Devastating defense helps Frederick Douglass shut out Scott County
It took a while for Frederick Douglass to get going offensively and a couple of fumbles didn’t help, but when you play defense like the Broncos play defense, you can beat archrival Scott County 35-0 in your district opener.
Douglass (6-0), ranked No. 5 overall and No. 2 in Class 5A by the Herald-Leader’s Dave Cantrall Ratings, held visiting Scott County to 93 total yards Friday and forced six punts, two turnovers on downs, a fumble and two safeties in the rout.
“We’re fast, we’re athletic, we’re disciplined,” said Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek, who applauded his defense to lead off his postgame talk to the team. “It was a great job. Our defense is solid.”
Scott County (2-3) runs a deceptive run-oriented wing-T attack that has posed problems for opposing defenses for decades now under Coach Jim McKee. The Cardinals racked up 346 yards against Paul Laurence Dunbar last week. They gained 86 against Douglass with 55 of those yards came on Scott County’s final series. Four Scott County drives resulted in negative yardage.
“This is just what we do,” said Douglass linebacker Davis Joyner, who had one of three sacks on the night. “It’s Douglass defense. It’s studying. We watch film hard, study hard, practice hard every single day and this is the result. This is what happens.”
But Scott County’s defense held its own early.
The Cardinals, ranked No. 17 overall and No. 4 in Class 5A, turned back Douglass’ opening drive after the Broncos gained a first down and goal at the 1-yard line. Three consecutive rush attempts yielded a 2-yard loss and a fourth-down pass from Samuel Cornett to Dane Key failed.
After getting the ball back on a Scott County punt on the Cardinals’ 38, Douglass again failed to score with another fourth-down pass falling harmlessly to the turf.
“Offensively, we were a little stagnant at times. We’ve got to get better,” McPeek said.
Finally, Devaun Hart capped a 10-play drive in the second quarter with a 7-yard TD run, cutting back against the blocking of his offensive line and shuffling into the end zone. Later Cooper Ranvier kicked a 38-yard field goal to give Douglass a 10-0 lead.
Later, a Hart fumble on the Scott County 5-yard line ruined his biggest run of the night (44 yards) and seemed to give Scott County an opportunity to seize some momentum.
But Douglass’ defense rose to the challenge. Joyner sacked Scott County quarterback Andrew Hickey in the end zone to give Douglass a 12-0 lead before halftime.
Hart made up for the fumble in the second half with a pair of short yardage scores to give him three TDs and 154 yards rushing.
“It’s really just on my O-line and the receivers blocking out on the perimeter like we talked (about) all week,” Hart said. “And executing. … At the end, we really did a good job.”
Hart’s second TD late in the third quarter was followed by a Cornett touchdown pass to Thomas Howard from 8 yards out in the fourth quarter and another safety on a botched Cardinals snap. TJ Horton returned the ensuing kickoff after the safety 67 yards to set Douglass back up at the Cards’ 3-yard line with 2:49 left in the fourth quarter. Hart strolled in for his third TD on the next play.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on, but at the end of the day, our kids believe they can win,” McPeek said. “It’s a great group of kids. They love each other, and we’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Douglass next plays at Grant County on Thursday before returning home to face a much-improved Great Crossing squad on Oct. 15. Scott County will face the Warhawks on Friday.
Scott County bus fire
On the way home from the Douglass game, a school bus carrying Scott County players back to their school malfunctioned and caught fire on Interstate 75, according to Scott County Schools.
A statement from the school system said no one was injured in the incident. A video of the bus by shot by WKYT’s Dave Baker showed it in flames on the side of the highway.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 9:40 AM.
