By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Scott junior running back Quincy Perrin set a team record with a 99-yard touchdown run Friday night, but that wasn’t his biggest play in the Eagles’ 48-38 win over Greenup County in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
With Scott holding a slim 35-32 lead early in the third quarter, Perrin caught a short screen pass on a third-down play and went 68 yards for a touchdown that put the Eagles back in control.
When Greenup County scored again, Perrin responded with another big play. After a kickoff return to the 44-yard line, he took a handoff and couldn’t find an opening on the right side of the offensive line. So he changed directions and scored on a 56-yard run that clinched the win.
“We knew it was an important game, especially for our seniors,” Perrin said. “I have way too much love for those guys to let them go out this soon, so I knew I had to step up and make some big plays.”
There were so many big plays in the playoff game at Scott that the teams had combined totals of 1,068 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Perrin rushed for 250 yards in addition to his 68-yard pass reception to account for 318 of the Eagles’ 504 total yards. Greenup County had 564 total yards with workhorse running back Dalton Halstead picking up 304 on 43 carries.
“He’s a real good running back and he was the one we were concerned with,” Scott coach Dan Woolley said of Halstead. “They took advantage of their size advantage up front and moved our defense around a little bit, but our kids stepped up when it mattered.”
Greenup County wasn’t able to score on its final three offensive possessions. A quarterback sack forced the Musketeers to punt on the first one. Scott’s defense recovered a fumble on the next one and stopped a fourth-down play on the last one.
The first half was played in a persistent rain, but the two teams still managed a get a combined total of 689 yards and score 61 points in the first 24 minutes.
Scott opened up a 28-6 lead by scoring on its first four offensive possessions with the longest one lasting just four plays. But Greenup County rallied and pulled to within 36-18 by halftime.
The Eagles picked up most of their first-half yardage on three scoring plays. In the first quarter, senior quarterback Chad Ohmer threw short passes to Kyren Simpson and Jackson Hardin that resulted in scoring plays of 70 and 59 yards. Perrin’s 99-yard touchdown run came in the second quarter.
After a scoreless third quarter, Greenup County scored on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Eli Sammons to wide receiver Brecken Thomas that cut Scott’s lead to 35-32 with 11:23 left to play.
The momentum shifted when Perrin caught the screen pass from Ohmer and streaked down the sideline for what turned out to be the winning touchdown in the high-scoring game.
“All my coaches and my teammates kept telling me I needed to stay calm, and that actually helped me,” Perrin said. “I was freaking out when they kept scoring on us, but our guys just said stay calm and do what we need you to do.”
Scott (7-4) will face a familiar opponent in the second round of the playoffs. The Eagles will play at Johnson Central, the team that handed them season-ending losses the last three years. Johnson Central (10-1) is the top-ranked team in Class 4A this season.
“They’re the No. 1 team for a reason, but we always tell our kids, ‘To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man,'” coach Woolley said. “They’re another power running team and they’ve got some speed, so we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us.”
SCOTT 28 7 0 13 — 48
GREENUP CO. 12 14 0 12 — 38
S — Simpson 70 pass from Ohmer (Iden kick)
GC — Kelly 30 pass from Sammons (run failed)
S — Hardin 59 pass from Ohmer (Iden kick)
S — Simpson 15 run (Iden kick)
S — Perrin 2 run (Iden kick)
GC – Kelly 44 run (run failed)
S — Perrin 99 run (Iden kick)
GC — Halstead 68 run (kick failed)
GC — Halstead 4 run (Kelly pass from Sammons)
GC — Thomas 9 pass from Sammons (kick failed)
S — Perrin 69 pass from Ohmer (Iden kick)
GC — Halstead 2 run (run failed)
S — Perrin 56 run (run failed)
RECORDS — Scott 7-4, Greenup County 6-5.
High school football playoff scores
CLASS 1A
Ludlow 45, Louisville Holy Cross 34
Kentucky Country Day 36, Bellevue 0
Raceland 53, Brossart 13
CLASS 2A
Walton-Verona 41, Metcalfe County 8
Newport Central Catholic 50, Louisville Shawnee 0
Lloyd 50, Washington County 44
Louisville DeSales 49, Newport 6
Christian Academy of Louisville 62, Holy Cross 0
CLASS 4A
Scott 48, Greenup County 38
Ashland Blazer 48, Holmes 6
CLASS 5A
Covington Catholic 49, Woodford County 0
Highlands 36, Madison Southern 7
Montgomery County 35, Dixie Heights 28
CLASS 6A
Conner 28, Lexington Lafayette 7
Lexington Tates Creek 43, Ryle 20
Simon Kenton 48, Lexington Bryan Station 34
Scott County 36, Campbell County 13
Cooper 48, George Rogers Clark 21
Lexington Henry Clay 21, Boone County 14
Next week’s games
CLASS 1A
Ludlow at Frankfort
Kentucky Country Day at Beechwood
CLASS 2A
Monroe County at Walton-Verona
Louisville DeSales at Newport Central Catholic
Lloyd at Christian Academy of Louisville
CLASS 4A
Scott at Johnson Central
CLASS 5A
Highlands at Anderson County
Montgomery County at Covington Catholic
CLASS 6A
Cooper at Conner
Lexington Henry Clay at Simon Kenton