‘A long time coming.’ George Rogers Clark ends playoff drought with road win vs. Lafayette
Facing a 6-0 halftime deficit on the road, George Rogers Clark had to switch things up against Lafayette on Friday in the first round of Kentucky high school football’s Class 6A playoffs.
Clark had stuck to a mostly running attack with senior quarterback JD Mastin at the helm for the first two quarters. When it was time for fellow senior Sam Clements to take some snaps, the Cardinals let it fly.
Clements connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Kamden McAlpin on Clark’s second possession of the third quarter to help the Cardinals take the lead on the way to a 14-6 win at Lafayette.
“We just had to go back to our roots and throw the ball around,” said Clements, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 78 yards in the second half.
The win marked the Cardinals’ first playoff victory since 2019 and only their second postseason win since 2009.
“It’s been a long time coming, honestly,” Clements said. “It’s a good feeling.”
The go-ahead drive started with an interception by senior defensive back Camahni John that snuffed an 11-play, 49-yard drive by the Generals. John picked it at the 16 and ran it back 22 yards.
From there, the momentum of the game swung toward the team from Winchester. Lafayette fumbled on its next possession. It had a 19-yard field goal blocked on the one after that.
Clark then embarked on an 80-yard drive that included a 54-yard run by Trey Davis and was capped by a 5-yard TD carry by Yeremiah Israel.
“You’ve got to keep believing and keep pounding the rock,” Clark coach Joe Chirico said. “We might not make this play or that play, but sometimes it just takes a step one way or the other.”
Clark (5-6) has had a tumultuous season. The Cardinals notched impressive road wins over Belfry and Madison Central but also took six losses against a difficult schedule that included Ballard and Franklin County in addition to top-10 district rivals Bryan Station and Frederick Douglass.
“It’s been up and down, but our kids continue to work and fight hard,” Chirico said. “And that’s a good thing.”
Chirico is in his fourth season at Clark after leading Paintsville to the Class A state championship in 2020. Despite its losing record, Chirico has been encouraged by Clark’s progress this year and the rally it made against Lafayette.
“It’s a great win for our school and our team and a great opportunity to play next week,” Chirico said.
Next week brings a rematch with No. 4 Frederick Douglass at The Farm. Douglass defeated Clark 35-0 in Winchester on Oct. 25.
“I’m not even thinking about it,” Chirico said of the Douglass game. “I’m going to enjoy this one opportunity, and we’ll grow from it. We’ve got to get used to being successful in the playoffs.”
Lafayette scored late in the second quarter of a halting first half in which both teams struggled offensively. Yaya Chenault recovered a Clark fumble near midfield with 7:21 till halftime. A 23-yard run by Triston Taylor and a 26-yard pass from Ransom Payton to Jackson Stephens set up Payton’s 1-yard TD plunge a few minutes later.
But Lafayette couldn’t keep pace in the second half, turning the ball over on three of its four possessions, including an interception by Clark linebacker Scotty Mitchell at the 1-yard line on the Generals’ last drive of the game.
Regardless, Lafayette (6-5) finished the season with a winning record for the first time since 2016. Third-year head coach Jon Lawson went winless in his first season. In his second season, Lafayette won two games, including a 25-12 home win over Moore that snapped a 19-game losing streak.
This year marked another step in the right direction.
“I just made sure they understood how important it was, the steps they took this year to turn this program around,” Lawson said about his postgame message to the team. “It was very meaningful. It’s going to be impactful for the future. And they just need to understand they didn’t lose anything today just because we lost this game. We’ve made so many gains this year. … We’re moving forward and we’re going to continue to get better.”
Other Lexington games
Lexington Catholic 53, West Carter 7: The Knights (5-6) got a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by Baird Woodall and Mark Hosinski and a punt return TD by Duncan Gaunce in a rout of the visiting Comets (5-6). Matthew Kern added a pair of TD runs to go along with rushing scores by Aven Blair and Cam Sweeney. Sweeney also connected on a TD pass to Brady Wasik.
Lexington Christian 49, Green County 14: The Eagles (9-2) rolled up a 36-0 mercy-rule margin with 3:17 left in the first quarter against the visiting Dragons (2-9). Leland Edwards and Daven Hood each scored a pair of touchdowns to start. The first of Hood’s scores was a 37-yard punt return. Saxton Howard then threw a 37-yard TD pass to Hunter Adams for the 36-0 lead. Mac Darland and Jeffrey Calico also scored TDs in the rout.
Sayre 63, Fairview 0: Luke Pennington threw four TD passes, including strikes of 9 yards to Paul Miller, 28 and 17 yards to Brock Coffman, and 38 yards to Kemone Braxton as the Spartans (11-0) dismissed the Eagles (5-6). Caden Jones added a pair of rushing TDs and running scores by Charlie Slabaugh, Amanual Arms and Gage Pennington. .
Frederick Douglass 42, Paul Laurence Dunbar 0: Derion Talbert took the first play from scrimmage for a 70-yard touchdown and the Broncos (7-4) rolled over the visiting Bulldogs (1-9) on Thursday at The Farm. Jaxon Strautman threw TD passes of 64 yards to Aveion Chenault, 12 yards to Talbert and 40 yards to Terry Cason. Peyton Smith added a 45-yard TD run. Carter Ross capped the scoring with a 69-yard TD run.
Next week’s Lexington matchups
Date and times to be determined:
▪ East Carter at Lexington Catholic.
▪ George Rogers Clark at Frederick Douglass.
▪ Madison Central at Bryan Station.
▪ Paris at Sayre.
▪ W.E.B. DuBois at Lexington Christian.
