The Boys of Fall
James Collier
Ashland Beacon
ASHLAND 45 BARDSTOWN 24
Ashland had to play from behind early at Bardstown but turned in another 40-point performance with a 45-24 win.
LaBryant Strader threw for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win. Maverick Ashby led the Tomcats on the ground with 91 yards on four carries including a 47-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Braxton Jennings had 81 yards on 15 totes and a pair of touchdowns. He also added a 64-yard touchdown grab for the Tomcats first score of the game.
Cam Davis put the Tomcats back in front for good to close the first quarter with a 95-yard kickoff return. He added a 45-yard touchdown pass from Strader to open the scoring in the second.
Ashland visits Russell Friday.
RACELAND 7 PIKEVILLE 6
A five-game losing streak and a 41-9 embarrassment in the 2022 State Championship to Pikeville was the challenge Raceland faced when the Rams headed down US23 in a battle of one versus two in Class A football.
The Panthers marched down the field on the opening drive capped off with a 38-yard touchdown grab and a 6-0 lead. But the Rams would block the point after attempt which would later prove to be one of the biggest plays of the contest.
Raceland responded with a 15-play, 70-yard drive with Noah Wallace rumbling to paydirt for the final five yards to give the Rams a 7-6 lead after one in what proved to be the final points of the affair but the remaining three periods featured some of the biggest plays of the year.
Raceland pinned Pikeville on their own 8-yard line late in the game, but the Panthers moved the ball to inside the one on 16 plays to threaten to retake the lead. On fourth-and-goal, the Rams defense stood tall with a stop at the half yard line to force a turnover on downs. Pinned in their own endzone, Raceland called a halfback pass from Jaxon Heighton to Parker Ison for 82 yards. Two plays later, the Rams fumbled the football back to the Panthers who promptly marched to the Rams 20. Elias Jackson playing in his first game back from injury this season pounced on the loose ball from the Panthers running back to regain the pigskin for the Rams.
With the offense stalling out shy of the marker to gain, the Rams punted the ball back to the Panthers in the final two minutes of the game. Ty Tyson made two of the biggest hits on the night with a clean shot on the Panthers quarterback on second down that knocked him out of the game followed by a tackle for loss on third down that left the Panthers against a fourth and 12. The pass skipped off the turf to give the Rams their second ever win in Pikeville with the first coming in 1957.
Wallace had 65 yards on 13 carries for the Rams.
Raceland welcomes Ft. Thomas Highlands Friday night in their first contest at Rams Stadium this season.
GREENUP COUNTY 46 EAST CARTER 36
Everyone in the stadium knew Tyson Sammons was the dude for Greenup County.
Yet the junior quarterback showed why he is one of the toughest players in the state after racking up 415 total yards of offense to lead the Musketeers to a 46-36 shootout win over the Raiders on ‘The Farm’.
Sammons threw for 255 yards ran for another 160 while accounting for seven total TDs. Sammons threw for four TDS—three to Aiden Gue—and ran for three more including a 71-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Gue caught five passes for 127 yards with touchdown grabs of 58, 49 and 15 yards. Drew Boggs had a 30-yard TD grab to close the first frame.
Greenup County travels to Montgomery County Friday night.
BOYD COUNTY 45 MASON COUNTY 21
Boyd County snapped a two-game losing streak with a 45-21 hammering of Mason County.
Rhett Holbrook scored five touchdowns, three rushing and two through the air to lead the Lions to their first win since Week 1. Holbrook went 16 of 23 for 159 yards while running for 145 yards on 18 totes. Camaron Collins rushed for 84 yards and added a TD. Cole Hicks caught six passes for 78 yards and a pair of scores. Cole Hicks snagged a pair of interceptions.
Boyd County exercises its bye week this week before heading to Johnson Central on the 22nd.
RUSSELL 53 MAGOFFIN COUNTY 14
Russell needed a get-well game after a tough loss on the road last week.
Magoffin County was the opposition for Russell but the Devils never felt the sting of the Hornets after delivering a 53-14, Homecoming stomping.
Ethan Pack went 11 of 13 through the air for 127 yards and four TDs with Parker Mitchell on the receiving end of the first three. Mitchell had scoring grabs of 27 and 12 yards in the first quarter followed with a 21 yarder in the second. Mitchell finished with five catches for 74 yards. Andre Richardson-Crews ran for 124 yards on eight totes highlighted by a 57-yard scamper in the second quarter.
Ben Totten added a pair of scores with a pick-6 before half and a 9-yard run to open the third.
Russell welcomes Ashland Friday night before starting district play at Fleming in two weeks.
MORGAN COUNTY 62 FAIRVIEW 22
Fairview fell to Morgan County, 62-22.
Jace Manning threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort. Xavien Kouns hauled in 90 yards on five grabs and three scores. Roman Mayes had five catches for 64 yards. Jace Murray added 54 yards on two catches.
Fairview visits Green, OH Friday.