Frederick Douglass still making football history in program’s second year
Frederick Douglass moved to the top of the Kentucky Associated Press Class 6A rankings for the first time this week. The Broncos didn’t stumble on their way to another bit of history Friday night.
Douglass defeated No. 8 Henry Clay, 36-3, on the road to improve to 9-0 and sweep Class 6A’s 7th District for the program’s first district title.
The Broncos took care of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Bryan Station and Scott County in consecutive weeks before an open date last week. They came out looking refreshed; Micah Lowe caught a pass from Cam Jones and took it 70 yards on Douglass’ second play from scrimmage. Devin Neal rushed for a two-point conversion to put the Broncos up 8-0 less than a minute into the contest.
Henry Clay forced a punt on Douglass’ next possession and responded with a Graham Wald field goal. Douglass scored touchdowns on its next three drives to build a 29-3 halftime lead. Damarco Fishback broke a tackle and tiptoed the sideline on a 61-yard scoring run to put a cherry on it as the third quarter wound down.
“We just stuck to our game plan and stuck to our hearts,” said junior Jaylin Bybee, who had an interception and recovered a fumble in the first half, the latter leading to a Douglass score. “We did what we know we could do, which is show out. It feels great.”
Jones finished 9-for-13 for 279 yards and 3 TD passes without an interception. Lowe finished with 89 yards on a game-high four receptions while Dekel Crowdus, a sophomore who’s been offered by the University of Kentucky, had 118 yards on two receptions, including an 85-yard TD in the second quarter. Fishback ended with 69 yards and 2 TD runs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UK target Dekel Crowdus — just a sophomore — on the scoring end of an 85-yard TD throw from Cincinnati commit Cam Jones. Frederick Douglass operating at full efficiency now, Broncos up 29-3 with 4:32 left 2Q. <a href="https://t.co/hRZ7iYyYhf">pic.twitter.com/hRZ7iYyYhf</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1053441432160268288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 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">Damarco Fishback stays inbound on his way to a 61-yard run and another Frederick Douglass touchdown. Broncos up 36-3 with 58.4 seconds left 3Q. <a href="https://t.co/qbTr5P7Tpw">pic.twitter.com/qbTr5P7Tpw</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1053455463247945728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Douglass (9-0) assured itself of a No. 1 seed and home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Depending on how things play out, it’s possible for the Broncos to play the entirety of the postseason at home if they were to reach the state finals. They’ll look to finish the season undefeated when they travel to Conner (7-2) next Friday.
“I’m just so proud for these kids,” said Douglass Coach Brian Landis. “They’ve worked so hard and come this far. For two years we’ve talked about it, from day one when I had 13 kids and they bought in and we’ve followed the same formula all the way. All the credit to our kids.”
Henry Clay (5-4) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. The Blue Devils travel to Cooper (3-6) next week.
This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 11:16 PM.