First State Football Title for Frederick Douglass a Real Possibility
Frederick Douglass (10-0) defeated Boyle County (8-2) 37-6 in the final Kroger KSR Game of the Week of the regular season, showing why they are the favorites in Class 5A. The Broncos, which are ranked No. 2 in the state, appear to have their best team yet after dispatching the No. 7 ranked Rebels on the road Friday night in Danville.
“These guys look like the Miami Hurricanes,” one Boyle fan said.
He wasn’t far off.
The swarming defense from the green and orange Broncos does call to mind the dominant teams from Coral Gables, Florida in the early 2000s led by Ed Reed and Jonathan Vilma.
“When we are locked in and fast it is hard to move the ball (on our defense), man,” Douglass head coach Nathan McPeek said. “When Cooper (Ranvier) can kick it in the end zone like (he did tonight) to go 80 yards on our defense is pretty tough.”
An early injury to Boyle quarterback Sage Dawson certainly hindered the offense, but credit the Douglass defense.
The Broncos put a running clock on their first nine opponents this season, including top 25 rivals Scott County and Bryan Station. They almost added a 10th running clock on Friday. Douglass leads the state in scoring offense and scoring margin and is second in scoring defense.
It took only one offensive play for the Broncos to send a message that the game would be nothing like last year’s shocking 34-7 loss to the Rebels. With UK’s top assistant Vince Marrow looking on, TJ Horton broke free for a long touchdown run on their first play from scrimmage.
A Cole Carpenter to Tate Johnson touchdown helped open up a 16-0 early lead.
Douglass is seeking their first state championship in the school’s young history. The talented Broncos, which have produced a pipeline of Divison I athletes (including current UK starters Dane Key and Jager Burton) have suffered several near misses in their quest for a title.
The Broncos suffered a last-second regional home loss to Scott County in 2018 when they turned the ball over on downs in the final minute in Scott County territory. It was a bitter loss after beating the Cardinals during that regular season. South Warren went on to claim the 2018 state title.
Douglass lost to Covington Catholic 14-7 in their first state finals appearance back in 2019. TE Michael Mayer, who now stars at Notre Dame, was too much for the Broncos defense that year and Douglass just couldn’t get much going in the passing game, either.
In 2020 the Broncos suffered a tough loss to Owensboro in the semifinals. After falling behind early, they battled back behind Key, but missed a short field goal in the final minute that would have won it. That Owensboro team, which was led by Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt, went on to lose to Bowling Green 17-7 in the finals.
Last year the Broncos fell in the 5A finals to an elite South Warren team that featured current Tennessee commit Christian Conyer and QB Caden Veltkamp, who is now at Western Kentucky. Veltkamp passed for 241 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. The Spartans finished third overall in the state, regardless of class.
After losing by a wide margin at home in the rain to Boyle County last year, the Broncos exacted a measure of revenge on Friday night, showing that they are a much-improved team from 2021.
This team, led by an elite defense that features a multitude of D1 players, figures to be the best Douglass team yet and has a great shot to win that elusive state title.
Senior DB Ty Bryant (a UK commit) and senior DL Jamarrion Harkless (Auburn commit) help set the tone on defense. Bryant had two second-half rushing touchdowns. DB Jeremiah Lowe, who is one of the top juniors in the state, had an interception. He holds offers from Kentucky, Michigan, and Missouri.
With a possible move to 6A looming, perhaps this is the year for the Broncos to close the deal in 5A.
“We all know we haven’t won a state championship,” Coach McPeek said. ”At the end of the day that’s a good expectation. We know that. It’s a pressure program. I like that.”
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard