‘State championship or bust.’ LCA football secures state finals rematch vs. Beechwood.
Lexington Christian Academy head coach Doug Charles has been straightforward with his team this season when it comes to expectations.
It’s championship or bust for the Eagles in Class 2A.
Given this outlook, it’s a good thing that seemingly no school in the state can challenge LCA this season.
The Eagles, still undefeated, improved to 14-0 and secured their spot in Friday’s Class 2A state championship game at Kroger Field with an overwhelming 58-0 state semifinal win over Middlesboro on Friday night at Jon R. Akers Stadium at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington.
“We haven’t run from it all year ... it’s win the state championship or bust. That’s what we’ve said all year,” Charles said postgame.
LCA led 31-0 after the first quarter, which featured a pair of touchdowns by sophomore Parker Chaney as well as rushing scores by junior quarterback Drew Nieves and senior Xavier Brown, who also scored a 16-yard rushing touchdown right before halftime.
Brown, a Virginia commit, now has 21 rushing touchdowns this season and also blocked two punts for LCA against Middlesboro.
“The bigger the stage the better he plays,” Charles said of Brown. “The bright lights don’t scare him and that’s why he’s a Power Five kid. ... He’s going to be, in my view, a successful Saturday player as well.”
The game switched to a running clock in the second quarter, and even after LCA opted to rest most of its starters to begin the second half up 45, the Eagles still found the end zone on their first offensive possession after halftime.
It was as dominant a state semifinal performance as Charles could have hoped for.
“We ask our kids to come out and play clean, play hard and play fast, to leave no doubt, and these guys were really on point today,” Charles said.
Among the most impressive stats from Friday’s win is the fact that Middlesboro — which entered the game undefeated and averaging 42.4 points scored per game — ran just one play in LCA territory all night.
The Eagles have now scored 49 or more points in eight straight games and their closest margin of victory against another Class 2A school this season was 28 points against Owensboro Catholic in the previous playoff round.
“We’re just very talented. We’ve got a lot of depth ... when we play clean and just eliminate some of our mental mistakes, we’re just a tough out,” Charles said of his team’s offensive proficiency.
In search of the second state title in school history (the first came in 2009 in Class A), LCA will be making its fourth state championship game appearance Friday afternoon.
The opponent for the occasion will be fitting.
Beechwood is also a perfect 14-0 on the season, with consistent blowout wins over Class 2A opposition and reigning Mr. Football award-winner Cameron Hergott, a fifth-year player and Eastern Kentucky commit, behind center.
The Tigers, who have a whopping 15 state titles from 20 trips to the state championship game, earned another trip to Kroger Field this season after defeating Mayfield, 38-7, in Friday’s other Class 2A semifinal.
The Beechwood-LCA state title game will be a repeat of last season’s Class 2A championship game, which Beechwood won by one point in a 24-23 overtime thriller. It was Beechwood’s first state title at the Class 2A level.
That was also the last time LCA lost a football game.
Looking back at that contest, Charles said last year’s game against Beechwood “got a little big” at times for the LCA coaches and players.
It was Charles’ first state title game appearance as a head coach, and it was LCA’s first trip to the state title game since winning the Class A title in 2009.
So how does Charles feel about a repeat matchup against the Tigers at the same venue in a week?
“We know what’s before us,” Charles said. “We’ve been there, done it. We’ve seen the big screens, we’ve been in the locker room. That’s all great and wonderful, but our goal from day one, we’ve never run from it, is to hoist up the trophy at the end of the day on Friday on the third day of December.”
And what’s different about this year’s LCA squad compared to last year’s team that fell just short?
“They’ve met every challenge that’s been before them so far,” Charles said. “I don’t expect any different next week.”
