James Collier
Ashland Beacon
GREENUP COUNTY 21 RUSSELL 19
It takes 48 minutes to play a high school football game.
Saturday night’s Backyard Brawl between Russell and Greenup County came down to the final second to decide the outcome.
Down 21-19 with one second on the clock and the ball at the Greenup County 1-yard line, Russell elected to try a game-winning field goal attempt rather than going for it on offense. The Musketeers Aiden Gue made the biggest play of the game by blocking the potential winning kick to secure a 21-19 win.
Greenup took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter on an Ike Henderson 5-yard run. Tyson Sammons added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second quarter that bookended a Russell score for a 21-6 halftime lead. Ethan Pack hit Caden Pennington from 18 yards to get the Devils on the board. But the PAT was blocked and left Russell chasing valuable points the rest of the night.
Russell’s defense held Greenup scoreless in the second half while threatening to steal away the win. Elijah Hankins snagged a Sammons’ pass for a pick-6 to cut the deficit to one score. Caleb Rimmer’s 2-yard score got the Devils to within two, but the conversion failed leaving the score favoring the Musketeers, 21-19.
Sammons ran for 128 yards on 16 totes and threw for 102 more. Henderson added 68 yards on the ground. Drew Boggs hauled in three catches for 75 yards.
Andre Richardson-Crews led the Devils with 106 yards on the ground on 21 carries. Pack ran for 84 and threw for 79.
Greenup County visits Portsmouth on Friday. Russell travels to South Point.
ASHLAND 56 WEST JESSAMINE 13
When Ashland and West Jessamine met last year in a 132 combined point shootout, the end of the game was decided by who had the ball last.
Saturday night, LaBryant Strader wanted a different ending and called game in the first quarter. Strader threw for two scores and ran for another as Ashland hammered West Jessamine, 56-13.
Strader’s first touchdown came on the ground from eight yards out to give the Tomcats an early 7-0 lead. Braxton Jennings scampered in from six yards with four minutes to play in the first to move the lead to 14-0. Strader followed with back-to-back touchdown passes to Brandon Houston to set the rout in motion. Houston’s first scoring grab went for 55 yards to close the first quarter and added a 22 yarder in the second.
Maverick Ashby had a pair of scores in the second quarter behind a 32-yard interception return and a 39-yard rushing touchdown. Cam Davis closed the scoring in the third with an 84-yard sprint.
Strader threw for 124 yards with Houston accounting for 112 of those. Davis rushed for 121 yards. Jennings had 61 on eight totes.
Ashland travels to George Washington, WV on Friday.
BELL COUNTY 60 BOYD COUNTY 41
Boyd County dented the scoreboard first, but Bell County caused the most noise in a 60-41 win over the Lions in Cannonsburg.
Hunter Hedrick gave Boyd a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Bell County countered with three Daniel Thomas rushing touchdowns along with an 83-yard fumble recovery return for a score and a 38-20 lead at the half. Thomas visited the endzone three more times in the second half.
Rhett Holbrook paced the Lions with 198 yards through the air and 193 on the ground with a pair of touchdowns. Dakota Thompson and Hedrick added a pair of touchdowns each. Cole Hicks hauled in five catches for 108 yards and a score.
Boyd County welcomes East Carter Friday night.
CAVERNA 58 FAIRVIEW 18
Fairview fell 58-18 to Caverna Saturday night. Jayce Manning completed 14 of 27 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Zavien Kouns rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries. Kevonte Spates-Olds had four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Fairview travels to Betsy Layne Friday night.
RACELAND 40 LETCHER COUNTY CENTRAL 20
Raceland provided the thunder on a stormy night on Pine Mountain to defeat Letcher County Central, 40-20.
Noah Wallace ran for 142 yards on 17 carries and a score while intercepting his first pass of the season. Logan Lundy threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns while running for another to close the scoring in the contest. Jaxon Heighton opened the scoring for the Rams with a 19-yard bullish run to pay dirt and a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. With the Rams marching toward the endzone on their second possession, mother nature brought the game to a screeching halt after a lightning storm stopped play for nearly 90 minutes. But once the contest resumed, the Rams offense grabbed the reins with a pair of explosive plays in the second stanza.
Lundy hit Parker Fannin in stride for a 63-yard touchdown then followed with a 44-yard score to Parker Ison on a bubble screen that Ison took to the house with a nifty move on the sideline to break free. Ison led the Rams with three catches for 77 yards. Fannin hauled in two passes for 76 yards.
Raceland exercises its bye week before heading to Pikeville on Sept. 8 in a rematch with the two-time defending state champs.