Ludlow quarterback Jackson Mays passes the ball over hard-charging Holy Cross defensive lineman Littello Johnson during Friday’s Class 1A district game. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Two Ludlow football players with different backstories celebrated one of the team’s biggest victories on Friday when the Panthers defeated Holy Cross, 38-13, to clinch their first Class 1A district title since 1975.
Ludlow’s first touchdown came on a pass to senior Ethan Powell, who grew up playing in the Ludlow Youth Football program. Three of the Panthers’ next five touchdowns were scored by senior Miles Garrett, who joined the team this year as a transfer student.
“They’ve been preaching to me all week that this was the most important game they’ll play at Ludlow so I’m glad we were able to get it done,” said Garrett. “Even though I wasn’t in the program for that long, I still felt the excitement about this being one of the biggest games in Ludlow’s history.”
Holy Cross running back Ulysses Porter gets wrapped up by Ludlow linebacker Dameyn Anness. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Powell certainly knew what was on the line going into Friday’s game. He’s a life-long Ludlow resident and his family members help operate the city’s youth football program as a feeder system for the high school team.
“I grew up wanting this right here,” Powell said amid the post-game victory celebration that included fireworks exploding above Ludlow’s 86-year old stadium. “It’s so surreal to me right now that I’m going to go down in team history.”
Holy Cross opened the game with a 72-yard touchdown drive that ended with Davonte Ryan catching a 26-yard pass from Donovan Ambrocio.
But the Indians weren’t able to get much done on offense after that. They finished the game with 203 total yards (147 rushing, 56 passing) and committed three costly turnovers.
Ludlow scored off all three takeaways by its defense and ended up with 419 total yards (256 rushing, 163 passing). Garrett, who lines up at wide receiver, scored twice on end-around sweeps in the third quarter and had a game-high 147 rushing yards. He also had five pass receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown.
“Miles came to us this year and what a godsend,” said Ludlow coach Woody McMillen. “He doesn’t really start on either side of the ball. He comes in mostly on special packages. At halftime, we’d been running (the ball) heavy inside and someone said, ‘I think we can jet him off the backside.’ Man, that was a good call.”
Ludlow punted on its first two possessions of the game, but the offense took advantage of two Holy Cross fumbles in the second quarter to open up a 12-7 halftime lead.
Ludlow linebacker Matt Brock celebrates after one of his team’s fumble recoveries. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
After the first fumble recovery, the Panthers scored on a 33-yard pass from quarterback Jackson Mays to Powell. The second fumble occurred at midfield and Ludlow went 50 yards in 13 plays, including Aiden Smith Baxley’s 1-yard run into the end zone.
“We kept our heads up,” Powell said of falling behind in the opening minutes. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We just fought back and got the scores we needed and won the game.”
On the first play of the second half, Garrett scored on an 80-yard end-around run. Then the Panthers put together a 74-yard drive that ended with Baxley’s second touchdown run to make it 24-7.
Four plays later, Powell intercepted a pass and returned it to the end zone, but a penalty negated the touchdown and put the ball on the 45-yard line. That’s when Garrett swept around the left end to score his third TD.
Ludlow’s final touchdown came on a 23-yard pass from Mays to Garrett early in the fourth quarter for a 38-7 lead. With 4:49 remaining, Holy Cross freshman Ulysses Porter scored on a 40-yard run that put his team over the 200 mark in total yards.
When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ludlow players dumped a cooler full of water on coach McMillen to begin the victory celebration. The win gives the Panthers a home game in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs that begin in two weeks.
“It was a great night and I’m glad for this community,” said McMillen, a 1987 Ludlow graduate who returned this year to become head coach. “We’re not done yet. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead, but we’re going to enjoy this one for a little while.”
LUDLOW 0 12 19 7 — 38
HOLY CROSS 7 0 0 6 — 13
HC — Davonte Ryan 26 pass from Donovan Ambrocio (William Fisk kick)
L — Ethan Powell 33 pass from Jackson Mays (kick failed)
L — Aiden Smith Baxley 1 run (pass failed)
L — Miles Garrett 80 run (run failed)
L — Baxley 6 run (pass failed)
L — Garrett 45 run (Huff kick)
L — Garrett 23 pass from Mays (Brayden McDaniel kick)
HC — Ulysses Porter 40 run (run failed)
RECORDS: Ludlow 6-3, 3-0; Holy Cross 5-4, 1-2
High school football scoreboard
THURSDAY
District seeding games
Newport Central Catholic 49, Bellevue 14
Highlands 57, Scott 6
FRIDAY
District seeding games
Cooper 21, Dixie Heights 14
Ryle 24, Simon Kenton 21
Ludlow 38, Holy Cross 13
Beechwood 41, Bracken County 0
Brossart 57, Trimble County 28
Conner 38, Boone County 13
Campbell County 28, Great Crossing 22
Newport 38, Dayton 7
Harrison County 45, Holmes 0
Covington Catholic 50, Mason County 14
Lloyd 47, Bourbon County 6
Owen County 24, Walton-Verona 0
