Upsets abound: Lexington Catholic, LCA win on the road; CovCath stuns No. 1 Boyle County
Each of the last two years, Lexington Christian’s Class 2A state title hopes went down the West Kentucky Parkway to die in the cold confines of Mayfield’s War Memorial Stadium.
On Friday, the Eagles set fire to those regrets and torched the defending state champion Cardinals 47-7 to win a region title and advance to next week’s state semifinals.
LCA quarterback Saxton Howard rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 144 yards and two more scores as the Eagles (11-2) took control of the game from the outset.
Howard broke away for touchdown runs of 44 and 35 yards inside the game’s first four minutes.
“We thought if we took care of business up front, Saxton would have a big game,” LCA coach Doug Charles said. “And he balled out. He was great, made great decisions and threw the ball enough to keep them honest. It was quite the performance.”
Leland Edwards benefited from LCA’s standout offensive line, too, rushing for 130 yards and two TDs as the Eagles offense outgained Mayfield 522 yards to 279.
Tyler King’s 17-yard TD catch from Howard put LCA up 20-0 early in the second quarter. Hunter Adams’ 17-yard TD catch from Howard put the Eagles up 40-7 midway through the third quarter.
Mayfield (10-2) got its lone score on Ian Williams’ 1-yard TD run with 5:09 to play in the first half. LCA’s defense also forced two fumbles.
Charles jokingly attributed his team’s outstanding play to a switch-up of their entire routine heading down to Mayfield. For the first time, LCA broke the trip in half with a stopover in Bowling Green the day before and a practice on the Purples’ field.
“We changed up all the juju, man,” Charles said. “We wore different uniforms. We ate at a different place for our pregame meal. We just said ‘we’ve got to mix up the juju.’”
Next, No. 4 LCA will head to No. 3 Beechwood (12-1) for their state semifinals matchup. It was the Tigers who twice denied LCA state titles in 2020 and 2021 in heart-wrenching fashion. Charles hopes this team can keep on surprising.
“We’ve had some really, really talented football players who have made this trip and just weren’t able to get it done — no discredit to them. This bunch here, a lot of people had written off and written our obituaries when we started 0-2,” Charles said. “But our guys accepted coaching and it’s just been a wonderful experience to see them achieve some success.”
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Lexington Catholic goes from 0-6 to region champs
Lexington Catholic’s 0-6 start to the season is a mere footnote now.
That’s because coach Nick Baisch’s Knights went on the road at Class 3A No. 2 Bell County and defeated the Bobcats 21-8 for the school’s second consecutive region championship and a berth in the state semifinals.
“It was quite a game. Bell County is a tough team and our team just kept plugging away and believing in each other,” Baisch said. “It was fun. It was exciting. It’s what you expect in a region championship.”
No. 17 LexCath got a break early as Bell County fumbled on its own 14-yard line on its second play from scrimmage. The Knights capitalized with a 1-yard touchdown run by Aven Blair.
But Bell responded later in the first quarter with a 14-yard TD run by its top rusher, Kaleb Miller. Miller also ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead Bell County would hold for the next 25-plus minutes of game time.
Lexington’s Catholic’s defense frustrated Bell County’s powerful rushing attack, turning back drive after drive as the Bobcats failed to convert fourth downs in Knights territory. Blair also had an interception to end one.
“Our defense kept bending and not breaking,” Baisch said. “When it was time to bow up and get stops, they made stops when we needed it.”
LexCath finally retook the lead on Blair’s second touchdown run, a 14-yarder that helped put the Knights up 14-8 early in the fourth quarter. Blair made it a hat trick to close out the game when he scored on a 9-yard TD run with a minute left in the game.
All of the teams who handed Lexington Catholic its six losses remained alive in their respective class playoffs going into Friday night. Four of them advanced to their state semifinals. The winless start was tough. But never mind that now.
“It was just a very well team-played game from us,” Baisch said. “Our guys bonded together. They’re a resilient bunch.”
For the second year in a row, the Knights (7-6) will head to Christian Academy-Louisville (10-3) on Friday to play for a spot at Kroger Field. CAL beat LexCath 43-8 there last season.
Covington Catholic stuns No. 1 Boyle County
Covington Catholic forced a fumble at its own 1-yard line through the end zone to deny four-time defending Class 4A champion Boyle County a go-ahead score with 1:39 to play in the game, and the Colonels shocked the nationally ranked Rebels with a 31-28 win in Title Town.
The victory snapped Boyle County’s 32-game win streak that yielded four state titles, including a 41-0 win over Covington Catholic last year at Kroger Field.
“We came in confident, and I think that was the biggest key, our confidence coming into the game,” CovCath quarterback Cash Harney told LinkNKy.com. “We know what happened last year. Totally different team.”
Harney rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 98 yards that included an incredible 80-yard touchdown pass to Oliver Link that helped put the Colonels up 21-14 with 8:09 left in the third quarter. Montavin Quisenberry respond by taking the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game back up 21-21.
The Rebels, ranked as high as No. 13 nationally, took their first lead, 28-24, on a 45-yard TD run by Quisenberry with 10:54 to play in the fourth quarter.
CovCath answered on its next series to retake the lead on Owen Pitzer’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Baylor Murphy threw a 22-yard TD pass to Seneca Driver in the first quarter, but the Rebels went away from the passing attack thereafter.
Quisenberry, a senior Kentucky commit, took on primary running back duties after starting rusher Demauriah Brown suffered an injury in the first quarter. He played most of the second half as a wildcat quarterback and rushed for 246 yards and two TDs.
Boyle County lost a fumble on its first series to set up CovCath’s first score and fumbled in its last series to doom its chances. The last fumble has drawn controversy on social media as a grainy video appeared to show that Quisenberry might have been down by contact on the play, but the officials ruled otherwise after a conference.
That doesn’t take away Covington Catholic’s amazing offensive performance on the road to put themselves in position for the win.
“They’ve been on a tear for the last two years, so for our program to come down here on the road — and I think everybody’s counted us out all year long, and we came here and our kids just fought,” Covington Catholic coach Eddie Eviston told LinkNky.com.
Great Crossing rolls over Barren County
Great Crossing’s Luke Ballard rushed for a school record 323 yards and four touchdowns and quarterback Jeremiah Clark threw for two TDs and had two rushing scores of his own as the Warhawks blasted Barren County 59-14 at the Birds Nest.
No. 9 Great Crossing (10-3) claimed the first region championship in its short program history and will go to No. 2 Ryle (11-2) next Friday for the Class 6A state semifinals.
Clark’s touchdown passes went to Hunter Moody on a 32-yard strike and to Taron Lewis for a 19 yards, both in the first half.
The Warhawks expanded a 17-14 lead with 4:23 left in the second quarter to 31-14 with two quick scores by halftime — a 37-yard TD run by Clark and the Lewis score after Barren fumbled on its own 18-yard line moments later.
Barren couldn’t stop Great Crossing the rest of the game.
The Warhawks and Ryle are district rivals in Class 6A, and the Raiders humbled Great Crossing 36-8 in their Oct. 18 regular season game in Union.
But after Great Crossing’s sensational upset of No. 1 Manual in the second round, it could have another surprise in store for the state semifinals.
Franklin County routs Bardstown
Franklin County racked up 328 yards rushing and had two TD runs each by Delano Collins and Landon Cottrell and one each from Jayquan Crawford and LeDarrius Simmons in a 49-12 rout of visiting Bardstown.
Jack Oldham led the No. 2 Flyers (12-0) with 161 yards rushing, which included an 86-yard burst in the first half. Quarterback Knox Barrett also threw a TD pass to Elisius Robinson.
Bardstown (9-4) scored on an 80-yard TD run by Amonti Marshall and a 50-yard pick six by Jayvyn Montgomery, both in the first half.
The win gives Franklin County its fifth straight region championship under head coach Eddie James. The Flyers will host their Class 4A state semifinals matchup with No. 7 Covington Catholic.
Friday
All times local to site and subject to change.
CLASS 6A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 9 Great Crossing (10-3) at No. 2 Ryle (11-2)
7:30 p.m.: No. 4 Frederick Douglass (9-4) at No. 3 Trinity (Louisville) (11-2)
CLASS 5A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 7 Highlands (11-2) at No. 1 Cooper (13-0)
7 p.m.: No. 5 Bowling Green (11-2) at No. 2 South Warren (12-1)
CLASS 4A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 7 Covington Catholic (11-2) at No. 2 Franklin County (12-0)
7 p.m.: No. 4 Corbin (12-1) at No. 3 Paducah Tilghman (13-0)
CLASS 3A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 7 Belfry (11-2) at No. 5 Union County (11-2)
7:30 p.m.: No. 17 Lexington Catholic (7-6) at No. 1 Christian Academy-Louisville (10-3)
CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 4 Lexington Christian (10-2) at No. 3 Beechwood (12-1)
7 p.m.: No. 10 Somerset (9-4) at No. 1 Owensboro Catholic (13-0)
CLASS A SEMIFINALS
7 p.m.: No. 3 Campbellsville (11-2) at No. 2 Sayre (13-0)
7 p.m.: No. 4 Raceland (9-4) at No. 1 Kentucky Country Day (10-2)
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 12:03 PM.
