LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) – Elizabethtown’s magical ride to the state championship under first-year head coach Ross Brown was stopped just short of the goal.
Ashland Paul Blazer (11-0) handed the Panthers their only loss of the season, 35-14, in Saturday’s 3A title game at Kroger Field.
The Panthers (12-1) gambled early, going for it on fourth downs. They failed to connect on some open passes, which ended up costing them opportunities to score — or, at least, keep the ball out of the Tomcats’ hands.
"We knew they were a grind-it-out, control-the-clock kind of team, so we can’t afford mistakes like that when you have your opportunities because you don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get," Brown said. "Make no mistake about it, we didn’t play defense well enough today. Heck, we didn’t play offense well enough, either."
The Tomcats' devastating ground attack rushed for 415 yards in the victory. The Panthers finished with 284 total yards, but only 84 from rushing on 20 attempts.
Elizabethtown senior quarterback Clay Games threw for 200 yards and a touchdown. A quarterback sneak in the third quarter got the Panthers on the board after trailing 21-0.
"We’ve had the mentality since our freshman year here. We’ve told people, 'In four years, we’re going to go win a state championship,'" Games said. "To fail to do that hurts more than anything."
"We knew, coming into high school, we could do something big and special," added Camran McNeil, a senior linebacker and fullback. "It was a ride and it was a grind. We just fell short today."
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