By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Lloyd’s football team needed to hold off a late rally to come away with a 22-20 win over Bourbon County on Friday in Erlanger. It was the seventh consecutive victory for the undefeated Juggernauts, but they took a little more pride in this one.
“What’s become a part of football is you’re going to face some adversity, and you’re either going to keep your head up or put your head down,” said Lloyd junior Avery Conrad. “Tonight, and every night, we’re going to keep our heads up and play as a team to win.”
Bourbon County (6-1) also came into the Class 3A district seeding game with a perfect record. But the Colonels weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone until the fourth quarter and they were behind, 22-14, with 6:38 left on the clock.
After Lloyd recovered an onside kick, a fumble by running back Lincoln Tomlinson gave the ball back to Bourbon County.
The Colonels then scored on a 13-yard pass from Malachi Rennie to Bryson Carr that made it 22-20 with 1:20 remaining.
Bourbon County went for a two-conversion to tie the score, but the ball carrier was tackled for a loss. Lloyd then recovered another onside kick and was able to run out the clock because the visitors had no timeouts remaining.
“We could’ve given up in that game,” said Lloyd coach Kyle Niederman. “We fumbled the ball late and could’ve given up. Head coaches have a lot of proud moments and it’s a very proud moment for me to say this was a good game. We faced a lot of adversity and came through it.”
On their first two possessions of the game, the Juggernauts netted 163 yards and took a 9-0 lead.
After a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Miller, the offense put together a 99-yard touchdown drive. The big gainer in that series was a 44-yard run by Tomlinson. Four plays later, senior quarterback Kaleb Evans weaved through a pass rush and threw a 27-yard pass to senior tight end Billy Lewis in the end zone.
The score remained 9-0 until the fourth quarter when five touchdowns were scored.
It started with a pass interception by Lloyd defensive back Lavar Herron that set up a TD run by Tomlinson. But a long return on the ensuring kickoff put Bourbon County in position to score on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Malachi Rennie to Jacob Ezell that made it 15-8.
A few minutes later, Isaiah Jones caught a short pass from Evans and raced down the sideline on a 63-yard scoring play. Bourbon County’s last two touchdowns came on passes from Rennie to Ezell and Bryson Carr.
“I was saying the whole game we just need to find a way to get into the end zone and when we do it’s going to break open,” Ezell said. “And we did that, but it just broke open too late and we didn’t have enough time.”
Penalties caused problems for Bourbon County through out the game. In the second quarter, the team’s longest pass play was negated by an ineligible receiver downfield call. Two pass interceptions and a fumble also hampered the Colonels’ offense.
“We worked all week on, ‘Don’t give up the deep ball,'” coach Niederman said. “Their receivers are very talented and have a lot of confidence. I’m proud of everybody, but our (defensive) secondary did a very good job against them.”
LLOYD 3 6 0 13 — 22
BOURBON COUNTY 0 0 0 20 — 20
L — Ryan Miller 22 FG
L — Billy Lewis 27 pass from Kaleb Evans (kick failed)
L — Lincoln Tomlinson 1 run (pass failed)
BC — Jacob Ezell 10 pass from Malachi Rennie (Shayne Bowling pass from Rennie)
L — Isaiah Jones 63 pass from Evans (Miller kick)
BC — Ezell 15 pass from Rennie (kick blocked)
BC — Bryson Carr 13 pass from Rennie (pass failed)
RECORDS — Lloyd 7-0, Bourbon County 6-1.
High school football scoreboard
THURSDAY
St. Henry 40, Owen County 12
Ludlow 27, Trimble County 8
FRIDAY
Highlands 31, Covington Catholic 28
Conner 53, Boone County 14
Lloyd 22, Bourbon County 20
Cooper42, Dixie Heights 13
Beechwood 69, Walton-Verona 0
Louisville Iroquois 28, Dayton 22
Holy Cross 39, Frankfort 0
Newport Central Catholic 28, Campbell County 21
Clay County 38, Scott 35
Shelby County 18, Holmes 8