Lexington edges Blythewood
Lexington’s 93-yard scoring drive washed the pain away in a weather-delayed game at Blythewood. The 21-play drive ended with a Brandon Blake-to-Jayson Hopper touchdown that closed out the Wildcats’ 21-20 victory over the Bengals.
The drive came shortly after Blythewood took a 20-15 lead late in the third quarter.
Down 15-14, and on its first possession after the delay, Blythewood (2-1) drove 61 yards on 10 plays. To finish that drive David Isreal hit back-to-back completions, both of them to Kenny Benton, and the last one a 23-yard touchdown strike with 1:08 left in the third.
After an hour and 20 minute weather delay with the game frozen at the 7:06 mark, Lexington (1-1) reopened the game with a 42-yard field goal that put the Wildcats ahead 15-14 with 4:25 to play in the third.
TURNING POINT
Down 20-15 with 10 minutes to go in the game, Lexington’s Eric Ricker intercepted an Isreal pass. The Wildcats then marched 90 yards on 24 plays, draining 7 minutes and 40 seconds of clock. Blake found Hopper in the right corner of the end zone with 2:20 left. The 2-point conversion pass failed, but the Wildcats grabbed a 21-20 lead.
KEY PERFORMERS
Slade Carroll: The Lexington running back carried the ball 32 times for 147 yards to boost several scoring drives.
David Isreal: The Blythewood quarterback didn’t have the best night in the passing department, but rushed 11 times for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Brandon Blake: The Lexington quarterback completed 23 of 37 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning TD pass to Jayson Hopper.
OBSERVATIONS
Incompletions: Isreal missed on his first five passes of the game. His only completions in 12 attempts in the first half were a 5-yard TD pass to Jacob McGuire and a 26-yard connection with Jordyn Adams. He was 6-for-27 on the night with an interception.
Lightning Strikes: Just after Lexington was going to take possession at midfield with 7:06 left in the third, a lighting bolt flashed about a mile away from the stadium. Players ran off the field and play was halted for an hour and 20 minutes.
The Drive that wouldn’t die: Lexington’s game-winning drive could have stalled out several times. The Wildcats faced five third-down situations and two fourth-down situations. An encroachment penalty against Blythewood on a fourth-and-5 saved Lexington, but the Wildcats converted five third-downs with clutch passes from Brandon Blake.
THEY SAID IT
“We had so many chances to finish it off and it just didn’t happen. They made the plays when we had to, and we had to many dropped passes, penalties, things like that.” — Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan.
“We talk to our kids about perservering, and that’s what that drive was all about. They kept the faith and kept fighting all night.” — Lexington head coach Josh Stepp
THREE KEY NUMBERS
386: Total offensive yards for Lexington.
21: Number of incomplete passes from Blythewood.
120: Number of penalty yards Blythewood incurred.
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
B – Jacob McGuire 5 pass from David Isreal (Cody Turner kick) 1:15
2nd Quarter
L –Eric Ricker 3 run (kick failed) 5:23
L – Tyler Schadewald 26 pass from Brandon Blake (run failed) 1:31
3rd Quarter
B – Isreal 16 run (Turner kick) 9:35
L – Christian Kinsley 42 field goal 4:25
B – Kenny Benton 23 pass from Isreal (kick blocked) 1:08
4th Quarter
L – Jayson Hopper 10 pass from Blake (pass failed) 2:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Lexington, Slade Carroll 32-147, Brandon Blake 4-21, Eric Ricker 3-6, Dai’Quan Wells 2-7. Blythewood, Osei Thomas 11-89, David Isreal 11-100, Timel Benton 7-24, Jordyn Adams 1-9, Eric Weber 1-2
Passing: Lexington, Brandon Blake 37-23-1. Blythewood, David Isreal 27-6-1
Receiving: Lexington, Jayson Hopper 10-94, Tyler Schadewald 4-55, Dai’Quan Wells 4-50, Oscar Ferguson 3-19, Jason Rumph 1-1
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This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 1:09 AM.