Tomcats edge past Devils on late goal line stand, 14-7

ASHLAND — They bent but they certainly didn't break.

Ashland's defense pulled off a thrilling goal line stand from inside the 3-yard line on Russell's final drive of the game and Tomcats edged past the Red Devils 14-7 on Friday night at Puntnam Stadium.

Both teams came into the game in different directions with Ashland (5-0) staying undefeated after rolling their way past East Jessamine. Meanwhile, the Red Devils (3-2) suffered their first loss of the season in Paintsville last weekend.

However they got there, the records didn't matter and the rivalry ensued between these river town programs for another 48 minutes.

And man was it a memorable one.

The exciting finish started with Russell stopping a Tomcat drive around midfield.

Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Russell 37, the Tomcats decided to roll the dice and grind out a critical first down.

But Daylen Farrow's rush attempt was blown up as Wyatt Hudson came clean to force Farrow to bounce out and Kaiden Benge came from the backside to help drag Farrow down in the backfield for the stop.

The Devils began to methodically move the ball down the field with some tough runs and Williams completions spread out to Shawn Deskins, Jordan Rowe and Griffin Fisher to reach the 3 yard line.

On 3rd-and-goal from the one-foot line, Luke McCoy would make the initial game-saving play by knifing in from his defensive end position and stopping Benge at the line of scrimmage.

Then on the fourth down play, Williams would be chased around the pocket and make a desperation pass into the end zone towards both Deskins and Jordan Rowe, but Taner Woodman was able to deflect the ball away with 2:55 remaining on the clock.

The Tomcats (5-0) converted one first down and ran out the remaining time out to seal the victory.

During much of the first half, neither team threatened to score or drive the field very far.

One of the few instances came when Ashland appeared to be taking advantage of a prime field position, as they drove from midfield down to the Russell 26.

But on a 2nd-and-short run from Simpkins, the ball was jarred out by a helmet-to-ball hit from Griffin Fisher and recovered by Wyatt Hudson at the 9:14 mark of the second quarter.

But Ashland would finally break out and make the game's first big offensive play.

Following a Russell punt, Trevonte Taylor would take a first down handoff to his right, find a crease, side step an arm tackle, and dash 76 yards to pay dirt for the games first points. Max McAllister nailed the extra point try to make it 7-0 with 4:24 before halftime.

Taylor wouldn't be done with the offensive fireworks. His very next carry would be from his own 1-yard line and the Tomcat junior went left and bounced off his own blockers before seeing a cutback lane to his right and found green turf for a 99-yard touchdown score.

Taylor's explosive runs earned him a game-high 198 yards on just 7 carries

McAllister added the point after and all the sudden the Tomcats we taking a 14-0 lead into the locker room.

Trailing by two scores, the Devils needed to get their offense going and move the chains in the second half.

After forcing an Ashland punt late in the third, the Devils finally manufactured a scoring drive to get back in the game.But the drive didn't look promising, starting off with a penalty and and a tackle for loss by Maverick Ashby.

A costly pass interference call moved the chains for Russell and then Williams completed 3-straight passes, and Benge muscled out first downs on a 4th-and-1 and 3rd-and-1 to run to help move the Devils to the Ashland 21.

On first down, Fisher made a double move on the far sideline and Williams hit his target over the back shoulder for the score. Sam Totten added the point after to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 3:05 remaining in the third.

From that point, the game devolved into a hard-hitting defensive battle until the Devils final drive to set up the finish.

The Tomcats defense was headlined by both Brody Simpkins and JJ Keyes, as the linebacking duo combined for 33 tackles. Both Avian Lee and Luke McCoy each picked up a sack.

Next Friday, the Tomcats will open district play on the road against Greenup County while Russell will host Fleming County in their district opener.

Russell 0 0 7 0 = 7

Ashland 0 14 0 0 = 14

Second Quarter

Ash — Trevonte Taylor 76 run (Max McAllister kick), 4:24.

Ash — Trevonte Taylor 99 run (Max McAllister kick), 0:37.

Third Quarter

Rus — Griffin Fisher 21 pass from Hunter Williams (Sam Totten kick), 13:05.

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Rus Ash

First downs 9 9

Rushes-yards 30-55 19-223

Passing yards 128 61

Total yards 183 284

Cmp-Att-Int 14-20-0 6-12-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-38 2-25

Punts-average 5-40.4 2-36.0

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING – Russell: Jordan Rowe, 3-minus 1, Hunter Williams 1-minus 2, Kaiden Benge 21-52, Lane Osborne 5-6; Ashland: Daylen Farrow 3-13, Brody Simpkins 5-14, Maverick Ashby 2-5, Tanner Stutler 4-minus 7, Trevonte Taylor 7-198 2-TD.

PASSING – Russell: Hunter Williams 14-20-0 128 TD; Ashland: Tanner Stutler 6-12-0 61.

RECEIVING – East Jessamine: Jordan Rowe 1-5, Griffin Fisher 5-51 TD, Shawn Deskins 7-62, Kaiden Benge 1-10; Ashland: Kody Millette 2-16, Justin Hughes 2-18, Jaylan Strader 1-8, Trevonte Taylor 1-19.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.