The Boys of Fall: September 6, 2022

James Collier The Ashland Beacon GEORGE WASHINGTON 21 ASHLAND 14 After surrendering 21 first-quarter points, Ashland’s defense would allow no more in the Tomcats visit to Charleston and a matchup with George Washington. The offense, however, could not muster up a game-tying drive in the second half and fell 21-14 to the Patriots. Ashland trailed by the final mark at the break and neither defense gave an inch in the second half. Trailing 14-0 in the first, Ashland’s defense pounced on a GW fumble at their own 31 and the offense needed only seven plays to find paydirt. Braxton Jennings provided the Tomcats with their first score on a 4-yard plunge to trim the deficit to seven after the Patriots dented the scoreboard twice in the early going of the contest. After the Patriots missed a chip shot field goal early in the second quarter, the Tomcats would need only one play to claw their way back into the game. Terell Jordan took a jet-sweep handoff and streaked 80 yards to the house with 9:44 to play in the contest for the final score by either team. LaBryant Strader threw for 233 yards on 23 of 41 passing. Asher Adkins hauled in 15 of those passes for 109 yards. Jordan added four for 75 while leading Ashland in rushing with the 80 yard dash to the endzone. Ashland welcomes Wheelersburg to Putnam Stadium Friday night. BOYD COUNTY 42 LEWIS COUNTY 6 Boyd County left little doubt of which Lions team was superior when they welcomed Lewis County Friday night. After a scoreless first quarter, Boyd County erupted for 21 points in the second and third stanzas for a 42-6 thrashing of the Lions from Vanceburg. Rhett Holbrook threw for 208 yards and two scores while rushing for 94 yards and two more scores. Brother Trey Holbrook hauled in a pair of passes for 71 yards including a 61-yard touchdown in the second frame. Boyd County tallied 511 total yards of offense with Malaki Wheeler accounting for 119 yards on the ground. Dakota Thompson’s 4-yard score opened the scoring with 10:34 to play in the half for a 7-0 lead. The Holbrook brother’s connection made it 14-0 four minutes later and Blake Waulk pushed the lead to 21-0 on a 13-yard score 3:50 before the half. Rhett Holbrook went 67 yards to paydirt to open the second half scoring. Holbrook also hit Bryant All for a 48-yard score with 4:39 to go in the third then closed the scoring with a 38-yard rush to end the third. Boyd County visits Greenup County Friday night. RACELAND 40 ROWAN COUNTY 3 It was an off night for the Raceland offense in the first half Friday night when the Rams entertained Rowan County. The Rams defense made up for the sluggish start. The Rams stingy defense allowed 125 total yards—51 on the ground and 74 through the air—while forcing four turnovers in a 40-3 thumping of the Vikings at Rams Stadium. Jules Farrow recorded three interceptions including his first on the first play from scrimmage by the Vikings and Noah Wallace added a pick-6 to open the second quarter. Raceland recorded four sacks on the quarterback and held Rowan County to 2 of 14 on third down conversions. Raceland marched 30 yards on eight plays after Farrow’s first pick with Wallace diving in from two yards out and a 7-0 lead. But the offense stalled the rest of the half with possession that resulted in two punts, an interception and a turnover on downs. But the Rams defense never gave the Vikings an inch of breathing room, forcing three punts, two more interceptions and a field goal that would be the only points on the night scored by the visitors. Raceland’s offense looked energized to open the second half on a seven-play, 62-yard drive capped off by a Logan Lundy 11-yard touchdown pass to Parker Fannin. Lundy found Landyn Newman for a 10-yard hook up to open the fourth. Farrow dashed 49 yards to the house for a 33-3 lead and Austin McKee’s 1-yard run closed the scoring. Farrow led the Rams with 89 yards on eight carries. Wallace added 49. Fannin had 29 yards on three catches. Newman added 22 on three balls. Raceland travels to Highlands Friday night in the Rams first true road game of the season. GREENUP COUNTY 17 LAWRENCE COUNTY 14 Greenup County used a mixture of skill and luck Friday night in a trip to Lawrence County. The skill came in the final stanza when the Musketeers trailed 14-10. Quarterback Tyson Sammons connected with Brady Howard in the flat and Howard took care of the rest, dashing 23 yards to paydirt and a 17-14 lead with 7:18 to play. The luck came on the final play of the game when the Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-goal from the Musketeers 1-yard line. The ensuing snap sailed over the quarterback’s head and the Bulldogs could not convert. Ballgame and a 3-0 start for the Musketeers for the first time since 2018. Sammons put the Musketeers in front to open the game with a 1-yard plunge with 9:42 to play in the frame. Lawrence County’s Dylan Ferguson added his own 1-yard score but the kick failed leaving Greenup County up, 7-6 after one. Carson Wireman connected on a 23-yard field goal midway through the second but Lawrence County answered with 1:03 before the half with another 1-yard run and a successful two-point conversion and a 14-10 edge at the break. Sammons threw for 91 yards on 7 of 12 passing and ran for 79 more. Ike Henderson tallied 67 yards on eight totes. Howard caught four passes for 34 yards. Greenup County welcomes Boyd County Friday night. WHEELERSBURG 28 RUSSELL 21 21 total points were scored in the game’s first three quarters Friday night when Russell entertained Wheelersburg. The duo combined for 28 points in the fourth with the deciding score be-ing the first of the contest. Wheelersburg’s Ethan Glover first of three rushing touchdowns decided the outcome as Wheelersburg defeated Russell, 28-21 at Henry R. Evans Stadium Friday night. Wheelersburg led 14-7 after three quarters with the teams trading scores in the final 12 minutes of play. Glover’s second score of the night gave Wheelersburg a 21-7 lead only 27 seconds into the final quarter. But Russell answered only eight seconds later with a 50-yard pass by Ethan Pack to Carson Patrick. With 5:32 to play in the game, Andre Richardson-Crews tied the game at 21-21 with a 2-yard score. But the Pirates final drive of the game finished with an explanation point by Glover, a 12-yard game-winning run for a seven-point victory. Wheelersburg gashed the Russell defense for 335 rushing yards on 49 carries. Russell totaled only 232 yards of offense led by Pack’s 130 yards through the air. Pack went 10 of 19 with a TD and interception—the lone Russell turnover in the game. Colby Rock led Russell with 33 yards on the ground. Patrick caught three passes for 59 yards. Russell welcomes Lawrence County Friday night trying to avoid an 0-4 start, a feat that has not been recorded in the KHSAA record books that dates back to 1998. The Devils started 0-3 in both the 2017 and ’18 seasons, finishing 5-6 and 8-5, respectively. NICHOLAS COUNTY 51 FAIRVIEW 6 Austin Miller threw for 141 yards but was picked off three times as Fairview fell to Nicholas County, 51-6 Friday night. Caden Thomas led the Eagles with 83 yards and the lone touchdown. Miller scampered for 68 yards on six carries. Jeremy Harper led Fairview with 77 yards on eight receptions. Ethan Marcum recorded a sack. Fairview welcomes Morgan County Friday night.