Douglass and Woodford County boys lacrosse win inaugural region championships
The new Frederick Douglass High School opened in August 2017.
The reestablishment meant new facilities and another secondary education option for many Lexington students attending Edythe Jones Hayes Middle School, a longtime feeder to Henry Clay High School.
With its opening, Frederick Douglass gained somewhat of an immediate rival for Henry Clay, with boys lacrosse serving as one of its fiercest examples. And, on Monday night, the Broncos hoisted the inaugural 7th Region championship trophy, earning the right to host their first-round game in the first KHSAA Boys Lacrosse State Tournament with a 10-2 victory against the Blue Devils.
Frederick Douglass (14-4, 7-0 7th Region), coached by former Tates Creek and Transylvania University attacker Chris Schaefer and led in scoring all season by junior Jimmy Hooks, narrowly defeated Henry Clay 13-12 on April 29 — a win Schaefer himself said was secured in “a flukey way,” — so the high energy and grit on display in Monday’s 7th Region championship was necessary for the Broncos to handle their business.
“It means the world,” Hooks said. “This is something that I’ve been working at for as long as I can remember. You know, since Douglass opened, I knew I wanted to come here and play lacrosse … a lot of the players come from the same middle school, E.J. Hayes, so I’ve played with a lot of these boys since I was 12, 13 years old. And to be able to go against them in a huge game like this, it means everything.”
Named a member of the All-7th Region Tournament Team, Hooks was responsible for three goals and two assists. As Schaefer put it, “the offense goes through him.”
“Just being able to have such a key role and facilitate and help not only my teammates, but my best friends, succeed in something like that, it means the world to me,” Hooks said.
Hooks scored all three of his goals in the first half, including two in the first quarter, following Leland Bayne’s answer to put Henry Clay on the board and tie the game 1-1 in the sixth minute.
The game plan entering the championship? Team offense, per Hooks, with the goal being to attack from the top before facilitating and working the opposite side. In hopes of avoiding another close game, the Broncos wanted to stake their claim early; the region title game was a place to score first, score quickly and score a lot.
“We knew that if we could come out and just be physical and punch them in the mouth early, it would give us a pretty good chance,” Schaefer said. “We knew that they would keep fighting back. If you asked me before the game if I expected it to be 10-2, I don’t know if I’d believe that. But, I mean, testament to the kids, they were physical the entire time, and it was really fun to watch. I couldn’t stop smiling over there.”
Henry Clay head coach Ben Ternosky said “it took about until about the second half for (the Blue Devils) to really pick up the pace,” and that, in a game where “it only takes about three seconds to score a goal,” lacrosse is often a game of momentum, and a game of runs.
“We were kind of flat pretty much the whole half,” Ternosky said. “It didn’t take about the mid-third quarter, where we started to show some life. But I think at that point, the flow of the game was too much on Douglass’ side for us to overcome tonight. Their coach did a great job getting their boys ready, and they’re gonna be a good team to reckon with in the playoffs.”
The game, as rivalry matchups often do, got chippy, but the Douglass defense, anchored by region tournament MVP and junior goalie Will Hart, ensured that the Broncos “play hard, play physical, (with) a lot of contact.”
“Just stay calm, cool, collected,” Hart said. “Just be ready for everything.”
The MVP recorded 18 saves while allowing just two goals, the first-quarter shot from Bayne and a third-quarter goal from Max Thayer, which put Hart at a 90% save rate in the title game. Hart wasn’t available to play in Frederick Douglass’ regular-season contest against the Blue Devils, a tough spot that meant, according to Schaefer, “it took everything from everybody to win that game.”
“So he showed tonight what kind of player he is,” Schaefer said. “… He’s a game-changer. I mean, having a goalie that can make saves that he’s not supposed to make, it gives everybody else on the field a different kind of confidence. And I think that that translates to everybody else; the offense can play a little looser, defense can be more aggressive. It just makes the train go. It’s the steam that powers the locomotive. He was awesome today.”
The Broncos’ defense was bolstered by four takeaways from junior Taj Chattha and two takeaways from all-tournament selection sophomore Landon Davis. Junior midfielder Ben Seely secured six ground balls. Senior Reid Mizeur scored three goals, including the final dagger with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Junior Chase Upchurch recorded two goals and one assist. Sophomore Luke Price and junior Nolan Falloway each scored one goal.
Frederick Douglass will host 8th Region runner-up Lexington Catholic at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the single-elimination state tournament.
7th Region All-Tournament Team: Landon Davis, Jimmy Hooks, Aiden Shepherd, Will Hart (MVP), Frederick Douglass; Max Thayer, Griffin Kaylor, Will Kite, Henry Clay; Paul Coppedge, Will Moore, Sayre; Mason Euler, Tyler Andrews, Great Crossing; Douglas Christopher, Scott County; Jonathan Farrar, Bryan Station.
Woodford County claims 8th Region title
Woodford County’s Aidan McMahon scored seven goals and had three assists to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 21-7 victory over tournament host Lexington Catholic to capture the first KHSAA 8th Region boys lacrosse championship in state history Monday.
Woodford County, last year’s Commonwealth Lacrosse League champions in the sport’s final season as a non-sanctioned club sport, took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Knights 8-2 in the period for a 13-4 halftime lead.
“I thought we played pretty well. It was a little more physical, so we got a few bumps and bruises,” Woodford County coach Ted Wilson said. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re good for state first round. We’re ready to host.”
Cole Humston led Woodford in assists with six to go with his three goals. Drew Sumner scored four times, Grey Hodge, three, Behr Wheeler, two, and Charlie Twehues and Andrew Spellman had one goal each.
Woodford will host 7th Region runner-up Henry Clay at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the state tournament.
8th Region All-Tournament Team: Joe Dale, Cole Humston, Aidan McMahon, and Grey Hodge (MVP), Woodford County; Alex Vennari, Aven Blair, Graham Harris, Lexington Catholic; Parker Ray and Porter Harris, Lexington Christian; Fisher Hale and Dominic Zehnder; Josh Johnson, Tates Creek; and Graham Foster, Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Boys Lacrosse State Tournament
WEDNESDAY’S FIRST ROUND
DeSales at South Warren, 7 p.m.
Louisville Collegiate at Trinity (Louisville), 7 p.m.
North Oldham at Ryle, 7 p.m.
Greenwood at Manual, 7 p.m.
Kentucky Country Day at St. Xavier, 7 p.m.
Dixie Heights at South Oldham, 7 p.m.
Henry Clay at Woodford County, 7 p.m.
Lexington Catholic at Frederick Douglass, 7 p.m.
Herald-Leader sports writer Jared Peck also contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 10:39 AM.
