Highlights: Boley’s injury, five turnovers doom LCA; Frankfort puts up 81 points
Highlights from Friday’s Kentucky high school football games:
Christian Academy-Louisville 49, Lexington Christian 14: The Eagles ran into some hard luck in the debut of their new turf field at White, Greer & Maggard Stadium.
And the potential loss of sophomore quarterback sensation Cutter Boley for a significant time due to injury might pose more difficulty long-term for the No. 10 Eagles (2-2) than a defeat that included five turnovers to No. 8 Christian Academy-Louisville (4-0).
Boley’s left ankle got pinned awkwardly as he was sacked by the Centurions midway through the third quarter while the Eagles tried to respond to a 28-14 deficit. Boley got up but hopped hurriedly off the field without putting any weight on the leg and did not return to the game. Boley had tweaked the ankle in the first quarter. The extent of the injury was uncertain.
“We don’t know. It could be a high ankle sprain. But we don’t know,” LCA Coach Doug Charles said. “We don’t think there’s anything structural, but these things take a while to process. We’re going to be very cautious and check and make sure we get the best care.”
Boley’s first pass of the game tipped off his intended receiver and into the hands of CAL’s Isaac Patrick. Two plays later, Cole Hodge ran scored from 15 yards out to give the Centurions a 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the game.
Christian Academy-Louisville took a 21-14 lead into halftime after winning the turnover battle 3-2 to that point. Each quarterback threw two interceptions, but LCA also had a first-quarter fumble.
In the opening drive of the third quarter, CAL punter Jackson Barrickman saw an opening to convert a fourth-and-22 play from his own 20-yard line and sprinted for 26 yards and a first down. Hodge made LCA pay for the special teams gaffe four plays later with a 38-yard TD pass to Gavin Copenhaver for a 28-14 lead.
LCA fumbled again on the next possession, but its defense held to give Boley and the offense another chance at getting back into the game. That’s when Boley went down.
“It was a weird game,” Charles said. “We just had some self-inflicted stuff. … We didn’t do a very good job. We felt like we were going to control the line of scrimmage and did not.”
Will Nichols, who was fourth on LCA’s QB depth chart when the season began, finished the game. Saxton Howard, the former No. 2 QB, broke his collarbone last week against Belfry. Drew Nieves, the starter under center each of the last two years, suffered an MCL strain as a wideout against Mercer County. Nieves is expected to return to the lineup soon, but likely not in time for next week’s Holy War against Lexington Catholic.
“We’ll just put the best 11 out there and compete and see how our guys respond to a difficult loss,” Charles said.
Hodge threw for 216 yards and three TDs to go with 58 yards on the ground and the rushing score for CAL. Copenhaver led the Centurions with 89 yards and two rushing TDs to go with 107 yards and two more scores receiving.
Frankfort 81, Doss 60: The Panthers and Dragons scored more points in the second quarter (74 combined) than many teams see in two weeks of action, but it was Class A Frankfort (3-1) that managed to break serve in the second half and pull out the win over Class 5A Doss (1-3).
“We had explosive plays on offense and had halfway decent field position most of the night,” Frankfort Coach Ethan Atchley explained. “We were down two defenders, which didn’t help us, but we got the stops at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half that we needed.”
The ridiculous second period included Larry Carter TD runs of 49, 19 and 10 yards and a 60-yard kickoff return TD by Jaden Morgan for the Panthers.
Another special teams play in the second half helped.
“We got an onside kick that wasn’t supposed to be. It ended up being a scrum for a sky kick and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Atchley said.
Carter rushed for 127 yards and three TDs and threw for 58 yards and two more scores as his backfield mate, Mason Leigh, had 64 yards rushing and two TDs rushing to go with two passing TDs, as well. One of each of their passing TDs was to each other. Kamarion Carter’s 44-yard TD pass to Larry Carter early in the second half gave Frankfort some cushion. Morgan also had 125 yards rushing.
Henry Clay 18, Eastern 12: All five touchdowns in this game were standalone scores, with two extra-point attempts blocked and three rushing attempts for two-point conversions all failing.
That aside, Henry Clay (2-2) got 104 passing yards and a touchdown pass from junior Malcolm Paul and rushing touchdowns from senior Jayden Bailey and Paul in the win. Senior Quintel Thomas had 212 net rushing yards and a rushing touchdown for Eastern (1-3) in the loss.
The Blue Devils won despite being outgained in total offense 378-237.
Mercer County 17, Danville 14: Gavin Wilson hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired to cap a wild last minute of play that included several penalties and teed up the Titans (2-2) for the win.
A roughing the punter penalty on Danville (2-2) gave Mercer County the ball back with under a minute to go. Three more Danville penalties pushed Mercer into field goal range where a false start on the Titans offense stopped the clock with four seconds left and helped set up the try.
Thaddeus Mays rushed for 106 yards and two TDs for Mercer. Danville’s Braidin Baughman rushed for 120 yards and two scores.
Frederick Douglass 54, Paul Laurence Dunbar 7: The Broncos (4-0) scored 52 or more points for the third time in as many games this season in a blowout home win over Dunbar (1-3).
Senior running back TJ Horton had three rushing touchdowns for the Broncos, who only allowed three total offensive yards to the Bulldogs. Tresean Bedford added a 69-yard pick-six. TJ Horton, Tylon Dunn, Cameron Dunn and Josiah Lemond also scored.
Dunbar’s lone touchdown came on a 3-yard rush by senior Cole Colony on a drive that was aided by four Broncos penalties totaling 50 yards.
Boyle County 31, Henderson County 17: Montavin Quisenberry had a key interception and scored two of his four TD catches of the game in the fourth quarter as the Rebels (4-0) outlasted Henderson County (2-1). Sage Dawson had 145 yards passing and the four scores to go with 100 yards rushing. Quisenberry had 116 yards receiving.
Woodford County 54, Tates Creek 0: The Yellow Jackets (4-0) scored four TDs each in their pass and run games against the Commodores (1-3). That included passing throws by sophomore quarterback Andrew Nason (two), senior kicker Sawyer Ford and senior wide receiver Aden Nelson. Kenyun Maxberry, Leland Taylor, Dayvion Preston and Nason scored the rushing TDs.
Madison Southern 37, Lafayette 6: The Eagles (1-3) put up 437 yards of total offense — nearly four times as much as Lafayette (0-4). Madison Southern seniors Juan Rodriguez and Cade Sullivan each had more than 100 rushing yards to go with junior quarterback Ethan Woods’ three passing TDs. Two were caught by sophomore Ethan Moore.
Lexington Catholic 42, Pleasure Ridge Park 19: The Knights (3-1) scored 21 points in both the second and third quarters for a comeback home win over the Panthers (2-2). Senior Walker Hall had 132 net rushing yards and one rushing score for the Knights, who also got a whopping five passing touchdowns from junior Jackson Wasik. Pleasure Ridge Park senior wide receiver Jakob Dixon, a UK commit, had eight catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
Paris 42, Ludlow 8: Greyhounds QB Kaden Fredrick threw for a career-high 206 yards and two TDs, including a 67-yard strike to Tray Murrell in the first quarter. Murrell had 107 yards receiving to lead Paris (3-1), who also got a rushing and receiving TDs from Jakari Ransom and TD runs by Jayden Holman and Brandon Cruz. Paris lineman Preston Cowan notched a team-high 17 tackles with two sacks and three tackles for a loss.
Clark County 67, Montgomery County 17: The Cardinals (4-0) are off to their best start since 2008 after a sizable win in the War On I-64 rivalry game against Montgomery County (0-3). Clark’s scores included a short rushing touchdown by sophomore Kalen Washington, a fumble recovery by senior Jesse McQuade and a 6-yard receiving touchdown by junior Zaydin Turner.
Ballard 44, Franklin County 8: The Bruins (4-0) dominated from the outset with TDs by Maurice Stephens, Kannon Wyche, Steven Shanklin, Jaden Minkins, Journey Wyche and Grant Berkley. Minkins scored his TD on a 44-yard punt return in the first half and had a key interception early against the Flyers (1-3).
West Jessamine 49, Harrison County 41: Jacob Jones rushed for three TDs and threw for two more as the Colts fended off a late charge from the Thorobreds (1-3). West Jessamine’s Dalton Carter had a short TD run and a 14-yard TD catch to go along with Brody Jones 31-yard TD reception. Kayden Custard threw for 185 yards and two TDs to go with 137 yards and a score rushing for Harrison.
Madison Central 56, South Laurel 6: Hagan Harrison connected on three TD passes to Jayden West, including a 57-yard bomb, while Brock Eads added a scoring run and catch and the Indians (4-0) rolled.
Great Crossing 37, East Jessamine 7: Gabe Nichols had two TDs passing and two rushing as the Warhawks (4-0) defense held the Jaguars to 68 yards of total offense. Great Crossing defensive end Oryend Fisher, who recently committed to West Virginia, had a pair of sacks to give him 8.5 QB takedowns on the season.
North Laurel 27, Shelby Valley 12: The Jaguars (2-1) scored 20 unanswered to take control at home. Tucker Warren threw TD passes of 8 yards to Jack Chappell and 65 yards to John Begley for the Jags, who also got two rushing TDs from Ethan Gregory. Russ Osborne scored both TDs for the Wildcats (2-2).
East Carter 44, West Carter 8: The Raiders snapped a two-game losing streak in the Battle for the Barrel with Isaac Boggs rushing for 123 yards and three TDs, including a 63-yard burst in the second quarter. Eli Estepp threw for 145 yards and scores of 30 yards to Mikey Hall and 57 yards to Gabe Roberts.
Bell County 40, Lincoln County 30: Daniel Thomas rushed for 280 yards and three TDs and had a 66-yard TD reception on his way to 373 all-purpose yards for the Bobcats (2-1). He also had 13 tackles.
Spencer County 43, Collins 37: Camden Cardwell rushed for 182 yards and three TDs and Gabe Bowling added two rushing scores to go with a single pass completion good for a 47-yard TD to Brice Roark for the Bears (4-0). Collins’ Kenton Goodin had 198 yards rushing and three TDs to go with 189 passing yards and two scores for the Titans (3-1).
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 1:06 PM.
