West Carter dominates Fairview in Grid game 37-14

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News

David Burnworth | August 12, 2023

For those not familiar with the way the games work, there are three-quarters of varsity ball and one running quarter for the JV squads. I combined the scores to make it easier to write the article.

Last night I made the drive from Columbus, Ohio, to Louisa, Kentucky, to watch the two grid games at Lawrence County High School. This was my first visit to Lawrence County since 1998 when the Bulldogs defeated Whitesburg 54-18 in the first round of the playoffs.

The first quarter would end scoreless, with both teams having bright moments. For West Carter, Isaiah Bond would haul in a tight throw from Hayden Hall for a pick-up of 11 yards. Then it was a sack by Ethan Bledsoe on Fairview quarterback Jace Manning for a loss of about 8 yards. Matthew Kiser also picked up a sack to force a fourth and nineteen for Fairview.

For Fairview, Landon Stapleton would pick off a pass thrown by Hall. Xavien Kouns would trot off for a big gain of 13 yards.

The second quarter would see a fumble by Kouns that ended with Andrew Eldridge getting a tackle for loss to bring up a fourth and twelve. Kadin Thompson would get things going for the Comets with a 13-yard run, where he broke multiple tackles. The first score of the contest came on a Hall-to-Isaiah Bond 14-yard touchdown pass. Strong-footed Wyatt Martin made this a 7-0 game with his point-after-kick.

Thompson set up his own 1-yard score with a sweet 38-yard run that put West Carter up 14-0. The Comets defense was back at it with 1:40 left in the half when Trace Rivers planted Kouns in the turf for a short loss. Bond would get a pick for the Comets to bring the offense back on the field at the 1:38 mark. It would be the Eagles defense putting up some points at the 1:25 mark when Jace Manning got a pick-six from about 70 yards out to close the gap to 14-6. Marin closed out the half with a 35-yard field goal that would have been good from 45 or more yards.

The third quarter would see another pick from Fairview, with Jaxon Donta doing the deed. Ethan Bledsoe would stand tall for the Comets when he slung Jace Murray down for a short loss. Jace Manning would bobble the snap, resulting in a fumble recovery for West Carter by Tabor Tackett. West Carter used two runs totaling 35 yards from Dwaylon Dean to set up a 25-yard touchdown run from Thompson to make this a 24-6 game. The Comets would end the quarter very strongly with A pick by Kale Back set up a 30-yard run from Thompson, making this a 31-6 game. A 21-yard run by Dean set up another Thompson touchdown run that came from 11 yards out, making this a 37-6 game.

The final score of the game came from the Eagles on a 63-yard run from Treyvor Pauley that was followed by a two-point conversion pass from Manning to Gabe Legg to give us the final score of 37-14. Before the gun sounded to end the contest, Westin Kiser picked up 41 yards on a QB run.

My stats

West Carter

42 plays

370 yards

Passing: 9-14, 1 TD, 3 interceptions

Fairview

38 plays

107 yards

Passing 9-13, 1 INT.

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