David Isreal watches as his fumble rolls into the hands of Lexington’s Bobby Whitworth. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD – Coming out of a weather delay that stopped play at the 7:06 mark of the third quarter, Blythewood seemed to be finding its way toward another score against Lexington, and on the way to its third win in a row to start the season.
Up 20-15 early in the fourth quarter, the Bengals drove deep into Wildcats territory. That’s when Lexington’s Eric Ricker came down with a David Isreal pass at the Lexington 7-yard line.
From that yard marker, the Wildcats then marched 93 yards on a 21-play possession that drained 7 minutes and 40 seconds from the clock.
With 2:20 left in the game, Lexington quarterback Brandon Blake found Jayson Hopper in the right corner of the end zone with 2:20 left. The 2-point conversion pass failed, but the Wildcats grabbed a 21-20 lead.
When Blythewood’s ensuing last-ditch drive fell apart on incomplete passes, the Wildcats clinched the victory.
“We had so many chances to finish it off and it just didn’t happen,” Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan said. “They made the plays when they had to, and we had too many dropped passes, penalties, things like that.”
Lexington (1-1) put together balanced offensive numbers on the night. The Wildcats had 160 yards rushing on 47 attempts, and Blake completed 23 of 37 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Isreal had a good night of rushing, leading the Bengals (2-1) with 100 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, but passing was problematic. He completed only 6 of 27 passes for an anemic 89 yards, and his interception sparked the Wildcats’ game-clinching drive.
Lexington’s winning drive could have stalled out for the Wildcats several times. Lexington faced seven third-down situations and two fourth-down situations. An encroachment penalty against Blythewood on a fourth-and-5 saved Lexington, but the Wildcats converted five third-downs with clutch passes from Blake.
“We talk to our kids about persevering, and that’s what that drive was all about,” Lexington head coach Josh Stepp said. “They kept the faith and kept fighting all night.”
The weather delay disrupted a pair of teams hammering at each other throughout the game.
The Bengals’ passing game did make good with Isreal’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Jacob McGuire with 1:15 left in the first quarter, but Isreal didn’t connect with anyone again until Jordan Adams’ 24-yard catch with two minutes left in the first half.
Lexington, on the other hand, had both passing and rushing hitting on all cylinders. Slade Carroll rushed 17 times for 112 yards in the first half, while Blake was 9-for-13 for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Carroll finished the night leading all rushers with 147 yards on 32 carries.
The Wildcats used both aspects of the game to take a 12-7 lead going into the half. Eric Ricker closed out a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run at the 5:23 mark of the second. Four minutes later, Blake found Tyler Schadewald on a cross pattern for a 26-yard TD strike.
Just before the storms moved into the area, Jordyn Adams set up a go-ahead score with a 42-yard punt return that put Blythewood at the Lexington 20-yard line. Two plays later, Isreal burst through on a 16-yard TD run to give the Bengals a 14-12 lead.
When play resumed, Lexington reopened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal that put the Wildcats ahead 15-14 with 4:25 to play in the third.
Blythewood then drove 61 yards on 10 plays. To finish that drive Isreal finally hit back-to-back completions, both of them to Kenny Benton, with the last one a 23-yard touchdown strike with 1:08 left in the third.
“They’re a great ball club and we’re a great ball club,” Morgan said. “We’re both going to have great seasons and I’m sure we’ll see each other again in the playoffs.”
LHS: 0-12-3-6 – 21
BHS: 7-0-13-0 – 20
First Quarter
B – Jacob McGuire 5 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick) 1:15
Second Quarter
L –Eric Ricker 3 run (kick failed) 5:23
L – Tyler Schadewald 26 pass from Brandon Blake (run failed) 1:31
Third Quarter
B – Isreal 16 run (Turner kick) 9:35
L – Christian Kinsley 42 field goal 4:25
B – Kenny Benton 23 pass from Isreal (kick blocked) 1:08
Fourth Quarter
L – Jayson Hopper 10 pass from Blake (pass failed) 2:20
LHS BHS
First Downs 27 14
Rushes-Yards 46-160 31-224
Passing Yards 226 89
Att-Com-Int 37-23-1 27-6-1
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 13-101 12-120
Punts-Avg. 3-41.7 4-29.2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: LHS – Slade Carroll 32-147, Brandon Blake 4-21, Eric Ricker 3-6, Dai’Quan Wells 2-7. BHS – Osei Thomas 11-89, David Isreal 11-100, Timel Benton 7-24, Jordyn Adams 1-9, Eric Weber 1-2.
PASSING: LHS – Brandon Blake 37-23-1. BHS – David Isreal 27-6-1.
RECEIVING: LHS – Jayson Hopper 10-94, Tyler Schadewald 4-55, Dai’Quan Wells 4-50, Oscar Ferguson 3-19, Jason Rumph 1-1. BHS – Kenny Benton 3-42, Jordyn Adams 2-42, Jacob McGuire 1-5.