Highlights: Woodford, Scott County, LexCath notch wins ahead of huge district showdowns
Thrown back together in the same district for the first time since 2006, Class 5A No. 4 Scott County and No. 6 Woodford County will face off on Friday at Woodford’s Community Stadium in a game that will determine their district championship.
Both top contenders in Class 5A for years now, the two have not played against each other since they were district rivals back in those days in an era that Scott County dominated.
“That’s what people have been waiting for,” Woodford coach Dennis Johnson said. “It’s going to be a huge game. It’s going to be a packed house. Two really good football teams are going to go at it next Friday night and we’re excited to be in that game.”
The only loss this season for Woodford County (5-1) came against Class 6A No. 8 Bullitt East, the defending state champion in that division. Scott County (7-1) lost to Class 4A No. 1 Boyle County, the three-time defending state champion in that class.
Both can take a huge step toward their own state title hopes this week.
“Coach Johnson has a good team. They’re athletic and fast and they’ve got some size,” Scott County coach Jim McKee said. “It should be a lot of fun. Those are the games that are why you coach.”
And McKee noted that even though the game likely will decide their district title, both teams should still like their chances in the postseason ahead. They could face a potential payback game down the line for a region, semi-state or even a state championship trophy with the way the playoffs are structured now.
“The loser’s not out of the mix,” McKee said. “We’ll both still feel good about where we’d be in the playoffs.”
Week 8 recaps
Here are highlights from Week 8 of Friday’s high school football action, including the results of Woodford County and Scott County.
Woodford County 41, Collins 14: The Yellow Jackets got 258 yards passing and five TDs from quarterback Justus Wertzler. Two of those scoring tosses went to Darrian Tomlin and another to Leland Taylor, who led Woodford with 144 yards receiving.
“Wertzler playing quarterback has been phenomenal,” Coach Johnson said. “We’re throwing the ball a lot more and players are just making plays.”
Collins freshman QB Kade Goodin had a touchdown pass and two interceptions. The Titans’ Joshua Lainhart had a rushing TD.
Scott County 43, South Oldham 14: The Cardinals scored on their first six possessions of the game, including an 85-yard touchdown return by Timmy Emongo on the opening kickoff. Ellis Huguely, Jacob Fryman and Buddy Collins all had TD runs while quarterback Andrew Hickey threw a pair of TD passes to Isaac York.
“I’m pretty pleased with where our team is at at this point in the season,” Coach McKee said.
South Oldham (5-3) got TD scores from Jacob Acevedo via a 14-yard pass from Nick Hamilton in the second quarter and a 6-yard run in the fourth, but the Dragons never threatened.
Lexington Catholic 48, Bourbon County 0: Knights quarterback Jackson Wasik threw for 200 yards three TD passes, including a 76-yarder to Sam Clements, and Alex Rayyan had 144 yards rushing, including TD runs of 36 and 20 yards.
Jackson Kreutzer and Tanner Pedroche caught the other scores while Joaquin Pereira and Kaylib Nelson added short touchdown runs for LexCath (3-4), who kept district rival Bourbon (0-7) winless. Sam Smith had an interception for the Knights.
Ranked No. 2 in Class 3A in the latest media rankings despite a losing record because of their difficult schedule, LexCath will go to No. 4 Lloyd Memorial on Friday in a game that could decide the District 5 championship. The Knights haven’t faced the Juggernauts since the 2000 postseason.
Lafayette 30, Henry Clay 0: Defense and special teams made all the difference for the Generals (2-5) in their shutout victory over the Blue Devils (0-7).
Lafayette scored its first points on a 30-yard touchdown pass from DJ Walker to Christian Giannone in the first quarter. Not two minutes later, Nemo Jarber recovered a fumble and ran it 80 yards for a TD.
Freshman kicker Jackson Grantz strung a trio of field goals (25, 26 and 30 yards) to put Lafayette up 22-0 at the half. Lafayette also posted a safety in the third quarter, and Jackson Stephens returned an interception for a 42-yard TD late in the fourth.
Sayre 49, Berea 0: Quarterback Luke Pennington threw for 214 yards and five touchdowns and the Spartans (7-0) defeated the Pirates (0-7).
Travis Smith got things started for Sayre with a 13-yard rushing TD. Pennington later connected with both Chase Parker and Charlie Slabaugh to put the Spartans up 21-0 after the first quarter.
Brock Coffman opened the second quarter with a 47-yard rushing score before Kemonte Braxton caught a TD pass from Pennington. Caden Jones’ 45-yard run TD secured a 42-0 Sayre lead at the half. Braxton rushed for a 30-yard TD for his second score of the game.
Frankfort 36, Eminence 26: The Panthers (2-5) stunned the visiting Class A No. 10 Warriors (4-3) as Dakyo Washington’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the third quarter essentially sealed a game Frankfort dominated almost from the outset.
Frankfort’s Zavian Knuckles, starting at quarterback for the first time this season, had two TD runs, including a 62-yarder to open the scoring in the first quarter. Grayson Fisher pounced on a botched punt snap in the end zone for a 22-8 lead early in the second quarter and Washington broke a 40-yard TD run later in the second half to put the Panthers up 29-8. Eminence scored two TDs in the final two minutes of the game to close the gap.
Paris 40, Nicholas County 6: Elijah Webb had a 72-yard kickoff return touchdown and 85-yard TD catch from Julius Gregory and a pair of TD runs as the Class A No. 5 Greyhounds (7-0) rolled ahead of next week’s district game at No. 1 Raceland.
Paris also got a 51-yard TD run from Jayden Holman and short rushing scores from Gregory and Jakari Ransom in the rout. Nicholas County (3-5) avoided the shutout with an 82-yard TD run by Alex Koeder in the fourth quarter.
Boyle County 49, Russell County 7: Sage Dawson threw for 148 yards and four TDs with scoring passes to Montavin Quisenberry, Demauriah Brown, Geordon Brown and Gage Feltner as the Class 4A No. 1 Rebels (7-0) notched the football program’s 500th win. Feltner and Josh Bixler also scored rushing TDs.
Madison Southern 24, Montgomery County 14: The Eagles (4-4) staved off a comeback attempt from the Indians (2-6) to remain undefeated in district play.
Madison Southern got out to a 14-point lead thanks to a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Ethan Moore and a 5-yard TD run from Stephen Whitehead. Montgomery County roared back in the third quarter with a pair of receiving scores from Harrison Haddix, tying the game at 14-all before Whitehead rushed for a 2-yard score to put the Eagles back on top. Kicker Avery Davidson also nailed a 31-yard field goal for the final points of the game.
Franklin County 29, Southwestern 28: The Flyers (7-0) beat the Warriors (4-3) on a successful two-point conversion play in the final seconds of the game.
Southwestern got out to a strong start thanks to a 3-yard TD run from Christian Walden in the first quarter and an interception return for a touchdown by Nathan Vanover to put the Warriors up 14-0. Franklin County kicker Easton Powell hit a 26-yard field goal before Christian Moore ran for a 1-yard score to cut the Warriors’ lead to 14-10 at the half.
Braxton Walters rushed for a TD in the third quarter to give Southwestern a bit of breathing room, but Franklin County turned a fumble recovery into a touchdown before a successful two-point conversion to bring the score to 21-18 in the fourth quarter. Owen Campbell then connected with Walden for a TD reception, but Powell kicked another field goal to set the Flyers up for an eight-point drive (Gavin Hurst TD, Moore two-point conversion) and subsequent victory.
Simon Kenton 50, Great Crossing 36: The Pioneers (4-2) got 341 yards and three TDs passing from Brady Lee and 127 yards and three TDs rushing by Durrell Turner in a game that the Warhawks (1-6) closed to within one score late in the first half before Simon Kenton pulled away. Jeremiah Clark had 130 yards rushing and two TDs for Great Crossing, who also got rushing TDs from Isaiah Johnson and Zach Morris.
Bell County 52, Knox Central 28: Senior Daniel Thomas rushed for five touchdowns as the Bobcats (7-1) prevailed against the Panthers (4-3).
Kaleb Miller put Bell County on the scoreboard with a 39-yard TD reception in the first quarter. Knox Central answered in the second quarter with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Steve Partin and successful two-point conversion to give the Panthers their only lead of the game. Blake Burnett then put the Bobcats back ahead with a 6-yard rushing TD and a 14-yard scoring run from Thomas. Partin ran for a 5-yard TD to close out the first half.
Thomas ran for four second-half scores (5, 12, 29 and 42 yards). Knox Central got touchdowns from Landen Daugherty (6-yard catch) and Nathan Dunn (5-yard catch).
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