©2005 by Ron Harrison
Henry Clay (1-0) vs. Boyle County (1-0) August 26, 2005
Coach Sam Simpson's Henry Clay Blue Devils opened the season with a 43-14 victory over Belfry who had won two consecutive 2A titles. QB Salin Simpson and RBs Donte Gay and Rod Johnson were impressive in the season opener. Henry Clay has lost four consecutive games to 3A power Boyle County but this experienced edition of the Blue Devils has an excellent opportunity to reverse the recent trend.
Coach Chris Pardue made his debut as the head man at Boyle County and got off to a great start with a 38-20 victory over Eastern. QB Grant Tamme ran for 150 yards and scored three TDs in his debut as the starting signal caller this season.
Henry Clay held a 15-13 lead at halftime but outscored Boyle County 30-0 in the second half to win by 45-13 and help avenge four consecutive defeats at the hands of the Rebels. The game was delayed in the fourth quarter due to a heavy storm that moved through the area. Boyle County dropped back eight players on defense at times to stop the pass but Henry Clay's offensive line opened up enough holes to allow Rod Johnson to average 9.1 yards per carry for his 25 rushing attempts. The Blue Devils talent and experience allowed them to pull away in the second half to hand Boyle County only their second home loss since 1999. The Rebels were 47-1 during this streak and had won 24 games in a row at home.
Henry Clay held a 492-302 advantage over Boyle County in total yardage and enjoyed a 25-16 margin in first downs. Henry Clay lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted while Boyle County lost one fumble and had two passes intercepted. Henry Clay was penalized six times for 46 yards while Boyle County was only flagged three times for 26 yards.
Henry Clay was led on the ground by Rod Johnson who carried the ball 25 times for 227 yards including TD runs of 4, 18, and 6 yards. Salin Simpson added 66 yards and TD runs of 8 and 10 yards. Simpson completed 12 of 17 passes for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Aaron Boyd caught three passes for 64 yards. Rod Johnson had three receptions for 52 yards including a 23 yard scoring reception. Chase Minnifield added three receptions for 41 yards. Marcus Bentley led the Blue Devil defense with eight solo and one assisted tackles while Stephon Burton added four solo and two assisted tackles. Chase Minnifield intercepted two passes and returned them for a total of 55 yards.
Cole Stevens led the Boyle County ground game with 29 yards on five carries. Grant Tamme completed 19 of 36 passes for 235 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Casey Brummett caught six passes for 52 yards. Josh Miller had three receptions for 68 yards including a 50 yard scoring reception. Seth Tamme added three receptions for 50 yards. Casey Brummett led the Rebel defense with 10 solo and four assisted tackles while Josh Miller contributed five solo and three assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Henry Clay | 45 | Boyle County | 13 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Henry Clay | 0 | 15 | 12 | 18 | 45 |
| Boyle County | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| HC | - Rod Johnson 4 yard run (Jacob Barney kick) |
| BC | - Josh Miller 50 yard pass from Grant Tamme (Pat Barsotti kick) |
| HC | - Marcus Bentley 87 yard kickoff return (Chris Alexander pass from Patrick Rouse) |
| BC | - Grant Tamme 5 yard run (Grant Tamme pass fails) |
| HC | - Johnson 18 yard run (Barney kick fails) |
| HC | - Johnson 6 yard run (Barney kick fails) |
| HC | - Salin Simpson 8 yard run (Barney kick fails) |
| HC | - Johnson 23 yard pass from Simpson (Rouse run fails) |
| HC | - Simpson 10 yard run (Barney kick blocked) |
Selected Statistics
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Rod Johnson | 25 | 227 | 9.1 | 52 | Cole Stevens | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 12 | |
| Salin Simpson | 15 | 66 | 4.4 | 19 | Josh Miller | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 9 | |
| Donte Gay | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 12 | Casey Brummett | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | |
| Jesse Pinkston | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 13 | Paul Keen | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 3 | |
| C. Minnifield | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | Grant Tamme | 15 | 5 | 0.3 | 15 | |
| Team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Salin Simpson | 17-12-1 | 168 | 1 | 43 | Grant Tamme | 36-19-2 | 235 | 1 | 50 | |
| Patrick Rouse | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Casey Brummett | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Aaron Boyd | 3 | 64 | 0 | 43 | Casey Brummett | 6 | 52 | 0 | 19 | |
| Rod Johnson | 3 | 52 | 1 | 23 | Josh Miller | 3 | 68 | 1 | 50 | |
| C. Minnifield | 3 | 41 | 0 | 18 | Seth Tamme | 3 | 50 | 0 | 21 | |
| Sam Gardner | 2 | 13 | 0 | 9 | Andre Alcorn | 3 | 37 | 0 | 15 | |
| Bill French | 1 | -2 | 0 | 0 | Jesse Kephart | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
| Tyler Morris | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | ||||||
| Paul Keen | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||
| Philip Dean | 1 | -2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's game.
Other Games of Interest
Please refer to Week Two in Review.
Please send your comments and questions to Ron Harrison at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
