Jim Mashek

BARREN COUNTY REMAINS UNBEATEN IN THREE GAMES; RAIDERS LOOK TO REGROUP AGAINST WARREN CENTRAL

Warren East High School’s defense spent a lot of time on the field on Friday night against Tate Spillman and the familiar Barren County Wing-T offense.

Spillman kept the Trojans on the attack at Jim Ross Field, mixing and matching and sharing the wealth as Barren County held off Warren East, 60-52, to remain unbeaten in three games. The Raiders (2-1) fell behind in the opening moments of the second quarter and spent the rest of the night playing catch-up against the quick, versatile Trojans.

Try as they might, they just couldn’t catch up.

The Raiders may have been chasing Spillman and Co. in their sleep a few hours later.

“They had a great game plan,” Warren East coach Tanner Hall said, “and they did not deviate from it.”

The Trojans accumulated more than 400 yards rushing, and Spillman, their second-year starting quarterback, showed plenty of prowess in passing the ball. Warren East’s biggest problem, however, seemed to be finding the ball carrier, because Spillman seemed to have a spell on the Raiders with deft fakes and determined running on the perimeter.

Dane Parsley, Warren East’s fourth-year starting quarterback, passed for 425 yards and three touchdowns, but he took limited defensive snaps in the second half, being treated for cramps on the field as well as on the sideline. Spillman is a defensive back for the Trojans, too, and he did it all with the ball in his hands in this one.

“(Warren East was) following the backs, in the backfield,” Spillman said. “Their defensive ends were flying upfield, and we’d just duck in under them … Our fullbacks did a great job, too. They were getting six, eight yards on first down, and that’s big.

“Gives us a lot of options in short-yardage situations.”

If there was an element of surprise, at least for the Warren East defense, it was Spillman and the Trojans’ consistent passing game. Spillman passed just 10 times, completing six, in Barren County’s first two games against Metcalfe County (a 54-14 rout) and Trigg County, which stumbled to a 36-6 defeat. Barren County looks to stay unbeaten in next week’s home game against Monroe County (1-2).

“I think we might have pressed a little bit, to find the ball, especially in the second half,” Hall said. “The thing that really surprised us was their passing game. They hit some big plays, throwing the ball.”

Parsley opened the scoring on a 31-yard touchdown dash with 8:43 left in the first quarter, and a two-point conversion pushed the Raiders to an 8-0 lead. Tate Spillman took his first snap from center and hit junior wide receiver Jaxson Byrd on a wheel route to the left sideline, and Byrd beat the pursuit to the goal line to complete a 71-yard touchdown pass.

The Trojans added Spillman’s scoring run for a two-point conversion of their own, but Parsley took the Raiders quickly downfield for Warren East’s second touchdown, a 6-yard scoring run from the Raiders’ Jackson McCool. Steven Rodriguez added the PAT, and Warren East was sporting a 15-8 lead. Spillman and the Trojans answered, and quickly.

Spillman found Byrd for a 56-yard pass, again on the left sideline, before adding a 20-yard run that left the Trojans three yards short of the goal line. Spillman then again found Byrd, in the end zone, with Byrd taking the ball away from a Warren East defender for a 3-yard TD reception.

Barren County would get into the end zone two more times before the intermission, taking a 31-15 lead into the locker room. Sophomore fullback Jordan Harris hit the right sideline off a misdirection play, scoring on a 24-yard run, before Spillman added a 4-yard TD run in the final minute of the first half.

“That is a tough offense to defend,” Warren East coach Tanner Hall said.

Warren East’s defense forced a punt in the opening moments of the second half, before Jackson McCool scored his second touchdown of the night, a 4-yard TD run with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Parsley added a two-point conversion on a pass to Jacob Miller, and the Raiders trailed by just a touchdown at 30-23.

Spillman would then convert a fourth-and-six situation into a critical first down, before the Trojans burned the Warren East defense on a flea-flicker that went for a touchdown with 9:57 left in the game. Barren County used a double reverse before pitching the ball back to Spillman, who hit strapping junior running back Daylan Thomas in the end zone for an 18-yard TD pass.

Parsley and the Raiders again trimmed their deficit to a single touchdown, with junior receiver D.J. Johnson catching Parsley’s deep ball to the left sideline for a 52-yard touchdown pass.

Again, two plays later, it was Daylan Thomas storming through the Warren East defense for a 53-yard touchdown run. McCool’s 4-yard touchdown run made it 44-37, with 6:39 left in the game, but Spillman directed a brisk touchdown drive before scoring on a bootleg, a 10-yard TD run to the left side. After Corbin Wells added a two-point conversion, on an inside dive play, the Trojans had extended their lead to 50-37.

“That was probably the nail in the coffin,” Warren East coach Tanner Hall said.

Jackson McCool would score two more rushing touchdowns before game’s end, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Trojans survived to remain unbeaten. Barren County had a significant size advantage, up front, which helped the Trojans maintain possession in the second half.

Greyson Billingsley, Barren County’s 6-foot-6, 290-pound junior left tackle, is joined up front by right tackle Ethan Bertram, guards Bryson Wilson and Sean Brody and center Alex Sawyer. It was a significant victory for Barren County’s first-year coach, John Myers.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a team that’s given up 52 points, and won, to be honest with you,” Myers told the Trojans’ radio network after the game. “Hat’s off to our kids. With this offense, we can spread the ball around a little bit.”

Jackson Byrd, the Trojans’ junior receiver/defensive back, said Tate Spillman’s ballhandling skills made a big difference, in the long run.

“People see the wing-T, and they’ll think, ‘all run, no pass,'” Byrd said with a grin. “We gave ’em a little eye candy in the backfield and Tate was able to make plays from there.”