‘Keeping our eye on the prize.’ Douglass shrugs off miscues to reach state semis again.
Frederick Douglass’ players weren’t happy with themselves after a halting first half against Madison Central in which they led only 14-0 and had four unsportsmanlike penalties in the final minute of the second quarter.
Historically, such mistakes are the Broncos’ Achilles’ heel and they know it. Teammates argued with teammates to try to get it under control.
While the yellow flags didn’t abate much, Douglass’ focus grew intense as it reeled off three second-half touchdowns in succession to pull away to a 36-6 home win over the Indians, capturing the program’s sixth straight region championship and a corresponding Class 6A state semifinals appearance.
First-half touchdown runs by Dakari Talbert and TayTay Allen helped stake Douglass to its 14-0 lead.
But in trying to go up by three scores before halftime, Douglass was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on back-to-back plays in the final minute. That gave the Broncos a comical second-and-goal from their own 32-yard line after 60 yards were marked off. They opted to let the clock run out.
Later, two Douglass penalties on Madison Central’s first possession of the second half helped the Indians sustain a 12-play, 84-yard drive capped by Bryant Mathis’ 4-yard touchdown run.
The extra point was blocked, but Madison Central, which didn’t get a first down in the first half, somehow cut the Broncos’ lead to 14-6 with 3:03 left in the third quarter.
“Obviously, we’ve got to do better with keeping our composure. We can’t do that next week and survive,” said Douglass coach Nathan McPeek, whose team otherwise dominated Madison Central despite a total of 15 penalties for 196 yards. “I’ve got to be better than that, but I thought our kids played physical football. We made some good adjustments at halftime with what they were doing.”
After Mathis’ score, the game turned dramatically on the ensuing kickoff as Douglass senior wideout Derion Talbert waterbugged his way across the field for a 77-yard touchdown to help put Douglass up 21-6.
“At first I thought I had the edge, but then everybody who was on the other side came over and cut me off,” said Talbert, who missed the first seven games of the season recovering from a knee injury. “So, I was like, ‘OK,’ I’m always going to find a way — or try to at least.”
Douglass struck quickly after a Madison Central fumble moments later. Peyton Smith flipped the field with a 46-yard run that helped set up Dakari Talbert’s 23-yard touchdown for a 28-6 lead with 33 seconds left in the third quarter. Smith got his own touchdown on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter as Douglass set the final margin. Dakari Talbert finished with a game-high 101 yards rushing.
The Broncos’ defense held Madison Central to 126 total yards. Most of those yards and all nine first downs came on the Indians’ scoring drive.
“The thing about this game and the reason we played so well in the end is because we played for each other,” Derion Talbert said. “It’s about not giving up and keeping our eye on the prize. That’s what we did and why we got it done.”
Next, Douglass (9-4) travels to Trinity (11-2) in Louisville on Friday to play for a spot in the Class 6A state championship at Kroger Field. This is the second year in a row Douglass has had to face the Shamrocks on their own turf in the state semis. Douglass lost 14-7 last year in overtime to the eventual state champs.
Despite a number of turnovers and penalties, Douglass looked competitive in its Aug. 30 game against Trinity this season, a 23-13 loss at The Farm.
“We’ve got a chance,” McPeek said. “Any time you’ve got an opportunity to practice on Thanksgiving it’s a special year. The regular season wasn’t what we wanted it to be, being at 6-4, but I think it’s helped us now. That’s the biggest thing.”
Class 6A state semifinals
▪ No. 4 Frederick Douglass (9-4) at No. 3 Trinity (Louisville) (11-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
▪ No. 9 Great Crossing (10-3) at No. 2 Ryle (11-2), 7 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 7:26 AM.
