article Class 2A Notebook 9/1- It is Dramatic Up Top

Top-Ranked Cardinals Scrape by Tigers

It was an uncomfortable feeling that Mayfield fans simply are not accustomed to.

Not only were the Cardinals trailing in the Second Half, it was to an unranked team, and one from the Western part of the State. That combination simply has not seemed plausible over the tenure of Mayfield’s historic past, let alone when the Cardinals entered as the #1 team in their respective class.

Trailing 16-14 to Hopkinsville heading into the 4th Quarter and facing a Tiger Offense that simply continued to make plays and convert 3rd Downs, Cardinal fans certainly had to wonder if this was the night they would be unseated as the top-ranked team in Class 2A. Jayden Stinson made sure to get the Cardinals on the right track. Stinson would ultimately throw two huge 2nd Half TD’s, three in total for the game, as he topped the 300-yard mark once again.

Stinson would hit Kade Neely on a short pass and Neely would do the rest sprinting for a 85-yard scoring strike to finally give the Cardinals the advantage. Mayfield would add a pretty 63-yard pitch and catch to Alonzo Daniel to extend their lead to 27-16. Hopkinsville refused to die; the Tigers closed the gap to 27-22 on a 50-yard pass to Reece Jesse from Jay Bland.

The Cardinals would get enough plays to run out the final two minutes and secure the win over the 4A Tigers. Up next, Mayfield will play a monster rivalry game against 3A Paducah Tilghman. The Blue Tornado are ranked in 3A’s Top-10 and have one of the tougher teams they have fielded in recent years.

Beechwood Loses More Than Just a Game to Paintsville

Beechwood lost a regular season game to a Class 1A team?

Believe it or not, this was the case Friday as Beechwood took a 19-14 loss on the chin to Paintsville on a neutral site at Georgetown College. The last time the Tigers lost a regular season game to a Kentucky 1A school was 2005 when Bellevue defeated them 27-21.

The Tigers' Offense seemingly had a good thing going early as Beechwood clawed to a 14-0 lead behind a pair of Cameron Hergott scoring runs. That lead would last into the Second Half where Paintsville RB John Walker Phelps would hit pay-dirt to pull Paintsville within a point. The Tigers in Blue would then get QB Jake Hyden’s second scoring toss, an 86-yard catch-and-run to Karsten Poe, to set the eventual Final Score.

Beechwood showed resiliency and put together a drive into Paintsville territory with the clock winding under 2:00 to go in the game. Hyden had one last trick up his sleeve, this time on Defense, by high pointing a 4th Down pass for the game sealing Interception.

The loss was made even more painful for the Tigers as they lost a pair of players with apparent concussion symptoms and may have lost one of their top players in RB/LB Josh Derry to an injury that may have multiple weeks of recovery. The Tigers have a murderer’s row of a schedule ahead for them. They will take on #2 Somerset next week and then draw heavily ranked 3A Corbin, 5A Covington Catholic, and uber athletic Cincinnati school Taft. The potential for an 0-5 start is very real.

District 4 Drama

Somerset is simply dominant early in the season. The only negative in Somerset’s 75-13 blitzkrieg of 5A Montgomery County will be the criticism of “running the score up”. Somerset’s Offense is clicking on all-cylinders the Bunnies left zero doubt on the road that they are firmly in the picture as a Class 2 Title contender. Next week they have a chance to cement their spot and even make a claim for the top spot when they bring Beechwood to the Briar Patch.

Lexington Christian Academy fell to 1-1, but you can file their 39-20 loss to 3A powerhouse Belfry on the road under “Quality Loss, Quality Performance”. The Eagles showed no fear and brought the fight to Belfry trailing only 26-20 entering the 4th Quarter. The undersized Eagles executed very well at the Line of Scrimmage and gave Belfry fits, but ultimately some fine coaching by Philip Haywood and Belfry’s explosive backfield put the game away around the midnight mark.

Danville’s convincing Week 1 win over John Hardin could not propel them to a 2nd straight when over a team from the Bluegrass Parkway area. Bardstown is a sleeper team in Class 3A with good size, athleticism, and experience and the Tigers simply outlasted the young Admirals for a 28-7 win that will jeopardize the Admirals falling out of the Top 10. Danville broke a scoreless tie in the 3rd Quarter to take a 7-0 lead on Brady Morse to Corydon Crawford scoring toss, but the ensuing kickoff would quickly equalize the score and suffocate whatever momentum the Admirals had mustered. A pair of big plays by the Bardstown Offense put the game within their grasp, and a late Pick-6 put it on ice.

Breathitt Backs It

Breathitt County, as a new edition to thee Class 2A picture, is a team with a lot of eyes on them. The Bobcats have a lot of hype and expectations, but for many there is still a question of validation for a team that has yet to really prove they are a threat on the field. The say that the Bobcats’ schedule leaves a lot to be desired is an understatement. As far as Top 10 teams go, it may be the lightest in Class 2A. One of the better challenges to gauge the Bobcats appeared to be 5A South Laurel.

The Cardinals are not exactly a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but they are expected to be a solid enough team. The Bobcats left little doubt that they are in fact a team that has improved leaps and bounds by ambushing South Laurel on their way to a 43-8 victory.

Breathitt led 28-0 at the Half and extended the lead to 43-0 before the Cardinals added a late score on the running clock.

Churchill Is Running

Washington County has exploded onto the scene in 2019 with a pair of wins over larger classification opponents by a combined score of 104-0. The latest victim was 5A Atherton, who left little challenge for the Commanders in a 48-0 pounding.

The story so far has been the Commander Defense which has stonewalled both opponents and Senior dual-threat QB Jatavian Churchill who has looked phenomenal. Against the Rebels, Churchill accounted for 228 all-purpose yards and 3 TD’s. Through the first two games he already has 7 TD’s and almost 500 total yards while averaging over 22 yards per rushing attempt.

The Commanders have also benefited from a new face. Junior RB Mike Ellery has also been superb in his own regard with 9 carries for 223 yards and 6 TD’s. That is a staggering average of nearly 25 yards per carry in his own regard. The Commanders will step up in competition the next two weeks with a solid 1A Kentucky Country Day and then a huge game against a very respectable 3A Bardstown. If these two can keep a similar pace, there may be big things happening this year in Commander Country.

Quick Kicks:

- Not only will Mayfield draw a notable game against their historic rival Paducah Tilghman, two other Class 2A teams will face rivalry games against powerhouses from higher classes. Danville takes on 4A Boyle County in the Battle for Title Town. Owensboro Catholic challenges 5A Owensboro for the right to be the toast of Daviess County.

- Leslie County will have one of their biggest challenges of the regular season when they travel to the Cumberland River valley to take on 1A Williamsburg. The Yellowjackets are an Offensive machine led by human highlight reel QB Dalton Ponder. Last season Williamsburg won in Hyden 40-30.

- Newport and Carroll County have one of the more low-key intriguing games on the early season. Newport is 2-0 after punishing Bishop Brossart 38-6 behind Kaleal Davis’ 299 all-purpose yards. Carroll County posted their second straight win by a two-point margin by knocking off 3A Henry County 28-26. The Panthers have their own dual threat standout in Andre Mumphrey.