Football highlights: Tates Creek, Frederick Douglass go to 2-0 in 6A districts

Tates Creek turned heads after a 66-29 victory at Mercer County to kick off the season. Those heads turned away when the Commodores lost five straight after that.

Coming off a much-needed bye week, the Commodores rallied for a 34-30 win in their district opener last week at Paul Laurence Dunbar, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 29 seconds to play. On Friday, the Commodores (3-5) staved off Lafayette at home for a 21-14 victory.

Tates Creek, when it hosts Henry Clay next Friday, will have an opportunity to move its win streak to three and sweep Class 6A’s 7th District for the third straight season.

“The biggest thing is getting our kids to understand how to win hard games,” said Jonathan Hawks, the head coach at Tates Creek since 2022. So far, his first season was the only one in which the Commodores didn’t win their district and earn a No. 1 seed for the playoffs. “We knew these games were gonna be tough, we’ve been back-to-back district champs and these teams really wanna beat us. We’ve got a goal in place, and our kids have done a great job finishing off these games.”

The Generals (4-4) pulled to within the final score with 8:09 to play. On the ensuing defensive series, Landon Baker intercepted Tates Creek quarterback Darnell Burnside and returned it to the Generals’ 41-yard line. Lafayette got to the Commodores’ 33-yard line but couldn’t turn the turnover into points. The Generals forced a punt on Tates Creek’s next series, but not before the Commodores erased much of what was left on the game clock; Lafayette’s rally bid ended with a series of incomplete passes.

Burnside followed up a monster performance at Dunbar (322 yards, 3 TD passes, 1 TD run) with 160 yards and two TDs through the air. Both of those passes went to JT Cooper, who finished with eight catches for 119 yards. Those scores came in the opening minute of the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

After throwing five TDs against Mercer County, Burnside had four total during the Commodores’ extended skid.

“Darnell’s finally getting back to realizing he can throw the football,” Hawks said with a laugh. “He’s really talented.

Tates Creek will try to stay on track against a Henry Clay team that led 14-3 against Paul Laurence Dunbar on Friday before giving up 20 unanswered points in the second half of a loss. The Commodores travel to West Jessamine the following week before the postseason gets underway.

Despite taking more lumps than desired, Hawks said their string of defeats did more good than harm.

“We were in a lot of games, it’s just moments,” Hawks said. “Moments get in the way of victories, and that one moment can turn into catastrophe based on the youth that we have. We have a lot of good seniors, but we’re still very young. We’ve just gotta keep learning and fighting.”

Douglass continues city dominance

For most of a half Friday night, Bryan Station dueled Frederick Douglass to a draw at home.

But with 2.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Douglass senior Dakari Talbert capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive with a short touchdown trot. It was his first of three scores in what ended as a 27-10 win for the Broncos (4-4).

“At halftime we locked it in and started to get the momentum going,” said Talbert, who finished with 159 yards on 22 carries. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Talbert broke loose for a 50-yard TD run, evading a last-gasp shoestring tackle along the way, with 7:51 left in the third quarter. That happened three plays after teammate Demond Green blocked a Bryan Station field-goal attempt, his third stop of the year.

The Defenders (3-5) on their next trip responded with a 34-yard field goal by Jack Hannan to pull within 20-10, but those were their last points. Talbert caught a 13-yard pass from Jayden Guzman with 8:10 remaining to close another lengthy Frederick Douglass drive.

Green almost blocked Bryan Station’s second field-goal attempt as well. He led Frederick Douglass with six tackles, including two for a loss on back-to-back plays midway through the fourth quarter.

Frederick Douglass, which opened in the 2017-18 school year, has never lost to another Lexington school, public or private, in football. The Broncos, who aren’t guaranteed to play another city foe this year, are 38-0 in those games.

“There’s a big target on our back, and we know that coming into these games,” Green said. “We know what we gotta do before the games to get mentally right.”

Douglass hosts George Rogers Clark next Friday. The Cardinals fell 49-0 to Madison Central, to which Bryan Station will travel next week.

Other city winners

Lexington Christian Academy 49, Danville 18: The Eagles (5-3) jumped on the Admirals early and never wavered. Nash Whalen dealt four TD passes (235 yards on 11-for-14 passing) and rushed for another (126 yards, 14 carries) to lead LCA to a fourth straight victory. It’ll close district play at Washington County next week.

Jayvian Meaux rushed for 110 yards and all three TDs for the Admirals (7-2), who had their four-game win streak snapped.

Lexington Catholic 38, Bardstown 0: Brady Wasik rushed for three TDs and the Knights (6-2) got two long return TDs — an interception by Ben Schlarman and a punt by Baird Woodall — to help David Clark’s new team cruise against David Clark’s old team.

Clark, the Knights’ first-year coach, was Bardstown’s head coach for 17 years until 2023, when he resigned to help the program transition ahead of his retirement from the public school system.

The Tigers (6-3) are off next week before hosting Washington County on Oct. 31.

Paul Laurence Dunbar 23, Henry Clay 14: Dominic Faulkner and Ryan Barrett connected for a 92-yard touchdown 22 seconds into the second half, igniting a Bulldogs comeback.

Dunbar (3-4) took its first lead on another Faulkner TD pass, a 3-yarder to Noah Barrett, with 10:32 left to play. Jayshawn Crosby cashed in from 5 yards out to give the Bulldogs breathing room down the stretch.

Aiden Huston scored on a 3-yard run to put Henry Clay in front early. Dunbar’s Joseph Davies connected on a 25-yard field goal for a quick answer, but Henry Clay’s Marcus Owens returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a TD. The Blue Devils (1-7) couldn’t build on a 14-3 halftime lead.

Dunbar travels to Lafayette next Friday. Henry Clay goes to Tates Creek.