James Collier
Ashland Beacon
ASHLAND 69 WEST JESSAMINE 63
Ashland and West Jessamine decided to play some basketball Friday night in Nicholasville,
at least that is what the final score might have indicated.
Combining for 132 total points—91 by halftime—the Tomcats and the Colts offenses showed off with Ashland getting the final say in a 69-63 shootout.
Terell Jordan provided one of few defensive plays in the contest, but his pick-6 gave Ashland the lead for good. Braxton Jennings rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns and LaBryant Strader added 142 yards on the ground and a pair of scores. Strader went 15 of 21 through the air for 222 yards and 3TDs. Brandon Houston hauled in four balls for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Altogether, Ashland tallied 576 total yards of offense in the win.
Ashland heads to Hazard Friday night.
MASON COUNTY 13 BOYD COUNTY 12
Mason County tried running Boyd County out of its own stadium after taking a 13-0 lead to the locker room Friday night.
But the Lions had other plans as they found pay dirt twice in the second half while holding the visiting Royals out of the end zone the rest of the way. Trailing 13-12 after a Josh Thornton 18-yard touchdown pass from Rhett Holbrook with 7:13 to play, all the Lions needed was an extra point to even the affair.
The attempt never made it to the Cole Thompson’s foot as a botched snapped force Boyd County into a 2-point conversion try that failed, allowing Mason County to escape with a 13-12 win. Boyd County failed to convert on both extra point attempts with the first being blocked.
Dakota Thompson got the Lions on the board with nine minutes to play in the third on a 1-yard TD plunge. A pair of Malachi Wheeler runs set up the scoring play for the first Lions points of the night. Wheeler led the Lions with 100 yards on 14 carries.
Rhett Holbrook threw for 230 yards with Thornton hauling in 94 yards on nine balls.
Boyd County welcomes Harrison County to begin district play Friday night.
RACELAND 67 WEST CARTER 7
Raceland showed Friday night it's not how long you have the ball but what you do with it when you possess it.
Raceland totaled eight drives when it welcomed West Carter for Homecoming to Rams Stadium and the result was nothing less than dominant. The Rams visited the end zone seven of its eight offensive series with the eighth being the final snap in victory formation for a 67-7 win over the Comets.
After forcing a three-and-out by the Comets to start the contest, Raceland marched 67 yards on six plays with Parker Fannin taking care of the final 55 for a 7-0 lead. Logan Lundy found Fannin over the middle and the shifty receiver found a seam to the endzone for his longest catch of the season.
The drive was the first of many to come, including three one-play drives of 36, 27 and 43 yards. Lundy threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns before handing the ball off to the backup quarterback midway through the second quarter after the Rams put the running clock in motion with 5:02 to play in the frame. Fannin led the Rams with five catches for 135 yards and a pair of scores. Conner Hughes had two grabs for 46, both landing in the end zone. Brayden Webb secured his first touchdown on the season on a 36-yard hook up with Lundy to close out the points from the air raid attack.
Lundy added a rushing TD to his total with a 3-yard dive. Isaac Browning’s 27-yard trip to pay dirt capped off a 28-point first quarter for Raceland and Isaiah Dinger’s 27-yard scamper closed the book on the Rams offensive point production. But the defense got in on the scoring frenzy in the second half after Bryson Rowsey’s 80-yard scoop-and-score and a Parker Ison 30-yard Pick-6.
Raceland visits Greenup County Friday night in the Backyard Brawl.
GREENUP CO 34 ROWAN CO 6
Greenup County found itself in a tight contest at Rowan County Friday night leading 13-6 at the break. But a 21-point second half explosion by the Musketeers rushing attack propelled them to a 34-6 win over the Vikings.
Tyson Sammons accounted for both Greenup County scores in the opening half after falling behind 6-0 to open the contest. Sammons dashed 14 yards to paydirt to give the Musketeers a 7-6 lead after Carson Wireman’s PAT split the uprights. Sammons second, a 3-yard plunge just before halftime gave Greenup County a 13-6 edge at the break.
The Musketeers signal caller gave his squad some breathing room midway through the third with his third score of the night, a 12-yard run and a 20-6 lead. Rushing scores by Ike Henderson and Waylon Perkins of one and six yards, respectively in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring in the contest.
Henderson led the Greenup County ground game with 159 yards on 29 carries. Sammons added 147 on 13 totes.
Greenup County welcomes Raceland Friday night at 7:30 p.m. for Homecoming.
MONTGOMERY CO 21 RUSSELL 17
An early lead fell to the wayside for Russell when the Devils visited Montgomery County Friday night.
The lead, however, would not hold up as the Devils fell, 21-17.
Ethan Pack threw for 222 yards, Carson Patrick caught five passes for 115 yards and Andre Richardson-Crews ran for 140 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. Ethan Oborne provided the other Russell touchdown and caught five passes for 94 yards. Nathan Totten tacked on a field goal.
Russell welcomes Paul Lawrence Dunbar Friday night.
GREEN, OH 43 FAIRVIEW 18
A week after snapping a winless streak that stretched nearly two years, Fairview was hungry for its second victory on the year when Green, OH visited Westwood.
The Bobcats had other plans.
The Eagles found themselves on the mat and a standing eight count against them when the visiting Bobcats blitzed the Eagles for 28 first half points and a 28-7 lead before the half. Trailing 28-12 at the half, Fairview could not find an answer to slow down Green’s Nathaniel Brannigan who tap danced to pay dirt four times and tallied 216 rushing yards in the Bobcats 43-18 win.
Austin Miller provided Fairview with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second and third quarter. His first went for 24 yards and added a 3-yard score late in the third. Cade Thomas hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Miller just before the half.
Miller threw for 167 yards while rushing for a team-high 86 yards.
Fairview visits Leslie County Friday night.