High school football: A smash-mouth win; LCA takes thriller; Sayre perfect at home
After three turnovers in the first half and a 10-point deficit in the third quarter, the Central Yellow Jackets didn’t panic. They just did what they do: Grind opponents into submission.
Malachi Williams’ 4-yard touchdown run with 8.9 seconds left in the game capped 12 unanswered fourth quarter points for the Class 4A No. 3 Yellow Jackets, helping give them an 18-16 win over No. 4 Franklin County on Saturday night.
“It was tough. They came out fighting, so we had to come back out fighting harder,” said Williams who had 192 yards rushing on an astounding 40 carries and two touchdowns. “I knew my team had the abilities to come back.”
On its final two drives, Central drained more than 15 minutes off the clock — not only getting the touchdowns they needed, but also keeping Franklin County’s high-powered offense off the field. The Flyers had been averaging 49.7 points per game.
“That’s who we are,” Central Coach Marvin Dantzler said. “We’re a power running team. We rely on our defense. We try to just be true to who we are. Don’t get out of character. We just wanted to have a chance in the fourth, because they’re good.”
Central fumbled on its first possession of the game at midfield, setting up a Franklin County drive finished by Peyton Ledford’s 1-yard TD run to put the Flyers up 6-0 in the first quarter.
Central responded to tie it 6-6 on Williams’ first score, but Franklin County answered with an Owen Powell field goal and stymied two more Central drives with a fumble recovery and a Braedyn Tracy interception just before half as the Yellow Jackets drove it into the red zone.
Kaden Moore’s touchdown on Franklin’s opening second-half drive put Franklin County up 16-6 with 8:38 left in the third quarter. The Flyers looked to be on their way to their fourth win of the season and probable home-field advantage in the district playoffs.
But Central embarked on a bruising 11-minute drive that included two fourth down conversions. With a steady diet of running Williams up the middle the entire series, Central quarterback Vernon Duncan pulled the ball out of an anticipated handoff and rolled into the end zone on a fourth down play from the 8-yard line to cut the Flyers’ lead to 16-12 with 9:02 to play.
“In that moment, you just got to bow up and make a play and that’s what I did,” Duncan said of the score. “We just pound, pound, pound, and if they can’t get with us, they can’t get with us.”
Despite that, Franklin County had a chance to seal the win on its subsequent drive, but with quarterback Nick Broyles hobbled by an ankle injury and the flow of the offense broken by a Central defense that ranks No. 1 in fewest points allowed among all classes, the Flyers’ series stalled on a fourth-and-4 on Central’s 32-yard line. Franklin County turned the ball over on downs, setting the stage for Central’s comeback.
“I thought it was a heck of a football game. It was a physical football game,” Franklin County Coach Eddie James said. “I told my kids not to hang their head. (Central) just had the ball last. Everybody had stops. Everybody moved the ball. We’ve just got to go back to work.”
Central and Franklin County are 4th District rivals and this game means home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs for Central, something Franklin County seized last year with a regular-season win on the Yellow Jackets’ home field. Central later pulled off the road playoff win, however.
“We’re going to see these guys again, and they’re not laying down,” Dantzler said of Franklin County. “It’s a nail-biter every time we play.”
Central probably won’t play again until the playoffs due to Jefferson County Public Schools’ decision to restrict its football teams to limited practices as long as the county remains in a “red” condition on the state’s COVID-19 incidence map. JCPS is allowing its sports teams to play in the postseason.
Lexington Christian 34, Danville 30: With Xavier Brown, the Eagles’ versatile two-way threat, resting a sore knee after last week’s game against Somerset, LCA (6-1) survived a critical district game on the road against an Admirals team that seemed primed to earn an upset.
The two teams scored 45 points in a wild, back-and-forth fourth quarter
Mason Moore’s 43-yard touchdown catch, his second score of the quarter, put LCA ahead for good with 32.3 seconds left.. Moore threw a 70-yard TD pass to Will Vernon moments earlier that helped the Eagles tie it 24-24 late in the fourth quarter. Moore’s other TD catch was a 51-yarder.
Andrew Dobbs kicked four field goals, including a 42-yarder that put LCA up 27-24 with 2:04 left.. But Danville (3-2) answered with a 76-yard Sage Dawson pass to Corydon Crawford to put the Admirals back in front 30-27 at the 1:33 mark. Crawford broke loose for a 72-yard kickoff return just a few minutes before that signaled the craziness ahead.
“Neither team deserved to lose that game,” LCA Coach Doug Charles said. “It was another 2A, District 4 classic.”
Lexington Catholic 23, Anderson County 12: JD Woodall and Darin Eldridge scored rushing touchdowns and kicker Max Degraff booted three field goals to lift the Knights (3-2) to a road win.
Eldridge finished with 153 yards rushing to go along with the TD that put his team up 10-6 early in the second quarter. Isaiah Fitzpatrick and Jacob Castle scored rushing TDs for the Bearcats (0-7).
Sayre 20, Bishop Brossart 13: Jackson Marshall’s 81-yard touchdown run up the gut broke a 13-13 tie in the third quarter and helped keep the Spartans (7-0) undefeated in their final home game of the season.
Quarterback Cole Pennington threw TD passes of 17 yards to Cory Givens and 11 yards to Caleb Kern on Friday night to help stake Sayre to a 13-6 lead before storms interrupted play.
Brossart got a tying TD run from Trevor Schadler when play resumed Saturday, but neither team could muster much offense after Marshall’s go-ahead score. Ford Webb led Sayre in tackles with 14 and Trey Dennis had two interceptions for the Spartans.
West Jessamine 27, Collins 24: Jackson Green scored on two short rushing plays and had a TD catch as the Colts (4-3) got their second district win. Jacob Jones also hit Dalton Carter on a 52-yard pass play. Collins (5-2) got Joe Lucas TD passes to Kenyon Goodin, Darius Evans and Henry Robbins.
Great Crossing 50, Grant County 24: Jake Broughton threw TD passes of 20, 22 and 40 yards to Jacob Coulter and ran in another score as the Warhawks (3-3) got their second district victory. After trailing 18-13 late in the first half, Great Crossing scored 37 straight points. Great Crossing’s Kalib Perry had two rushing TDs and Tyris Cobbins added another. Logan Sutherland and Aldo Olivas each scored twice for Grant County (2-4).
Taylor County 37, Adair County 19: Wes Oliver rushed for 104 yards and two scores and Conner Roney had a 133-yard receiving game with a TD from quarterback Ethan Coghill as the Cardinals (6-1) won their fifth straight. Coghill added 77 yards rushing and ran in a TD to match Keeshon Smith’s. Roney had a team-high 22 tackles.
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 1:03 AM.
