©2005 by Ron Harrison
Paul Dunbar (6-1) vs. Henry Clay (8-0) October 14, 2005
*Henry Clay is playing their home games at Tates Creek High School until construction is completed on their new stadium.
Paul Dunbar enters the game tonight with a 3-0 district mark while Henry Clay is 4-0 and can clinch the district title and secure the top seed in the playoffs with a victory tonight. Will Wright has led the Dunbar ground attack with 772 yards and nine touchdowns. QB Chris Franklin has completed 62 of 108 passes for 1131 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Keith Bailey has been his primary target with 25 receptions for 555 yards with six touchdowns.
Henry Clay's high-powered offense averages 46.3 points per game and features a balanced attack. QB Salin Simpson has completed 106 of 153 passes for 1556 yards with 17 touchdown passes and only one interception. Clark Jeter has caught 26 passes for 606 yards with five touchdowns. Rod Johnson has gained 1161 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
Henry Clay's defense came up big in the final quarter, making some key stops and forcing three turnovers to help Henry Clay earn a 35-28 victory. Dunbar pulled to within one, 29-28, on a three yard run by Will Wright wit 7:47 remaining in the game, but failed on a two point conversion. Dunbar recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and took over on the Henry Clay 49. The drive ended when Henry Clay's Eddie Nzoameso-Bangub intercepted a Chris Franklin pass on the Henry Clay 28. Henry Clay was forced to punt and Paul Dunbar started their drive on their own three yard line with 3:26 remaining in the game.
Chris Franklin fulmbled and Henry Clay's Rod Johnson recovered on the one yard line. Johnson then scored on a one yard run to make the score 35-28 with 3:09 remaining on the clock. Marcus Bentley then snuffed out Dunbar's chances by intercepting a pass on the Dunbar 46 with 2:23 remaining in the game. Henry Clay's Rod Johnson carried the ball five straight times for 31 yards and three first downs to run out the clock.
Paul Dunbar led 7-0 early but Henry Clay scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. Paul Dunbar rallied to score 15 unanswered points to take a 22-21 halftime lead. Henry Clay scored on a 19 yards TD run by Rod Johnson and a two point conversion run to give the Blue Devils a 29-22 lead after three quarters. Dunbar rallied in the fourth quarter but a failed two point conversion attempt and three turnovers sealed their fate.
Henry Clay held a 348-329 yard advantage in total offense and a narrow 20-18 advantage in first downs. Dunbar held a 29:42-18:18 advantage in possession time and ran 69 offensive plays to 57 for Henry Clay. The Blue Devils had two passes intercepted and were penalized nine times for 69 yards. Paul Dunbar had three passes intercepted, lost a fumble, and was flagged seven times for 60 yards.
Rod Johnson led the Henry Clay ground game with 136 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries while Salin Simpson added 87 yards and a score on eight carries. Simpson completed 14 of 25 passes for 137 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Johnson also caught four passes for 32 yards. Marcus Bentley led the defense with seven solo and three assisted tackles, while Stephon Burton added five solo and four assisted tackles.
Will Wright led Paul Dunbar's ground attack with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Chris Franklin completed seven of 19 passes for 134 yards including with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Mike Sweat led the Bulldog defense with seven solo and four assisted tackles while Zack Warmouth added five solo and two assisted tackles including 3.5 tackles for losses totalling 15 yards. Ryan Oakley recorded three solo and five assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Henry Clay | 35 | Paul Dunbar | 28 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Paul Dunbar | 7 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
| Henry Clay | 14 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 35 |
| PD | - Jeremy Bruck 45 yard pass from Chris Franklin (Sean O'Brien kick) |
| HC | - Sam Gardner 5 yard pass from Salin Simpson (Jacob Barney kick) |
| HC | - Rod Johnson 3 yard run (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Simpson 67 yard run (Barney kick) |
| PD | - Will Wright 1 yard run (O'Brien kick) |
| PD | - Bruck 12 yard pass from Franklin (Wright run) |
| HC | - Johnson 19 yard run (Simpson run) |
| PD | - Wright 3 yard run (Wright run fails) |
| HC | - Johnson 1 yard run (Barney kick blocked) |
Selected Statistics
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Will Wright | 27 | 143 | 5.3 | 29 | Rod Johnson | 21 | 136 | 6.5 | 19 | |
| Marshall Mays | 6 | 25 | 4.2 | 12 | Salin Simpson | 8 | 87 | 10.9 | 67 | |
| Mike Sweat | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 9 | Chase Minnifield | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | |
| Keith Bailey | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 7 | Clark Jeter | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | |
| Chris Franklin | 11 | 7 | 0.6 | 7 | ||||||
| Team | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | ||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Chris Franklin | 19-7-3 | 134 | 2 | 45 | Salin Simpson | 25-14-2 | 137 | 1 | 24 | |
| Team | 0-0-0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | Team | 0-0-0 | -10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Jeremy Bruck | 4 | 79 | 2 | 45 | Rod Johnson | 4 | 32 | 0 | 21 | |
| Brandon Sok | 1 | 43 | 0 | 43 | Clark Jeter | 3 | 31 | 0 | 24 | |
| Mike Sweat | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | Aaron Boyd | 3 | 25 | 0 | 14 | |
| Keith Bailey | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | Chase Minnifield | 2 | 34 | 0 | 21 | |
| Sam Gardner | 2 | 15 | 1 | 10 | ||||||
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's game.
Other Games of Interest
Please refer to Week Nine 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.
