‘This was our game.’ Big play before half, stifling defense put Douglass in 5A finals.
Nursing a 7-0 lead over Owensboro with under a minute to go until halftime of their Class 5A state semifinal game, it would have been reasonable for Frederick Douglass to try to grind out the clock and protect its narrow advantage, especially after a penalty set its offensive possession back to near midfield.
But the Broncos coaching staff spotted an opportunity given to them by the way the Red Devils had been taking away one of their bread-and-butter plays in the early going.
They seized it.
Samuel Cornett’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Tylon Webb with 31.6 seconds left in the first half put Douglass up 14-0 and sent the Broncos players soaring into the locker room.
That momentum and an impressive performance by their defense that included a fumble recovery and two interceptions helped lift Douglass to a 35-7 victory and earned the Broncos a spot in next Saturday’s Class 5A 2021 UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals championship game against South Warren.
It will be Douglass’s second appearance in the 5A finals in three years. Not bad for a 5-year-old school.
“In 2019, I think we were a little bit happy to be there, and I was part of that staff. Hopefully, we can go play better this time around,” said Douglass head coach Nathan McPeek, who was offensive coordinator when Douglass lost to Covington Catholic 14-7 in the finals two years ago.
Friday’s game against Owensboro marked another chance at redemption. The Red Devils beat Douglass 28-27 at this same stage last year in a game where some costly turnovers put the visiting Broncos in a 21-0 hole. While Douglass did give up an interception early to Owensboro again Friday, this time, on their home field, the Broncos did not get derailed.
Scoreless after more than a quarter of play, each team exchanged punts, turned it over on downs and committed a turnover in a halting first half.
But Owensboro’s fumble at the Douglass 16-yard line set up the first score. Davaun Hart capped an 86-yard drive with a hard-nosed 3-yard run aided by a pile push across the goal line for a 7-0 lead with 4:58 to go in the second quarter.
Shake and bake
The Douglass defense forced a negative drive and punt on Owensboro’s next possession, giving the Broncos the ball near midfield 2:06 before halftime. They put together a few positive plays, but a holding penalty had Douglass facing second-and-17 with 44.6 seconds left.
Much of Douglass’s offensive success the past several weeks has come on wide receiver screen passes — short throws to fast players out wide in space. The plays routinely gained ground in 5- to 10-yard chunks. But it became clear early that Owensboro figured out how to defend them.
“They were jumping our screens,” McPeek said. Receivers were being hit as soon as they caught the ball.
Time for McPeek and offensive coaches Evander Harris and Jimmy Skinner to improvise.
“We kind of drew it up in the dirt,” McPeek said.
The holding penalty and an injured player on the field allowed time for the planning. Webb and Cameron Dunn lined up in a stacked formation out wide to Cornett’s left, typical of how they set up their screens.
“We knew we had a one-on-one outside. It was going to be there. And is was! And it was awesome,” said Cornett, who took the snap and shook his shoulders in a fake toward Dunn. Owensboro’s cornerbacks and safety stepped forward, anticipating a short throw.
But Cornett then lofted a deep pass to the streaking Webb, who was 10 yards from his nearest defender as he caught it in stride for the 47-yard score. Webb almost had too much time to think about the catch.
“It felt like forever,” Webb said. “It got lost in the light. I was like, ‘Ooh, I can’t drop this.’ It was just my moment. It felt great. That was the play that got us going.”
Douglass 14, Owensboro 0. Time: 31.6 seconds, second quarter.
“That’s when we knew that, hey, this was our game,” Cornett said. “We control this now. We just have to finish.”
Closing it out
Owensboro’s defense responded by forcing a punt on Douglass’s first possession of the second half and the Red Devils’ offense drove it to the Broncos’ 11-yard line before giving up a negative play that put them in a passing situation.
Douglass sophomore cornerback Jeremiah Lowe read Owensboro quarterback Kasey Boone’s eyes and intercepted his pass to the back of the end zone.
“I just had to make a play for my team,” Lowe said. “I just felt like if I could help my offense out and we give them back the ball, they can’t stop our offense.”
Douglass drove 80 yards after the pick and scored on a Ty Bryant 3-yard run for a 21-0 lead late in the third quarter.
On Owensboro’s next possession, Lowe struck again, scooping up a tipped ball before it hit the turf for his second interception.
“There’s no doubt a lot of college coaches need to take a hard look at offering him. He’s got great ball skills. He’s a great athlete,” McPeek said of Lowe. “I’ve told (Kentucky) Coach (Vince) Marrow. I’ve told Louisville. I’ve told everybody, locally. You better get on him. And tonight he proved that.”
Moments later, TJ Horton’s 16-yard run put Douglass up 28-0. Douglass would score again on a Dunn run.
Cornett completed 14 of 19 passes for 195 yards with a TD and an interception. Five different backs totaled 178 yards rushing for the Broncos led by Horton’s 59.
The Douglass defense held Owensboro to 223 total yards, more than 126 below its average. The Red Devils had the state’s top scoring offense at 48.5 points per game. They did not score against Douglass until Boone’s pass to Ethan Pendleton with 41.7 seconds left in the game.
“Our defense was lights out. Credit to Coach (Jeffrey) Poe,” McPeek said. “That’s our strength. … They’re special.”
One more
Next, Douglass faces South Warren, which routed RPI No. 1 seed Woodford County 46-25 in a game the Spartans controlled from the outset Friday night.
McPeek said his team wouldn’t take much time to celebrate its semifinals win.
“We’re going to get on who we have to play, get film and get going,” he said.
His players relish another chance for their school to win a state championship, but win or lose, Cornett said the game is about more than that.
“We haven’t been looking at it all year as one more for a ring. We’ve been looking at it as another opportunity to play with our brothers,” Cornett said. “Going to school with these guys, building the relationships that I’ve built have been some of the best things that have ever happened to me. I’m just happy I get to go out and play one more game with my boys.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2021 at 8:44 AM.
