No. 22 Lexington Christian upsets No. 7 CAL in KSR Game of the Week thriller
In a game that came down to the wire, you can point to the early-season schedule as to why one team was able to muster up enough fight and pull off a huge momentum-inducing win.
On Friday night in the KSR Game of the Week, No. 22 Lexington Christian Academy (2-2) won a thriller at home over No. 7 Christian Academy-Louisville (3-1), coming away with a thrilling 41-34 victory under the lights in central Kentucky. Even UK associate head coach Vince Marrow had to make a quick pitstop to check out the first half.
Behind four touchdowns from senior quarterback Saxton Howard (three on the ground, one through the air), the Eagles were able to pull off the upset. On3's Massey Ratings predicted that the Centurions would win easily (LCA assistant Max Duffy has already made sure to remind everyone about it ), but the computer-generated numbers must not have taken into account that LCA was already extremely battle-tested coming into this one.
Lexington Christian dropped its first two games of the season, the first a 35-13 loss to top-ranked (and nationally-ranked) Boyle County and the second a tight 33-29 defeat to No. 14 Franklin County . The Eagles bounced back last week with a much-needed 40-26 win over
Little did the Eagles know, those three challenging matchups would sharpen them to the point it punctured CAL's perfect record.
"We've known since the start of the season that we're one of the best teams in the state, by far," Howard said postgame. "We've played a really tough schedule. All of us believe. We just know that we can compete and we can beat anyone in the state. We came out here and we showed it tonight."
CAL, on the other hand, won its first three games by a combined score of 111-24, the most recent a 49-0 shutout of North Hardin . The Centurions are certainly talented but had yet to play in a game of this caliber so far this season. Advantage to Lexington Christian.
Even when CAL was driving late in the fourth quarter with visions of a comeback on the brain, the Eagles knew how to handle the pressure.
"I had plenty of players come up to me like 'Coach, you don't have to worry. We're gonna get off the field. They're not getting in the end zone.'" LCA defensive coordinator Cam Garner said.
"We've been in fourth quarter games the past three games of the season," Howard added. "We knew they were going to get tired eventually."
LCA struck first in this high-scoring affair. Senior Leland Edwards got the party started by polishing off the Eagles' opening drive with a touchdown. CAL struck back immediately though with a 35-yard score from QB Connor Hodge (committed to East Carolina) to Micah Akin. Edwards would find pay dirt again early in the second quarter, sprinting his way 45 yards for another LCA touchdown.
An incredible catch from CAL junior Stone Perkins resulted in him waltzing into the end zone, knotting the score at 14-14 early in the second. A few minutes later, a near-fumble from Howard didn't seem to bother him as he too walked into the end zone, giving LCA a 21-14 lead. A poorly-timed turnover from CAL before the half gifted the Eagles a seven-point lead at the break.
The atmosphere would only get more intense as the third quarter began. The Centurions marched down the field with a nearly five-minute drive, capped off by a touchdown run from Hodge to make it 21-20 after a missed extra point. Howard — as he did all night — found a way to counter though, tossing a beautiful ball to sophomore Sam Pearson for a long touchdown that once again gave LCA a cushion at 28-20.
CAL had more answers though. Hodge found senior Trey Cotton multiple times on a drive late in the third quarter that ended with the Centurions getting into the end zone. But a trick play gone wrong on a two-point conversion attempt would prove costly down the stretch. LCA began the fourth quarter with Howard once again nearly fumbling the ball, only for him to find the end zone and give the Eagles a 35-26 edge.
The next time out for CAL, Hodge was intercepted by LCA freshman Thomas Sizemore . Howard then pounded home his third rushing touchdown of the night with just under four minutes left in regulation. The Centurions would make it interesting, however, as Hodge found Cotton one more time for a long touchdown before converting on the two-point conversion. Suddenly, it was a one-possession game.
Lexington Christian was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, giving CAL 80 seconds to play with while down seven points and a chance to force overtime. But time was not on their side. A heave from Hodge beyond midfield with all zeros on the clock was broken up by the Eagles.
"It was very, very... scary," Howard said with a smile about having to watch the final play from the sidelines. "But I'm glad that my boys pulled it out. Defense has been making strides and I'm glad that we got to make some big plays tonight and come out with the win."
The stakes only grow heading into next week. While this victory is sweet for Lexington Christian, up next is a rivalry showdown on the road against Lexington Catholic . But the toughest part of the schedule is over with. LCA can now clean up the little issues and continue to improve on both sides of the ball the rest of the way.
"The sky is the limit," Garner said. "I keep telling our guys: I don't know what our expectations are right now, but the sky is the limit with this team. I couldn't be more proud, but I still expect so much more from these guys and they know that and they love that. And we'll go into Catholic Week with that same mindset."
In the end, LCA racked up 347 yards on the ground (181 from Edwards, 91 from Howard) while forcing CAL into three turnovers on the other end (two interceptions, one recovered fumble). Hodge still managed 495 yards (35-51 passing) and four touchdowns through the air with 250 of those yards going to Cotton, but some unfortunate turnovers throughout ultimately spelled doom for the Centurions.
