‘A very, very emotional win.’ Kentucky high school team enjoys ray of light amid tragedy.
A battle of winless high school football teams delivered an emotional victory for East Jessamine on Friday night.
The Jaguars defeated visiting Anderson County 14-6, ending a 21-game losing streak that has included two tragic losses of life along the way.
A season ago, the Jaguars mourned the tragic death of freshman Jacoby Pittman and then, just before the start of this season, sophomore Joseph Seagraves died in an accident on a family outing.
“When you compound the death of two teenagers and then losing week after week, this was just a very, very emotional win for us and just finally a bright spot in so many dark clouds we’ve been facing,” East Jessamine coach Mike Bowlin said.
Trailing 6-0 in the second half, quarterback Dontae Parker-Morton ran in a 14-yard touchdown that helped put East Jessamine (1-6) in the lead.
A penalty erased Anderson County’s potential go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter and then East Jessamine’s defense made a stand to deny the Bearcats (0-7) and take possession.
Needing only a first down to run out the last two minutes of the game, Deren Morton instead broke a 76-yard touchdown run on an end-around play to seal the victory.
“I threw my headset up in the air and celebrated and hugged everybody,” Bowlin said.
This story was originally published October 7, 2023 at 7:47 AM.
