By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Creating a balanced offensive attack isn’t a priority for Dayton football coach Jesse Herbst. His team relies heavily on the run and that carried the Greendevils to their fourth straight win on Friday.
Dayton rushed for more than 400 yards during a 48-26 win at Ludlow to remain undefeated. Nearly half of that total came on touchdowns runs of 54 and 57 yards by junior Malaki Kennedy and 61 yards by senior Amillion Brown.
“That’s our goal,” coach Herbst said. “Keep on the ball on the ground and keep the clock ticking. If you control the ball, you control the game.”
Not many coaches adopt that strategy these days. It’s more popular to use pro-set offenses and run-pass option plays to baffle opposing defenses.
But Herbst has so many able-bodied ball carriers that he built Dayton’s offense around a solid running attack.
Kennedy was the backfield’s top performer on Friday. After rushing for a net total of 171 yards in the Greendevils’ first three games, he had more than 200 yards and scored four touchdowns against Ludlow.
“I’ve been waiting for him to come out of that shell and he finally did tonight,” Herbst said. “He’s an amazing player. He’s the type of guy you can get the ball to anytime and he can score for you.”
After Ludlow opened the game with a 10-play, 61-yard touchdown drive, Kennedy scored on Dayton’s first play from scrimmage with a 54-yard run.
The Greendevils extended their lead to 21-6 on shorter TD runs by Kaden Anderson and Elias Lopez Torres. But Ludlow pulled to within 21-19 on a pair of scoring passes from Miller Reed to Andre Engelmon in the second quarter.
Dayton responded with a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that put the visitors ahead, 28-19, at halftime. That series started with a 13-yard run by Anderson. The last two plays were a 28-yard gain by Brown and 8-yard TD run by Kennedy.
“We had a hard time stopping No. 2,” said Ludlow coach Woody McMillen, referring to Kennedy’s jersey number. “We had some situations where we were right there and couldn’t break down and make plays on him. He’s a good player.”
On the first play of the third quarter, Brown’s 61-yard scoring run extended the lead to 35-19. Kennedy finished his big night with TD runs of 20 and 57 yards.
“My first game I had one touchdown and like 29 total yards ,” Kennedy said. “That really put me in a bad spot. The other games I tried to come back and it didn’t work out too well, so I took this one personal.”
DAYTON 14 14 7 13 — 48
LUDLOW 6 13 0 7 — 26
L — Deaken Reed 1 run (kick blocked)
D — Malaki Kennedy 54 run (Elias Lopez Torres run)
D — Kaden Anderson 9 run (pass failed)
D — Torres 12 run (Matt Weaver kick)
L — Andre Englemon 21 pass from Miller Reed (Finn McMillan kick)
L — Englemon 38 pass from Miller Reed (McMillan kick)
D — Kennedy 8 run (Weaver kick)
D — Amillion Brown 61 run (Weaver kick)
D — Kennedy 20 run (Weaver kick)
L — Jaylen Stone 28 pass from Miller Reed (McMillan kick)
D — Kennedy 57 run (run failed)
RECORDS: Dayton 4-0, Ludlow 2-2
Friday night football scoreboard
Beechwood 41, Simon Kenton 0
St. Henry 49, Bellevue 14
Walton-Verona 25, Boone County 8
Brossart 27, Bracken County 7
Cooper 21, Campbell County 14
Conner 35, Newport Central Catholic 14
Covington Catholic 56, Dixie Heights 7
Dayton 48, Ludlow 26
Highlands 41, Boyle County 21
Holy Cross 42, Holmes 12
Lloyd 32, Cincinnati Aiken 14
Newport 58, Taylor County 14
Christian Academy of Louisville 49, Ryle 0
Scott 40, Grant County 6