(Editor’s note: This is a quick look at high school football teams in South Central Kentucky. Coming soon, South Warren and Greenwood.)
ADDRESSES HIS TEAM AFTER MONDAY’s WORKOUT.
BAILEY, SKILL PLAYERS GIVE BOWLING GREEN A HIGH PROFILE IN KHSAA CLASS 5A RANKS
Bowling Green High School teammates DeMarcus Elliott and Wick Dotson were on the field on that brisk December night, watching the Broncos of Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School take control of the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game in the second half.
They understood what had happened, and the road that awaited the Purples over the next few months.
Bowling Green’s pursuit of an eighth KHSAA state championship is in full swing, and the Purples hit the practice field for the first time this week to officially launch it.
Veteran BGHS coach Mark Spader and his staff supervised a non-contact workout at El Donaldson Stadium on Monday evening, with a seven-on-seven tournament at Warren East High School awaiting on Tuesday morning.
The Purples reached the KHSAA state title game last year, but Frederick Douglass’ defense dominated the second half and the Broncos derailed Bowling Green 28-7 at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field.
DeMARCUS ELLIOTT (LEFT)
AND WICK DOTSON.
GIVES THE PURPLES AN
EXPERIENCED HAND AT QUARTERBACK.
NEW FACES ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE.
Dotson and Elliott are two of the BGHS seniors intent on giving the Purples another shot at a championship, and Spader likes to lean on his senior class to establish a culture with which Bowling Green has taken great pride over the years, particularly since the turn of the century.
“I feel like we can take a lot from that game, and learn from it,” Elliott said.
Elliott, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound offensive guard, has hit the weight room diligently over the last few months, intent on making his final season with the Purples a memorable one.
Dotson, the ballhawking BGHS defensive back, said the experience in the state championship game gives the Purples a template for the 2023 campaign. Bowling Green will open the season against Lexington Christian Academy on August 19 in the Rafferty’s Bowl at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium.
“It’s fun to make it that far (to the championship game),” Dotson said. “You’ve got to tell yourself that you can, in order to do it.”
IN WR EASTON BARLOW (LEFT)
AND RB JEVAN HUDDLESTON.
Frederick Douglass’ defense, however, overpowered the Purples in the second half, claiming a 28-7 victory in the final game of the KHSAA’s championship weekend. Bowling Green finished the season 12-3, however, just one year removed from a .500 season, and the Purples seemed poised to contend again in the KHSAA’s Class 5A, 2nd District.
“Overall, I’m pleased with how our team has worked, beginning in January,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “We’re coming out of the (KHSAA) dead period a bit sluggish, but I think we’ll get rolling again soon.”
Spader challenged his senior class to leave their mark on an impressive BGHS football legacy after Monday’s practice.
“Our senior class (about 15-16 strong) thinned itself out during the offseason,” Spader said. “As always, we will be led by the remaining members of that class as they leave their mark on Purples football.”
AGAINST LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN ON AUGUST 19.
Elliott and junior offensive tackle Parker Fields are returning starters on the Bowling Green offensive line, so it figures to be a work in progress over the next few weeks. Junior BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey, however, gives the Purples an experienced hand at the game’s most critical position, and Bailey hit the college camps circuit over the summer to work on his game and get ready for his third season as the BGHS starter.
Bowling Green also returns last year’s rushing leader, Jevan Huddleston, and veteran receivers such as Easton Barlow, C.J. Sweeney and Ethan Warden.
Bailey likes to spread the ball all over the field and gives the Purples an extra dimension with his ability to break the pocket and pick up valuable yardage on the ground.
“I think our first day went pretty well,” Elliott said on Monday. “We’re ready to go.”
Dotson and fellow BGHS defensive back Grayson Newman are experienced hands in the Purples’ secondary, but they’ve got some holes to fill up front, on the line and at linebacker. They’ll have to address some special-teams questions, too, with the departure of veteran placekicker/punter Colin Fratus.
Chris Seabolt, the Purples’ assistant head coach, will return to his previous duties on the offensive line, after former colleague Cy Williams moved on to an administrative role with the BGISD. It’s all part of the process, the way Mark Spader sees it.
“(Seabolt) is hard at work with his group, to fill the voids from last season,” Spader said. “At Bowling Green High, it is a way of life, as it’s ‘next man up’ for guys that have waited for their opportunity.”
