Shawnee shuts out Jackson County; wins Kroger KSR Hometown Classic
On a beautiful Friday night four miles outside of downtown Louisville, the Jackson County Generals made the nearly 143-mile trip to The Academy at Shawnee to play a football game that was about more than just football.
More than Just a Football Game
Dubbed “The Brotherhood Bowl II” by Shawnee social media accounts, the football game that brought these totally opposite groups of people together Friday night was what makes Kentucky high school football special; the connections you build along the way and the people you would never meet if not for this sport.
“When they come all the way out here, I’ve never seen another team that has done that,” Shawnee senior Sircory Brookins said after their big win. “They have my appreciation and my thanks. They have all the respect from me. Yeah, we won, but at the same time, I feel that everybody advanced. They’re going through the same struggle, and they’re going to get it back next week.”
At the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, Shawnee was hard-pressed to find any teams able to travel to Louisville. Jackson County reached out to them and agreed to make the trek to Louisville to play an improbable game.
“[Covid] hit us hard because we didn’t have kids here, and we really wanted to be able to play,” Shawnee Principal Kymberly Rice said. “[Jackson County] coming here in 2020 at a time of need made us feel really, really good. Somebody took an interest in us and wanted to help us. That helped build morale because we had teams from around here that didn’t want to be bothered by us. To have a team travel that far made for a really great night.”
Shawnee Dominates from Start to Finish
After a rough start to the season for the Eagles, the offense and defense finally clicked Friday night. The Generals were no match for Eagle playmakers Antrell Miller and Sircory Brookins, who combined for three touchdowns. Miller was extremely shifty, and the General defense was running in circles trying to stay in front of him. He also made an extremely impressive touchdown grab early in the second quarter that would make Randy Moss proud.
“I have never been a winner like this, but it feels good. I really want to cry, but I’m going to hold it back,” said Miller after the big win. “Coach talked to me before the game, and he always gets on me when I don’t catch the ball. In my head, I thought ‘just catch the ball’ and I did.”
High Praise for Shawnee coach
After scoring just six points in their first three games, dropping 40 points Friday night felt like a breakthrough for coach Vernon Gibson Jr’s Eagles.
“I just feel great for my kids because we needed this victory. We worked hard all week because we’ve had some bad losses lately. It felt good to finally see our offense advance the ball and score some touchdowns,” coach Gibson said as he turned around and told his elated team to settle down. “It feels great to win and I’m very thankful for Jackson County coming down to continue the tradition.”
“[Coach’s culture] is something I’ve never seen before,” Brookins said after the game. “I’ve been playing football since I was six years old, and I’ve never seen a coach like him.”
In his second year at Shawnee, coach Gibson is finally establishing a culture after years of losing. The future looks bright in Louisville.
Thank you to Kroger for partnering with Kentucky Sports Radio to award both Shawnee and Jackson County with beautiful trophies and medals after the game. Kroger also generously donated $1,000 to both schools as part of their “Zero Hunger, Zero Waste” campaign.
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