Highlights: Bryan Station earns top-10 win on road; Boyle County and Douglass both roll
Recaps from Week 4 games of 2023 Kentucky high school football.
Bryan Station 28, Ballard 21: The Defenders (2-2), ranked No. 7 in this week’s Class 6A media rankings, delivered a well-rounded performance to overpower the No. 6 Bruins (2-2) in Louisville.
“The offense was good again, the defense was great,” Bryan Station head coach Phillip Hawkins said. “And you know, if you can get those two things happening at the same time, you’re gonna win games.”
Freshman Demond Green got things started for the Defenders with an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown to put Bryan Station up 6-0. With about five minutes left in the first quarter, Ballard senior Journey Wyche rushed for a 1-yard TD to give the Bruins their first and only lead of the game.
Bryan Station quarterback Trenton Cutwright and running back Kalen Washington made their first touchdown connection of the night early in the second quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass. Washington then rushed for a successful two-point conversion to put the Defenders up 14-7.
Cutwright threw for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Defenders’ road victory.
“We all know Trenton can play,” Hawkins said. “And we know once Trenton gets confident, he turns into the kind of leader and quarterback we need to win high-level football games. And he was that tonight, as well. And of course it helps when you’ve got an O-line that’s blocking for you, and you’ve got a running back (Washington) that’s unbelievable right now.”
Ballard tied things up not two minutes later when quarterback Larry Irvin connected with Wyche for a 76-yard receiving TD. With less than three minutes to play in the first half, Jordan Haskins put the Defenders back on top with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Cutwright in a drive that took just 11 seconds.
“I think that they played tough,” Hawkins said. “And they didn’t succumb to some of the pressures of that environment. They did what we asked them to do. Couldn’t have asked for more, really, from them.”
Ballard was first to score in the second half, with a 31-yard rushing touchdown from Wyche. The running back finished with 163 all-purpose yards and three scores.
Washington scored the final two TDs of the game, the first of which arrived in the form of a 69-yard rushing score late in the third quarter. He also had a 6-yard rushing TD with just over four minutes to play in the fourth.
“When (Washington) gets going, he’s a load,” Hawkins said. “He’s just a great running back.”
In the final seconds of the game, Ballard was intercepted in the end zone, and Bryan Station got the ball at the 20-yard line. There was then an altercation instigated by a Ballard player on the first Defenders snap, which led to a larger melee when Bryan Station got into victory formation. Hawkins said he doesn’t believe his team will face any disciplinary action from the KHSAA and expects to bring a full roster to the Defenders’ Sept. 15 game at Tates Creek.
Frederick Douglass 43, Tates Creek 0: Backup quarterback Jaxon Strautman threw for 143 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team-high 54 yards and a TD as the Broncos (2-1) shut out the Commodores (3-1) at The Farm.
Defensive back Jeremiah Lowe scored first for Frederick Douglass on a 68-yard punt return in the first quarter. The Broncos tacked on three more scores in the second quarter with TDs from Pharo Watts (10-yard run), Darion Talbert (27-yard run) and Strautman (1-yard run) to take a 28-0 lead at the half.
Watts scored another early in the third quarter with a 4-yard TD run. Aveion Chenault cemented the shutout with an 18-yard TD catch early in the fourth.
Lexington Catholic 36, Great Crossing 15: Joaquin Pereira rushed for 107 yards and scored a pair of TDs in the first quarter as the Knights (2-2) capitalized on an early Warhawks fumble and rolled to a 36-0 lead by halftime.
LexCath quarterback Jackson Wasik had a 6-yard TD run and threw for 201 yards and TD passes to Jackson Kreutzer and Matthew Kern. Jeremiah Clark and Isaiah Johnson scored for Great Crossing (1-3).
Boyle County 54, Scott County 21: The Rebels (4-0) dominated three quarters of football against the Cardinals (3-1) to remain undefeated this season.
Boyle County scored 19 points in the first quarter on touchdowns from Demauriah Brown (69-yard catch) and Avery Bodner (two 1-yard runs). Jacob Fryman broke through for Scott County with a 1-yard rushing TD. Fryman rushed for another single-yard TD in the second quarter while Montavin Quisenberry added a pair of touchdowns for the Rebels (96-yard kickoff return, 11-yard run).
Boyle County scored 21 more in the third quarter, thanks to Quisenberry (11-yard run), Bodner (13-yard catch) and a 7-yard fumble recovery for a TD. Scott County’s Thomas Feickert rushed for a 1-yard TD for the fourth quarter’s lone score.
DeSales 45, Lafayette 6: Quarterback Peyton Molter threw for 289 yards and three TDs to lift the Colts (2-2) on the road over the Generals (0-4).
DeSales built up a 32-0 lead before Lafayette got on the scoreboard with 2:27 remaining in the first half on a 47-yard receiving TD from Kevin Amuri. That touchdown arrived after first quarter scores from Broderick Price (53-yard catch) and DaVon Martin (7-yard run, 17-yard catch), and a second-quarter, 20-yard interception return by Price. Colm Spalding added another on a 44-yard receiving TD with 1:11 left in the second quarter.
Martin scored the lone second half score on a 5-yard run.
George Rogers Clark 48, Henry Clay 27: The Cardinals (3-1) outrushed the Blue Devils (0-4) 246 yards to 16 to win on the road.
GRC senior Bryce Chestnut ran for 226 of those yards plus three TDs, two of which were the Cardinals’ first two scores (4 and 11 yards) of the half. The Cardinals also saw first half TDs from Hayden Heath (51-yard interception return) and Camahni John (7-yard run). A 30-yard TD pass from Henry Clay quarterback Rohan Taylor to Walden Cole was the Blue Devils’ lone score of the first half.
Henry Clay’s Henry Mackey (2-yard TD run) and Landon Merriman’s (9- and 36-yard TD catches) second half efforts weren’t enough to lift the Blue Devils. TDs by GRC’s Chestnut (3-yard run), Sam Clements (4-yard run) and John (22-yard catch) iced the win.
Shelby County 34, Paul Laurence Dunbar 24: The Rockets (2-2) outlasted a second half surge from the Bulldogs (0-4) to get back in the win column.
Shelby County junior Gianni Hunter rushed for a trio of first half touchdown runs (15, 42 and 8 yards), a fourth quarter score (18-yard run) and finished the game with 200 total rushing yards. Rockets senior Landon Ford scored an 18-yard receiving TD late in the fourth.
Dunbar scored its highest point total of the season with touchdowns from John Martin (82-yard catch) and Trae Berry (21- and 7-yard catches) and a 38-yard field goal from Ryan O’Hara. Bulldogs quarterback Ethan Teall threw for 268 yards and three TDs.
Paris 33, Montgomery County 6: Julius Gregory threw a pair of TD passes, a 30-yarder to Elijah Webb and a 60-yarder to Brandon Santiago, as the Class A Greyhounds (4-0) were never threatened by the Indians (2-2), their Class 5A hosts.
Donovan Griggs returned an interception 51 yards for a TD and Jakari Ransom scored on a 70-yard punt return for Paris, who held a 27-0 lead in the fourth quarter until Montgomery County’s Jaime Caba struck with an 89-yard kickoff return. Jaiden Holman responded with a 19-yard TD run on Paris’ next series.
Mercer County 48, Danville 10: The Titans improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2006 as Denim Griffieth rushed for 85 yards and three TDs and Ashton Drakeford returned a punt 45 yards for a score. Mercer QB Thaddeus Mays added a rushing TD and a TD pass to Cameron Bottoms. Malachi Davis also scored for the Titans. Kaleb Wilcher kicked a 27-yard field goal and Jayden Tandy scored late for the Admirals (0-4).
Woodford County 40, Warren (Downey, Calif.) 39: The Yellow Jackets (2-1) fended off a furious fourth quarter rally and potential go-ahead two-point conversion by their California visitors and ran out all but 5.4 seconds of the game’s last two minutes to hang on for the win. Warren’s desperate Hail Mary at the horn went unanswered.
Woodford’s Leland Taylor had a 73-yard TD reception from Lemmie Coons in the first quarter and a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown just before halftime. Justus Wertzler came on at QB for Woodford later in the game and had TD runs of 19 and 24 yards. Wyatt Crowe added another TD and had an interception.
Corbin 43, Pulaski County 0: In their first shutout victory of the season, the Redhounds (3-0) dominated the Maroons (1-3) thanks to more than 200 passing yards from junior quarterback Kade Elam.
Cole Stevens got things started for Corbin in the first quarter with a 32-yard rushing touchdown. Elam then connected with wide receiver Carter Stewart for a 42-yard touchdown reception to put the Redhounds up 14-0. Elam also connected with junior receiver Colton Creekmore for an 11-yard TD reception in the second quarter and later for a 78-yard receiving TD in the third.
Cam Estep (82-yard run) and Zander Curry (7-yard run) also ran for scores in Corbin’s win.
Covington Catholic 31, Dixie Heights 24: Covington Catholic (4-0) overcame a comeback attempt by Dixie Heights (1-3) to stay perfect on the season.
Covington Catholic scored the first 10 points of the game on the back of a first quarter field goal from Andrew Weitzel and a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Owen Leen. Dixie Heights answered with a single-yard rushing TD from Armani Gregg, but CovCath secured a 17-7 halftime lead with a 10-yard receiving TD from Willie Rodriguez. CovCath quarterback Evan Pitzer threw for 236 yards and two scores on the night, tacking on his second in the fourth quarter with just 13 seconds left on a 23-yard connection to Rodriguez. Pitzer also rushed for a 4-yard TD in the third quarter.
Dixie Heights scored 14 points in the third quarter on a pair of touchdowns from Gregg (1- and 7-yard runs).
Raceland 7, Pikeville 6: The Rams (2-1) ended a five-game losing streak to the Panthers (2-2) and got their first win in Pikeville since 1957. Noah Wallace scored on the end of a 15-play, 70-yard drive in the first quarter to help Raceland take a 7-6 lead that would stand. Pikeville’s Isaac Duty completed a 33-yard TD pass to Brayden Hall for the first score of the game, but the extra point failed.
Collins 24, Oldham County 8: Quarterback Kade Goodin rushed for 147 yards and two TDs and threw for 199 yards, including a 4-yard TD pass to Michael Schramm, as the Titans (3-1) controlled throughout. Gage Miller’s 31-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half put Collins up 17-0. Derek Dees scored a 5-yard TD in the fourth quarter to help Oldham (2-2) avoid the shutout.
Bell County 30, Perry County Central 26: The Bobcats (4-0) rallied for the lead late in the fourth quarter on quarterback Blake Burnett’s 21-yard touchdown run. Daniel Thomas rushed for 125 yards and three TDs and Bell converted three of its four two-point conversions. Perry Central established a 26-22 lead after consecutive scores in the fourth — a TD pass by Kizer Slone to Noah Kilburn and Slone’s 10-yard TD run. A Seth Jackon TD run and another TD pass by Slone to Tyler Robinson in the first half kept Perry (2-2) in the game. Jackson led Perry with 117 yards rushing.
Lincoln County 62, Bourbon County 14: Sawyer Horton’s 133 yards passing gave him 3,652 for his career, surpassing the Patriots’ all-time mark held by assistant coach Bryson Yaden. Horton also had 75 rushing yards with two TD runs and a 39-yard TD pass to Bobby Floyd. Floyd and Elan Lane each also had a pair of TDs runs for the Patriots (2-2).
Washington County 49, Marion County 23: The Commanders (3-1) captured a fifth straight Border War barrel win over the Knights (2-2) as Noah Reynolds threw TD passes to Kymani Reardon, Beau Baker, Isaiah Mattingly and Camden Abell and had a 35-yard TD run. Reynolds also scored on a 55-yard punt return and Mattingly had an 85-yard kickoff return.
North Laurel 14, Madison Central 7: The Jaguars (2-2) held off a late push from the Indians (0-4) in order to pick up their second win of the season.
North Laurel quarterback Hunter Morgan scored both touchdowns for the Jaguars. First on a 4-yard QB keeper late in the first quarter, and later on a 6-yard run TD halfway through the third. Madison Central picked up its only score when quarterback Bryant Mathis ran for a 10-yard TD.
Wayne County 19, Madison Southern 14: Despite their lowest point total of the season, the Cardinals (4-0) defeated the Eagles (1-3).
Junior Antajuan Dumphord caught a pair of TD passes in the first quarter to give Wayne County the early lead. Lukas Mullins then rushed for a 1-yard TD to put the Eagles on the board before Wayne County quarterback Korbyn Edwards connected with fellow freshman Brice Lafevers on a 20-yard TD reception.
Madison Southern’s Brayden Hall also pulled in a touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Moore.
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