‘Back on the map.’ Big plays, 4th-down gamble help Boyle County top Highlands
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boyle County stunned No. 2 Highlands 21-20 with key plays and trickery late.
- Backup QB Jhet Raleigh sealed win with 4th-down fake punt pass to Ashton Drakeford.
- Victory keeps Boyle in top playoff seeding hunt despite recent Lexington loss.
Highlands’ path to No. 1 in Class 4A took a detour in Boyle County on Friday night as the Rebels dusted themselves off from a disappointing loss last week and took down the red-hot Bluebirds 21-20 in Rebel Stadium thanks in part to two big plays and one audacious one.
Clinging to a one-point lead with two minutes left and facing a fourth-and-9 on its own 37-yard line, Boyle County sophomore quarterback Jhet Raleigh, starting his first game against Class 4A’s No. 2 team, sealed the win with a shocking first-down pass to Ashton Drakeford before most people realized the punt team wasn’t on the field.
It’s a trick play No. 4 Boyle County (3-1) has used before and practices often. It counts on its opponents thinking a routine special teams play is about to happen so that they don’t notice a wide receiver standing near the Rebels’ sideline.
“One of my assistants called it, and we said, ‘Hey, let’s try it,’” Boyle County coach Justin Haddix said. “We were going to line up, and if they covered it, we’d call a timeout.”
Raleigh calmly hit a streaking, wide-open Drakeford in stride.
“I knew the play, and he was over there open, so I threw it,” Raleigh said, matter-of-factly.
The young signal-caller, starting in place of senior Baylor Murphy — who was injured in a 17-7 loss at Lexington Catholic last week — also knew what the victory meant.
“It puts us back on the map,” he said.
Boyle County ran out the clock from there, handing Highlands (3-1) its first loss in its return to Class 4A this year after a decade in 5A.
Rebels two-way standout Seneca Driver said he never doubted his team could pull the surprise play off. Fellow senior Ji’Dyn Smith-Hisel wasn’t so sure.
“That’s a play we practice all the time and I’ve never thought it would ever work. But our backup quarterback made the throw. … It was crazy, man,” Smith-Hisel said. “For Jhet to step in and not be nervous, I’ve told him he’s going to be fine in the future. I was amazed by him. He’s a great kid and a great quarterback.”
Though Highlands coach Bob Sphire questioned whether Boyle’s fourth-down play was legal, he acknowledged his team’s loss didn’t hang on it.
“To their credit, that was a gutsy play call. And you can probably do that at home,” Sphire said. “But it didn’t really come down to that one play. Both teams had chances during the course of the game. It was just a hard fought, great football game.”
Boyle answers Highlands scores with big plays early
While Highlands sustained drives to score its first two touchdowns, Boyle County gashed huge plays in response seconds later each time in the first half.
Highlands took a 6-0 lead on a Rio Litmer 12-yard TD pass to John Feldbrugge with 2:08 left in the first quarter. The conversion attempt failed.
Less than a minute later, Smith-Hisel broke through the Bluebirds’ defense for a 73-yard touchdown run to help give Boyle County a 7-6 lead.
Tayden Lorenzen pounded in a go-ahead score on fourth-and-goal from inches away to put Highlands back on top 13-7 with 5:28 left in the second quarter.
Barely a half-minute later, Boyle County retook the lead 14-13 after Raleigh hit Driver up the middle for an 89-yard touchdown pass that the latter powered into the end zone with Bluebirds vainly trying to bring the 6-7, 235-pound four-star recruit down. Driver also had a first quarter interception on defense.
Getting the ball to start the second half, Highlands took about four minutes to go up 20-14 on Litmer’s 26-yard TD pass to Ian Garrahan.
Neither team gained much ground on their next possessions.
Then, the Rebels and Bluebirds traded fumbles late in the fourth quarter in the span of less than a minute. Boyle County converted its recovery into a 65-yard drive capped by Smith-Hisels’ 2-yard TD run to go in front by the final margin with 4:24 left in the game.
Boyle County’s defense remained stout after that, holding Highlands without a first down on two straight possessions to set up the final sequence.
That defensive display helped give Haddix the confidence to forgo punting the ball away at the end.
“We’re going to roll with it and live with it,” he said. “With our guys, if (Highlands) had stopped it, we’d have stopped them.”
Boyle County keeps itself in hunt for high playoff seeding
Thursday’s shocking 25-22 upset of defending Class 4A champion and No. 1 Paducah Tilghman by Madisonville-North Hopkins opened the door for No. 2 Highlands to not only take over No. 1 in the weekly Kentucky High School Football Media Poll, but also to have a huge advantage when the KHSAA’s RPI Standings come out on Sept. 29 because of its earlier wins against Class 6A’s Frederick Douglass and Campbell County and 5A’s Cooper.
Despite the loss to Lexington Catholic, Boyle County’s win Friday should keep it near the top of the RPI, which is used each year to seed the later stages of the playoffs.
“Last week was a wake-up call for us. I was proud of our bunch,” Haddix said. “They were tested a little bit. Everybody kind of doubted them, and you see what they came out with. That’s just the heart of these guys.”
Haddix also said it’s important to keep the long football season in perspective.
“It don’t matter until the end who’s No. 1,” he said. “But that’s a quality team. That’s a big win.”
Franklin County holds on to beat Lexington Christian
Franklin County (4-0) fended off visiting Lexington Christian 28-27 Friday thanks in part to a blocked extra point late in the fourth quarter.
That means the Class 4A No. 3 Flyers could get some No. 1 votes in the next media poll.
Delano Collins returned a kickoff 96 yards for the final go-ahead touchdown and a 28-21 lead to end the third quarter moments after LCA tied it up at 21-21 on Nash Whelan’s second touchdown run of the game.
Later, Whelan connected with Tyler King on a 12-yard TD pass, but Dean Hester’s potential game-tying extra point was blocked with 3:36 to play.
The Flyers held a 14-0 lead early on a Jaeden Samuels 3-yard run and a 27-yard TD pass from Knox Barrett to LaDarrius Simmons. Jack Oldham’s 3-yard TD run capped a 17-play drive that put Franklin County up 21-7 with 4:30 until halftime. LCA responded with a Daven Hood 2-yard run to cut its deficit to 21-14 at the break.
The Class 2A No. 4 Eagles (1-3) host Class 3A No. 3 Lexington Catholic (3-1) on Friday. The Knights defeated Great Crossing 23-7 on Friday.
