Playoff highlights: Scott County marches on; Were any Lexington schools left standing?

Scott County 45, Frederick Douglass 13: Behind another dominant performance by running back Brice Fryman the host Cardinals remained undefeated versus teams from Kentucky, rolling up 462 yards on the ground to end Frederick Douglass’ historic inaugural season on Friday.

Fryman ripped off 287 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly 16 yards per carry on the night. Austin Barnett added 79 yards and two touchdowns rushing for Scott County (11-2), while all six of quarterback Josh Davis’ completions were hauled in by Glenn Covington for 58 yards total.

Quarterback Gavin Bugg and receiver Haiden Hunt did their best to jump-start the Broncos’ offense, connecting for a pair of long touchdowns, the first of which cut the deficit to 21-7 at halftime. Bugg completed 20 of 42 passes for 302 yards. Hunt hauled in nine catches for 175 yards.

“You feel so bad for those 17 (seniors), it’s their last shot,” said Douglass Coach Brian Landis. “I’m proud of them, because they accomplished more than a lot of people thought they could. I think the most important thing is they can take that on for the rest of their lives. They can overcome so much adversity and be successful.

“The good news is this was the first go-round ... we’ll be back.”

Douglass finished 10-3 in its first season while going 8-0 against Fayette County competition.

Danville 49, Lexington Christian 7: For the third year in a row, Lexington Christian’s bid for a Class 2A championship ended at the hands of Danville. Zach Thornton played a role in six touchdowns as the host Admirals turned a 14-7 halftime lead into a rout. Danville (13-0) was responsible for both of LCA’s losses this year.

Thornton’s 3-yard touchdown run got the Admirals on the board and his 34-yard pass to Tanner Ford two-and-a-half minutes later opened a 14-0 lead. Lexington Chrsitian (11-2) cut the lead to 14-7 on Josh McClurg’s 14-yard TD pass to Drayden Burton late in the first half, but Danville scored 35 unanswered after the break.

Thornton completed 13 of 18 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns. Dmauriae VanCleave was Thornton’s favorite target, grabbing seven catches for 137 yards and two scores.

“They were able to kind of get the momentum there in the second quarter on us, and then we came out after halftime and shut the door,” said Danville Coach Clay Clevenger. “Zach Thornton threw some good passes there in the second half ... they were giving us balls down the field, which was good scouting by (LCA) because we really hadn’t been able to do that earlier in the year and we were able to connect down and make some big plays.”

McClurg, who drew his second straight start after LCA lost starting quarterback Logan Nieves to a torn ACL in the first round, had a busy night as he tried to will the Eagles out of their hole. The sophomore completed 28 of 36 passes for 178 yards. His pass intended for Burton was intercepted by VanCleave and returned 56 yards for the game’s final score late in the fourth quarter.

Eagles running back Dillon Wheatley capped his stellar LCA career with 105 yards rushing on 26 carries. Wheatley’s career marks finished at 6,204 yards and 101 rushing touchdowns, the latter sixth-most in state history. His career rushing total is good for 20th all time, knocking former Madisonville/UK star Sonny Collins a notch down the list.

Boyle County 57, Lexington Catholic 15: Tanner Crawford shredded the Knights defense for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries as the host Rebels rolled. Landen Bartleson added 67 yards and a pair of TDs for Boyle County (12-1). The Rebels took a 36-8 lead into halftime and held Lexington Catholic star running back Dameon Jones to 29 yards.

Knights quarterback Beau Allen, who passed for 110 yards, threw a 10-yard touchdown to Gavin Cameron late in the first half and Jones converted a two-point conversion to get LexCath (7-6) on the board.

Nathan Schnurr scored the Knights’ final touchdown of the season, a 69-yard run midway through the third quarter.

Boyle County allowed just 208 yards of offense and six first downs. Clay Callahan made 10 1/2 tackles for LexCath.

Madison Southern 61, Montgomery County 20: With the contest tied 14-14 late in the second quarter, host Madison Southern ripped off 47 unanswered points to bury Montgomery County (10-3) and secure the program’s first Region championship.

Landen Stacy’s second 8-yard touchdown pass within a two-minute span put the Eagles ahead by two scores then Nathaniel Eads’ 36-yard interception return for a touchdown with eight seconds left in the second quarter ballooned the lead to 35-14 at halftime.

Stacy was doubly dangerous for Madison Southern (10-3), passing for 125 yards and three scores while rushing for 106 yards and three more TDs. Carter Smith had 120 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles, who rushed for 365 yards as a team.

Charles Collins ran for 188 yards and a touchdown in the loss while Gage Jones had 90 yards and three rushing scores.

Covington Catholic 49, South Oldham 7: A.J. Mayer tossed three first-quarter touchdown passes as visiting Covington Catholic built a 35-0 halftime lead and continued its dominant march through the Class 5A playoffs on Friday. The No. 1-ranked Colonels (13-0) have outscored their first three playoff opponents 154-21.

Mayer finished 13-for-18 passing for 204 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half. Malachi Pike caught four passes for 80 yards and a TD, while two of Jack Coldiron’s three receptions went for scores. South Oldham (10-2) avoided the shutout on Drew Zaubi’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Bednarczyk with 3:11 to play.

Collins 34, Mercer County 28: With the score knotted at 21-21 after three quarters, quarterback J.R. Lucas threw a 27-yard touchdown to Sicari Toole then ran for an 11-yard score next possession to propel Collins (11-2) past visiting Mercer County (7-6), which threatened at the end but saw Jacob Phillips end its season with an interception in the end zone. The Titans from Shelbyville have now won eight straight games.

Lucas did the bulk of his damage with his feet, rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Zach Stucker topped the century mark as well, gaining 103 yards on 13 carries.

Jackson Lewis rushed for 98 yards in the loss, and drew Mercer County within 34-28 on a 14-yard TD with eight minutes to play. Gunnar Gillis completed 11 of 22 passes for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Mercer County.

Central 60, Belfry 21: For the first time since 2012, Class 3A will crown a new football king. The host Yellowjackets dominated 4-time defending champion Belfry on Friday, ending the Pirates’ 22-game playoff win streak.

Pikeville 14, Hazard 9: Conner Roberts’ 1-yard touchdown run and 56-yard scoring strike to Seth Pugh were enough to lift visiting Pikeville (8-4) on Friday. Hazard (10-3) cut the deficit to one possession on Bailey Blair’s 34-yard TD pass to Andy Baker in the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs’ comeback attempt came up short.

Josh Moore and Caitlyn Stroh contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Playoff highlights: Scott County marches on; Were any Lexington schools left standing?."