article Class 4A Notebook (9/8): A Statement Loss

[DragonFire]

Lexington Catholic has been viewed as a solid team, but a team that is outside the elite tier that features Boyle County and Johnson Central. Last week when I made their matchup against 5A #2 Covington Catholic our 4A Game of the Week, I said if a statement was available to made this week, it was right here. And boy, did Lexington Catholic make that statement.

 

After Covington Catholic took an early 7-0 lead, the air barrage began by Beau Allen. Allen found Bracken for a 12 yard touchdown and then Gohmann for a 19 yard score to put the Knights on top after the first quarter. After CovCath drew within 14-10 on a field goal, Allen hit Busson for an 80 yard bomb to make it 21-10 midway through the quarter. LexCath would continue to control the game into the second half, holding 14 point leads twice, including at 38-24 with 8:16 left. It looked like the Knights might pull the big upset, but CovCath scored to draw within 38-31 before the biggest play of the night. On 3rd and 5 with 5 minutes remaining, Allen found a wide open Nichols to move the chains. Only he didn’t – the pass was dropped, giving the Colonels the ball. With 2:43 remaining, Caleb Jacob bulled into the end zone for a two yard score, and Mr. Football candidate Michael Mayer secured a two point conversion to put Covington Catholic up 39-38. Allen tried to keep it for a 4th and 1 conversion on the ensuing drive, but was stuffed, allowing Covington Catholic to escape with the victory. Still, it was an incredible statement by Lexington Catholic that they are a legit contender for the state crown. Covington Catholic entered having not allowed a single point. Beau Allen scorched them for 448 yards and five touchdowns on 23/32 passing. With Corbin dropping a game to a Pulaski County team that LexCath had already beaten, the Knights now look to be the most likely team to challenge the supremacy of Boyle County and Johnson Central.

 

Other games of note:

 

Of the nine top ten teams that were in action this week, four of them took losses, including Lexington Catholic. #3 Corbin fell for the first time this season, dropping a 23-22 nail-biter against Pulaski County, the #8 team in 5A. It was a tug of war game, with Pulaski securing a 7-0 halftime lead, before Corbin came back to go ahead 14-7 at the start of the fourth. Pulaski went back up with a touchdown plus two point conversion to make it 15-14, then Treyveon Longmire had the answer with a 94 yard kickoff return to make it 20-15. But that would be the last true score for Corbin on the night. Pulaski would have an answer again, going up 23-20 with 4:30 left, and after forcing a three and out followed by a Pulaski fumble, the Maroons grabbed an INT on their own 10 with less than a minute left. They took a safety at the end of the game rather than give the ball back to Corbin. Meanwhile, #6 Central took a shockingly large 34-14 loss to 6A #7 Fern Creek. Both teams had lost by one score to Manual, leading one to believe we were in for a tight game. And it was, for one half. Central used a 94 yard scoop and score to go up 14-7 just before halftime, but Fern Creek would return the ensuing kickoff for a score, kicking off 27 unanswered points and a dominating 20 point victory. The Dark Side defense was gashed for 294 yards on the ground, managing only 167 themselves. Finally, #8 Anderson County looked like they were going to overcome the odds to sneak out a win over Mercer County. After seeing their 7 all tie broken midway through the fourth quarter, Jagger Gillis found Sam Herrod for a score to draw within 15-13. But their two point conversion failed, necessitating an onside kick that they improbably recovered at the Mercer 22. But on third and goal, Gillis threw an interception that would seal a 15-13 loss.

 

#10 Hopkinsville’s 42-14 win over 2A #7 Caldwell County was the other standout result from the top 10 this week. The Tigers proved their mettle in a close loss to Mayfield that they led most of the way, and they followed that up with this strong result. Hopkinsville never trailed, jumping out to a 7-0 after one, and led 14-7 at the half. It was 28-14 entering the fourth, and Bland’s fourth touchdown pass of the night made it 35-14, effectively ending the game with Dillard tacking on a 21 yard run late for the final margin. Bland threw for 265 yards on 17/27 passing, and no one benefitted more than Reece Jesse, who posted a monster 210 yards on 12 catches, with three touchdown receptions.

 

Upcoming Game of the Week

 

There are some solid options this week. I was tempted to go with Lexington Catholic vs. DeSales, and Corbin at Beechwood is also a marquee matchup. But I’m going with one that may have the most effect on our rankings, #6 Franklin County vs. Anderson County. The two teams have met every year since 2011, and Anderson County has won three in a row in the series, holding a 5-4 edge this decade. But they fell out of the rankings this week, leaving Franklin County as the favorite coming in. The Flyers have settled in after a 35-28 win over East Jessamine in the opener, blowing the doors off Western Hills and Collins by a combined 101-13. With a win, Franklin County may find their perfect record relatively untested until matching up with Waggener in mid-October.

[charlesw88]

The question was asked, is Covington Catholic overrated or is Lexington Catholic good?

 

If you look into it further I think people will realize that Lexington Catholic is pretty dang good!

Edited September 9, 2019 by charlesw88
Typo!