Another early running clock for the Tomcats tonight. 

Ashland came in and won against a gritty Rowan County team. LaBryant Strader finished 10/11 for 233 yards and three touchdowns and the game was also showcased the different threats Ashland has at the receiver position. Sam Lyons and Dylan Duckwyler finished with three receptions, Braxton Jennings and Cam Davis had two, and Mason Wolfe had one. The offensive line continues to improve against the blitz as Strader had time to complete the deep ball, and one of his touchdowns as a short passing play in which Rowan County sent six players at Strader but the line picked it up and it turned into a long touchdown. Rowan County has a complete go-getter on defense in #44 Will Richardson, who has 15 tackles for loss and last night picked up his 11th sack but overall Ashland did a solid job containing him. On the rushing end, freshman #26 Daylen Farrow came in the second half and put up 114 yards on 5 carries and freshman #25 Xavier Johnson had a 5 yard touchdown rumble.

Rowan County is very, very young this year and it doesn't help matters when your starting quarterback who completed 35 of 50 passes for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns is injured. I thought backup Taner Woodman came in and performed well despite facing significant pressure all evening. Jackson Hamiltion busted loose for an 88 yard touchdown run in the second half for a touchdown. What impresses me about Rowan County under Coach Kelly Ford is how they look to attack. They came in determined to try to win that ball game. Rowan let the play clock run until the last second and even tried a flea flicker to open the game, a reverse pass (that they did draw pass interference on) and a couple of direct snaps to try to throw Ashland off guard. I also like the growth under Coach Ford, as Rowan reached the regional final in 2020 for the first time since the early 1980's and this young team has a lot of potential over the next couple of seasons.