A weekly notebook focusing on Boyle County, Danville and Mercer County, with additional info on other nearby teams:

 

LOOKING BACK

Boyle County 22, Lexington Catholic 13

Boyle (7-0, 4-0 District 4A-5) came up big on defense in its biggest game of the year to defeat Lexington Catholic (4-3, 1-1) for the first time since 2010.

The Rebels stopped the Knights 22 points short of their season average, and while the Knights outgained the Rebels with 330 yards on offense, that was their second-lowest total of the season.

Boyle’s Levi McKinney intercepted a pass with 2:43 remaining to deny Lexington Catholic a chance to take the lead after the Knights had pulled within 19-13 on their previous possession. That allowed the Rebels to put the game away with a 30-yard field goal by Addison Coffey, who had missed two of three extra-point attempts but put four of five kickoffs in the end zone and averaged 42 yards on four punts.

It was the second of three fourth-quarter interceptions thrown by Lexington Catholic quarterback Reese Ryan, who was 12 for 29 for 181 yards and one touchdown. Boyle’s Josiah Robbins picked off a fourth-down pass in the end zone early in the period after the Knights had driven to the Boyle 14-yard line.

Defensive lineman Justin Roution also helped the Rebels repel a Lexington Catholic advance deep into Boyle territory in the first quarter. The Knights drove to the Boyle 4 before Roution threw down Ryan for a 15-yard loss on third down moments after throwing up during a timeout, and Ryan couldn’t complete a fourth-down pass.

Seph Burke rushed for 87 yards for Boyle, and he scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and an 8-yard run in the third, the latter giving the Rebels a 19-7 lead. Robbins went 6 for 11 for 94 yards.

Boyle got 172 of its 266 yards on the ground, with Aiden Stewart-Hoskins rushing for 49 yards and Robbins running for 34, including 17 on a touchdown run in the second quarter. The Rebels did not commit a turnover.

Boyle has beaten Lexington Catholic 12 times in 21 games since 1997, but the Knights had won the previous four meetings: regular-season and playoff games in each of the last two years.

This win gave the Rebels the right to host any postseason rematch next month. There has been a rematch in each of the last six years, and the team that won the regular-season game also won the playoff game in all nine instances that the Rebels and Knights have played twice.

Boyle, which has an open date this week, can secure home-field advantage throughout the Class 4A playoffs by winning its remaining district games against Marion County (Oct. 18) and Mercer County (Oct. 25).

 

Danville 41, Campbellsville 12

Danville (3-3) scored 27 points in the first quarter and went on to rout Campbellsville (0-6) and get back to .500 in its final pre-district game.

All four first-quarter touchdowns and five of the Admirals’ six scores came on plays of 10 yards or more. Jawan Grey had three such plays, scoring on runs of 12, 44 and 20 yards, and he rushed for 204 yards on 16 carries.

Zack Dampier threw only five passes for Danville, but he completed four of them for 113 yards and one touchdown. The scoring play was a 32-yard pass to Ace Ray, who had three receptions for 65 yards.

The Admirals had more than twice as many yards as the Eagles, 384 to 190, though they also had four turnovers.

 

Lincoln County 37, South Laurel 6

Lincoln (4-3, 1-1 5A-7) bounced back from a loss in its district opener to manhandle South Laurel (2-4, 0-2).

Dalton Godbey completed 10 of 13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and Trevor Gaines caught eight passes for 111 yards, including both touchdown passes, for the Patriots.

The Lincoln defense held South Laurel to 34 yards in the first half while the Patriots built a 30-0 lead.

 

Garrard County 32, Powell County 6

Garrard (3-3, 2-0 3A-5) held Powell (4-2, 0-2) to 96 yards, 69 of which came on the Pirates’ final drive after the Golden Lions had built a 32-0 lead.

The Lions’ offense rolled up 439 yards, led by Keagan Penman with 113 rushing yards on 14 carries and Slade Crutchfield with 13 completions in 24 pass attempts for 210 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers. Nick McCollum caught five passes for 59 yards.

 

Bell County 48, Casey County 0

Casey (1-5, 1-1 3A-4) fell to Bell (4-3, 1-1), which outgained the Rebels 320 yards to 160 and led 28-0 at halftime.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

(All games Friday)

Danville (3-3) at Somerset (3-3), 7:30 p.m.

Things are vastly different for Danville than they were the last time the Admirals traveled to Somerset.

The Briar Jumpers handed the Admirals a 31-7 loss in a Class 2A regional final last year at Clark Field that turned out to be Sam Harp’s last game as Danville’s longtime coach.

The Admirals have already gone through all sorts of highs and lows in their first season under a new coach, Clay Clevenger, and they’re on an upswing at the moment following consecutive wins over Green County and Campbellsville.

Now they will test themselves and their newfound resolve in their District 2A-7 opener against Somerset, which has gone 6-0 against Danville over the last four seasons, with regular-season and postseason wins in each of the last two years.

Like the Admirals, the Jumpers were 1-3 before evening their record with wins over Glasgow and Letcher County Central before an open date last week.

 

Marion County (3-3, 1-0 4A-5) at Mercer County (3-3, 0-1), 7:30 p.m.

Mercer returns to action after an open date to face Marion in a critical district game.

The Titans badly needed a bye after dropping three straight games following a 3-0 start and dealing with a handful of injuries.

The Knights already have won more win than they got all last season, including a victory over Taylor County last week in their district opener.

Mercer won 55-0 at Marion last year.

 

Garrard County (3-3, 2-0 3A-5) at Bourbon County (6-0, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Garrard will try to slow down the high-octane offense of Bourbon, which is averaging about 500 yards per game and whose 43 points last week against Estill County were a season low.

The Colonels, coached by Garrard County alumnus John Hodge, beat the Golden Lions twice last year, winning 28-8 in the regular season — it equaled their lowest point total of the season — and 49-8 in a second-round playoff game.

 

Lincoln County (4-3, 1-1 5A-7) at North Laurel (5-1, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln battles much-improved North Laurel in a game both teams need to stay in the upper tier of their district.

Each team has lost to district favorite Pulaski County. The Jaguars edged Southwestern two Fridays ago, while the Patriots routed South Laurel last week.

North Laurel beat Lincoln 35-14 last year.

 

Wayne County (7-0, 2-0 3A-4) at Casey County (1-5, 1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Casey welcomes Wayne, which has confirmed it is the team to beat in this district with wins over Bell County and Corbin and established itself as one of the top teams in 3A.

 

RATING THE TRACE

1. Boyle County

2. Mercer County

3. Danville

4. Lincoln County

5. Garrard County

6. Casey County

Above, Boyle County coach Larry French talks to his players Friday following the Rebels' 22-13 victory over Lexington Catholic, their first win over the Knights since 2010.