An 0-2 start, a storm and 7 big injuries: Tates Creek conquering adversity
It would’ve been easy for Tates Creek to punt away this season.
The Commodores started 0-2 after lopsided decisions against city rivals Frederick Douglass and Henry Clay. A chance at a pick-me-up victory over Harlan County was erased from the schedule due to thunderstorms. They’ve lost seven starters to season-ending injuries.
Adversity popped up again when they learned leading rusher and big-time tackler Marcus Bosley wouldn’t be available for their latest game after suffering a hamstring injury in practice.
But Creek didn’t punt. It stayed the course and now finds itself 3-2 after holding on for a 32-25 victory Friday night over Danville, the defending Class 2A state champion.
Junior quarterback Luke Duby rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another to help the Commodores win their third straight game. He was 17-of-23 for 180 yards without an interception, and rushed for a game-high 78 yards on 10 carries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Luke Duby finds running room again. <a href="https://t.co/HNgrB9aMSg">pic.twitter.com/HNgrB9aMSg</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1045841306042462208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Every aspect of the game we did good tonight,” Duby said. “The o-line did a fantastic job or else I wouldn’t have been able to run like that. The receivers made really good plays and the defense did what they had to do. That’s a tough team no matter when you play them.”
Danville quarterback Zach Thornton scored a 1-yard TD just two minutes into the game to put Danville ahead 6-0. Duby responded a few minutes later with a 10-yard score, and gave Tates Creek the lead for good on an 18-yard run with 4:55 to go in the second quarter.
Thornton was shaken up on a tackle about midway through the second quarter. He continued his place-holding duties on kicks but was replaced at quarterback by freshman Brady Morse, who went 8-for-10 for 63 yards with an interception and threw his first career TD pass. He nearly engineered a game-tying drive as time expired but his final pass was dropped in the end zone amid Tates Creek defenders.
“Danville’s a well-coached team. You’re always going to get the best out of those guys,” Tates Creek Coach Jonathan Smith said. “They’re a class program, it’s where I’d love for us to be some day.”
Mile Thomas led the Commodores with 74 yards on five receptions. Mikaleb Coffey had five receptions for 41 yards and a TD.
“I’m just super proud of these kids,” Smith said. “I’m over the moon right now, about how we finally came together as a team, I feel. I just hope we can continue to build off that, because sometimes we have taken five steps forward then taken six steps back.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mikaleb Coffey gets it across for another Tates Creek TD. Commodores up 23-15, going for two shortly. <a href="https://t.co/5heRC49Z1A">pic.twitter.com/5heRC49Z1A</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1045841892867526656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big reception by Miles Thomas put Tates Creek in the spot for an easy score. Looked like a TD in real time but good call. <a href="https://t.co/eHhQXop4O3">pic.twitter.com/eHhQXop4O3</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1045846188732354560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 2:16 AM.