article 3A Notebook: Another Wild Night in Eastern Kentucky

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Belfry Rides Isaac Dixon on Offense and Defense to Second Round Victory

 

The most appetizing second round game in the Class 3A playoff bracket was Lexington Catholic and Belfry and it certainly did not disappoint. Fourth-ranked Belfry and fifth-ranked Lexington Catholic traded licks all evening before Brett Coleman scored from three yards out with just over a minute to go to give Belfry the 55-51 victory.

 

It was a wild night from the get-go on Pond Creek. Belfry led 13-10 after one quarter of play, the highlight a 55-yard touchdown run from Isaac Dixon with four minutes to go in the quarter. Action stayed just as hot in the second quarter as Lexington Catholic quarterback Beau Allen passed for one score and ran for another while Belfry's Dixon had two touchdown runs, including one from 51 yards out just before halftime, to send the Pirates to break leading 35-30.

 

Belfry (10-2) opened the third quarter of play with a Kevin Browning touchdown run to push the lead to 41-30. At this point many expected Belfry to ease away for the victory but Allen wouldn't let the Knights fade, throwing two touchdown passes in the quarter (part of six on the evening) and giving Catholic a 44-41 lead after three.

 

With Lexington Catholic on the doorstep looking to take a ten point lead, Dixon again came up with a huge play, this time a 100+ yard interception return to once again put Belfry ahead. It still wasn't over as Allen converted a 4th and 18 pass for a score to give the Knights the advantage once more, but Belfry responded with a final drive capped by Coleman to win the game.

 

In a night of superstars, two stood out the most. For Lexington Catholic, junior quarterback Beau Allen was 34-for-55 for 451 yards and six touchdowns and also ran for 197 yards and a score. It's obvious why schools like Kentucky, Michigan, and Duke are so interested. Meanwhile, Belfry's two-headed running back monster of sophomore Isaac Dixon (303 yards rushing) and junior Ben Bentley (161 yards) was enough for the home-standing Pirates to move on to their ninth consecutive regional final.

 

Region III

 

While Belfry and Lexington Catholic were slugging it out all evening, last week's high scoring winner, Lawrence County, found sledding a little tougher at Boyle County. Boyle scored once in the first quarter and again on the first play of the second quarter to go ahead 14-0 before Noah West (who else?) scored from one yard out and then tacked on the two-point conversion to make the score 14-8. That would be it for Lawrence, though, as Boyle scored once more in the second quarter and then cruised to a 42-8 victory in the second half.

 

The stars for Boyle County on the night, as they've been so often this season, were quarterback Reed Lanter and receiver Reese Smith. Smith caught six passes from Lanter for 205 yards and four touchdowns.

 

"They did a nice job, Reed threw some nice balls and Reese can go get the football any time it’s in the air. It was good stuff," Boyle coach Chuck Smith told the Danville Advocate-Messenger. (Lanter, Smith shine as Rebels beat Lawrence County in second round - The Advocate-Messenger | The Advocate-Messenger).

 

For Lawrence County, the season ends with a 7-5 record and their first playoff victory in three years, that 78-74 shootout win over Western Hills last week. Quarterback Noah West will graduate having ran for over 2,000 yards this season and amassing 32 touchdowns.

 

As for Boyle (12-0), it's another win, their twelfth on the season and twenty-fourth in a row dating back to last year. But its only win two of the five needed to win a state championship. Now the Rebels have to travel to Belfry for the regional final.

 

"When you get here, there’s only eight teams left. We’re just proud to be one of them and we’re going to play. Now it gets tougher," coach Smith said. (Lanter, Smith shine as Rebels beat Lawrence County in second round - The Advocate-Messenger | The Advocate-Messenger)

 

Region I

 

Two of the most exciting second round games took place in Region I as Elizabethtown held off visiting Paducah Tilghman, 27-21, and Larue County went to Caldwell County and won, 44-41.

 

Elizabethtown (8-4) used six crucial minutes to win the football game after falling behind Paducah Tilghman, 21-12. After a Makel Askew touchdown gave the Blue Tornado a nine point lead, Elizabethtown scored on a seven-yard Joe Becherer rushing touchdown with 2:26 to go in the third and a one-yard Trayjan Bradley touchdown run with 10:55 to go in the ballgame to give the Panthers a 27-21 victory.

 

Becherer led Elizabethtown with 137 yards on the ground and two scores, while quarterback Clay Games passed for 144 yards on the night. Tilghman, who lost in the second round at Elizabethtown for the fourth consecutive season, ran for 281 yards as a team on the evening.

 

Elizabethtown will host Larue County, 44-41 winners at Caldwell County. Larue went back and forth with Caldwell all night before stopping the Tigers on a final fourth down play to secure the victory. It was a sweet victory for Larue County, whose season ended in the second round last season on the road at Caldwell County.

 

For Larue (7-5), the win validates what head coach Josh Jaggers has preached all season. Jaggers spoke with the 3A Notebook after the game on Friday and said, "All year long, even in these losses where things didn't look pretty, I was still optimistic about what we could do when it matters. Record wise we're not better than last year but playoff wise we are."

 

As for sixth-ranked Caldwell County it was yet another disappointing playoff exit. The Tigers had lost five straight regional final games but were hoping for a fourth chance to upend Elizabethtown this season. It wasn't to be, though, as E'town will now host Larue County in a rematch of the regular season game won by E'town, 42-14.

 

Region II

 

Third-ranked Central continued their defensive prowess in a 56-0 demolition of Bardstown. Central (10-2) held Bardstown to four yards on the ground, fifteen yards through the air, and not a single first down as they rolled into the regional finals. It marked the sixth time in 2018 that Central has pitched a shutout.

 

On offense Mykah Williams ran wild piling up 255 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Now the Yellowjackets, who've only left Louisville once this season (the regular season matchup at Bardstown) will travel across Kentucky to face Russell for the regional championship.

 

Russell ran out to a 16-0 lead over Waggener in the third quarter and pushed it to 23-7 before having to withstand two fourth quarter scores from the Wildcats to secure a 23-20 victory. Russell (8-4) dominated the stats, accumulating 238 yards on the ground and 311 overall while holding Waggener to 225 total yards offense.

 

"I’m so proud of these guys to get to this point in the season with how we started," Russell coach T.J. Maynard told the Ashland Daily Independent. "Now we’ve got a chance for a region championship. Not too many people would have guessed that after the Ashland game." (Devils not done: Waggener darts back, Russell holds on | Sports | dailyindependent.com)

 

Region IV

 

On a night of excitement across much of the Class 3A landscape, Region IV was quite subdued as Corbin and Bell County each romped to set up a rematch for the regional championship.

 

Corbin (11-1) used 238 yards passing and four touchdowns from quarterback Chase Estep to rout Powell County, 53-0. With the win, the Redhounds will play in the regional final round for a fifth consecutive year. Their opponent, Bell County, had no trouble on the road at Breathitt County, winning 40-7.

 

In the regular season meeting, Bell County (11-1) won the stats (the Bobcats out-rushed Corbin 330-257) but Corbin won the game, 33-14. Corbin has won eight straight in the series and Bell last beat the Redhounds, 7-0, on October 18, 2013.

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