Big-play Douglass bringing dynamic offense, stifling defense to Kroger Field
The question lingers in the air at Frederick Douglass football games like a thick fog on a cool morning at “The Farm,” their home field where champions of another sort were bred long ago.
The Broncos’ fans can sense it.
Their opponents — if they’ve watched any film at all — know to dread it.
It’s not a matter of “if” Douglass will hit a big play.
The question is: “When?”
Last Friday, Owensboro, then the state’s second-stingiest defense, discovered the answer like everyone else: too soon and too often.
“I wouldn’t say there’s much of a secret to it. Things open up, the play develops and you just hit a hole and go wherever it takes you,” said Frederick Douglass’s Devin Neal, a Cincinnati commit who plays both running back and safety and scored two long TDs against the Red Devils.
Saturday night, Douglass takes its big-play show to Kroger Field and tries for the program’s first state title in its third year of existence against an undefeated Covington Catholic team that’s making its third straight finals appearance.
“We’ve got our hands full with them, but I like our kids, and I think we’re built to do some things to hopefully get some stops against them. And offensively, we’ve got a good plan,” Douglass Coach Brian Landis said.
The Colonels have allowed only 85 points this season, just one more than the Broncos (who rank first in the state in scoring defense). That means, like against Owensboro, the Broncos could find it tough going. Now, the question is: can the Broncos keep rolling on high school football’s biggest stage?
“We haven’t looked great, at times, but you find a way to win,” Landis said. “You’ve got to make big plays in the critical moments of the game and the last few weeks, we’ve made some really big plays.”
Key moments
Some of Douglass’s best moments have come in its biggest games.
Against Owensboro, the Broncos did it on offense, defense and special teams.
Devin Neal burst through the line for 65 yards and a touchdown to make it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. The next possession, Neal fielded a punt over his shoulder and sprinted away for 60 yards to make it 14-0.
“Every time he touches it something happens, and then on defense it’s really hard to get an edge on him. He covers well,” Landis said.
When the Red Devils climbed back in it, narrowing the lead to 21-17 in the second half, the defense struck with Jaylin Bybee’s 40-yard interception for a TD.
Against Scott County in the district championship, quarterback Josh McClurg opened the scoring with an 83-yard TD run. Later, Neal had a 49-yard TD catch.
Tied 7-7 against Lexington Catholic in the regular-season finale, Neal caught a swing pass in the flat, cut back across the middle with two jukes and ran 50 yards to the end zone. Later in the game, he broke a 62-yard run for a TD.
“It starts up front first,” said McClurg. “We’ve got a great offensive line and we’ve got a lot of explosive players. From Devin Neal to Darius Neal, all of our receivers, Dane Key, Jesse Robinson, everyone on the offensive side of the ball. There’s just so many of them.”
Douglass features a pair of Division I recruits at each tackle in junior Jager Burton and senior Walker Parks who bookend senior Lonnie Collins at one guard and junior Dalton Quigley at the other with senior Ian Sexton at center.
That combo has set the table for 20 different TD scorers this season, led by sophomore sensation Dane Key and followed closely by brothers Darius Neal and Devin. Key has four punt return TDs in addition to a “SportsCenter Top Ten” catch — a 17-yard one-handed grab that came on the first play after the Cardinals turned it over in their regular season clash on Sept. 27.
“On offense you want to get the ball to your best players, and they’re going to make things happen for you,” Landis said.
Defense first
But the foundation of everything Douglass is able to do on offense begins with defense. Senior middle linebacker Ramarcus Thompson says being the state’s hardest team to score against requires a lot of study.
“We watch film every week. We study every call, all the checks,” said Thompson, whose father, Marcus Thompson, played for Henry Clay in a state title game in 1995. “Coach really puts it heavy on us — me and a couple of other players on the defense — to make sure the defense is correct.”
Thompson leads the Broncos in tackles with 89.
“Ray doesn’t get a whole lot of credit for the things he does. He gets us lined up. He makes all of our checks, all of our calls,” Landis said. “He plays lights out every week. You don’t notice it, but at the end of the game, you look at the stat sheet and you’re like man, he had 10, 12, 15 tackles.”
Covington Catholic has a balanced attack led by junior QB Caleb Jacob and senior tight end/linebacker Michael Mayer, a Notre Dame commit, who leads the team in both receiving and tackling.
“You’ve got to stop that big 87 (Mayer), because that son of a gun will wreck house on offense and defense if you let him,” Landis said.
For Thompson, Saturday marks not only a chance to win a state title, but also a way to get one up on his dad.
“To play in the state championship … it feels good, but I want to win it. They got blown out,” Thompson said of his dad’s Blue Devils. “We’re playing a really good team, but I like our chances.”
State championships
At Kroger Field in Lexington
Friday
Class A: Paintsville (11-3) vs. Pikeville (13-0), 2 p.m.
Class 3A: Belfry (10-3) vs. Bell County (14-0), 7 p.m.
Saturday
Class 2A: Mayfield (13-1) vs. Somerset (13-1), 1 p.m.
Class 4A: Boyle County (14-0) vs. Johnson Central (14-0), 4:30 p.m.
Class 5A: Covington Catholic (14-0) vs. Frederick Douglass (14-0), 8 p.m.
Sunday
Class 6A: Male (14-0) vs. Trinity (12-2), 2 p.m.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 7:32 AM.
