Jim Mashek

BOWLING GREEN CLAIMS NINTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN SCHOOL HISTORY; GROUND GAME PROVES TO BE THE DIFFERENCE

LEXINGTON — Speed kills, or so they say, but Bowling Green High School’s football team has plenty of it.

Not to mention back-to-back state championships.

The Purples unleashed a consistent running game, along with a relentless defense, to climb the final mountain at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field. Bowling Green amassed 238 yards rushing, while taking control in the second half, in drubbing Cooper High School, 37-20, in the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday night before a paid crowd of 6,343.

Bowling Green defeated Cooper in last year’s state championship game, 28-14, but the Purples were considered the underdog this time. Cooper took a 14-0 record into the title tilt, but the Jaguars had no answer for Purples quarterback Deuce Bailey’s quick feet, and the Bowling Green offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage.

“Our kids felt like we were ignored, coming into the game,” BGHS seventh-year head coach Mark Spader said when it was over. “There was a juggernaut of a Cooper team, a team we had great respect for, and it was just assumed that they were going to mow over us.

“It motivated our team. I think it gave us a little extra this week, to come out here and finish the season, finish our goals, to win back-to-back (state) championships.”

Bowling Green finished its season at 13-2 overall.

It was anyone’s game at the half, but Bowling Green’s special-teams play again proved critical to the victory. Senior punter/placekicker Braden Widener delivered three field goals — from distances of 41, 31 and 26 yards — as the Purples kept the opponent from Boone County at arm’s length down the stretch.

Bailey, the Missouri State-bound senior quarterback playing his final game with the Purples, made it a memorable farewell. The 6-foot, 175-pound Bailey was efficient throwing the ball — he completed 13 of 18 passes for 133 yards, while taking one sack — but he was nothing but an opponent’s terror when he tucked it under his arm and looked for daylight.

Bailey found plenty of it, rushing for 74 yards and three touchdowns, the last one a 6-yard jaunt that extended Bowling Green’s lead to 34-12 with 8:40 left in the game.

“It means everything,” Bailey said after receiving the MVP Trophy for the second consecutive season.

Cooper struck first, after the Jaguars’ Ryker Campbell intercepted Bailey’s sideline pass on the Purples’ opening series. Junior quarterback Cam O’Hara found Cooper teammate Isaiah Johnson in the right corner of the end zone, throwing for a 13-yard touchdown pass at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter. Cooper’s extra-point try failed, however, and the Purples wasted no time in capitalizing on that miscue for their first lead of the game.

Bailey took the BGHS offense 65 yards in 10 plays for the Purples’ first touchdown of the night, Bailey’s 2-yard scoring dash with 4:14 left in the first quarter. Widener was true on the extra point, however, and the Purples grabbed a 7-6 lead.

Widener drilled a 41-yard field goal in the opening moments of the second quarter, extending the Bowling Green lead to 10-6. But O’Hara and Co. answered quickly, as O’Hara took a big hit while unleashing a 32-yard touchdown pass to Cooper teammate Jaiden Combs with 8:44 to go in the first half.

Again, Eyler Tibbs’ extra-point attempt was off the mark, leaving the Jaguars in front, 12-10.

Bailey’s masterful scramble, on a third-and-five play, resulted in an 18-yard gain and put the Purples in position to take the lead. Bowling Green’s Braden Widener did just that, connecting on a 31-yard field goal to make it 13-12 in the final four minutes of the first half.

The Purples returned for the second half ready to take care of some business.

BGHS coach Mark Spader credited his defensive coordinator, Alex Strode, with giving O’Hara and the Jaguars multiple looks in the final two quarters. Bowling Green dominated the game in time of possession, holding the ball for 30-plus minutes, compared just under 18 minutes for the Jaguars.

“(Strode) mixed it up so well, that their offensive line was seeing different movement, different pressure people,” Spader said. “And we have some really athletic, quick guys, up front that played well.”

BGHS senior lineman Brandon Gurley had two of the Purples’ seven sacks, while teammates Ryan Watt and Jaxen Smith each had 1.5 sacks. BGHS junior linebacker Montez Trussell had a critical sack late in the first half, throwing O’Hara for an 11-yard loss, and the Purples’ secondary held up their end of the bargain, too.

Senior defensive back Grayson Newman, one of Bowling Green’s co-captains, led the Purples with 6.5 tackles. Newman also made a couple critical plays on special teams, the second straight week the kicking game was a distinct advantage for the Purples. Bowling Green returned two first-quarter kickoffs for touchdowns in semifinal play, fueling the Purples’ 31-28 victory over crosstown rival South Warren in the Class 5A semifinals.

“I’m proud of my guys, for finding a way, digging deep and going out with a bang our senior year,” Newman said. “(Cooper) disrespected us too much, and we took it personally.”

Ultimately, it was Deuce Bailey and the Bowling Green offensive line — senior left tackle Parker Fields, junior right tackle Zach Jordan, senior left guard Mehki Axson, junior right guard Caleb Ray and senior center Chris Nuckols — that took control of Saturday night’s game.

Bailey hit BGHS teammate Trevy Barber on a quick slant in the opening moments of the third quarter, and Barber broke away for a reception that covered 41 yards. On the next play, Bailey scrambled to his left and found the end zone from 14 yards out, extending the Bowling Green lead to 20-12.

BGHS linebacker Montez Trussell recovered an O’Hara fumble on the Jaguars’ subsequent possession, and Bowling Green’s Jaxen Smith would score on a 3-yard run that put the Purples in front, 27-12.

At that point, the Purples could taste it.

“Since middle school, me and Grayson Newman have been talking about how it felt, losing a state championship in middle school,” BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey said. “We’d been talking about the next four years, to make something special happen. Take those four years, and give it all we’ve got.”

That was reflected in the Purples’ pass rush, which left O’Hara battered afterward.

“There was a lot of pressure, but it really doesn’t matter,” O’Hara said. “We could have played better.”

Trey Graham led the Purples with 88 yards rushing on 12 carries, including a 46-yard bolt in the third quarter. Jaxen Smith, who also shined on defense, carried the ball 18 times for 79 yards and a Bowling Green touchdown. Bailey was sacked just once while rushing for 74 yards and his three touchdowns.

All of which made for a memorable bus ride back to Bowling Green after the midnight hour.

“I’m very proud of our players, and coaches, for keeping their nose down and going to work each week,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “It’s never easy, but it’s worth it.”