Tigers sink Admirals
October 12th, 2009 Posted in Team InformationFG with 1:47 wins it
Photo by Peter W. Zubaty
Bardstown’s Ricky Harper (6) delivers a stiff-arm to Danville’s Will Dunn at the tail-end of an interception return. Harper rushed for 124 yards, caught a touchdown pass of 60 yards, picked off one pass and nearly intercepted another, and had a big game returning kicks and punts to lead the Tigers to a 17-15 win.
By Peter W. Zubaty
DANVILLE — As two of the state’s traditional small-school powers, when Bardstown and Danville meet the stakes are usually very high.
Before the 2007 realignment of Kentucky’s football districts, those matchups almost always came in the playoffs. Now, the two share Class 2A District 4, and since the realignment, their regular-season meeting has decided the district championship, with the Admirals prevailing in 2007 and 2008, but with the Tigers winning the 2007 playoff rematch.
On Saturday, the Tigers evened the score when Victor Kremser’s 27-yard field goal with 1:47 left to play proved the game-winner in a 17-15 Bardstown win over Danville.
The win gave the Tigers a leg up in the Class 2A District 4 race, improving to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in district games.
“Our goal is to be district champs, and this is step one of three,” Bardstown coach David Clark said.
Sole possession of first place in the district race will be on the line when Washington County visits Bardstown Friday.
“It was just a great game,” senior Ricky Harper said. “Big game defensively — we made great plays in the second half.”
Harper carried the ball 17 times for 124 punishing yards and his lone catch was a 60-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from Keaton Hall to give the Tigers a 14-12 third quarter lead. His big yards in the fourth quarter — 79 on seven carries, especially on the game-winning drive — helped the Tigers burn up the clock and set up Kremser’s boot. Harper also played a big part on special teams, with several long returns that set his team up in scoring position.
“We challenged him to be a man and be the best football player on the field tonight,” Clark said. “And he was. He dominated, and that’s a tribute to this kid.”
Bardstown fell behind 12-0 in the first quarter on a pair of short touchdown runs by Will Dunn (18-163 rushing), but clamped down on defense after that, picking off a pair of Danville passes at key junctures in the second half to kill Admiral drives.
“We came out on our heels, and they took advantage of it,” Clark said of falling in the early hole. “To our kids’ credit, they’ve been in that situation before, and they believed they could get back in the football game.”
Wet field conditions led to four fumbles by the Tigers and two by the Admirals, but the fumbling team recovered each time. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but Danville school officials postponed it.
“In the locker room (at halftime), we all just focused and got ready to play,” Harper said. 
Photo by Peter W. Zubaty
Bardstown’s Victor Kremser delivers the winning 27-yard field goal with 1:47 remaining out of the hold of Bobby Butler (18).
Harper said it was difficult dealing with the sloppy field, but that a team’s got to do what it has to do to get the win.
Evidence of that spirit came when Tigers got their first score in the second quarter.
Bardstown got a short field on a Danville punt, starting the drive from the Admiral 27 with a little more than four minutes to play in the half. The Tigers had trouble moving the ball, bringing up a fourth-and-four when Hall hit Marcus Cosby near the left sideline for a 21-yard catch, but Cosby fumbled the ball near the goal line, and Tiger lineman Jacob Ferrell recovered it in the end zone.
“The key of the game is we didn’t have turnovers,” Clark said. “In a sloppy game like this, when kids play hard, good things are going to happen.”
Danville kicked a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to take a 15-14 lead. But on the very first play from scrimmage following the kick, Harper broke off a 39-yard run, plowing over and through Admiral tacklers to set up the winning Bardstown drive.
“We knew all along it was going to come down to one or two big plays and who was going to make them,” Clark said. “Fortunately we made them.”
Danville gained 325 yards to Bardstown’s 261. Danville dropped to an uncharacteristic 1-6 overall and 0-1 in district play. The Admirals visit Fort Knox Friday.
Bardstown 17, Danville 15 Dunn 2 run (run failed), 9:25; (D) — Dunn 1 run (pass failed), 3:57. Second Quarter — (B) Ferrell fumble recovery in end zone (Kremser kick), 2:14. Third Quarter — (B) Harper 60 pass from Hall (Kremser kick), 3:50. Fourth Quarter — (D) Meckes 28 FG, 5:29. (B) Kremser 27 FG, 1:47.
B 0 7 7 3—17
D 12 0 0 3—15
First Quarter — (D)
Bardstown’s Marcus Cosby coughed it up following a 21-yard reception, but teammate Jacob Farrell (65) was johnny-on-the-spot, recovering the fumble in the end zone for Bardstown’s first touchdown of the game.
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