Jim Mashek

GRAHAM’s IMPROBABLE SCORE SENDS BOWLING GREEN TO AMAZING VICTORY OVER SPARTANS

Call it what you want.

A hook-and-lateral. A hook-and-ladder. A “catch-it-and-pitch-it,” as Bowling Green sophomore running back Trey Graham put it.

Pitch this one to Hollywood.

Bowling Green High School pulled a victory out of thin air on a cool Friday night, using one of the oldest trick plays in the book, the “hook-and-lateral” on the left sideline, to stun archrival South Warren High School, 36-29, before an overflow crowd at Spartan Stadium.

“Find a way to win the game,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said when it was over.

South Warren didn’t gain its first lead until 34 seconds remained in the game, when junior SWHS quarterback Bryce Button bulldozed his way into the end zone, scoring on a two-point conversion that put the Spartans in front, 29-28. A light rain started to fall …

Bowling Green didn’t panic.

The Purples did virtually everything right, returning the low, line-drive kickoff to the BGHS 30-yard line before junior quarterback Deuce Bailey got the ball to teammate Trevy Barber on a quick screen to the left sideline. Barber slipped away from a couple would-be tacklers and picked up 30 yards before getting pushed out of bounds with 14 seconds showing on the clock.

Spader called a timeout and the Purples considered their options.

BGHS placekicker Braden Widener had missed a field-goal attempt earlier in the game, but he was showing plenty of range in pre-game warmups. Spader wanted to get a little closer for a possible shot at three points, but Bailey and Co. had other ideas.

“I knew (South Warren) would go for two, if they scored late,” Spader said. “We work on that play (the patented hook-and-lateral) in practice. They sent the house (on the pass rush) and Deuce kept a level head, and put the ball right where it needed to be.

“We named that play ‘John Hardin’ from a big play we made against those guys in the playoffs a long time ago … I’m sure they appreciate that. Trevy and Trey did the rest …

“I guess it was last man standing.”

Barber almost did the hook-and-lateral pitch in one movement, moving his arms toward Graham as he brought in the ball for the reception.

“It was a pretty gutsy call, but none of our guys flinched,” Bailey said via text message on Saturday morning. “Trevy Barber made an unbelievable effort on the catch-and-pitch and Trey Graham did the rest.

“Proud of how we kept our heads up and didn’t give up.”

The Spartans were simply stunned. They’d fought their way back into the game, and overcome the early loss of injured star Ethan Reynolds, their junior inside linebacker who also leads the team in touchdowns. Ultimately, they were caught out of position, defensively, on the hook-and-lateral that extended the Purples’ winning streak to five games.

Bowling Green improved to 6-2 overall and remained unbeaten in two KHSAA Class 5A, 2nd District games. South Warren dropped to 6-2 and 1-1, respectively.

“I made some mistakes in the last 30 seconds,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “We definitely had some adversity, losing a star player to an injury on the first play of the game, a lost fumble inside their 10-yard line, another turnover that they turned into a touchdown … Our guys battled all the way to the end.

“We just had one bad play at the end of the game.”

Bowling Green scored first, in spectacular fashion.

After the Purples’ Charlie Compton pounced on a South Warren fumble at the 5-yard line, Bowling Green took a 1-yard loss before Deuce Bailey made it happen.

Bailey took advantage of excellent protection and found sophomore running back Montravion Graham on a deep wheel route on the left sideline. Graham caught the ball in stride and scored on a 96-yard reception, and Braden Widener’s PAT put the Purples in front, 7-0, with 4:11 left in the first quarter.

South’s Bryce Button got his team into the red zone on the Spartans’ next possession, but the Purples partially blocked an attempt at a 28-yard field goal by Eli McIntosh. Bowling Green then went three-and-out, giving South possession at its 43-yard line.

Button then directed a brisk 57-yard TD drive, in just four plays, finding the Spartans’ Bailey Shoemaker near the goal line in the middle of the field for a 27-yard touchdown pass.

In the final four minutes of the first half, Deuce Bailey hit BGHS teammate Trevy Barber on a swing pass on the right side, and Barber went 35 yards to flip the field. A poor punt gave South a chance to do something before the break, but Bowling Green’s Brandon Gurley batted down Button’s fourth-down pass with 49 seconds left and Bailey made it happen in a hurry.

Bailey hit BGHS teammate Christopher Sweeney on back-to-back passes, finding him in the right corner of the end zone for a 22-yard scoring reception with 20 seconds left in the first half.

South’s special-teams unit partially blocked a Bowling Green punt in the early moments of the second half, and the Spartans used the strong legs of senior running back Jimmy Sales to get into the end zone for the second time of the night.

Still, the drive bogged down and SWHS quarterback Bryce Button faced a fourth-and-goal situation at the Bowling Green 2-yard line. Button faked the dive play to Sales and scored on a two-yard run, tying the game at 14 midway through the third quarter.

A pass-interference penalty wiped out a spectacular interception by South Warren’s DeShawn Bridges, and Deuce Bailey made the Spartans pay for that mistake, finding BGHS teammate Trevy Barber on the left sideline for a 31-yard touchdown pass at the 3:02 mark of the third quarter.

Again, the Spartans came storming back.

After an exchange of quick possessions, the Spartans tied it at 21 on Bryce Button’s 31-yard TD pass to DeShawn Bridges, who like many South Warren players sees significant playing time on both offense and defense. That’s why Ethan Reynolds’ injury early in the game complicated things for the Spartans, because he is normally their defensive signal-caller.

BGHS junior cornerback Grayson Newman delivered a critical touchdown after a botched handoff resulted in a South Warren fumble inside the 15-yard line. Newman picked up the ball for a dramatic “scoop-and-score,” and the Purples had a 28-21 lead with 7:03 left in the game.

South’s Bryce Button took his team the length of the field before scoring the Spartans’ final touchdown of the night. Button converted a third-and-20 play with a 22-yard scramble up the middle, and two plays later, he fired a 10-yard TD pass to South teammate Isaiah Bigsby, leaving the Spartans’ Brandon Smith with a critical decision with 34 seconds left in the game.

After a cat-and-mouse game with timeouts based on opposing formations, Button slipped through a couple Bowling Green defenders to score on a two-point conversion. It was South’s first lead of the game, and obviously it was short lived.

The Purples covered 70 yards on just two plays for the winning score, the “John Hardin” special more commonly known as the hook-and-lateral or hook-and-ladder.

By hook or by crook, through virtually any means necessary, the Purples won their third consecutive game over South Warren, but there’s an excellent chance they’ll see one another in the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs, as they have for each of the last four seasons.

“Both sides kept fighting. South’s offense is really good,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “I don’t know when we’ll see them, but I definitely feel like we’ll see them again.”

Montravion Graham, the Purples’ sophomore running back, put it this way:

“That’s what Purples do. We’ve got unfinished business …”

Graham referred to the Purples’ 28-7 loss to Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School, in the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game last December. Bowling Green is in search of the school’s eighth state championship, and South Warren is certainly a contender for its fourth state title since the school opened in 2010.

“Nobody knows how it’s going to shake out (in the playoffs),” South coach Brandon Smith said. “If you were a fan, that was a great game to watch … I’m proud of our guys. They battled the whole way, even when things seemed to be going against us.”

South’s Bryce Button passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, while teammate Jimmy Sales added 162 yards on the ground. Bailey, meanwhile, completed 21 of 30 passes for 376 yards and four TDs. Both teams will close Class 5A, 2nd District play next week, Bowling Green at home against Greenwood and South Warren on the road against Ohio County.

“Bryce is a warrior, he’s an outstanding player,” Smith said.

Greenwood improved to 6-2 and 1-1 in district play Friday night, holding off previously unbeaten Franklin-Simpson, 26-16. The Gators are still looking for their first victory over Bowling Green High School in football.

“We just never give up,” Purples wide receiver Trevy Barber said. “(South Warren) is a very good team. You always know what you’re gonna get from them …”