Jim Mashek

BOWLING GREEN WILL HIT THE ROAD FRIDAY TO TANGLE WITH ST. X

Mark Spader, Bowling Green High School’s ninth-year head football coach, couldn’t help but smile and take it all in.

After the matter at hand had been completed.

“Since I’ve been head coach, we haven’t won too many of these games,” Spader said after the Purples bulldozed Bullitt East High School, 34-7, on Saturday night at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium. “That was quite a hurdle to get over … “

The hurdle?

Opening the season with a victory in the annual Rafferty’s Bowl nightcap, which moves from WKU to the BGHS campus for the 2027-28 school year. The Purples fell behind against Bullitt East, 7-0, after squandering a scoring opportunity on their first possession of the night.

There was plenty of ebb and flow, and a penalty flag here and there, before Bowling Green would get in the end zone against the Chargers. Sophomore quarterback Anthony Davis would slip a swing pass to BGHS teammate Zyrek Burton, who navigated a tough path down the left sideline to complete a 26-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter.

The Purples’ Easton Hughes added the extra point, to tie things up, but Bowling Green was just starting to find its groove.

Bowling Green’s defense forced a three-and-out on the Chargers’ next series, and Davis needed 10 plays to cover 56 yards for the Purples’ second touchdown of the night, a 3-yard scoring run from senior running back Nick Graham.

Freshman BGHS placekicker Kip Walden did the honors this time, adding the PAT to give the Purples their first lead of the night at 14-7.

With 1:27 showing on the Houchens-Smith Stadium clock, conventional wisdom said play a little defense, take a seven-point advantage into the locker room and complete the task at hand in the second half.

The Chargers had ambitions of tying things up themselves before intermission.

Senior QB Will Egan, who got off to a promising start, made a critical error on a second-down penalty for intentional grounding, which allowed the Purples to burn their last timeout with 19 seconds left in the half.

That’s when Clay Stephens, Bowling Green’s special-teams coach, and BGHS coach Mark Spader decided to turn it loose with the punt-return team.

Sophomore defensive back Ayden Wickware stormed through the Bullitt East protection and blocked the punt — he pretty much smothered that sucker — before BGHS teammate Tayden Green fielded the ball like a second baseman charging an infield grounder.

Green scored on a 25-yard return, with just NINE SECONDS left in the half, and the Purples were not gonna be denied on this night.

“I came in, clean. I knew if I blocked the kick, we’d have a chance to score,” Wickware said. “It’s a great feeling, a good start to the season.”

Wickware was named the Rafferty’s Bowl Defensive MVP while teammate Nick Graham, a compact 5-foot-7 senior, took the offensive honors. Graham rushed for a team-high 90 yards and two touchdowns, the second one coming on an 18-yard scoring run in the opening moments of the second half.

Bowling Green still has quick-strike capablities with sophomore QB Anthony Davis at the controls, but Spader has emphasized building a consistent ground game over the last nine months, after the Purples closed a challenging 2025 season with a 6-7 overall record.,

They made it to the KHSAA Class 5A quarterfinals, and they played their typical meat grinder of a non-district schedule, but no matter. They’re about to encounter the same kind of thing this week, getting ready on a short week to take the two-hour journey to Louisville to square off with tradition-rich St. Xavier High School.

“It’s been a conscious effort, through spring ball and into the summer, to run the ball better,” Spader said under the WKU lights along University Blvd. “That blocked kick was really big, to get us going. We got dialed in, at the half. Got everybody’s heads right.

“Came out and took care of business in the second half.”

None of which was lost on BGHS senior center Mason Dew, one of the big ‘uns up front who opened impressive holes for Nick Graham, Zyrek Burton and the rest of the Purples’ backs. Anthony Davis had excellent protection in the second half, too.

“We knew the game would be won and lost up front,” Dew said. “We prepared all week for that kind of game …”

Graham said the Purples were intent on turning the page on last year’s 6-7 season, and they’ve taken the first step along those lines.

“I just go out and play. Just have some fun,” Graham said with a smile. “All offseason, it was about getting better, as a team, and as an offense.”

And that brought Bowling Green its first Rafferty’s Bowl trophy since the 2022 season, Coastal Carolina QB Deuce Bailey’s sophomore year with the Purples.

“We had guys flyin’ around, on defense,” Spader said. “We’ve got a bunch of (defensive) people, working in and out of the game. I think we’re much stronger, up front, with our defensive line. Our linebackers are starting to settle in. (Bullitt East) had a lot (of veteran players) returning. Our defense might have to carry us a little bit, early, but our offense is moving along, too.”

Chance Carrigan, a 5-foot-4 BGHS sophomore, closed the scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run with 4:36 left in the game.