperclassmen producing for Sayre, as the team’s leading tackler against Fort Knox was freshman defensive back Charlie Slabaugh, who made nine tackles, including two for a loss.
“Our seniors have done a great job of leading our younger players and putting an emphasis on our younger players, learning and studying and trying to get better,” Chad Pennington said.
Scott County 41, Lafayette 0: After a season-opening loss to Franklin County, the Cardinals rebounded with a sturdier effort on both sides of the football.
Freshman quarterback Andrew Hickey completed six passes for 113 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown to senior Jeremy Hamilton, who also had a pair of rushing scores.
Senior running back Montago Jones scored twice from 13 and 7 yards out. He totaled 116 rushing yards.
The Scott County shutout was led by junior defensive end Elijah Adams, who recorded a team-high 12 tackles, including three for a loss. Junior Logan Jones had an interception and an onside kick recovery.
Madison Central 34, Paul Laurence Dunbar 24: Three rushing touchdowns from Brady Hensley and an 84-yard bomb to Jayden West from Elijah Steele to start the second half helped the visiting Indians break a nine-game losing streak and get Mike Holcomb his first win as the team’s head coach.
Hensley scored on runs of 46 and 16 yards in the first half to go along with a 14-yard TD catch, and he tacked on a 1-yard scoring plunge in the fourth quarter. He finished with 94 rushing yards.
West’s TD catch made three consecutive unanswered scores for Madison Central, which staked itself to a 27-12 lead.
“They came out an played great tonight on both sides of the ball,” Holcomb told the Richmond Register. “The defense was very tough again, and we finally got some offense going.”
Dunbar’s Komarion Robinson rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Cole Colony ran for 106 and a score.
Frederick Douglass 51, Tates Creek 0: Quarterback Samuel Cornett threw for 218 yards and a TD each to three receivers as the Broncos (2-0) rolled.
In all, six Broncos scored in a game in which they established a mercy-rule running clock margin early in the second quarter. Davaun Hart had an 18-yard run to open the floodgate. Tylon Webb caught a 35-yard TD, Dane Key a 5-yard score and Cameron Dunn a 29-yarder. TJ Horton (2 yards), Ty Bryant (29) and James Mickey (37) also had rushing touchdowns.
The Broncos defense limited Tates Creek (0-2) to 55 yards of total offense.
Fern Creek 21, Henry Clay 10: Xzayven Stoner rushed for 143 yards and two TDs as the Tigers (2-0) rallied from an early 10-0 deficit and held the Blue Devils scoreless in the second half.
Things looked promising early for Henry Clay as they scored on the opening drive with a 40-yard field goal and added an 82-yard touchdown pass from Blake VanHorn to Kasen Parks early in the second quarter.
Stoner scored a 5-yard TD before halftime and tackle-breaking 36-yard run in the third quarter.
Henry Clay looked to be on the verge of overcoming a botched snap that set up the Tigers deep in Blue Devils’ territory in the fourth quarter, but Fern Creek converted a fourth-and-goal from the 21-yard line with Gerard Traynor’s TD pass to Duvan Fraga to set the final score.
Franklin County 61, Western Hills 0: Franklin County followed last week’s impressive win over Scott County with another head-turning result: A shutout of Western Hills, which has been outscored 111-2 in its two losses this season.
Junior two-way player Zach Claudio opened the scoring for Franklin County with a 43-yard rushing touchdown before adding an interception on the ensuing defensive possession.
“I thought we played great team football tonight,” Franklin County Coach Eddie James said. “Our guys were cheering for each other and that was important to me. We want guys who are not afraid to do the dirty work.”
Junior Kaden Moorman — a Kentucky target — also scored for the Flyers, who have totaled 104 points in their first two games.
“I feel like our team has shown maturity and the ability to perform at a high level,” James said of his team through two weeks. “We’ve also formed some depth that we didn’t necessarily knew we had going into the season.”
Woodford County 34, Campbell County 13: A 45-minute weather delay preceded the game in Campbell County, but Woodford County raced to a 14-0 halftime lead and didn’t look back.
Rushing touchdowns by senior quarterback Bryce Patterson and senior running back Jacob Jackson got the Yellow Jackets on course for the win. Patterson and Jackson then connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Jackson added a 1-yard touchdown run later in the third before the game’s highlight play — a 95-yard rushing score by junior running back Kenyun Maxberry — gave Woodford County a commanding 34-0 lead.
Bell County 22, Knox Central 14: Dawson Woolum scored from 6 yards out with 40.4 seconds left in the game to break a 14-14 tie as the Bobcats gave Coach Dudley Hilton his 400th career victory. Hilton is the second high school football coach to reach that milestone in Kentucky.
Hilton is 294-64 at Bell County and 400-133 overall. He is second on the career wins list to Belfry’s Philip Haywood (457).
Frankfort 56, Lynn Camp 0: Frankfort has outscored its first two opponents of the season — Paris and Lynn Camp — by a combined 93-14.
Senior running back Azeno Williams had a 52-yard rushing touchdown in a victory that made head coach Craig Foley the all-time wins leader in Frankfort High School history.
“When I came here in 2003, the one thing I talked about is building a program,” Foley told WLEX-18 after the game. “We didn’t just want to have a football team. We wanted to have a football program. It’s something that we’ve taken a lot of pride in.”
Great Crossing 22, North Oldham 7: A go-ahead 31-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Nichols to Jacob Coulter near the end of the second quarter salvaged a frustrating first half for the Warkhawks (2-0).
Great Crossing’s only other points until that TD came on a safety secured by Kentucky recruit Oryend Fisher and its defense in the first quarter. The Warhawks added a Zackarrey Kelley a 38-yard TD catch and a 45-yard interception return for a TD by Drake Byrd.
Collins 42, Bullitt Central 34: After a blowout 62-7 victory over Shelby County to open the season, Collins again flashed its offensive muscle in an eight-point triumph over Bullitt Central.
Among the big scoring plays was a 90-yard touchdown pass for Collins from junior quarterback Kenyon Goodin to junior Darius Evans. Goodin also had three rushing touchdowns, and senior Mark Hutzel returned a squib kick back for a score.
Among the scoring plays for Bullitt Central was a pair of rushing touchdowns by senior Zachary Shofner and a 28-yard rushing score by senior Zachary Rose.
Rockcastle County 22, East Jessamine 21: East Jessamine has lost its opening two games of the season by a combined eight points. The Jaguars led 21-6 at halftime, but a 16-0 third quarter by the Rockets flipped the scoreline.
Senior running back Matthew Chasteen had 26 carries for 126 rushing yards and a touchdown for Rockcastle County, while freshman quarterback Justin Hisle threw for a score and senior running back Tajii Jackson ran for another for East Jessamine.
Southwestern 55, West Jessamine 25: For the second week in a row, Southwestern scored 55 points on its way to a rout.
Southwestern led 34-13 at halftime and did all of its scoring by the end of the third quarter, which included a kickoff return touchdown to begin the second half.
Junior running back Tanner Wright had an untouched 54-yard scoring run for Southwestern.
Junior quarterback Jacob Jones and senior wide receiver Ernest Stanfield connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass for West Jessamine. Jones later had a rushing score of his own.
Paris 23, Berea 0: Paris has won seven straight against Berea, with the Greyhounds outscoring the Pirates 365-21 in those games.
Berea was without top wide receiver Yamil Cruz for the game due to a knee injury, and then late in the first half the Pirates also lost the services of linebacker Cameron Thompson.
Beechwood 49, Paintsville 0: Beechwood’s 2-0 start to the season comes with a combined 84-0 scoreline in wins over Fairdale and Paintsville.
Beechwood led 35-0 at halftime and didn’t punt in the game. Paintsville was limited to just four first downs in the game.
Senior quarterback Cameron Hergott opened the scoring with a 2-yard rushing touchdown and later had touchdown passes of 5 and 25 yards. Rushing touchdowns were also scored by senior Avery Courtney and junior Mitchell Berger, who caught the 25-yard touchdown pass from Hergott.
Owensboro 44, Apollo 7: Owensboro took the lead after just seven minutes and led wire-to-wire for its first win of the season. Junior Kenyatta Carbon had three rushing touchdowns and an interception in just the first quarter alone.
Thre Red Devils were up 34-0 at halftime and Carbon had four touchdowns in the opening 24 minutes. A running clock was used after senior quarterback and Rutgers commit Gavin Wimsatt connected with junior wide receiver Khalil Rogers for a 44-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter.
Wimsatt finished the game with 222 passing yards and two touchdown passes.
North Laurel 34, Breathitt County 12: Breathitt County was scheduled to play Powell County, but COVID-19 led to the Bobcats scheduling a game against the North Laurel Jaguars instead. North Laurel also needed an opponent after Marion County had to cancel.
Sophomore Christian Larkey had an early interception for North Laurel, and sophomore quarterback Tucker Warren ran for a 28-yard touchdown to open the scoring late in the first quarter. Senior running back Jacob Bowman added a 10-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
Larkey also had a short rushing touchdown in the third quarter before Warren added a 30-yard rushing touchdown to put the game out of reach at 27-6. North Laurel’s final score of the game was a 7-yard touchdown pass from Warren to Larkey.
Breathitt County trailed by just eight at halftime following a 28-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Dillon Stacy to freshman wideout Skyler Collins.
Covington Catholic 42, Belfry 13: In part of a Pike County Bowl doubleheader, Covington Catholic defeated Belfry for its first win of the season.
Tied 7-7 after the first quarter, Covington Catholic went in front on a 2-yard rushing score by senior running back Brayden Collins. The Colonels kept that lead for the rest of the night, in part thanks to a 20-yard touchdown run by senior Reid Hummel and an interception by senior Rob Sandfoss.
Belfry is 0-2 for the first time since 1998.
Bardstown 33, John Hardin 26: The Tigers are 2-0 after a comeback win at home over the Bulldogs.
John Hardin led 26-19 in the fourth quarter before a short touchdown run from Bardstown junior running back TJ Greenwell tied the game. A quarterback sneak touchdown by senior Brady Clark with 3:25 left put the Tigers in front for good.
St. Xavier 30, Central 6: After a two-point loss to Manual to open the season, Central took a 24-point defeat to St. Xavier in Week 2.
The Yellow Jackets were without star senior running back and linebacker Malachi Williams, and Central’s only score came midway through the first quarter on a short scoring run by senior quarterback Vernon Duncan.
St. Xavier senior quarterback Jack Sivori ran for two scores and threw for two more.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 1:01 PM.
