Jim Mashek

SPARTANS OUT TO TURN THE TABLES FROM SEPTEMBER DEFEAT

Six weeks have passed since Bowling Green High School’s Javen Huddleston scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the final minute, on a second-down play, to send the Purples to a pulsating 28-24 victory over arch-rival South Warren High School.

The Purples (9-2 overall) have gone on to win three of their next four games, including last week’s 49-0 thumping of Ohio County in the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs. South Warren, meanwhile, has split in its four games, including a 35-21 loss at the hands of Greenwood. The Spartans (6-5) made the long trip to Graves County to open postseason play, and South Warren took care of that game with little trouble, claiming a 36-7 victory in Mayfield, Kentucky.

Which has led us to the inevitable. Of course.

The rematch.

Friday night’s showdown on the BGHS campus. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

South Warren and Bowling Green have squared off twice in three consecutive seasons, and four of the last five. In 2020, the Purples avenged a 10-7 loss to South Warren in regular-season play, using Tucker Strode’s blocked punt and subsequent touchdown to knock off the Spartans 41-24.

Three weeks later, Bowling Green won the seventh KHSAA state championship in school history, mauling Owensboro 17-7 in the championship game at Lexington’s Kroger Field.

South Warren was the dominant team last year, rolling to a 36-7 over the Purples in regular-season play before completing the two-game sweep with a 28-7 thumping of BGHS on the way to a KHSAA state championship for itself.

Former South quarterback Caden Veltkamp, now a WKU backup, guided the Spartans to a 38-26 victory over Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School, capping a remarkable 14-1 season and the Class 5A state title.

This year, South Warren has struggled defensively at times. The Spartans are the clear underdog for Friday night’s showdown on the BGHS campus. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, in that the pressure is almost squarely on the backs of the Purples.

“We’ve been on both sides of this situation,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “There’s no question, there’s a little less anxiety, on this side of (the rivalry). It’s not as stressful. We’re almost playing with house money.”

Likewise, the BGHS players understand they may have the upper hand, personnel wise, but there were five lead changes before the Purples pulled out the 28-24 triumph over South on September 30. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Button kept South in the game, and he found University of Tennessee commit Cristian Conyer for a 23-yard touchdown pass to put the Spartans in front with about five minutes left.

Deuce Bailey, the Purples’ talented sophomore QB, was equal to the task, guiding Bowling Green on an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with the game on the line. Huddleston’s 1-yard TD run proved to be the difference, and players from both teams acknowledged a rematch was likely on the horizon.

“It’s always going to be a competitive game,” senior BGHS cornerback Augie Nyembo said. “We know it’s going to be a competitive game. We’ve got to stop the running game, first. (Button) can run the ball, and he runs their offense very well.”

It’s been a bit of an uneven season at South Warren, but the Spartans are clearly embracing the underdog role.

“We’ve just got to try to win by any means necessary,” Conyer said. “Leave it all on the field. Play like we have nothing to lose.”

That’s exactly what veteran BGHS coach Mark Spader expects from the Spartans, who lost several key players to last year’s state championship season, including WKU teammates Caden Veltkamp, a three-year starter at quarterback, and run-stuffing defensive lineman Jason Jackson.

“It’s turned into a really good rivalry, and really quickly, too,” Spader said. “It’s quickly become very heated. Whoever comes out of this one will be considered a team that can make a run to state. We meet with our seniors every Thursday, in game week, and they’ve taken it upon themselves to get us mentally ready to play.

“We know we’re going to get (South’s) absolute best. They’re always well coached. They play with a high level of intensity and effort. Our football life can end at any time.”

Offensive limitations put Bowling Green in a tough spot in several games in 2021, but Deuce Bailey returned for his sophomore year as the Purples’ quarterback and given them a much different look.

Huddleston (755 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns) and BGHS teammate LaDainian Woods (307 yards rushing, two TDs) have given the Purples a steady running game, but it’s Bailey’s development that has given his squad a different dimension.

Bailey has completed 156 of 256 passes (61 percent) for 2,294 yards and 25 touchdowns, while adding 280 yards rushing along with three TDs on the ground. He has been intercepted five times.

Bailey’s South counterpart, Bryce Button, has completed 165 of 269 passes (64 percent) for 1,969 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 419 yards and six touchdowns, while throwing nine interceptions.

“We’ve just got to go out and play like it’s our last game,” Button said. “This could be our seniors’ last game, and I don’t want to be the cause of that. We’ve got to play our game and execute.”

Bailey has a similar sense of urgency.

“We’ve got to be mentally prepared, go out there and set the tone early,” Bailey said.

Bailey’s center, BGHS senior Isaiah Martin, is quick to agree.

“If our offensive line plays well, we’ll have a good night,” Martin said. “I don’t think their defensive backs can cover our receivers. We’ve got to give Deuce time to throw the ball.”

And South Warren coach Brandon Smith has seen his defense get gashed at inopportune times this season.

“We’ve moved the ball in every game,” Smith said. “Defensively, we have been susceptible to the big play.

“We took care of business last week, against Graves County, but it was kind of par for the course, for our season. Some self-inflicted wounds.

“The difference, of course, is this time we came out on top.”

The series is tied at five games apiece. The winner’s next opponent will be determined by the KHSAA’s Ratings Percentage Index formula.