‘Why not play a game with some juice?’: Another first for Lexington high school football
Lexington will see another bit of football history this week as two of its best high school football teams will meet for the first time while another two get set for what might be the most important district matchups of their seasons.
“I don’t know if I’m going to give my kids a game plan on Thursday or if I’m going to give them a sling and five smooth stones,” Lexington Christian Coach Doug Charles joked about his Class 2A No. 1 Eagles’ impromptu tilt against Class 5A No. 3 Frederick Douglass, last year’s state runner-up in their division.
The David and Goliath reference, somewhat appropriate for the small Christian school going against a much larger public school, belies the fact that LCA (4-0) has an exceptional squad that might be able to counter a Douglass team that has a bevy of players destined for Division I college football.
In the latest overall high school ratings by Dave Cantrall, Douglass ranks No. 7 with LCA not far behind at No. 11.
The game at Frederick Douglass (2-1) was made possible by the cancellation of LCA’s scheduled district matchup with Washington County over COVID-19 concerns.
“We were going to go 15 days with no games,” Charles said. “Why not play a game with some juice, baby? — and get out there and play. I’ve got some dudes that want some scholarships, too. I’ve got some guys that have some Power Five offers, too. So let’s go out there and see what we’ve got.”
Here’s a look at LCA’s game against Douglass, plus important district games between Bryan Station and Clark County in Class 6A and Lexington Catholic and Boyle County in Class 4A. Each game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
LCA at Douglass
Frederick Douglass was the first call LCA made after its Washington County cancellation was confirmed for one reason: The Eagles wanted a tough, physical matchup to prepare them for the following week’s game against defending Class 2A champion Somerset.
They’re going to get it.
Douglass has one of the most formidable rosters in the state with Kentucky commits Jager Burton in the trenches and Dekel Crowdus catching passes alongside a host of players with other Division I offers including Dane Key, Ty Bryant, Isaiah Kenney and Thomas Howard.
The Broncos had the lead against Class 6A No. 4 North Hardin until a last-second field goal in their opener despite committing five turnovers, and they routed Class 6A No. 5 Ballard on the road. Last week, Douglass demolished district foe Grant County 64-0 in a game where they scored a mercy-rule inducing 36 points before the end of the first quarter.
“Playing a team like Frederick Douglass that has elite talent on the field and has the physicality, and is good in all three phases (of the game) is going to do nothing but make us better,” LCA’s Charles said. “Heck, we’re playing with house money. We’re a 2A school. I know that 90 percent of the people think we don’t have a prayer. And that’s fine. But I like what’s in my bus, and we’ll go down there and see.”
Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek needed a game, any game, to help get it prepared for its own goals this season, which include making a run to Kroger Field for another chance at a state title. With the scheduling jumbled because of COVID-19, Douglass had two city opponents opt out of playing them. This was supposed to be a bye week, but McPeek said the Broncos have had enough bye weeks due to COVID.
“They’re not a typical 2A team in the fact that they don’t have the athletes to match with us. They do,” McPeek said.
McPeek noted LCA’s Xavier Brown, who has a couple of D-I offers from Power Five schools, “pops out” on film and is as athletic as some of his own players. LCA quarterback Drew Nieves had five touchdown passes in a rout of Paul Laurence Dunbar last week and Mason Moore, a normal standout on defense, broke out with a huge receiving game against the Bulldogs.
LCA is among the state leaders in rushing defense, sacks and passing offense.
The last time Douglass had any Class 2A teams on its schedule was in its first season. Danville’s 2017 state title team handed the Broncos a 36-0 loss in the first game for the program. Danville’s district rivals include Lexington Christian.
“We’re going to play an LCA team that’s solid,” McPeek said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Bryan Station at Clark County
The Defenders have gotten off to a hot start under first-year head coach Phillip Hawkins with three straight wins and a No. 7 ranking in the latest Associated Press Class 6A poll.
But now, district play begins at Clark County on Friday. The Cardinals looked to be a team aimed at making a deep playoffs run this season, but they have started 0-3.
Both Bryan Station and Clark have played Scott County, with the Defenders’ hard-fought 7-6 loss to the Cardinals signaling they might be a team to be reckoned with this year. Clark lost to Scott County two weeks later, 42-14, and played without leading rusher Azariah Israel last week. Israel racked up 2,346 yards and 28 TDs as a junior. Jeremiah Mundy-Lloyd stepped into the lead role with 120 yards and a touchdown last week in a narrow loss to Cooper.
The Defenders have already surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season with Joseph Bond and Amodeus Taylor getting the bulk of the carries and dual-threat quarterback transfer Mikaleb Coffey saw his first action last week in helping lead a second half comeback win against Henry Clay.
Hawkins said he’s trying to keep his team level-headed going into Friday night.
“We’re going to play it down. We’ve got our kids convinced they’re going into the next game coming off a loss,” Hawkins said of the Defenders’ mindset. “We’re trying to keep them humble and let them enjoy these wins. To win (against Clark County) would be good for our program. A district win of that caliber has not happened for a while. So, we’re going in there trying to win a football game and hope it works out.”
Boyle County at Lexington Catholic
Lexington Catholic (1-1) has not been able to solve district rival Boyle County (3-0) in its last five attempts, including playoff losses in 2017 and 2019.
But in order for the Knights to achieve their goals this season, the refiguring has to begin Friday against a Rebels squad that has a new coach but a lot of the same offensive explosiveness of past Boyle teams.
“Both teams have had some pretty good players over the stretch of the past few years,” LexCath Coach Nigel Smith said, referring to past standouts including the Knights’ Beau Allen, now at Kentucky, and Boyle’s Reese Smith, now at West Virginia. “It’s just a matter of that next group of players that have not made big names yet. They all have a chance to make big names for themselves on Friday.”
Lexington Catholic has seen junior quarterback Jack Gohmann take the reins of the offense. He threw for 202 yards and five touchdowns to four different receivers in their win over Tates Creek last week. First-year head coach Justin Haddix’s Rebels are led by senior QB Jagger Gillis, who has thrown for 705 yards and 10 TDs. Running back Will McDaniel and wide receiver Cole Lanter have combined for more than 500 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns in three games.
“Coach Haddix is putting his own stamp on the program,” Smith said. “The things that he did at Corbin, there’s a little wrinkle there that you can see from his Corbin days, but it’s still a lot of the way Boyle County has always played. … low pad level, playing hard, playing fast.”
