By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
With smiling players gathered around him, Simon Kenton football coach Roy Lucas Jr. seemed to be at a loss for words after his team’s 42-40 win over Highlands on Friday. Some of the players stood up and hugged the coach, who then collected himself and praised their gutsy performance.
“It wasn’t pretty. We did a lot of things that we’ve got to correct, for sure” Lucas told reporters after the emotional team meeting. “But the kids fought. They believe in each other. They’ve got a lot of heart. They love to play together, and they just kept fighting.”
Simon Kenton senior Chase Williams follows blockers on one of his rushing attempts. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Simon Kenton (2-0) scored on its first two offensive possessions of the second half to take a 35-20 lead, but Highlands (0-2) mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter and pulled to within 35-33 with 6:45 left on the clock.
Simon Kenton responded with a 74-yard drive on nine rushing plays that ended with Kaleb Bleier’s 12-yard run into the end zone and Andrew Petty’s point-after kick to make it 42-33 with 2:16 remaining.
Highlands refused to quit and picked up 53 yards on eight passing plays. With 57 seconds left, Carson Class caught a 7-yard TD pass from Brody Benke and Davis Burleigh’s extra point kick sliced the lead to 42-40.
The Bluebirds attempted an onside kick, but one of their players grabbed the ball before it went the required distance. That gave the Pioneers possession on the 43-yard line and they were able to run out the clock.
“Give them credit,” Lucas said of Highlands. “They had kids cramping and I think they got worn down, but they fought their tail ends off and kept coming back. We thought we could put them away and we couldn’t.”
The lead changed hands five times in the first half that ended with Simon Kenton holding a 21-20 edge. At the break, Highlands had a 298-180 advantage in total yards, but the Bluebirds had to settle for field goals on two of their scoring drives.
Highlands quarterback Brady Benke scored two touchdowns and passed for another during his team’s fourth quarter rally. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
In the second half, Simon Kenton kept the ball on the ground and ended the game with 309 yards rushing and 50 yards passing. The final breakdown for Highlands was 200 yards rushing and 182 yards passing.
The Pioneers’ leading rusher was senior quarterback Chase Crone, who picked up 137 yards on 24 carries and scored twice. He also completed 7 of 15 passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns, both to Chase Williams.
Bleier, who started the game in place of an injured teammate, had 110 yards on 16 carries and scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown.
“That was the game plan,” Crone said of the Pioneers’ run-heavy offense. “We thought that our offensive line was big enough and that we were physical enough that we could run the ball down their throats.”
“That’s a good defense, too,” Crone added. “It’s hard to pass on them. They’re very athletic and know what they’re doing, so I felt like we should keep running the ball and that’s what was working the whole game.”
Simon Kenton’s defense also got off to a good start in the second half. The Pioneers intercepted two passes, including one in the end zone by senior linebacker Josh Bowling, and then stopped Highlands on a fourth-down play.
Two big plays by Highlands senior Charlie Noon seemed to revive the Bluebirds. He broke free on a 59-yard run that set up one touchdown and returned a punt to the 8-yard line that led to another. Benke took the ball into the end zone both times on quarterback keepers.
After the second touchdown, the Bluebirds went for a two-point conversion to tie the score. Benke lateraled the ball to Noon and he threw it back to Benke as he headed for the end zone, but the pass was broken up and the score remained 35-33.
Benke completed 19 of 38 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown while scoring a pair himself. Noon had 73 yards rushing, 76 yards receiving and more than 100 yards in kickoff and punt returns.
HIGHLANDS 3 17 0 20 — 40
SIMON KENTON 7 14 14 7 — 42
HI – Burleigh 40 FG
SK – Crone 2 run (Petty kick)
HI – Robinson 44 run (Burleigh kick)
SK – Williams 17 pass from Crone (Petty kick)
HI – Burleigh 25 FG
HI – Hosea 2 run (Burleigh kick)
SK – Williams 4 pass from Crone (Petty kick)
SK– Bleier 8 run (Petty kick)
SK– Crone 8 run (Petty kick)
HI – Benke 4 run (Burleigh kick)
HI – Benke 2 run (pass failed)
SK – Bleier 12 run (Petty kick)
HI – Carson 7 pass from Benke (Burleigh kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 2-0, Highlands 0-2
