THE END ZONE FIVE TIMES ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
WOODS RUNS FOR 148 YARDS, TWO TOUCHDOWNS IN PURPLES’ TRIUMPH
Bowling Green High School’s football team has undergone an attitude adjustment over the last few months.
Suffice it to say the Purples have a little ‘tude these days.
Bowling Green trampled through visiting Pleasure Ridge Park on Friday night at El Donaldson Stadium, rolling to a 41-14 victory to remain unbeaten in three games. PRP fell to 2-1 with the lopsided defeat.
And no one is happier about these developments than fifth-year BGHS head coach Mark Spader.
“I’m so proud of our offense,” Spader told reporters when it was over. “We are able to throw it. We were able to run it. Things we weren’t able to do last year.
“We could sustain drives, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
THEIR 41-14 VICTORY OVER PLEASURE RIDGE PARK.
Bowling Green is starting to put last year’s 6-6 finish in the rear-view mirror, and the Purples are doing it with offensive balance and its patented aggressive defense. Sophomore quarterback Deuce Bailey continued to show improvement, completing 18 of 23 passes for 202 yards and a nifty third-quarter touchdown pass to freshman teammate Trevy Barber.
Bailey and Barber had a special chemistry on the basketball court just a few months ago, and they’re cornerstones on longtime BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill’s squad that went 27-6 last season. Now, they’re joining forces on the football field, and the rest of the Commonwealth seems to be taking notice.
Of course, with Austin Anderson and the Purples’ offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, Spader and his coaches have plenty of options to make it happen. Pleasure Ridge Park trailed just 17-7 at halftime, but Bailey and the Purples found their mojo over the course of the game’s final 24 minutes.
And LaDainian Woods and the rest of the BGHS running backs are getting in on the fun, too.
“It’s been awhile,” Spader said, “since we beat the drum and ran the ball.”
SCORES ON A 4-YARD RUN TO THE CORNER.
Yes, the personable BGHS coach had a gleam in his eye when he made that observation.
Woods, the Purples’ talented junior running back, returned to the team after a one-year hiatus and had 10 carries for a modest 53 yards in Bowling Green’s first two games.
On Friday night, he turned in a tour de force, carrying the ball 18 times for a game-high 148 yards and two touchdowns. BGHS sophomore Jayden Axson was an effective change of pace, and his 1-yard scoring run pushed the Purples’ lead to 17-7 in the final minute of the first half.
A BIG NIGHT AGAINST PLEASURE RIDGE PARK.
And Bailey is always a threat when the Purples use a moving pocket to get him to the perimeter.
Pleasure Ridge Park coach Tommy Williams put it this way to Courier-Journal sportswriter Jason Frakes:
“It’s not like we were confused about what we were coming into tonight,” he said. “We just weren’t ready for it.”
No, they weren’t.
THE FIELD BEFORE FRIDAY NIGHT’S GAME.
Spader likes his team’s balance of seasoned players such as senior defenders Davis Fant and Jake Napier, complemented by promising young players like Deuce Bailey, Jaydean Axson and Trevy Barber. And nothing gets done without the Purples’ senior-laden offensive line, led by the likes of Austin Anderson, Isaiah Martin and Jake Ledogar.
These guys can push the pile.
“I feel like we had a good game plan tonight,” Anderson said. “We went out and executed, like we thought we could do. Deuce is getting better, every game, and he makes plays a lot of other quarterbacks just don’t make.
“Now we move on to the next one.”
That’s music to Mark Spader’s ears, no doubt. The Purples have their first road trip of the season on the horizon, a matchup with Hopkinsville (1-2) on Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The postgame atmosphere on the field was a little on the subdued side, because the BGHS players have big things in mind after last year’s .500 campaign.
“This game was a test for us, to see where we were at,” senior BGHS cornerback Augustin Nyembo said outside the Purples’ locker room. “We played hard tonight. Definitely. We had a lot of guys contribute. Offense, defense, special teams …”
DRILLED A 40-YARD FIELD GOAL IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
Ah, yes. Special teams. Bowling Green had good field position most of the night, and senior placekicker/punter Colin Fratus had a productive night, too. Fratus and the Purples’ kickoff coverage team turned in a solid performance, and Fratus also delivered a couple field goals, the second one from 40 yards out to make it 34-7 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
Bowling Green’s defense generated a steady pass rush on PRP quarterback Kayden Anderson, who put up some monster stats in the Panthers’ first two games against Louisville opponents Valley High School and Doss High School. University of Kentucky commit Jakob Dixon and PRP teammate Santana Crayton are effective weapons on the flanks, but Nyembo and the other Purples’ defenders in the secondary did a good job keeping the ball in front of them and getting the BGHS offense back on the field.
That’s pretty much what happened the entire game.
The Panthers’ only points in the first half came after Crayton’s dazzling 55-yard punt return midway through the second quarter. PRP’s Malakii Blackburn scored on a 4-yard run with 4:59 left in the first half, beating the Purples’ pursuit to the corner to trim their edge to 10-7.
Suddenly, the PRP sideline came to life, but Deuce Bailey and the Bowling Green offense put an impressive drive together to push its lead back to double digits before halftime.
Bowling Green’s Jayden Axson used good speed on a third-and-1 play for a 20-yard gain and a first down in the red zone, and the El Donaldson Stadium lights started flashing — a new touch in the Purples’ digs — when LaDainian Woods found the end zone from 1 yard out with 45 seconds left in the half.
LOCKER ROOM WITH A 17-7 HALFTIME LEAD.
Easton Barlow and the BGHS receivers had a big night, too, with Barlow finishing with four receptions for a team-high 86 yards. And up front, well, the Purples are ready to impose their will on some folks.
From left to right, Bowling Green is learning to count on tackle Jack Ledogar, guard Austin Anderson, center Isaiah Martin, guard Griffin Sheffield and tackle Parker Fields, who gave Bailey enough time to find his receivers while opening holes for Woods, Axson and their BGHS teammates.
Fields, a sophomore, is the only underclassman in the bunch.
Woods had a 50-yard run in the opening moments of the second half, and Axson’s 1-yard TD run left the Panthers with a 24-7 deficit. Bailey fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Trevy Barber at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter, and with a big lead, the Purples’ offensive line could seal the deal in impressive fashion.
SCORES ON AN 11-YARD PASS FROM DEUCE BAILEY.
“We’re so much better, up front, this season,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “Deuce Bailey is going to do some ‘sophomore things’ out there at quarterback, but he’s got a heckuva demeanor. He’s steady. We had a lot of kids step up. We had a really focused week of practice.
“I was really proud of the way we executed the game plan.”
So, it’s back to the practice field for the Purples, and back to the drawing board for the visiting Panthers. Bowling Green travels to play Hopkinsville High School on Friday, followed by a home game against Class 4A powerhouse Boyle County and a quick trip down Interstate 65 to tangle with Father Ryan Academy on September 23 in Nashville.
Then, yes, in case you’re wondering.
Bowling Green plays host to archrival South Warren High School on September 30. They’re the last two squads to hoist the KHSAA Class 5A state championship trophy, the Purples in 2020 and South last season.
An intriguing football season is taking shape, to be sure.
THE HOPKINSVILLE TIGERS NEXT WEEK IN HOPTOWN.