No. 11 Boyle County bounces back with gutsy 21-20 win over No. 5 Highlands

Boyle County‘s 22-game regular-season winning streak was put to an end last Friday, but head coach Justin Haddix had his crew ready to bounce back against a top-five opponent a week later.

The No. 11 Rebels (3-1) pulled out a 21-20 win over the No. 5 Highlands Bluebirds (3-1) in Danville for the KSR Game of the Week. Facing a 4th-and-long with a little over two minutes in the game while clinging to a one-point lead, Haddix elected not to punt and try to put the game away for good. Highlands left a Boyle County receiver wide open on the left side of the field, leading to the final first down and the final nail in Highlands’ coffin.

The risky play call caught the Bluebirds off guard.

“Jhet (Raleigh) had actually never ran that play,” Haddix said of his quarterback, who was filling in for the usual — but currently injured — starter, Baylor Murphy. “So we’re there trying to get it all in and go and line up and execute… We had it, execution was great, and we got faith in our guys. And hey, if we don’t got it, we’re gonna play defense and win the game.”

With a fresh set of downs and Highlands now out of timeouts, a few knees from Raleigh was all it took for Boyle County to get its season back on track.

“Risky. Risky, man.” Senior Ji’Dyn Hisel-Smith said of the fourth down call. “That’s a play we practice all the time and I never thought it’d ever work. Backup quarterback made the throw, and it’s crazy, man. I’m excited.”

The Rebels relied heavily on Hisel-Smith, who racked up 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries. He put the ball on the ground twice, but reeled off a 73-yard score in the first quarter to set the offensive tone the rest of the way. His final touchdown late in the fourth quarter was the one that gave Boyle County a lead it would not relinquish.

“I made up for the mistakes and ultimately we won the game,” Hisel-Smith said. “That’s all I care about.”

Raleigh, who had to take over in the second half of Boyle County’s shocking 17-7 upset loss against Lexington Catholic last week, looked much more comfortable in his first official start. The sophomore finished with 164 yards through the air and a touchdown on 9-13 passing.

“I was amazed by him,” Hisel-Smith added. “He’s a great kid, he’s a great quarterback.”

But even Raleigh would tell you it helps when a 6-foot-7, four-star recruit like Seneca Driver is helping on the outside.

Driver, who holds offers from every major college you can think of, had just one reception against Highlands, but it was important — a long 84-yard run into the end zone.

Woah…

LONG touchdown throw from Jhet Raleigh to Seneca Driver. About an 85-yard run for the 4-star TE, just barely got over the goal line.

Highlands 13
Boyle County 14

4:51 | 2nd Q pic.twitter.com/OkGtUXJsLi

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) September 13, 2025

Driver, ranked No. 73 nationally in the 2027 recruiting class, also recorded an interception as a defensive back early in the game. He was a key piece to a Rebel defense that gave up just 228 total yards of offense to Highlands.

Tayden Lorenzen, the Bluebirds’ do-it-all athlete (and son of the late Jared Lorenzen), found the end zone out of the Wildcat formation for Highlands while senior quarterback Rio Litmer tossed for two touchdowns, one a 10-yard strike to John Feldbrugge and the other a beautiful throw down the sideline to Ian Garrahan. Gabe Williams, Highlands’ versatile athlete, made plenty of plays on both sides of the field to give his team a chance.

But a botched fake PAT by the Bluebirds after its first touchdown of the game proved costly in the end.

Highlands came into this game as the higher-ranked team for good reason. The Bluebirds snuck past a ranked Frederick Douglass squad in the opener before knocking off a top 10 Cooper team by two touchdowns the following week. Head coach Bob Sphire has a legitimate contender in Class 4A, but Boyle County had vengeance on the mind after last week’s stunning defeat.

“We got hit in the mouth and didn’t respond last week,” Haddix said. “This week, obviously you saw a difference. We’re gonna fight. Good, bad, whatever happens, our guys are gonna compete. And that’s what I’m most proud of as a coach.”