Playoff highlights: Douglass avoids first-round scare, Henry Clay scores road win

The first round of the Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl playoffs actually kicked off on Thursday (Paintsville defeated Nicholas County, 41-21), but the majority of teams started their postseason paths Friday night.

How did it go? Have a look!

Class 6A

Frederick Douglass 28, Lafayette 12: Ean Shaw’s 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown gave visiting Lafayette a 12-7 halftime lead but host Douglass held the Generals scoreless in the second half as the 17th-ranked Broncos notched the program’s first playoff win.

Dekel Crowdus scored three rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to seal the historic victory. Crowdus finished with 79 yards on 11 carries.

“Wow. To be a true freshman and come out and make the plays he did ... he just needs that ball in his hands because he can do some pretty special stuff,” Douglass Coach Brian Landis said of Crowdus’ effort.

Jefferson Harkless accounted for more than half of the Broncos’ offense, rushing for 134 yards and the game’s first touchdown.

Douglass held the Generals to 177 yards of offense and forced four turnovers. The Broncos’ defense had nine tackles-for-loss.

“The key to it was we got some turnovers. That was the whole key to the ballgame,” said Landis. “Once we got a little momentum our guys really started believing.”

Kyle Browning came up big for the Generals’ defense, making 10 1/2 tackles, including two for-loss and a sack.

Henry Clay 20, Madison Central 7: With the game tied 7-7 after three quarters, the visiting Blue Devils scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth to pull off a minor upset over the 25th-ranked Indians.

Graham Wald connected on field goals from 32 and 22 yards to put Henry Clay (6-5) ahead 13-7 then Langston Jackson sealed the victory with an 80-yard interception return for his second touchdown of the night with 3:06 to play. Jackson gave the Blue Devils a 7-0 late in the first quarter with an 8-yard TD run.

Tyree Clarke had 108 yards on 21 carries in the win. Freddy Chenault led the Indians with 112 rushing yards.

Tates Creek 53, Bryan Station 14: Leading 24-14 at halftime, the host Commodores scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to knock off the Defenders for their fifth straight win.

Tates Creek (9-2) outgained Bryan Station (1-10) 534 yards to 270, with Laron Warner and Teonte White each eclipsing 100 yards on the ground. Warner ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns while White added 110 yards and a pair of scores, including an 8-yarder to get the Commodres on the board. Bryan Station’s Kendrick Curry responded by returning the following kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, but the Defenders were outscored 46-7 the rest of the way.

Jalen Burbage ran for 90 yards and passed for 85 and a touchdown in the loss.

Scott County 43, Clark County 14: Brice Fryman returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and fourth-ranked Scott County (9-2) was off to the races, running up 36 first-quarter points. Glenn Covington got in on the special-teams action, taking a punt 60-yards to the house for a 14-0 Scott County lead. Fryman added a 55-yard TD reception from Josh Davis.

Ethan Thomas ran for 107 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter for Clark County (5-6).

Simon Kenton 48, Jeffersontown 17: Matt Shearer passed for 119 yards and three touchdowns and John Sergent rushed for 129 yards and two scores as No. 8 Simon Kenton (10-1) rolled. Jeffersontown (3-8) got on the board first when Drake Browne hit a 19-yard field goal but the Pioneers scored four second-quarter touchdowns and built a 34-3 halftime lead.

Class 5A

Covington Catholic 56, Bullitt East 14: The No. 1-ranked Colonels wasted no time on Friday, jumping all over the visiting Chargers with a 42-point first quarter that featured two long touchdown runs by Casey McGinness and AJ Mayer TD passes to three different receivers. McGinness gained 172 yards on seven rushes for a 24.6 yards-per-carry average as Covington Catholic (11-0) ran for 355 yards as a team.

The Colonels’ defense held Bullitt East (4-7) to 164 yards, all on the ground, allowing just one pass completion for minus-3 yards. Senior Daniel Mantell rushed for two touchdowns in his final game as a Charger.

Highlands 34, Oldham County 7: The host Bluebirds scored in all three phases as they dominated the Colonels. Nick Veneman caught a pair of touchdown passes from Grady Cramer before Alex Starkey’s 44-yard interception return put Highlands ahead 28-0. Brycen Huddleston returned a punt 55-yards for the Bluebirds’ last TD of the night.

Anderson County 14, Fern Creek 7: Blake Franklin returned a blocked field goal 76 yards for a touchdown and Zach Labhart ran for a 77-yard TD as visiting Anderson County (8-3) knocked off Fern Creek (6-5).

Bowling Green 48, Owensboro 14: Vito Tisdale opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge then put the host Purples ahead for good with a 73-yard kickoff return later in the first quarter. Dazhon Blakely caught two of Beau Buchanon’s five touchdown passes for Bowling Green (9-2). Arione Phillips and Imonte Owsley had touchdown runs for Owensboro (4-7).

Class 3A

Lexington Catholic 49, Bath County 39: Visiting Bath County (7-4) led 21-14 after a 35-yard TD run by Landan Swartz midway through the seond quarter, but Dameon Jones got the Knights even with a 56-yard TD on the next posession then put them ahead for good 28-21 with a 5-yard score with less than three minutes to play in the half.

Jones was dynamic for Lexington Catholic (6-5), churning out 248 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He had 23 of the Knights’ 24 rush attempts.

LexCath won despite surrendering 476 yards on the ground and being outgained in total offense 517 yards to 403. Swartz rushed for 279 yards and three TDs and Cameron Corbin had 140 yards and one score for Bath County.

LaRue County 14, Union County 0: Bryson Cobb got host LaRue County (10-1) on the board with a 9-yard TD run in the second quarter then added a 35-yard score in the third to put away visiting Union County (8-3).

Class 2A

Lexington Christian 48, Leslie County 0: The host Eagles were firing on all cylinders Friday night, rolling up 451 yards of offense while holding the Eagles to 99 and converting 29 first downs while allowing just five.

Dillon Wheatley ripped off 198 rushing yards on 23 carries, scoring all three of LCA’s first-half touchdowns. Backup quarterback Josh McClurg directed the Eagles’ offense in the second half, rushing for a score and throwing touchdown passes to Drayden Burton and Caelen Lebryk.

Blane Hardin and Jed Green led the Eagles’ defense, combining for 13 tackles including seven for-loss.

Monroe County 36, Newport 6: Senior quarterback Ty Mink did it all as the Falcons scored all of their points in the first half to put away the visiting Wildcats. Mink rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown, threw a pair of touchdown passes and connected on all four of his extra-point kicks.

Class A

Paintsville 41, Nicholas County 21: Tyrese Allen, who’s committed to West Virginia University as a defensive tackle, had 170 rushing yards and three TDs before the Tigers pulled their starters at halftime, leading 41-0 on Thursday.

Pikeville 47, Harlan 14: Connor Roberts accounted for six touchdowns as the host Panthers routed the Green Dragons for their fifth win in a row. The junior quarterback completed 8 of 10 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns and added 52 yards and three more TDs on the ground. Seth Pugh caught two touchdowns for Pikeville.

The Panthers allowed Harlan junior Kyle Allison, who has autism, score the final touchdown of the game on a 39-yard fumble return. Allison’s father was the game’s radio broadcaster.

Hazard 50, Pineville 22: Bailey Blair threw three touchdowns of 50-plus yards as the host Bulldogs built a 36-6 halftime lead en route to a blowout of Pineville (2-8). Skylar Pelfrey caught Blair’s first bomb to open the scoring while Braxton Whitaker hauled in the other two.

Caitlyn Stroh and Josh Moore contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 11:44 PM with the headline "Playoff highlights: Douglass avoids first-round scare, Henry Clay scores road win."