Saturday, September 23, 2000
Lexington Henry Clay 38, Simon Kenton 26
Pioneers denied a 6-0 start
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Simon Kenton lost its bid Friday for a 6-0 start. But not without a fight.
Senior fullback Raymon Smith's 213 rushing yards and three touchdowns led Lexington Henry Clay to a 38-26 win.
“It was a hard-fought football game,” Simon Kenton senior tailback Daniel Morrison said. “We just have to work harder next week and get ready for Ryle.”
You couldn't fault Morrison's game — a 97-yard kickoff return for one touchdown and 26 carries for 100 yards and two more scores.
“It just proves he's a great back,” Simon Kenton coach Jeff Marksberry said. “(Friday was) an example of our kids responding in the second half.”
For most of the game, Simon Kenton responded. The Pioneers trailed 24-19 early in the third quarter and 31-26 with 5:18 left in the game on Morrison's 1-yard plunge.
But Henry Clay's big plays cost the Pioneers their win streak.
Smith scored a 61-yard TD 90 seconds into the second half.
And on the opening play of the fourth quarter, senior Josh Butcher found senior Kenny Dismeaux with a 5-yard pass, which Dismeaux turned into a 73-yard touchdown.
And finally, Butcher turned a bobbled snap and a botched handoff into a 44-yard gain. Smith's 2-yard run the next play sealed the win with 2:19 left in the game.
Henry Clay (4-2) gained 438 yards to Simon Kenton's 161, with 351 on the ground, thanks to the thing Simon Kenton feared most: the Blue Devils' speed on offense.
Speed led to Henry Clay's first touchdown, but what hurt the Pioneers the most were the yards coming mostly from someone the Pioneers didn't expect.
Sophomore Demetric Blackburn ran for 285 yards and three touchdowns against Ryle last week, but Friday it was Smith who carried seven times for 61 yards, including the final nine for the score with 4:17 left in the first quarter.
“We had to win with speed,” Smith said. “It was good execution by the line.”
Simon Kenton's first mistake led to the Blue Devils' second score.
Henry Clay junior linebacker Will Wheeler intercepted sophomore Justin Bishop's pass at the Pioneer 30. Seven plays later, Smith — who finished the first half with 15 carries for 104 yards — plunged in for his second TD with 1:10 left in the first.
The Pioneers got their first break early in the second quarter.
After Henry Clay held the Pioneers at their own 29, junior Jared Smock's punt touched the Blue Devils' Dismeaux at around the Henry Clay 40.
That made it a live ball, and Simon Kenton senior Ray Crail fell on the ball at the 21. Four plays later, Morrison (64 rushing yards for the half) was in from a yard out to complete a drive he made possible with a 19-yard run.
Henry Clay's Aaron Ballard's 26-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the half made it 17-7 Blue Devils. Bishop's 7-yard pass to senior Kevin Cristello closed it to 17-13 with 44.6 seconds left in the half.
“You just never give up,” Cristello said. “That's the bottom line.”
Simon Kenton ....... 0 13 6 7—26
Henry Clay ....... 14 3 7 14—38
HC-Smith 9 run (Ballard kick)
HC-Smith 1 run (Ballard kick)
SK-Morrison 1 run (Smock kick)
HC-Ballard 26 field goal
SK-Cristello 7 pass from Bishop (kick failed)
HC-Smith 61 run (Ballard kick)
SK-Morrison 97 kickoff return (pass failed)
HC-Dismeaux 73 pass from Butcher (Ballard kick)
SK-Morrison 1 run (Smock kick)
HC-Smith 2 run (Ballard kick)
Records: SK 5-1 (1-1 in Class AAAA district), HC 4-2 (2-0).
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Anderson 41, Northwest 7
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CHCA 37, New Miami 0
Colerain 54, Milford 0
Conner 21, Owensboro 6
Dayton 26, Raceland 12
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Hamilton 21, Lakota East 10
Hamilton Badin 25, Roger Bacon 7
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Highlands 63, Lex. Paul Dunbar 25
Holmes 35, Woodford County 12
James.Greenview 36, Cin. Country Day 26
Lakota West 14, Oak Hills 3
Lebanon 28, Wilmington 18
Lex. Tates Creek 21, Dixie Heights 14
 Lexington Henry Clay 38, Simon Kenton 26
Little Miami 18, Norwood 13
Loveland 34, Ross 27
Madeira 21, Deer Park 12
Madison Central 36, Scott 7
McNicholas 28, Chaminade-Julienne 27
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Moeller 33, La Salle 20
New Richmond 58, Clermont NE 7
NewCath game suspended
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Purcell Marian 20, Kettering Alter 13
Reading 49, Finneytown 34
Ryle 3, Lexington Bryan Station 0
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Turpin 7 Glen Este 0
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Williamsburg 28, Hillsboro 9
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Wyoming 21, Mariemont 13
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