Highlights: LCA’s Brown sparks rout; Madison Central’s Hensley tops 300 yards rushing
Highlights from the regional championship round of Kentucky’s high school football playoffs on Friday night. Only four teams remain in each of the six classes on the road to the state championships at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Class 2A
Lexington Christian 49, Owensboro Catholic 21: Xavier Brown’s 69-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage of the second half helped Class 2A’s No. 1 team shrug off a halting start and pull away to a rout over the visiting Aces.
That score was Brown’s second of four TDs on the night. He caught a 31-yard pass from Drew Nieves to help tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter and also had TD runs of 30 and 3 yards that broke the contest open in the third quarter. The Virginia commit finished with 177 yards rushing and 42 receiving.
“Xavier is an elite athlete, and he is a guy who will absolutely take a game over,” LCA Coach Doug Charles said. “We know week-in and week-out, day-in and day-out, game-in and game-out what we’re going to get with Xavier. He is going to give you great effort. He is going to make Xavier plays that you just look and say, ‘How did he? … What did I just watch?’”
Owensboro Catholic capitalized on an LCA fumble in the first quarter with a drive to take a 7-0 lead on Lincoln Clancy’s 20-yard pass to Braden Munday on a fourth-and-7.
With a 14-7 lead after a Nieves 16-yard TD pass to Mason Moore, LCA pushed into the red zone again late in the second quarter, but saw the drive derailed by penalties and the Owensboro Catholic defense, which turned the Eagles over on downs at the Aces’ 29-yard line with under three minutes to go till half.
Clancy led the Aces down the field again for a tying 8-yard touchdown pass to Mundy to make it 14-14 with eight seconds left till the break.
“It should have been 28-7 at halftime,” Charles said, lamenting LCA’s missed opportunities. “They make a play and tie it up, but we got the ball to start the second half. We said, `Let’s go out and do what we do and exert our will.’”
Brown’s TD marked the beginning of a 35-0 run that included a Jeremiah Riffle 40-yard TD run and a 3-yard TD pass from Nieves to Jeffrey Selby. Nieves completed 11 of 14 passes with three touchdowns. Clancy finished with 249 yards passing, three TDs and three interceptions for the No. 12 Aces (7-6).
“Give Owensboro Catholic credit. They came out inspired,” Charles said. “It was more good than bad, but just enough bad stuff to allow us to coach some guys up and expose some things a little bit in the film room and regroup.”
The win gave LCA (13-0) its second straight region championship. The Eagles will host undefeated No. 5 Middlesboro on Friday in the state semifinals.
Middlesboro 33, West Carter 6: Caleb Bogonko rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 5 Yellowjackets (13-0) dominated from the outset. Middlesboro QB Cayden Grigsby rushed for a score and threw a pair of TD passes to Jay West as they pushed to a 27-0 lead in the third quarter. The No. 7 Comets (9-4) scored on a Cole Crampton run in the second half.
Beechwood 50, Walton-Verona 6: Cameron Hergott, the No. 2 Tigers’ reigning Mr. Football as a fifth-year senior, rushed for four TDs and threw for two more all in the first half as Beechwood (13-0) staked a 42-0 lead over the No. 15 Bearcats (9-4). Tanner Jackson and Parker Mason caught the Hergott scoring throws.
Mayfield 48, Green County 6: The No. 3 Cardinals (12-1) got a pair of TD runs by Kylan Galbreath and Juju Starks and long TD connections of 50 and 64 yards from Zane Cartwright to Daniel Coles in blowing out the visiting No. 6 Dragons (11-2).
Class 6A
Madison Central 43, Paul Laurence Dunbar 7: Sophomore running back Brady Hensley rushed for 320 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 7 Indians (10-3) won their first region title since 2018 in an amazing turnaround by first-year coach Mike Holcomb after back-to-back one-win seasons for the program.
Madison Central’s 418 yards rushing helped the team overcome two fumbles and an interception against No. 15 Dunbar (7-6). The Bulldogs’ Kamarion Robinson scored on a 10-yard run to cut the Indians’ lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter before Madison Central scored 29 unanswered.
Hensley TDs went for 37, 1, 36, 5, and 1 yards. Madison Central’s Edgren Sweat had a 29-yard interception return for a TD to help set the final margin.
The victory gives Holcomb his first state semifinals appearance as a head coach since his 2008 Breathitt County team finished runner-up in Class 3A. Holcomb won three Class 2A state titles with the Bobcats (1995, 1996, 2002).
Male 46, North Hardin 0: A state runner-up last season, No. 1 Male continued its undefeated 2021 campaign by cruising past North Hardin at home. North Hardin opened the game by attempting an onside kick that it didn’t recover, and things didn’t get any better for the Trojans from there.
Senior Nic Schutte had five first-half touchdown passes for Male, including a 37-yard connection to Hanson Shelton and two scoring passes to Vinny Anthony. The game used a running clock prior to halftime.
Trinity 38, Ryle 18: Two-time defending state champion Trinity will continue its pursuit of a third consecutive state crown after a 20-point win at Ryle. First-year head coach Jay Cobb’s team got off to a flying start when Devin Williams intercepted a Ryle pass less than two minutes into the game. Armon Tucker turned that interception into a 3-yard touchdown run.
Brady Willis had a 31-yard touchdown pass to Chris Whittington in the second quarter to make it 14-0 Trinity, which led 24-3 at the half after sophomore Gabriel Mingus had a 55-yard pick-six for the Shamrocks.
St. Xavier 42, Daviess County 6: No. 2 St. Xavier won its second straight region title and its fourth region championship since 2016. Quarterback Jack Sivori had a touchdown pass to Michael Duddy less than two minutes into the game for the Tigers, and Sivori also had a 22-yard rushing touchdown and a 6-yard rushing score in the first half.
Another highlight-reel moment came late in the second quarter when Sivori and Duddy linked up again, this time on a 99-yard go route for a touchdown. The lone touchdown for the Panthers came on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Joe Humphreys to Max Dees.
Class 5A
Owensboro 56, Bullitt Central 12: Last year’s state runner-up, No. 3 Owensboro (12-1), won its third straight region championship and its fifth region title since 2013. Maurice Moorman had a 57-yard punt return touchdown and Tramel Barksdale had a 23-yard scoring run to build a 14-0 Owensboro lead in the first quarter over the No. 18 Cougars (9-4).
That lead soon grew to 28-0 after a 67-yard touchdown catch by Jeremiah Goodwin and a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Pendleton. Owensboro led 42-6 at halftime after Moorman also scored on a kick return touchdown as the first half expired.
South Warren 47, South Oldham 13: Though a 74-yard kickoff return by South Oldham’s Wyatt Fowler in the first quarter offered the No. 12 Dragons (9-4) an initial spark, No. 4 South Warren (12-1) overwhelmed the visitors with 41 first-half points on its way to the Spartans’ first region title since its 2018 state championship.
Western Kentucky commit Caden Veltkamp threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns for South Warren which also got three rushing TDs from Kobe Martin and another from Luke Burton. Burton had one of the TD catches, plus a 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Class 4A
Johnson Central 34, Corbin 13: No. 4 Johnson Central (11-2) won its eighth straight game following the death of legendary head coach Jim Matney, and also backed up its region title win over Corbin from last season.
The Golden Eagles took down the formerly undefeated No. 3 Redhounds (12-1) thanks to a ground attack that generated 496 rushing yards. Chase Price had a 5-yard touchdown run and a 45-yard scoring run in the first quarter for Johnson Central. Sophomore Cole Campbell had three rushing touchdowns for the Golden Eagles, while Jacob Baker made a pair of field goals for Corbin.
The 13 points scored by the Redhounds were their lowest total of the season.
Boyle County 51, Scott 14: Avery Bodner rushed for 212 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 1 Rebels (12-1) cruised to a running-clock margin by midway through the third quarter over the visiting No. 16 Eagles (8-5). Bodner also had an interception and a 72-yard kickoff return in the second quarter that set up one of his scores.
The night started well for Scott, which got a 100-yard pick-six from Cameron Patterson to take a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Boyle responded with a 52-yard TD run from Bodner to tie it. Scott’s Riley Huff caught a 4-yard TD pass from Gus Howlett midway through the second quarter, but the Rebels got two more TDs from Bodner, a Nathaniel Rush TD run and a short Cole Lanter scoring catch from Jagger Gillis to lead 37-14 at halftime.
Franklin County 49, Allen County-Scottsville 12: Holding a 14-6 halftime lead, the No. 5 Flyers (10-3) outscored the No. 15 Patriots 35-6 in the second half to win their second straight region title.
Zach Claudio took the second-half kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown to start the rally. Kentucky commit Kaden Moorman scored from 34 yards out on Franklin County’s next possession and the rout was on. The Flyers added a 72-yard pick-six by Gavin Hurst and a Brenton Sears 16-yard TD run before the end of the third quarter to put them up 42-6.
Moorman also had a 38-yard TD run in the first half. Allen County-Scottsville (8-5) got touchdowns from a Tanner Stinson first quarter run and a 40-yard pass from Payton Cope to Jax Cooper.
Class 3A
Paducah Tilghman 41, Christian Academy-Louisville 34: The No. 1 Centurions led 21-19 at the half but got stunned by the visiting No. 15 Blue Tornado in a wild contest. CAL (11-2) got a pair of kickoff return touchdowns by senior Easton Messer, including an 89-yarder in the first half. Messer opened the second half with an 82-yarder for a 27-19 lead after the failed conversion attempt.
But Tilghman (7-6) responded with 21 straight points in the third quarter — a 4-yard TD by Malachi Rider, a 51-yard TD pass from Jack James to Camden Marshall and a 61-yard breakaway by Brian Thomas for a 41-27 edge with a quarter to play.
Marshall had a key interception as CAL drove to the 5-yard line midway through the fourth quarter to help keep Tilghman in front. Messer had a 41-yard TD pass reception to cut the lead to the final margin on CAL’s next possession, but the Centurions couldn’t muster another threat.
Belfry 41, Bell County 20: Isaac Dixon scored three touchdowns, including breakaways of 30 and 56 yards as Philip Haywood’s No. 14 Pirates (7-6) ousted Dudley Hilton’s No. 8 Bobcats (10-3) in this rivalry game between the two coaches with the most wins in Kentucky high school football.
The Pirates also got TDs from Dre Young, Zayne Hatfield and Braxton Hatfield and controlled the game after ceding Ethan Raby’s TD for Bell County that cut the Belfry lead to 7-6 in the second quarter. The Pirates answered with back-to-back Dixon TD runs and Zayne Hatfield’s score to go up 28-6 late in the third quarter. Dawson Woolum and Daniel Thomas also scored for Bell County.
East Carter 38, Mason County 10: Charlie Terry rushed for 231 yards and four touchdowns with a 65-yard burst to open the scoring and an 84-yard scamper to cap the night for the No. 5 Raiders (11-3). Brady Sanders scored a TD and Ashton Adams kicked a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter for No. 22 Mason County.
Class A
Bethlehem 49 at Kentucky Country Day 10: Zane Wickliffe scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and connected on a 50-yard pass play from Cooper Stone on another score as the No. 7 Eagles (11-2) knocked out last year’s runner-up, No. 4 KCD (10-3). Ladarion Montgomery also had a pair of TDs for Bethlehem and Stone added scoring bombs to Eli Peake (47 yards) and Hayden Osborne (48 yards).
Pikeville 50, Williamsburg 21: Isaac McNamee threw five touchdown passes, two of them to Zac Lockhart, while running back Blake Birchfield added a touchdown and crossed the 2,000-yard rushing mark on the season for the No. 2 Panthers (12-2)
Raceland 48, Bishop Brossart 7: In the fifth playoff meeting between No. 3 Raceland (12-1) and No. 5 Bishop Brossart (12-1) since 2015, the Rams raced past the previously unbeaten Mustangs at home. Raceland had eight sacks and scored on its first three possessions, including a 3-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Noah Wallace. Wallace and Jules Farrow each had three touchdowns for Raceland.
State semifinals
(Ratings are KHSAA’s RPI, used to seed regionals and semis. Game times subject to change)
CLASS A
▪ No. 3 Raceland at No. 2 Pikeville, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 7 Bethlehem at No. 1 Russellville, 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A
▪ No. 3 Mayfield at No. 2 Beechwood, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 5 Middlesboro at No. 1 Lexington Christian, 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
▪ No. 14 Belfry at No. 5 East Carter, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 15 Paducah Tilghman at No. 2 Glasgow, 7 p.m.
CLASS 4A
▪ No. 7 Logan County at No. 1 Boyle County, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 5 Franklin County at No. 4 Johnson Central, 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A
▪ No. 3 Owensboro at No. 2 Frederick Douglass, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 4 South Warren at No. 1 Woodford County, 7 p.m.
CLASS 6A
▪ No. 19 Trinity at No. 1 Male, 7 p.m.
▪ No. 7 Madison Central at No. 2 St. Xavier, 7 p.m.
