The Woodford County High School football team convincingly opened the season Saturday, Aug. 22, rolling past Tates Creek 55-13 at Alvis Johnson Field in Harrodsburg.
The Jackets controlled both sides of the ball for much of the afternoon, scoring seven touchdowns before halftime and triggering a running clock. Tates Creek managed to catch Woodford by surprise a couple of times, but each time the Commodores landed a punch, the Jackets had an answer.
For coach Dennis Johnson, the lopsided victory was also an opportunity to see what his team needs to work on as the season progresses.
“We finally got some game experience,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to peak too early this year. Let’s just get better. We started slow, but that’s not bad. We will be alright.”
Woodford wasted little time getting its offense moving on the opening possession.
Aidyn Powell rumbled for a first down before quarterback Foxx Coons went to the air, connecting with Zach Fugate for a 35-yard gain. Tates Creek then made things harder on itself with back-to-back penalties, helping move the ball inside the five-yard line.
Powell punctuated the drive with a short touchdown run, giving Woodford a 7-0 lead.
The advantage lasted only one play.
On Tates Creek’s first snap from scrimmage, DJ Carter caught a screen pass and found open field in front of him, racing 86 yards down the Commodores’ sideline for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
It was the type of start Johnson knows the Jackets can’t afford against some of the teams waiting on their schedule.
“I think we can’t give up a score on the first play again,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to start fast. Against really, really great teams we’re going to play, you’ve got to start fast or they’ll punish you.”
Woodford’s offense responded immediately.
Coons connected with David Jones Jr. for a 42-yard completion, and JT Jackson finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, but Woodford was back in front 13-7.
After surrendering the long touchdown on its first defensive snap, the Woodford defense quickly settled in.
The Jackets forced a punt on Tates Creek’s next possession and began to take control defensively. Josiah McKee was in the middle of that effort, coming up with a big sack and adding a tackle for loss as Woodford made things increasingly difficult on the Commodore offense.
Coons went back to work when the Jackets got the ball back. The Woodford quarterback found Jones over the middle for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 20-7.
The passing game would give Tates Creek problems throughout the afternoon.
Coons completed 12-of-20 passes for 207 yards and four touchdowns, finding four different receivers for scores.
“Oh my gosh, we were getting open today,” Coons said. “It was just a matter of me getting the ball to them.”
Jones finished with three receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Kael Rihtar caught five passes for 73 yards and a score. Fugate added two receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Woodford’s defense forced another stop, and a short Tates Creek punt gave the Jackets possession at the Commodores’ 20-yard line. They wasted little time taking advantage.
Tre Jarber went up the gut for a touchdown, putting the finishing touch on a dominant opening quarter and giving Woodford a 26-7 advantage.
Another defensive stop put the ball back into Coons’ hands, and the Jackets went back to the air in the second quarter.
Coons connected with Fugate for a touchdown, stretching the lead to 34-7.
Tates Creek managed to answer.
Quarterback Ace Davis connected with Zion Gatewood for a touchdown, cutting Woodford’s advantage to 34-13 and giving the Commodores a little life. It would be the last time Tates Creek found the end zone.
Woodford answered again in a big way.
This time, the Jackets didn’t need their offense. Wyatt Peters stepped in front of a Davis pass and took the interception back for a touchdown, increasing Woodford’s lead to 42-13.
Woodford added one more highlight before halftime.
Coons fired a bullet toward Rihtar in the end zone, and Rihtar managed to haul it in while getting his feet down for a toe-tapping touchdown catch.
The play gave Woodford a 49-13 lead and triggered a running clock for the remainder of the game.
By halftime, the Jackets had found the end zone in nearly every way possible. Powell, Jackson and Jarber scored on the ground, Coons had three touchdown passes and Peters added a score on defense.
Woodford also spread the workload around in the running game.
The Jackets finished with 128 rushing yards on 22 carries. Ryan Brown led the way with 48 yards on six attempts, while Jarber had 41 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Powell finished with 30 yards and a score on four attempts.
The large halftime advantage also allowed Johnson to get some of his younger and less experienced players onto the field.
With Woodford’s first JV game still more than a week away, those snaps carried extra value.
“It’s huge, man,” Johnson said. “We don’t have our first JV game for another week or so. So just to give those guys some experience, we’ve got to play some young guys early, which is good, I think.”
Woodford’s final touchdown came in the third quarter.
Coons connected with Jishiam Partee for a 32-yard touchdown pass, his fourth scoring toss of the afternoon, to increase the lead to 55-13.
With the clock running, neither team scored again.
McKee’s work on the defensive side of the ball earned him game MVP honors. Along with his sack and three tackles for loss, McKee helped a Woodford defense settle down after Tates Creek’s early big play and keep the Commodores scoreless throughout the second half.
Despite the 42-point victory, McKee saw plenty of room for improvement.
“I liked our performance on offense and defense,” McKee said. “We started off a little bit shaky, but then after our first drive, we started to pick things up.”
That response was evident on the scoreboard.
After Carter’s 86-yard touchdown tied the game early, Woodford outscored Tates Creek 48-6 the rest of the way. The Jackets scored on the ground, through the air and on defense while keeping the Commodores off the scoreboard for the entire second half.
Still, McKee didn’t want the Jackets to need an early wake-up call.
“I thought we came out kind of dead today. We had to pick it up,” McKee said. “So I think if we come out of the gate just 100 percent, then nobody can mess with us.”
Johnson saw the same progression from his defense.
“I thought our defensive backs got better, but we’ve got to start fast,” Johnson said.
While Johnson and McKee pointed to the team’s energy, Coons had another item at the top of his list — penalties.
Woodford was able to overcome its mistakes Saturday because of its big-play ability and the defense’s ability to repeatedly get the ball back. Coons knows that won’t always be the case.
“We had too many penalties, I think, on offense and defense – just too many,” Coons said. “We need to clean up the game.”
That was also what the quarterback expected the message to be when the Jackets returned to practice.
“Clean everything up,” Coons said. “Too many penalties. Just clean everything up.”
There will certainly be things for Johnson and his staff to find when they turn on the film, but there will also be plenty to build on.
Coons threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers. Three different Jackets found the end zone on the ground. Peters provided a defensive touchdown, and the defense responded to Tates Creek’s early 86-yard strike by keeping the Commodores from consistently sustaining drives.
As they prepare for senior night against Bourbon County, Johnson is ready for film review and see where the gains need to be made.
“We know we’ve got work to improve on,” Johnson said. “We’re going to watch the film and get better.”