Overhauled programs face each other with playoff implications on their minds
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Wes Johnson and Bryan Station’s Phillip Hawkins have turned their once-moribund football programs around so quickly that they’ll not only be playing for some measure of city pride this Friday at Dunbar’s John R. Akers Stadium, there’s also serious playoff implications on the line.
“It’s been going good. We’re getting our stuff together and everybody’s been doing their job,” said Bryan Station junior running back Joey Bond, who leads the team in rushing with 699 yards. “It’s been incredible how (Coach Hawkins) came here and changed the whole program.”
Hawkins’ reclamation project at Bryan Station (6-1) has taken off much faster than Johnson’s at Dunbar (3-1). The Defenders had only three wins in 2019 and were ushered out of the first round in a 60-24 blowout at Oldham County. They had only two wins the year before.
Johnson began making serious strides last year, his second season in charge and Dunbar’s first winning season since 2005. The Bulldogs didn’t even make the playoffs in their five-team district in Johnson’s first year. Last year, they lost a close game against Tates Creek for the district playoff title.
“I think that the theme of our football team the past few years is that we keep elevating with each game, we learn and become more comfortable and in a season like this one that is essential,” said Dunbar quarterback Jake Smith. “The defense has been lights-out lately. The offense is starting to find it’s groove, I love where we’re at as a team right now.”
Each coach has a lot of respect for what the other has done.
“He’s doing the right things over there,” Hawkins said. “I guess you could say it’s taken him a couple of years, and it’s maybe not been as long for me, but he’s got a pretty good product. They seem like they’re playing well.”
Aside from Lexington Christian, Bryan Station could be the toughest game on Dunbar’s schedule.
“You have to have pieces. My pieces were a little younger, and we’ve had to develop those pieces,” Johnson said comparing the rebuilds. “He’s got really, really good kids and really good athletes and they just needed a system to believe in. And he’s the coach to do it.”
Getting the players to believe in a system has a lot to do with it.
“I don’t think they do anything really complicated, and we don’t either,” Johnson said. “It’s finding what your kids do well and giving them confidence to go out on the field and perform.”
Bryan Station has locked up the ability to host its first two playoff games playing in Class 6A’s 8th District by sweeping rivals Madison Central, Oldham County and Clark County. Dunbar plays in the 7th District and needs a win against Lafayette next week to earn a No. 1 seed after already topping Henry Clay and Tates Creek.
A win Friday night would also boost their RPI ratings for the tournament beyond that. The playoffs are seeded according to each team’s RPI rating in the third round and semifinals. While it might seem to be getting ahead of themselves a little bit, it’s well within the realm of possibility that Friday’s game could have a significant impact on both teams’ postseason hopes.
“It’s crazy. Right now, we’re third in RPI. Isn’t that crazy?” Hawkins said laughing. “It’s North Hardin, Trinity, Bryan Station.”
That’s important because the road to the semifinals is a lot rougher if a Class 6A juggernaut like Trinity, North Hardin or Male is in your path. The higher your own seed is, the further those teams are down the road. And winning second- and third-round games in Kentucky’s playoff system brings district and regional trophies, respectively. Those are milestone moments for a program.
“It really sets you up for a better draw,” Johnson said. “My motivation for this game is getting to play a good team and trying to get a win against a good team that would give us a good RPI for the playoffs.”
Hawkins acknowledges how weird that sounds.
The Dunbar game “is big,” Hawkins said. “There’s a lot of good things going on.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 1:09 PM.
