Jim Mashek

BAILEY SCORES THREE TOUCHDOWNS: PURPLES WILL FACE COOPER IN 5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Surprisingly enough, the second half again proved to be little more than a coronation.

Nothing, it seems, could stop Bowling Green High School’s football team from getting another shot at the KHSAA Class 5A state championship on a chilly, sometimes windy Friday night.

Owensboro High School’s tradition-rich Red Devils were certainly a worthy opponent, but the die may have been cast weeks, even months, ago.

Bowling Green is a team on a mission. And the Purples’ defense has taken center stage in Bowling Green’s march to the KHSAA’s “Championship Weekend.”

Bowling Green 38, Owensboro 6.

Another dominant defensive performance. Another banner night for junior BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey. Another splendid game for the Purples’ offensive line. It all seems to be coming together at the right time.

“It’s unfinished business,” Bailey said when it was over. “Get in a good week of practice, go up there and finish the job.”

Bowling Green used another fast start to establish the tone and never flinched until the KHSAA-mandated running clock was implemented for the game’s final 10 minutes. The Purples improved to 11-3 overall and they’ll square off with Cooper High School (12-2) in the 5A state championship game on Saturday night in Lexington.

The refrain on the Purples’ sideline was pretty clear:

“We’re goin’ back to the ‘ship! … One more!”

Owensboro finished its season at 9-5.

Bailey got the Purples in the end zone on Bowling Green’s second series, scoring from four yards out with 4:21 left in the first quarter, as the Purples began to take control. The 6-foot, 185-pound BGHS quarterback scored on a sweep to the left side, and the Purples were just getting started.

A tough, physical Owensboro squad kept it reasonably close for a half or so, but the Purples’ ability to play complementary football again proved too much of an obstacle for their opponent. Sixth-year BGHS head coach Mark Spader is taking the Purples to the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game for the third time in four years.

And no one has to remind Bowling Green’s players that they came up short last season, dropping a 28-7 decision to Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field.

“We’ve still got a big step here,” Spader said. “We always have this goal, with this program. We are back (in Lexington) and there is still a little bitterness from last year, but this is 2023 … We’re going prepare our butts off, go up there and try to bring a title back to Bowling Green.”

In the sweltering heat of August, BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns as the Purples zapped the Red Devils, 42-28, at Owensboro’s Rash Stadium. Veteran OHS coach Jay Fallin guided the Red Devils to three impressive postseason victories, including a 55-21 thumping of South Warren High School, to get a shot at the Purples.

It proved to be a shot in the dark.

“That’s a really good Owensboro team,” Spader said. “Some people were worried, because we had beat them earlier in the year. That was such a distant memory. Both teams have evolved so much. We knew what they had to done to South Warren (in a 53-22 victory in Round Two).

“They had our attention, and our team went to work.”

Spader has been impressed with the Purples’ preparation and practice habits since they turned the page on the regular season. BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey had three rushing touchdowns on Friday night, giving him nine for the season, and he slipped a swing pass to teammate Jaxen Smith that covered 11 yards for a score in the final minute of the first half.

That made it 24-0.

“I just love the way our guys have pulled together,” Spader said. “I’m so proud of our offensive line. Deuce did some good things with his legs … Jaxen’s touchdown was a great way to go into the half …

“And how about that defense? In the Rafferty’s Bowl (on Opening Night at WKU), we didn’t think we could stop anybody (in a 56-52 loss to Lexington Christian Academy) … We came out of the locker room ready to play.”

The Red Devils’ offense was largely held in check until the fourth quarter. Owensboro avoided the shutout when star running back Evan Hampton, a 220-pound sophomore, beat the Purples’ pursuit to the edge before scoring on a 68-yard touchdown run with 2:24 left.

Hampton carried the ball 20 times for 181 yards, but that’s a deceiving figure. The Red Devils had trouble protecting junior QB Trevor Delacey, and the Purples’ team speed — we’re talking sideline to sideline here — poses a challenge for just about anybody.

Particularly in November. The Purples created a running-clock situation in all four of their postseason victories, a couple times before halftime.

Bowling Green surrendered 415 yards rushing against Lexington Christian, on Opening Night, and BGHS coach Mark Spader insisted his defense was a work in progress for most of the regular season.

Now, it’s nothing short of relentless.

“We doubted ourselves,” junior BGHS defensive back Grayson Newman said. “We worked hard in practice. The first game, up at Owensboro, was just a dogfight. We knew what we had to do tonight.”

Junior linebacker Jayden Axson has established himself as a leader of the Purples’ defense, and they’ve developed other individual standouts such as defensive end Max Buchanon, linebacker Montez Trussel and safety Ethan Warder.

Junior BGHS cornerback Charlie Compton had a critical interception near the Purples’ sideline in the final two minutes of the first half, and Deuce Bailey and the Bowling Green offense quickly completed the task at hand, grabbing the 24-0 lead.

“Bowling Green was ready to go,” Owensboro coach Jay Fallin said. “They were firing on all cylinders, they executed from the jump. We came out and got an early stop. Then, it looked like we got an first down, but we had a hold, and not much went right from that point.”

Cooper High School, representing Metro Cincinnati, upset top seed Highlands, 17-15, on Friday night in Fort Thomas, which sent the Jaguars to their second KHSAA Class 5A state championship game in school history.

In 2012, Cooper squared off with Kevin Wallace’s BGHS squad and the Purples raced to a 34-20 victory. Mark Spader was the Bowling Green defensive coordinator in that game.

On Saturday night, Spader’s Purples will play for the eighth state championship in school history.

And you’d have to say they have plenty of momentum at their back. Bowling Green won for the 10th time in 11 games, and the Purples finished 8-1 in the friendly confines of El Donaldson Stadium.

“Mark Spader is a great coach, he’s a guy who’s ‘defense first,'” Fallin said. “We probably felt a little like South Warren did at our place, two weeks ago. We just couldn’t find a way to get it under control, once the snowball started to roll.”

Next stop, Kroger Field.