FACED AN UPHILL BATTLE MOST OF THE NIGHT.
JUNIOR QB GABE DAWSON GUIDES BOYLE COUNTY TO DECISIVE VICTORY OVER PURPLES
Mark Spader wanted to look forward. Bowling Green High School’s fifth-year head coach had tasted defeat for the first time this season, as KHSAA Class 4A powerhouse Boyle County thumped the Purples 35-21 on Friday night at El Donaldson Stadium.
“.I thought we played hard,” Spader said when it was over, “but playing hard don’t get it done when you are playing really good teams. You have to do everything right.”
That didn’t happen against the big, strapping Rebels, who extended their winning streak to 18 games, dating back to Week Two of the 2021 season. Boyle County broke a 14-all tie midway through the third quarter, and the Purples’ defense had trouble getting off the field against the Rebels’ potent attack, fueled by junior quarterback Sage Dawson, sophomore receiver/running back Montavin Quisenberry and junior running back Avery Bodner.
Quisenberry and Bodner did most of their damage on off-tackle plays and on the perimeter, but the Rebels’ ability to control the line of scrimmage allowed Boyle County to build a significant edge in time of possession. Plus, the Purples lost their leading tackler — senior linebacker Davis Fant — to an injury in the first half.
“It’s a learning game, for sure,” senior BGHS cornerback Augustin Nyembo said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, a couple times. We could have played better.
“I think a game like this is gonna help us in the long run.”
That’s exactly what Mark Spader, the Purples coach, and his Boyle counterpart Justin Haddix had in mind beforehand.
“They’re probably going to win another Class 4A state title,” Spader said. “For the most part, I was pleased with our offense. You’ve got to take care of the ball … We’ve got work to do, on the inside of our defense.
“You play a game like this, you’re going to find out your warts and what you need to work on.”
FOR 260 YARDS AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS.
BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey kept his team in the game, at least until the fourth quarter. The slender 6-foot sophomore completed 14 of 29 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.
Bailey and the Purples got on the scoreboard first, with Bailey finding a wide-open Christopher Sweeny at the goal line for a 26-yard touchdown with 2:45 left in the first quarter.
The Purples’ defense managed to get off the field on Boyle County’s subsequent offensive series, but the Rebels started to take control in the second quarter.
Boyle County’s Sage Dawson found teammate Montavis Quisenberry on a quick slant pattern and a 6-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 left in the first half. Boyle County’s Cole Andrews added the first of five extra points, and the Rebels never trailed again.
Bowling Green’s Easton Barlow returned the ensuing kickoff to the Purples’ 29-yard line, and Deuce Bailey’s 9-yard completion to Trevy Barber on second down left BGHS with a third-and-1 situation at the 38.
Bailey scrambled toward the left sideline for an apparent first down, only to fumble the ball away to the Rebels. In the last three or four minutes of the first half, Boyle County coach Justin Haddix opted for a methodical attack, keeping the ball between the tackles.
PLAYED EXTENSIVELY ON OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.
Davis Fant, Jake Napier and the rest of the BGHS defenders made Boyle County earn it, and that’s exactly what the Rebels did in scoring their second touchdown of the night with 12.6 seconds left in the first half. Avery Bodner found the end zone from a yard out, and Boyle County took a 14-7 lead into the locker room.
“We got after it tonight, with the running game,” Boyle County coach Justin Haddix said.
LOCKER ROOM FOR HALFTIME.
The Purples wasted no time in tying the score in the opening moments of the second half.
Bailey used good protection to find teammate Easton Barlow on a deep seam route on the right side of the field, and Barlow made the catch before hitting the right sideline and scoring on a dazzling 77-yard touchdown pass.
Colin Fratus added the extra point for the Purples, and the home side of El Donaldson Stadium came to life with 10:44 left in the third quarter.
Bowling Green had one possession after scoring its second touchdown to tie the game, but a couple penalties brought Fratus and the punt team on the field with about five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Montavis Quisenberry used a quick burst of speed for a 42-yard run through the teeth of the BGHS defense, and Boyle County rolled with the momentum.
Avery Bodner took the handoff from Rebels teammate Sage Dawson and broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage before scoring on a 31-yard run with 4:21 left in the third quarter. Another BGHS turnover brought the Purples’ defense back onto the field, where it seemed to spend the vast majority of the game.
Dawson found Boyle teammate Will Alexander for a 15-yard TD pass, extending the Rebels’ lead to 28-14.
ON A 7-YARD RUN IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
Deuce Bailey and the Purples’ offense put together a scoring drive in their next possession, with junior running back Javen Huddleston finding the end zone from 7 yards out on a sweep to the left sideline.
That’s when Montavin Quisenberry delivered for the Rebels yet again.
Quisenberry fielded Colin Fratus’ ensuing kickoff, and he found a crease in the middle of the field before hitting the right sideline on a dazzling 70-yard return. Boyle County again made it happen in the red zone, with Avery Bodner scoring on a 3-yard run to account for the final margin midway through the fourth quarter.
BGHS LINEMAN AUSTIN ANDERSON AFTER THE GAME.
Boyle County would improve to 5-0 overall while Bowling Green dropped to 4-1, but Rebels coach Justin Haddix had plenty of praise for the Purples. Like BGHS coach Mark Spader, Haddix tries to put together a challenging non-district schedule to get his team prepared for the KHSAA playoffs that begin in November.
“It was a battle out there, a great atmosphere,” said Haddix, who played college football at WKU. “Bowling Green’s best football is in front of them. We got better, by playing them tonight. Our running game started clicking in the second half.”
Haddix was a starting quarterback for the Hilltoppers before moving onto the coaching profession. He replaced legendary coach Chuck Smith after the 2019 season, taking one of the Commonwealth’s high-profile jobs before the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boyle County lost a couple playing opportunities because of the COVID-19 protocol, but the Rebels caught fire in the posteason and completed an 11-0 season with a 31-28 victory over Franklin County in the KHSAA Class 4A state championship game in Lexington.
The Rebels earned the seventh state championship in school history that year themselves, relying on an aggressive defense to stop Owensboro High School 17-7 in the KHSAA Class 5A title game at Kroger Field. Bowling Green had a revamped look in 2021, however, and the Purples twice lost to archival South Warren High School while limping out with a 6-6 record.
BGHS coach Mark Spader and his sophomore quarterback, Deuce Bailey, see better times ahead. Bailey replaced former teammate Spencer Newman three games into the 2021 season, and he’s made vast improvement over the course of his 14 starts with the Purples.
“I like the effort. We kept fighting, we didn’t give up,” Bailey said when it was over.
“I don’t think you can question the effort,” Spader said. “The second half … they had a drive or two where they ran though us like a screen door. Boyle’s a very good football team.”
TO BACK-TO-BACK KHSAA CLASS 4A STATE TITLES.
DEFENSIVE PLAY NEXT WEEK AGAINST FATHER RYAN ACADEMY.