78 – 74!

LC SCORES MOST POINTS IN STATE PLAYOFF HISTORY:

NOAH WEST, BULLDOGS WIN SHOOTOUT OVER WESTERN HILLS AND UK COMMIT WANDALE ROBINSON 78-74

LOUISA, KY, — In the First Round of the Class 3A Football playoffs it looked like a basketball game broke out before Lawrence Co. ( 7-4 ) star Noah West picked off a pass inside the ten yard line with 39.9 seconds left to close out a 78-74 victory over Western Hills ( 7-4 ) and UK Commit Wandale Robinson Friday night at Luke Varney Jr. Memorial Stadium.

Robinson took a handoff and went 50 yards for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the game and the scoring onslaught was on.

It only took the Bulldogs 58 seconds to answer as West raced in from 35 yards out and tacked on the two point conversion to make it 8-6 with 10:50 to go in the first quarter.

Wolverine QB Nate Johnson threw two touchdown passes to Jason Rodgers and West scored from 8 yards out and added the two point conversion as Western Hills led 20-16 after a fast paced first quarter.

West added touchdown runs of 4 yards and 14 yards plus another two point conversion in the second quarter but the Dawgs trailed 42-30 at Halftime.

On the first drive of the second half Baden Gillispie galloped in from 15 yards out and West added the conversion run to make it 42-38.

On the first drive of the second half for Western Hills Johnson went in from 4 yards out plus the conversion run to put the Wolverines up 50-38.

The two teams upped the ante and scored 32 points in 1:20 as West scored from 4 yards out and tacked on the conversion run. Logan Bell scooted in from 54 yards out and Robinson tacked on the conversion run for a 58-46 Western Hills lead. On the ensuing kickoff Baden Gillispie plucked the ball out of the air and weaved his way for a 65 yard touchdown return and West went in for the conversion run and the score was 58-54 but that was short lived as Robinson caught a 66 yard touchdown pass and Johnson coasted in for the conversion run to make it 66-54 with 3:12 to go in the third period.

In the fourth period West plowed in from 2 yards out and picked up the two point conversion run and the Dawgs were back within 4 points at 66-62.

On the ensuing kickoff Lawrence Co. Senior Dylan Sizemore came up with a huge play as he recovered an onside kick and the Bulldogs were right back in business. Dawg Senior Ashton Blankenship payed off the drive and gave the Bulldogs the lead for the first time since early in the game with a 6 yard touchdown run and West once again added the two point conversion to make it 70-66 with 7:04 left in the ballgame.

Western Hills answered right back with a Johnson to Robinson pitch and catch from 36 yards and Robinson tacked in the conversion Rian and the score was 74-70 with 6:28 to go in the game.

Under a minute later West once again showed why he is an absolute great football player with a 50 yard jaunt and conversion run to make it 78-74 Bulldogs.

With the Dawgs defense protecting a lead, Western Hills went to the air once again but this time Bulldog Senior Isaiah Rose intercepted Johnson and returned the ball to midfield to give LC the ball and the momentum.

After picking up a couple first downs Lawrence Co. faced a 4th and 10 at the Wolverine 20 yard line and went their workhorse Noah West who picked up 9 and half but came up just short and turned the ball over on downs.

Western Hills would get one more shot with 2 minutes left from their own 11 yard line. The Wolverines drove to the Bulldog 30 yard line before West preserved the game with a game clinching INT and end Wandale Robinson’s high school career.

Lawrence Co. finished with 565 yards of total offense with West setting a Lawrence Co. playoff record 396 yards. Blankenship added 102 yards, Gillispie 54 yards and Andrew Tackett 13 yards.

Western Hills racked up 563 yards with 312 coming through the air and 241 on the ground. Robinson had 119 on the ground and 228 through the air on 9 receptions.

Lawrence Co also set a new high for points in a game breaking the old mark of 77 vs Perry Co. Central in 1999.

The Bulldogs were 9 out 10 on two point conversions in the win.

Lawrence Co. will now travel to Danville to face the #1 team in Class 3A Boyle Co. who beat Floyd Central 49-0 in the first round to move to 11-0 on the year.

Lawrence Co. Head Coach Alan Short

COACH’S COMMENTS

“…  Craziest game that I have ever been a part of in my life. Both teams laid it all on the line in an unbelievable atmosphere for playoff football. Tough that one team had to lose just glad it wasn’t us.”

“…  Offensive game for sure. We had a tough time containing Wandale Robinson and they had a tough time with Noah West. Our defense has been good all year but Robinson is a different animal. So proud of our guys. Great effort all game long and they deserved to win this game. We knew it would take something like an onside kick or turnover and it went in our favor and we capitalized.”

“…  Anybody that was there definitely got their $5 dollars worth. I think our team and the community will remember for a long long time.”

“…  Key drive coming out of half and we went right down and scored to close the gap. True testament to our kids. We asked them every week to get a stop or score a TD to start the third quarter and they did. Can’t say enough good things about our football team. We are pretty solid when we don’t turn it over and we didn’t tonight. Just a special special night.”

“… Two Point conversions were huge I think we only missed one and it those points are the difference in the game. We stress those every week and tonight we were very good. Sometimes we have a letdown after we score but not in this one. We understood that every play matters.”

“… Like I said before best high school football game I ever been invoked in. It was a shame that someone had to lose last night. I will be a Wandale Robinson fan for life. He is a class act kid.”

“ Boyle Co. has been doing the same thing for 20 years and we are going down there ready to play. To beat the best you have to play the best. Will be a challenge for us but our kids will play hard. They are about 50-50 run/pass and it’s tough to defend.”

OFFICIAL STATS BY JAMES ELLIS