(by Don Meador)
A dominating defensive game----including a pair of long interception returns for touchdowns---enabled the Allen County-Scottsville Patriots to defeat the Barren County Trojans 46-7 last Friday night. The Patriots’ lopsided win plus a pair of losses from district rivals Franklin-Simpson and Warren East lifted AC-S to the top-seed for the Class 4A, District 2 playoffs starting this week.
“Our defense played well,” coach Brad Hood said. “I was worried that with the rain, Barren County would try and bull us over. But, Julyan (McPeak), Will (Moore), Karson (Gens), and Tucker (Scott) stepped it up. I’m so proud of them. Tucker has found a spot. Blayne Tracy is getting better every game and Zander Reynolds is solid and just doing his job.”
For juniors Karson Gens and Hunter Krulik, Friday’s win will be remembered for a long time and provide stories to tell to their children and grandchildren. The pair each picked passes and returned them to the end zone for scores. For Gens, his 65-yard pick-six was his second defensive score of the season---the first coming on a fumble recovery score against Warren Central. Krulik’s 97-yard INT TD return will rank among the longest INT scorers in the 53-year history of Patriot football.
Not only did the defensive scores help AC-S to their sixth win in 10 games, the pair were key players defensively all game. Gens was in on a team-high 10 tackles, including six solo stops. Krulik was in on four tackles and recorded a pass break-up.
Gens and Krulik were joined by excellent nights from Will More and Julyan McPeak. Moore was in on nine tackles, giving the senior stopper 120 total tackles on the season. Based on available records, the 120 tackles is the most in a season, surpassing Seth Peay’s 115 mark in 2010. McPeak has two sacks and four tackles, a number that appeared higher at a glance.
Overall, the defensive unit held Barren County to 102 net yards----63 passing and 39 rushing. The total was by far the fewest yards allowed by the defensive this year. The unit also held the Trojans scoreless as the lone Barren County score came on a kickoff return in the second quarter.
With the defense shining on the rainy night, the Patriot offense played solid on the rain-soaked and muddy field. The running game amassed 229 yards with two backs approaching the 100-yard mark. Sophomore Levi Cooper rushe for 95 yards----the highest of his young career---while quarterback Payton Cope churned out 87 yards on the ground, also a career-high.
Cope also passed for 102 yards completing eight of the 12 passing attempts. The junior connected with Jax Cooper on four completions for 60 yards, hit Thorny Walker three times for 17 yards and Colton Costello once for 15 yards.
“I was proud of the way the offense controlled the ball,” Hood added. “We had no turnovers and that's a big stat for us.”
AC-S opened the scoring with Levi Cooper capping a long drive with an 11-yard run at the 7:30 mark of the first. Early in the second frame. Moore scored on a one-yard plunge with AC-S’s Christopher Holland adding the two-point conversion as AC-S took a 14-0 lead. With just under three minutes remaining in the first half, Levi Cooper added a second run of 11 yards to enable AC-S to build a 20-0 lead.
Barren County’s ;lone score followed on the ensuing kickoff.
Gens’ interception and score at the 6:56 mark of the third and the PAT from Walker gave the hosts a 27-7 lead. Jax Cooper scored on a nine-yard end around run to end the third quarter and give the Patriots a 34-7 lead. Cope’s four-yard run at the 6:22 point of the fourth and Krulick’s pick-six with 2:50 left capped the AC-S scoring.
“Hunter got a good break on the ball, caught it, and took off,” Hood noted. “Hunter has been so solid for us this year. Him, Dillion Sloan have stepped up big for us in the defensive backfield. We had Tanner Stinson, the others have stepped in to help back there.”
Not only were AC-S fans watching the action on the field from under tents and umbrellas, many were following online the scores from the Warren East and Daviess County and Franklin-Simpson and Glasgow games. Entering the night, the Patriots were third in the District in RPI rankings. Wins by Franklin-Simpson and Warren East would, most likely, drop AC-S to third in the final district seed order.
Early in the evening, Daviess County took control of their home game against East. However, Franklin-Simpson led Glasgow until late in the game. The assumption was that a Wildcat win and a Patriot win would result in the Cats as the top seed followed by AC-S. In the end, not only did the Patriots win, Glasgow rallied to stun Franklin-Simpson. Not the waiting began.
Around 11 Friday night, the updated RPI numbers flashed on the KHSAA/Riherds scoreboard. AC-S had leapfrogged their rivals and, in so doing, secured a home playoff game this week against four-seed Russell County. Warren East returns to franklin-Simpson Friday night in the other district playoff semifinal game. If the Patriots get past the Lakers Friday, AC-S will host the district championship tilt on November 12.
AC-S welcomes Russell County this week two weeks after downing the Lakers 37-7. In that game, Cope passed for 202 yards, Jax Cooper had three receptions for 94 yards and rushed for 69 yards. Defensively, Moore and McPeak were in on 15 tackles to lead the defense.
Friday’s game will have a 7 p.m. kickoff. Tickets ($6.00) must be purchased online. With this being a playoff game, AC-S season tickets will not be accepted. ACSH students can purchase tickets for themselves during the week at the school. Follow ACS Sports on Twitter for any changes during the week.