‘Monster’ game helps put end to 18-year playoff drought
Woodford County shook off nearly two decades of playoff frustration Friday night with a dominating 54-28 win over West Jessamine at Community Stadium in the first round of the Class 5A UK Orthopaedics/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl.
While none of the current edition of the Yellow Jackets were even born the last time Woodford County won a playoff game in 2002, they all now know how putting an end to that streak feels.
“When I first came here this summer, we were looking good, but I wasn’t expecting all this. This is insane,” said Woodford junior running back Preston Stacy, who accounted for 224 rushing yards and five touchdowns, plus a 53-yard TD catch. “Our coach runs us a lot, and we’re just some hard workers. Everybody on the team.”
The hard work showed up early for Woodford in the form of big plays from Stacy. A 37-yard Stacy breakaway yielded his 1-yard TD on the next play for the first score of the game. A swing pass from quarterback Bryce Patterson to Stacy on the Yellow Jackets’ next possession went 47 yards for a 13-0 lead with still half the first quarter to go.
Stacy scored twice more as Woodford built a 27-14 lead at halftime.
“I saw wide-open holes,” Stacy said. “My linemen are amazing blockers. … I couldn’t have gotten much more from them. This is amazing.”
Stacy’s performance had his coach singing his praises.
“He’s a Mr. Football candidate next year, I promise,” Johnson said. “He’s a big, strong running back and a college prospect, definitely. He’s a monster, man, and he can go.”
West Jessamine quarterback Jacob Jones connected on a couple of big pass plays to Dalton Carter, one scoring a TD and another setting up Jveontae Emerson’s scoring plunge to keep it close for a while, but Woodford kept pouring it on with its run game.
“We’ve grinded pretty hard to get to this point, so they’ve been mentally tough and ready to go,” Woodford County Coach Dennis Johnson said.
Due to COVID-19, Woodford (4-2) has only played six games this season. Friday’s win cemented the second straight winning season under the former University of Kentucky football standout.
“I was excited about the way we played,” Johnson said.
Woodford had to overcome some adversity in the first half when starting quarterback Patterson rolled his ankle trying to cut back away from the sideline on a rollout. Patterson had to be helped off the field and stood on crutches the rest of the game. Coach Johnson’s son Jasper, a freshman, stepped in at quarterback.
And Stacy kept rolling, scoring TDs of 52 and 17 yards in the third quarter as Woodford blew the game open 41-14 with 7:14 to play in the third.
Next up, the Yellow Jackets take on the 7th District’s top seed, Madison Southern in Berea next Friday. The Eagles defeated Collins 35-14 Friday.
In their regular-season meeting on Oct. 9, Woodford gave up 29 points in the first quarter. They ended up losing 29-27 and felt they had a couple of good chances to win it, Johnson said.
Jackson Geilear and Isaac Reed also scored for Woodford. West Jessamine’s (4-4) Jones finished with 269 yards passing and three TDs, all to Dalton Carter who racked up 200 receiving yards.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 2:08 AM.
