Jim Mashek

BGHS FOOTBALL FOURSOME HEADED FOR GEORGETOWN COLLEGE; YATES, McKAY JOIN THE CELEBRATION

Mekhi Axson and his twin brother, Jayden, have been toiling in competitive athletics for pretty much their entire lives.

They played major roles in Bowling Green High School’s back-to-back KHSAA Class 5A state championship seasons, Jayden as a hard-hitting inside linebacker and Mekhi, the larger of the identical twins, grinding it out in the trenches as a top-flight offensive lineman.

They’ve long shared ambitions of playing college football together. Even if they seldom talked about it.

“We both knew, deep down, that we wanted to go to the same school,” Jayden Axson said after eight BGHS student-athletes signed their national letters of intent on Wednesday afternoon inside the school’s auxiliary gymnasium. The Axson twins are headed for Georgetown College, a public liberal-arts university that competes in the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference.

Mekhi and Jayden Axson will be joined at the Metro Lexington school by two BGHS teammates, placekicker/punter Braden Widener and outside linebacker Brandon Gurley, along with four other Purples seniors — all-state quarterback Deuce Bailey, who’s headed for Missouri State University; cornerback A.J. Woodard, who signed with Indianapolis University; BGHS baseball’s Markell Yates, who is on his way to Campbellsville University; and Lady Purples soccer standout Eva McKay, who will continue her career at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro.

BGHS coaches introduced their respective student-athletes before a large crowd of Purples fans, including a first-grade class that sat on the floor in front of the bleachers. Mekhi Axson shared a long embrace with BGHS offensive coordinator Chris Seabolt before signing his scholarship papers with Georgetown. His brother was presented by Purples linebackers coach Josh Jones.

“I started coaching Jayden in middle school, so we’ve been together for six years,” Jones said. “He was the voice of our defense. He pushes people, he’s been a role model for our younger players. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

The Axson twins were decked out in orange-and-black Georgetown duds, and they posed for plenty of pictures with their teammates and classmates after the ceremony.

“To my coaches, thank you for believing in me,” Mekhi Axson said.

Seabolt pointed out that Axson played primarily on defense, as a junior, and that he overcame a knee injury to play in in the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game at UK’s Kroger Field on December 2, 2023. Bowling Green won that game 28-14, and the Purples defeated Cooper again — this time by the count of 37-20 — in the 2024 title tilt in Lexington.

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Mekhi Axson moved to offensive guard for his senior year, joining the likes of BGHS teammates Parker Fields and Christopher Nuckols to provide excellent protection for record-setting QB Deuce Bailey over the course of the Purples’ banner 13-2 season.

“We rescued Mekhi from our defensive staff, which is why he’s had success,” Seabolt said with a wicked grin. “He started every game this year.”

Cooper won its first 14 games and was considered the favorite in last December’s championship game, at least in the larger metro areas of Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati. The Purples’ offensive line dominated the game in the second half, and Bailey finished with three rushing touchdowns as Bowling Green claimed the ninth state championship in school history.

The Axson twins will be joined at Georgetown College by Purples placekicker/punter Braden Widener, who was an all-state selection in BOTH soccer and football, and outside linebacker Brandon Gurley, who finished his senior year with 11.5 sacks, 16 tackles for losses, three interceptions and a defensive touchdown.

“What really set Brandon apart was his mindset,” BGHS assistant coach Jerrett Ingram said. “He did a great job for us on the edge.”

Widener was joined at his table by his father, longtime BGHS boys soccer coach Craig Widener, and Purples special-teams coach Clay Stephens pointed out that the two programs worked together to give Braden plenty of time to work on his craft on both practice fields. Braden Widener had a team-high 19 goals and 15 assists as the Purples soccer squad finished 18-1-1 overall, falling to Henderson County in the state tournament, 2-1, in a double-overtime match on the road in Henderson.

In football, Widener connected on nine of 14 field-goal attempts, and 67 of 68 extra-point conversions. He delivered three field goals in the Purples’ resounding victory over Cooper in the state championship game.

“Braden’s a phenomenal soccer player,” Stephens said. “He’s always had the confidence to knock down anything (on the football field), and he’s an amazing punter.”

“Once a Purple, always a Purple,” Widener told the assembly before signing his scholarship papers.

A.J. Woodard, who transferred to BGHS from Russellville High School after his sophomore year, became a mainstay in the Purples’ secondary. He decided earlier this week to sign with Indianapolis University, an NCAA Division II member that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Woodard was a dynamic playmaker for the Purples who contributed on both defense and special teams.

“If you get comfortable, with where you’re at, you’re never going to get anywhere else,” Woodard said.

Markell Yates was introduced by veteran BGHS head baseball coach Nathan Isenberg, while Eva McKay was presented by Purples girls soccer coach Lisa Correa, who pointed out that McKay maintained a 4.0 grade-point average with plans of pursuing a veterinary medicine degree at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

“I’m happy we’ll have one more season with Eva in Purples lacrosse,” Correa said.

Deuce Bailey was presented by BGHS quarterbacks coach Jordan Leach, who almost ran out of superlatives in describing Bailey’s impact on the Purples program in four years as the school’s starting quarterback. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior is also a starting guard on the Purples’ boys basketball team, which takes a 16-4 overall record into Friday night’s home game against 14th District rival South Warren High School.

“This is as good as it gets,” Leach said. “Deuce is awesome to be around, every day. Quarterback is a unique position in team sports … In a place like (BGHS), it’s a tremendous amount of pressure. He’s the only four-year starting quarterback in school history.

“He makes plays that you just don’t see very often in football … He’s very creative. Deuce was able to show up in the biggest moments, in the biggest games in his career.”

Bailey stepped to the podium and allowed that Leach “almost made me cry.” He’s on his way to play at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, and the Bears’ maroon-and-white colors were abundant inside the BGHS auxiliary gym. Missouri State will be joining Conference USA for the 2025-26 school year, so Hilltoppers fans can look forward to Bailey again playing at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium.

(The Purples open every season in the Rafferty’s Bowl at WKU.)

BGHS principal Kyle McGraw expressed his admiration for the Purples student-athletes at the assembly.

“Please remember that you’ll always have a home at Bowling Green High School,” McGraw said.