©2005 by Ron Harrison
Paul L. Dunbar (10-2) vs. Henry Clay (11-1) November 18, 2005
Coach David Hensley's Dunbar Bulldogs have a balanced offense led by QB Chris Franklin who has passed for 1951 yards and 19 touchdowns with only six interceptions. His favorite target has been Keith Bailey who has 40 receptions for 847 yards and eight touchdowns. Mike Sweat stars on both sides of the ball as he leads the team in tackles and has 21 receptions for 461 yards with five touchdowns. RB Will Wright has leads the ground game with 1379 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Coach Sam Simpson's Henry Clay Blue Devils offense can punish you on the ground as well as going through the air to a bevy of fleet receivers. The ground game has been led by Rod Johnson with 1720 yards and 24 touchdowns. QB Salin Simpson has thrown for 2315 yards and 26 touchdowns with five interceptions. Clark Jeter has 41 receptions for 896 yards and eight touchdowns.
Henry Clay raced out to a 21-0 lead with approximately six minutes left in the first quarter and rolled to a 55-20 victory over Paul Dunbar. Henry Clay scored four touchdowns on the ground and three through the air. The opportunistic Henry Clay defense interdcepted two passes, recovered a fumble, and only allowed Dunbar to convert on one of 11 third down opportunities.
Henry Clay held a 497-274 advantage in total yardage and enjoyed a 21-15 margin in first downs. The Blue Devils averaged 9.2 yards per play on 54 offensive plays while Dunbar was held to 4.6 yards per play on 60 plays. Henry Clay held the Bulldogs to 75 rushing yards while they rolled up 285 yards on the ground. Henry Clay lost a fumble, had a pass intercepted, and was penalized 11 times for 57 yards. Dunbar had the aforementioned three turnovers and was flagged 10 times for 57 yards.
The Henry Clay ground game was led by Rod Johnson with 178 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. Chase Minnifield added 61 yards on six carries and Salin Simpson chipped in with 46 yards on nine carries. Simpson completed 10 of 16 passes for 212 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Clark Jeter caught three passes for 99 yards with two touchdowns and Aaron Boyd caught three passes for 48 yards. Ryan Breen led the defense with four solo and six assisted tackles while Jacob Barney added five solo and two assisted tackles.
Will Wright led the Dunbar ground game with 51 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Chris Franklin completed 13 of 31 passes for 199 yards with a TD and two interceptions. Keith Bailey caught six passes for 83 yards. Mike Sweat added two receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Jerrell Greene led the defense with four solo and five assisted tackles. Ryan Oakley added two solo and seven assisted tackles, while Jeremy Bruck recorded four solo and two assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Henry Clay | 55 | Paul Dunbar | 20 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Paul Dunbar | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Henry Clay | 21 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 55 |
| HC | - Clark Jeter 54 yard pass from Salin Simpson (Jacob Barney kick) |
| HC | - Rod Johnson 31 yard interception return (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 32 yard run (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Chase Minnifield 27 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| PD | - Chris Franklin 1 yard run (O'Brien kick fails) |
| HC | - Jeter 35 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 15 yard run (Barney kick blocked) |
| PD | - Mike Sweat 32 yard pass from Franklin (Jason Nicholson kick) |
| PD | - Will Wright 9 yard run (Nicholson kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 23 yard run (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 2 yard run (Jesse Pinkston kick) |
Selected Statistics
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Will Wright | 13 | 51 | 3.9 | 9 | Rod Johnson | 23 | 178 | 7.7 | 32 | |
| Jerrell Greene | 5 | 30 | 6.0 | 32 | Chase Minnifield | 6 | 61 | 10.2 | 46 | |
| Marshall Mays | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 6 | Salin Simpson | 9 | 46 | 5.1 | 17 | |
| Keith Bailey | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | ||||||
| Brandon Hays | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | ||||||
| Mike Sweat | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | ||||||
| Chris Franklin | 1 | -23 | -4.6 | 1 | ||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Chris Franklin | 31-13-2 | 199 | 1 | 32 | Salin Simpson | 16-10-1 | 212 | 3 | 54 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Keith Bailey | 6 | 83 | 0 | 29 | Clark Jeter | 3 | 99 | 2 | 54 | |
| Mike Sweat | 2 | 44 | 1 | 32 | Aaron Boyd | 3 | 48 | 0 | 36 | |
| Jeremy Bruck | 2 | 35 | 0 | 24 | Chase Minnifield | 2 | 42 | 1 | 27 | |
| Ryan Oakley | 2 | 27 | 0 | 16 | Sam Gardner | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 | |
| Will Wright | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | Rod Johnson | 1 | 0 | 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 Fourteen 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.
