Douglass survives scare from Madison Central for McPeek’s 100th career win
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- McPeek reached his 100th win as Douglass held off Madison Central, 21-15.
- Dakari Talbert rushed for 127 yards and two TDs, driving key third-quarter score.
- Douglass defense forced decisive turnover on downs to seal the victory.
It wasn’t the easiest game of Nathan McPeek’s head coaching career at Frederick Douglass, but the stress of the Broncos’ 21-15 win over Madison Central on Friday at The Farm won’t be reflected in the plaque commemorating his 100th victory.
Dakari Talbert rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and the Douglass defense thwarted Madison Central’s chance to take the lead with a pair of pass break ups that helped turn the Indians over on downs in the game’s waning moments.
“You just have to keep your head up and never get too much in your head because you’ve got to play to the whistle and play till there’s zero-zero on the clock,” said junior cornerback Cionne Conn, who broke up a third-down pass play moments before teammate Toby Robinson broke up the Indians’ last-gasp toss into to the end zone on a fourth-down-and-14 with 3:31 left in the game.
With Madison Central down to one timeout, the Broncos needed only to get a first down or two to run out the clock. They got two.
“They (Madison Central) shorten the game on you,” McPeek said. “It’s tough to prepare for what they do. They’ve got a good team, and we might see them again down the road. What they do is good for November football in the state of Kentucky, but our defense did a great job.”
Players celebrate milestone win for McPeek
McPeek looked a bit uncomfortable as his players and assistants interrupted their normal postgame routine to celebrate his 100th win as a head coach. But as the players gathered around him, he joined their joyous, bouncing celebration like a little kid.
“It’s very special,” McPeek said. “Looking back at being a head coach for 12 years and all the players and the coaches and everybody associated with your circle that you build — you know, football is a grind, you’ve got to sacrifice a lot, your family has got to sacrifice a lot … — I’m just very thankful for all those people.”
McPeek, an offensive lineman during his playing career who is in the Marshall University football hall of fame, has been at Douglass since its founding in 2017 and served as offensive coordinator before taking the head coaching job in 2020. Prior to that he had a successful head coaching stint at Class A Fairview in Ashland marred by KHSAA sanctions for the use of an ineligible player.
His redemption arc at Frederick Douglass has been remarkable — six winning seasons that have included district and region titles, the 2022 Class 5A state championship and back-to-back trips to the Class 6A state semis. His overall record stands at 100-48.
McPeek’s Douglass teams have never lost a game to a district or Lexington rival. That streak appeared in jeopardy Friday.
Madison Central’s offense was tough, and a turnover proved costly
The Indians’ wing-T run-heavy offense dominated time of possession in the first half and managed a 7-7 tie at the break.
Madison Central’s opening drive took 7:36 off the clock but stalled at the Broncos’ 24-yard line.
Douglass responded with an 11-play drive capped by Talbert’s first score on a 5-yard run a few seconds into the second quarter.
Though Madison Central fumbled on its next possession, its defense kept Douglass from taking advantage by getting a fourth-down stop that set up the Indians’ 12 play, 69-yard drive to tie the game. Corinthian Barnes’ 2-yard plunge helped knot it up at 7-7 with 1:34 to play in the second quarter.
“We knew what type of game it was gonna be,” Talbert said. “We had limited possessions, so our coaches just told us to just take care of the little things — alignment, assignment and doing your job — and the scoreboard is always going to be on our side.”
Talbert broke a 34-yard touchdown run on the Broncos’ opening drive of the second half. After the Douglass defense stuffed Madison Central for its second turnover on downs at the Indians’ own 30-yard line, Terry Cayson took freshman quarterback Jayden Guzman’s swing pass in the flat in for an 18-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead with 5:39 left to play in the third quarter.
Douglass looked on the verge of putting the game away to start the fourth quarter, but Madison Central’s Derek McElwee intercepted Guzman’s attempted screen pass to a wide receiver and ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown. The Indians converted their 2-point try to cut the Douglass lead to 21-15 with 10:08 to play.
“I’m kicking myself for the screen pass pick six. It’s 100 percent my fault. I’ve got to be better,” McPeek said. “We’ve got to run the ball there or throw something in the back of the end zone, but give them credit for making the play.”
Penalties killed the Broncos’ ensuing possession, and Madison Central’s defense forced the Broncos to punt with 8:09 to play. The Indians took over at their own 22-yard line.
Then, Madison Central quarterback Carson Herbst completed his second pass of the night, a wobbling 35-yard toss under duress brought down by Queintsee Compton at Douglass’ 14-yard line. The Indians would get no farther as Douglass’ defense stiffened and won the ball back moments later with the critical turnover on downs.
Talbert praised his team’s ability to overcome the interception return for a touchdown.
“It didn’t really deflate us. It was just a matter of ‘Now, we’ve got to respond.’ And we did,” Talbert said. “I’m so proud of Coach McPeek and all the work he puts in every day. He’s the best leader I’ve ever had.”
Next up, Bryan Station
Douglass (4-3, 1-0), ranked as the No. 5 team in Class 6A by the media and the No. 11 team statewide by the Herald-Leader, has rallied from an 0-3 start against arguably one of the toughest schedules in the state. H-L No. 23 Madison Central (4-3, 0-1) was ranked No. 8 in 6A.
“This is the first time in my career that I’ve started 0-3 as a player or a coach my whole life, so it’s definitely difficult for me,” McPeek said. “But I had to be a good leader, and it didn’t really affect how we’re doing things in the district and moving forward.”
Douglass will visit resurgent Bryan Station next Friday. The Defenders also started the season 0-3 but are 4-3 and 1-0 in the district after their 28-25 win over George Rogers Clark on Friday.
