Highlights: Lexington doormat-turned-district-contender keeps things rolling
Highlights from Week 5 of the 2020 high school football season around Kentucky:
Six.
That’s how many times, in 33 chances, Bryan Station won a football game over the last three seasons. But this is 2020, and while the world burns around it, the Defenders are thriving.
Station improved to 4-1 this season with a 35-21 victory at Clark County on Friday night. It was the fourth win in a row for a program that hadn’t won more than two consecutive games since 2015, the same year it last finished with a winning record.
That’s not yet assured — four opponents remain in the regular season — but there’s every reason for those on the north side to be excited. Before besting the Cardinals, Station won three straight over other Lexington foes (including Lafayette and Tates Creek, against whom they had four- and five-game losing streaks, respectively). It started its season with a loss, but it was a telling defeat: 7-6, at Scott County, a perennial state-title contender who’d hung at least 40 points on the Defenders in each of their last six meetings.
The message: Station isn’t a doormat anymore. It hasn’t stopped sending reminders since.
“It’s easy for a team to win three games in a row, get a little full of themselves, fall down in a situation like this and get beat,” said Station head coach Phillip Hawkins, who was hired from Apollo in the offseason. “We’ve taught ‘em how important each game is and they’ve treated each game as they come. This is a big district win for this team.”
After most of the first half sailed by without a point, Jordan Manley hit Dawson Gay for a 25-yard touchdown to give GRC a 6-0 lead with 3:01 left in the second quarter. Station took the lead less than two seconds later after quarterback Mikaleb Coffey and Damin Green connected for a touchdown. Station made the PAT to take a 7-6 lead into the locker room.
A Noah Israel touchdown, set up by a deep connection from Coffey to Ah’Traivon Jenkins, extended Station’s lead with 7:45 left in the third but the Cardinals tied things with a touchdown — Manley to Dylan Gibson — and two-point conversion (a rush by Braxton O’Hara) four minutes later.
Station ramped things up from there: Carl Munford from across the middle turned a catch of about 15 yards into a 50-yard score to put the Defenders back ahead, 21-14, with 1:56 left in the third. A GRC fumble in Defenders territory turned into a lengthy touchdown run by Joseph Bond with 9:16 remaining, and a failed fourth-down conversion gave way to another long TD scamper by Amodeus Taylor. The Cardinals tacked on another score late but couldn’t secure an onside kick to extend the game.
Five different Defenders scored. That distribution of wealth has been key to their success.
“We’ve got a whole bunch of guys who can do a whole bunch of different things,” Coffey said. “That’s good for the offense.”
Up next is a road trip to Oldham County. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for the Eighth District title in Class 6A.
“These are great kids,” Hawkins said. “They’re 100 percent bought-in to what we’re doing. And when you get that combination, you win a few games.”
Paul Laurence Dunbar 42, Tates Creek 0: Jake Smith threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns as Dunbar (2-1) crushed the host Commodores.
Smith’s 47-yard touchdown toss to Luke Olive opened the scoring and his 24-yard strike to Oumar Toure capped a first half in which the Bulldogs built a 21-0 lead. Olive caught a 28-yard touchdown from Smith early in the third quarter.
Frank Illunga caught three passes for 120 yards and a TD in the win, while Howard Jackson and Weston Holloman each came up with an interception for the Bulldogs’ defense. Jalen English made four tackles and a sack for Tates Creek (0-3).
Henry Clay 7, Lafayette 0: William Webb’s 5-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter proved to be enough as the Blue Devils edged the host Generals for their first win of the season. Webb ran for 108 yards on 19 carries and made six tackles to lead the Henry Clay (1-2) defense, which held Lafayette (0-3) to 43 yards.
Scott County 62, Grant County 14: Campton Martin and Jeremy Hamilton each rushed for two touchdowns as Scott County (5-0) used a punishing ground game to bully the host Braves. Cardinals quarterback Zane Patton threw just six passes — connecting on three — while nine different ball carriers combined for 332 yards. Patton had 44 yards on two carries.
Logan Sutherland rushed for 180 yards while quarterback Conner Knipp ran for two short touchdowns for Grant County (2-3).
Boyle County 40, Lexington Catholic 0: Jagger Gillis ran for three touchdowns and threw for another to Cole Lanter as Boyle County (4-0) buried the host Knights. It’s the first time Lexington Catholic (1-2) has been shut out since 2015. It was Boyle’s first shutout of Catholic in their 31 meetings, according to the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
Jack Gohmann ran for 54 yards and passed for 98 in the loss. He was intercepted twice by Cash Logan and once by Dalton Stone. Coleman Clark made 8 1/2 tackles and two sacks for Boyle County, which held the Knights to four first downs.
Oldham County 23, Madison Central 10: Jaxon Elkins caught two second-quarter touchdown passes from Sam Young as the visiting Colonels built a 16-3 halftime lead.
Young completed 14 of 24 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns and added 52 rushing yards for Oldham County (3-1), which has won three straight after dropping a close one to South Oldham in the season opener.
Nathan Storie threw a 21-yard strike to Zach Holbrook in the closing seconds for the only touchdown of the night for Madison Central (1-3). Elijah Carter made 12 tackles while Edgren Sweat had 11 tackles and a sack in the loss.
Collins 31, East Jessamine 7: Senior Henry Robbins rushed 18 times for 263 yards and three touchdowns for the Titans (5-0), who haven’t given up more than 14 points since a 36-28 win at Spencer County to kick off the season. Senior Joe Lucas was 11-of-17 for 107 yards and a score.
Pikeville 54, Phelps 6: Isaac McNamee threw touchdown passes to three different receivers in the first half as the Panthers made quick work of the host Hornets. Zac Lockhart returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to send Pikeville (4-1) into halftime with a 46-0 lead. Steven Layne tossed a 34-yard touchdown to Cainan Land to get Phelps (1-4) on the board in the fourth quarter.
Johnson Central 75, Perry County Central 24: Dylan Preston rushed for 236 yards on an astounding seven carries with five touchdowns all before halftime for the Golden Eagles (4-0). Six other Johnson Central players scored, led by Mason Lawson who had five carries for 111 yards. Matt Crum connected with Grant Rice on a 74-yard TD pass, Johnson Central’s only throw of the game.
Mercer County 42, South Laurel 18: Jalen Lukitsch scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 64-yard interception return for a TD and Brayden Dunn added two more scores as the Titans (3-1) returned to action for the first time since their COVID-19 hiatus due to the county’s previous “red” status.
Bourbon County 41, Anderson County 21: Clay Estes threw three touchdown passes, including scoring tosses of 58 and 50 yards to Jeremiah Jones as the Colonels (1-3) snapped their losing streak. Bourbon’s defense snagged three interceptions. Anderson’s Aricin Russell sparked a Bearcats rally with a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter.
Great Crossing 44, Montgomery County 8: The Warhawks (1-3) got their first win of the season and first for new head coach Ricky Bowling as quarterback Jake Broughton ran in two TDs and threw for another. Great Crossing’s Cayden Allen recovered two fumbles and took one of them in for a score. Jacob Coulter had the TD catch, a 29-yarder.
Southwestern 27, Whitley County 6: Southwestern finally got the scoring started late in the third quarters as Giddeon Brainard scored the first of his two TDs on a 6-yard dive and the Warriors (5-0) got their second district win. Tanner Wright added a 39-yard score and Ethan Ware tacked on another in the game’s closing minutes.
Pulaski County 41, North Laurel 18: The Maroons (4-1) remained perfect in district play as Drew Polston threw for 320 yards and two TDs, a 29-yarder to Chandler Godby and a 55-yard bomb to Kaleb Adams. Purdue commit Tristan Cox pounded in three scores rushing.
West Jessamine 62, Scott 23: Jacob Jones and Jackson Green connected for 271 yards and three touchdowns on their own, and Jones had another 179 yards passing and a scoring throw to Dalton Carter in the Colts’ (3-2) rout. Green also had a pair of rushing touchdowns. Jveontae Emerson and Haden Rowland also got Colts TDs.
Somerset 42, Danville 6: Kade Grundy had 123 yard receiving with a TD catch from Kaiya Sheron and a 95-yard interception return for a TD on defense as the Briar Jumpers (5-0) sunk the Admirals (3-1) in a district clash. Sheron, a UK commit, had 193 yards passing. Mikey Garland scored three rushing touchdowns for Somerset, as well.
Rowan County 41, Harrison County 34: Cole Wallace, who had one of the biggest rushing games in Kentucky high school history with 464 yards against Scott on Sept. 25, had another big night scoring five touchdowns for the Vikings (3-2). Rowan’s Austin Fannin and Brien Hill also connected on a TD pass. Totals for Friday remained incomplete, but his single-game tally last month ranks sixth all-time.
Wayne County 52, Lincoln County 36: Braedon Sloan rushed for 291 yards on 20 carries with five touchdowns, including breakaways of 51, 58, and 48 yards as the Cardinals (2-2) knocked the Patriots (4-1) from the unbeaten ranks. Wayne’s Carson Simpson opened the scoring with a 78-yard kickoff return touchdown. Lincoln’s Clayton Davis caught TD passes of 45 and 43 yards from Sawyer Horton and threw a 50-yarder to Rodney Alcorn. A Davis 11-yard TD run in the third quarter cut their deficit to 31-28, but Lincoln would get no closer.
Madison Southern 29, Woodford County 27: The Eagles (2-2) scored all of their points in the first half and held on against a furious Woodford rally. Adrian Jones scored two TDs and what turned out to be an important two-point conversion after Madison Southern’s final touchdown of the game. Cole Carpenter threw TD passes to Walt Smith and Jonah Farnstrom.
North Hardin 21, Belfry 20: La’Vell Wright took in a screen pass from 15 yards out with 28 seconds leftto help the Trojans (5-0) get a tough road win against the defending Class 3A champions. Wright, a Kentucky commit, had two scores. Brett Coleman scored all three TDs for the Pirates (3-2).
Highlands 43, Boone County 0: Charlie Noon ran for a touchdown and threw for four more — all to different receivers — and the host Bluebirds rolled. Noon completed 11 of 15 passes for 174 yards as Highlands (3-2) ran up 314 yards of offense while holding Boone County (1-4) to 108.
Conner 27, Cooper 20: Colton Roy’s 55-yard TD run in the third quarter, his second score of the game, gave the Cougars (3-1) enough cushion to hold off the Jaguars (1-4). Roy finished with 187 yards. Jeremiah Lee scored twice for Cooper, including a 72-yard touchdown.
Bell County 27, Garrard County 0: Brandon Baker rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns for the Bobcats (3-2). Cameron Burnett completed a 21-yard pass to Chandler Mink for the other score.
Paintsville 57, Fairview 6: Jake Hyden threw three TD passes to three different receivers, including Harris Phelps, who also scored two TDs rushing a game that was 50-0 at halftime. Frederick James, Zach Thompson, Karsten Poe and Zach Taylor also reached the end zone.
Thursday’s game
Sayre 28, Carroll County 13: Cole Pennington completed 16 of 20 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns as the Spartans (5-0) earned their first road win since the program’s revival. Jackson Marshal caught two of those scores and contributed nine tackles on defense. Ford Webb and Corey Givens also reached the end zone.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 12:15 AM.
