Chase Wilson to Jacob Lightfoot proved to be a deadly one-two punch for the Allen County-Scottsville Patriot football team last Saturday night in the season opener against Hart County at Campbellsville University. The pair hooked up nine times for 198 yards and five touchdowns as AC-S routed Hart County 39-7.
“There were a lot of things to be excited about but they are things to work on,” noted coach Brad Hood. “It feels good to get that first win under our belts.”
The night proved historic for both players. Wilson----returning to the field after suffered a torn ACL last September---completed 13 of 21 passes for 276 yards. In addition, to five touchdown tosses to Lightfoot, Wilson also connected with Cayden Ross for a score. The six touchdown passes are a record. Lightfoot also had a record-setting game. His 198-yard total surpassed the 184 yard receiving game of Tracy Blankenship from over 20 years ago.
The results does not reflect the fact that it was a “sluggish” start for Hood’s team.
“We did start a little sluggish,” Hood said. “A lot of that was Chase getting back comfortable but once we got going it seemed like it got better and better.”
Hood praised his offensive line for their efforts.
“I thought our pass protection was really good,” Hood explained. “That’s something we have worked on this summer. We do need to work on our running game a bit. We do need to do a better job getting some holes there for our running backs. We were happy to be able to score some touchdowns and see Jacob start the year in a positive way.”
The Patriot defense was also a bright spot.
“We have been preaching to our defense since July that our defense is going to have to be our strength especially until our offense gets going,” Hood added. “When we were spurting early, our defense kept getting the ball back, not giving any ground, playing physical, and playing hard-nosed. They wasn’t allowing much to happen. I feel like this defense is one of the best we have had in a long time. We have a long ways to go but we have 10 seniors and a junior with experience starting on defense. Even the guys coming in are older with experience. Most are seasoned.”
Hood added that his defensive unit controlled the tempo early, creating breaks that gave the offense short fields to work with.
“It was a good thing to see turnovers early,” Hood noted. “We preach that our defense will be our backbone and other night, tie defense did their job until we got rolling.”
AC-S overcame a slow start to record their first season-opening win since the fall of 2010. After their offense sputtered on the opening series, AC-S would get into gear and score twice in the final 4:07 of the first frame.
Wilson hurled a 48-yard pass to Ross to put AC-S on the board 6-0. Moments later, a surprise onside kick was recovered by the Patriots near midfield. Runs by tailback Carson Taylor and fullback Brock Meador, a 10-yard pass to Ross, and a 17-yard scamper by Taylor moved the ball to the Raiders 21. Wilson then hit Lightfoot to cap the seven-play scoring drive. Taylor added the PAT to give the Patriots the 13-0 lead.
AC-S added their third score early in the second quarter. On defense, Meador stripped the ball away from the Hart county runner. Teammate Shedon Peay recovered. Three plays and 31 yards later, Lightfoot walked into the end zone for his second score. Taylor’s PAT gave the Patriots a 20-0 lead.
The Patriots would quickly add a five play scoring drive---capped off as Lightfoot scored on the receiving end of a 57-yard pass play.
Hart County’s offense would be ineffective against the Patriot defense. On their next series, Meador picked off a pass inside the Raiders 30-yard line. However, AC-S could not take advantage . Still, the Patriot defense again forced the Raiders into a three-and-out---forcing a punt at the 5:50 mark of the second. Ross returned the kick for an apparent touchdown---but the score was taken off the board by an AC-S penalty.
Two more Patriot penalties---part of seven infractions in the game---slowed the following AC-S possession. The drive stalled after seven plays when Wilson was intercepted on a play from the hart county 10-yard line.
The Patriots would quickly find themselves knocking at the Raider’s door again. After an interception by Aaron Borth, the Wilson/Lightfoot tandem hooked up again for a score---a 15-yard pass play at the 1:22 point of the second quarter. Peay’s PAT lifted AC-S to a 33-0 lead.
AC-S added their final score early in the third. Again, it was Wilson to Lightfoot. The 15-yard score---aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Raiders---capped a three-play 25-yard drive. The PAT failed but AC-S led 39-0.
The remainder of the game would be played under a running clock. The Patriots used several reserves the rest of the way. Hart County added their only score in the final minute of the game, capping off a seven-play, 68-yard drive.
The Patriots finished the game with 65 yards on the ground and 286 yards in the air. ACS had 13 first downs compared to seven for Hart County. The Patriots were penalized seven times for 53 yards while Hart County had five penalties for 47 yards.
AC-S (1-0) hosts Barren County (0-1) Friday in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“Barren County is big on the offensive and defensive line,” Hood said. “They took one on tey chin last week at Casey County. But, Casey has a good shot at being in the regional finals in 3A. Barren will come in here and try and bounce back.”
The game will include the introduction of this year’s Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime.