Highlights: Bryan Station, LCA back on track; Sayre tops No. 8 Williamsburg
Highlights from Friday’s Kentucky high school football games:
Bryan Station 42, Henry Clay 14: Defenders Coach Phillip Hawkins believes his team has begun reaping the benefits of a very difficult early schedule.
“I think it made the difference for us,” Hawkins said after Bryan Station (3-3) reeled off its third straight win after three straight losses to top-25 teams (No. 2 Frederick Douglass, No. 3 Boyle County and No. 22 Scott County). “We could evaluate the kids and then motivate them. It was a tough road, and a lot of people don’t like traveling that road. … The kids have been playing pretty good.”
Bryan Station scored the game’s first 28 points on a pair of Bayubahe Benit short runs, a 39-yard pass play from Trenton Cutwright to Damin Green and a Cutwright rushing TD. JT Haskins returned a third-quarter kickoff 71 yards for another score.
Hawkins praised his offensive line’s improved play and noted the Defenders are developing a lot of offensive weapons. Jeremiah Mundy-Lloyd averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Green and Haskins each caught five passes for a combined 131 yards and Dahvon Frazier broke a 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to salt the game away. Frazier finished with 138 yards rushing, the junior tight end/defensive lineman’s first 100-yard game.
“He’s getting some confidence. It’s good to have a new weapon,” Hawkins said. “He’s 6-2, 220 and can run like a DB (defensive back). He’s going to make a difference.”
Quarterback Malcolm Paul accounted for both Henry Clay scores in the second half, a 1-yard run and a 45-yard pass to Walden Cole at the end of the game. He threw two interceptions, one to Haskins and the other to Frazier. The Blue Devils (2-4) also lost three fumbles.
Next up, Bryan Station enters district play against Clark County, a team that’s off to its best start in years. Hawkins hopes the three straight wins are just the beginning.
“Maybe we’ll turn into the team we thought we were going to be,” Hawkins said. “It’d be nice to run seven in a row off. I’d be fine with that.”
Sayre 35, Williamsburg 21: The Spartans (4-2) won on homecoming thanks to touchdowns from junior Travis Smith (two scores), sophomore Owen Murphy (4-yard receiving touchdown) and sophomore Charlie Slabaugh (receiving and rushing touchdowns) over the Yellow Jackets (3-2), who were ranked No. 8 in the state in Class A by the AP.
“We had a good offensive game plan,” Slabaugh said of the Sayre win postgame to PrepSpin.com. “I didn’t have to worry about being open on my routes or being blocked for on my runs. It was just a matter of executing what coach told us to do all week.”
Slabaugh’s straightforward description of what led to the Sayre victory was exemplified late in the game, on the play that secured the win for the Spartans.
With less than a minute to go, Slabaugh shook free on a third-down rush and scored a 33-yard rushing touchdown.
“It was third-and-long, so I knew I had to get that first down,” Slabaugh said. “I came up on the corner and (the defender) was there and leaning out, so I thought I had a lane on the inside. Then it was a foot race.”
Pikeville 50, Madison Central 14: The Class A No. 1 Panthers (4-2) put on a mercy-rule running clock score against Class 6A No. 5 Madison Central (5-1) thanks to a big-play offense and a stifling defense that grabbed two interceptions and a fumble.
Pikeville got a 25-yard pass play from Isaac Duty to Wade Hensley, a 58-yard TD run by Tayvion Boykins, a 32-yard TD run by Brendan Anthony and a 74-yard TD run by Carson Wright in the rout. Sam Wright returned Pikeville’s first interception for a touchdown to open the scoring. Duty threw another short TD to Hensley and got his own 5-yard scoring run, as well.
Madison Central tied the game 7-7 with a short Brock Eads run midway through the second quarter, but it had its next two drives end in turnovers, the first via a Hensley interception in the end zone. Bryant Mathis scored on a 60-plus yard the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-14, but the Indians could not stop Pikeville’s offense the rest of the way.
Paul Laurence Dunbar 14, Tates Creek 11: Senior Cole Colony threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to senior Jaden Commodore and senior Noah Chapman broke free for a 43-yard scoring run as Dunbar (3-4) won a low-scoring contest against Tates Creek (1-6).
Tates Creek’s lone touchdown came on a 5-yard pass from junior Andrew Witherington to senior Ke’shon Douthitt, and the duo connected again just moments later for a successful two-point conversion.
The Commodores have lost six straight games since a season-opening win over Mercer County.
Woodford County 77, West Jessamine 35: Woodford County (6-0) broke open a game tied 28-28 late in the second quarter with an even bigger offensive explosion on the road in the second half as its defense locked down the Colts (3-4) down the stretch.
The Yellow Jackets got three TDs from Preston Stacy, including a 51-yarder to open the scoring, a 27-yard TD run by Kenyun Maxberry, and scoring runs of 44 and 8 yards by QB Andrew Nason. Nason also threw TD passes to Mahki Smith and Aden Nelson.
West Jessamine QB Jacob Jones threw TD passes of 49 and 77 yards to Dalton Carter and 21 and 8 yards to his brother Brody Jones in addition to a 79-yard TD run, but the Colts could not answer Woodford score for score in the second half.
Woodford County has scored 36 or more points in all six of its games this season.
Lexington Christian 56, Washington County 21: Cutter Boley threw for 380 yards and five touchdowns as the Eagles (3-4) ended their three-game losing streak with a district blowout over the Commanders (3-4).
LCA outscored Washington County 42-7 in the second quarter to take control of the game with TD passes of 25 and 46 yards from Boley to Parker Chaney, 81 yards to Will Nichols, a 10-yard Boley scoring run and two short-yardage TDs by BJ Evans.
Chaney set the school record for receptions in a game last week in the loss to Pikeville with 18.
Knox Central 62, Bourbon County 61: Panthers quarterback Steve Partin rushed for 316 yards and six TDs and had a 40-yard Hail Mary fall into the lap of KT Turner at the end of the first half as a pile of defenders and receivers fell to the ground.
That play, which was made possible by a Bourbon County fumble at midfield with 22 seconds left in the second quarter, would prove pivotal for the Panthers (4-2) in a wild back-and-forth game against the Colonels (1-5).
Bourbon County got big plays from quarterback Clay Estes (147 yards, two TDs passing, 39 yards, one TD rushing) and Josh Moody (120 yards, three TDs). Bourbon County answered the Hail Mary with an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown by Marcus Floyd.
Frederick Douglass 57, Grant County 0: Frederick Douglass (7-0) stayed perfect on the season thanks to a second straight shutout victory, this time over still winless Grant County (0-7).
The Broncos were led statistically by junior quarterback Cole Carpenter (184 passing yards and four passing touchdowns), senior wide receiver Cameron Dunn (two catches for 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns) and junior defensive lineman Marciano Jenkins (3.5 total tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery).
Scott County 43, Great Crossing 0: Sophomore quarterback Andrew Hickey threw for 184 passing yards and three touchdowns as Scott County (5-1) shut out Great Crossing (5-1) in a statement win in front of 4,500 fans at the Birds Nest in Georgetown.
Scott County led 29-0 at the half and also recorded 241 net rushing yards, led by 84 rushing yards from junior fullback Jacob Fryman, just one week after the Cardinals were shutout themselves by Frederick Douglass.
Clark County 56, Lafayette 7: The Cardinals (5-1) scored a remarkable 42 points in the first quarter in a convincing road victory at Lafayette (0-7). The Cardinals had 269 net rushing yards and 109 net passing yards in the win, and they recorded 14 points from Lafayette turnovers. Lafayette’s lone score was a 21-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Mac King to junior wide receiver Kevin Amuri.
Collins 41, Whitley County 21: Kenyon Goodin rushed for 88 yards and three TDs and threw for 201 yards and another score to primary target Darius Evans for the Titans (5-1). Evans had 137 yards receiving and had a 10-yard scoop and score of a Whitley County fumble on the opening kickoff. Shane Parker led Whitley County (1-5) with 135 yards rushing and a TD.
Madison Southern 48, East Jessamine 0: The Eagles (2-5) recorded their first shutout since 2016 and got two rushing TDs each from Jayshaun Ethridge and Cade Sullivan. With regular starting QB Ethan Woods out for undisclosed reasons, according to the Richmond Register, Madison Southern unveiled a run-heavy game plan East Jessamine (0-7) could not stop. Stephen White, Braeden Kelly and Juan Rodriquez also scored rushing TDs.
Mercer County 56, Western Hills 6: Kingston Mays tore away a Wolverines fumble and took it 39 yards for a score and Denim Griffin notched three first half touchdowns for the visiting Titans (3-4). Thaddeus Mays also hit Ashton Drakeford for a 40-yard TD pass as Mercer established a 42-6 running clock lead before half. Western Hills (1-5) got an 80-yard TD run from Jaden Youngblood.
Southwestern 27, North Laurel 13: The Warriors (6-0) opened district play with some clutch second-half defense and a 68-yard fourth-quarter score by Maddox Mink for the road victory. Southwestern got 205 yards rushing from their running back committee with Christian Walden scoring twice and Maison Hibbard grabbing the other TD. North Laurel (4-2) cut Southwestern’s lead to 14-13 early in the fourth quarter on a score by Austin Johnson, but Mink’s burst and a turnover on downs at its own 29-yard line on its next possession helped Southwestern seal the win.
Franklin County 38, North Oldham 20: It was the rushing attack that led Franklin County (3-4) to a road win at North Oldham (3-4), with sophomore Christian Moore going for 121 rushing yards and a touchdown and senior Gilead Galloway going for 98 rushing yards and a score of his own.
Bell County 28, Rockcastle County 7: Daniel Thomas rushed for 285 yards and three TDs as the Bobcats (5-1) defense held the Rockets (3-4) scoreless until the dying minutes. Dawson Woolum also scored for Bell.
Covington Catholic 43, Boone County 0: Owen Leen rushed for 221 yards and three TDs for the Colonels (6-1), who also got scoring runs from Evan Pitzer, Zacc Roberts and Marcus Suwinski in the blowout.
This story was originally published October 1, 2022 at 11:37 AM.
