Playoff highlights: Pair of new starting QBs lead Lexington schools to victory

Frederick Douglass 34, Tates Creek 21: A week after losing starting quarterback Montaveon Bean to a knee injury in its comeback win over Lafayette, No. 16 Frederick Douglass had one of its best offensive nights of the season. In his first start of the year after transferring from Paul Dunbar in the offseason, Gavin Bugg completed 16 of 27 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns and added 55 yards on the ground as the Broncos knocked off No. 25 Tates Creek for the second time this season.

After Tates Creek pulled within 21-14 early in the third quarter, Bugg threw a pair of long touchdowns to Dekel Crowdus to bury the host Commodores. Jefferson Harkless had 105 of the Broncos’ 234 rushing yards and scored from 5 yards out early in the third quarter. Douglass outgained Tates Creek 489 yards to 250.

Douglass’s win sets up a rematch with No. 4 Scott County, which routed the Broncos 55-21 in Georgetown on Oct. 6.

Lexington Christian 42, Prestonsburg 12: Leading 14-6 at halftime, visiting LCA scored three touchdowns in just over six minutes in the third quarter to slam the door on the Blackcats. Dillon Wheatley led the charge with 211 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. The senior tailback softened the transition for Eagles quarterback Josh McClurg, who started in place of injured Logan Nieves.

McClurg wasn’t merely a game manager on Friday. The sophomore completed 12 of 20 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 45 yards and another score. The Eagles outgained Prestonsburg 449 yards to 211 and forced three turnovers. Junior linebacker Blane Hardin spent a ton of time in the Blackcats’ backfield, coming up with a pair of sacks and 2 1/2 tackles-for-loss.

Lexington Christian will get another shot at Danville next week. The undefeated Admirals, who knocked off Somerset 19-0 on Friday, are responsible for the Eagles’ lone loss this season, a 44-28 rout in Lexington on Oct. 20. Danville has also ended LCA’s season in the 2A playoffs the last two years.

Lexington Catholic 56, Garrard County 16: Garrard County led 16-14 at halftime but Lexington Catholic’s one-two punch of Beau Allen and Dameon Jones turned the tide in the third quarter and knocked the Golden Lions out of the 3A playoffs. Four of Allen’s six touchdown passes came in the Knights’ 35-point third frame. Jones caught one of those scores and rushed for a 17-yard touchdown that put LexCath ahead for good.

Lately a sure bet to eclipse the 100-yard mark on the ground, Jones did most of his damage as a receiver on Friday, turning three receptions into 126 yards. Jones also carried 10 times for 52 yards, but Keith Brinkman had the highlight-reel run for the Knights, rushing for a 64-yard touchdown to set the final score.

Allen completed 14 of 23 passes for 351 yards. Nathan Schnurr caught two touchdowns in the win. Josh Warren ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns for Garrard County, which had 316 total rushing yards.

Scott County 42, Henry Clay 20: After the Blue Devils pulled within 28-20 on Jordan Kimball’s 55-yard fumble return with 5:18 left in the game, Brice Fryman took over for No. 4-ranked Scott County. On the ensuing possession Fryman caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Josh Davis then put the game away with a 19-yard touchdown run as the clock ticked under the 2-minute mark.

Fryman finished with 108 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries but Austin Barnett was the workhorse out of the backfield on Friday. Barnett rushed 31 times for 178 yards. The Cardinals outrushed the Blue Devils 338 yards to 87.

Henry Clay quarterback Darrin Van Horn did his best to engineer an upset, throwing for 251 yards and a touchdown while completing passes to seven different receivers, but the Blue Devils managed just two combined first downs on their final two drives of the night.

Covington Catholic 49, Bullitt Central 0: The No. 1-ranked Colonels continued their dominant march through the Class 5A playoff field on Friday, routing the visiting Cougars behind three Casey McGinness rushing touchdowns. CovCath rolled up 42 first-quarter points for the second week in a row and has outscored its first two playoff opponents 105-14. Thirteen different players registered carries as the Colonels rushed for 217 yards, led by McGinness, who carried 7 times for 60 yards. AJ Mayer completed three of five passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

Hazard 43, Lynn Camp 8: Braxton Whitaker caught two of Bailey Blair’s three touchdown passes and Matt Francis had touchdown runs of 15 and 28 yards as the host Bulldogs built a 36-0 halftime lead. Hazard’s offense is peaking at the perfect time. The Bulldogs two playoff wins are also their highest scoring games of the season.

Madison Southern 14, Anderson County 11: The host Eagles took a 14-3 lead into halftime as Nathan Eads punched in a 1-yard touchdown as time expired then held off the Bearcats. Blake Franklin pulled Anderson County within a field goal early in the fourth quarter with a 37-yard TD run and a two-point conversion. The Bearcats had a chance to win it on their final possession, but Madison Southern’s Jordan Casteel intercepted Jagger Gillis’ pass in the end zone with 44 seconds to play and the Eagles ran out the clock. Carter Smith was dominant for the Eagles’ defense, making 20 tackles, including 3 1/2 for loss, and intercepting a pass on the first play of the second quarter.

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Playoff highlights: Pair of new starting QBs lead Lexington schools to victory."