By Ben Miller
NKyTribune sports reporter
Junior running back Damarco Jackson scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half and Newport defeated Ludlow, 44–22, in the first round of the Class 1A football playoffs on Friday in Newport.
Jackson rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries to lead a Newport offense that netted 521 total yards with 353 coming on the ground. He has rushed for 528 yards in four straight victories that lifted the Wildcats’ record to 6-5 going into a second playoff game.
“Damarco runs so hard,” said Newport coach Paul Wiggins. “Most of our dudes run really hard, but Demarco … sometimes he gets lost behind the offensive line, pops out with momentum, and he can run out of a tackle for two. I told him, ‘You’re one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached, and I trust you like no other.’”
Jackson scored the game’s first touchdown on a 36-yard run and the Wildcats opened up a 22-0 lead in the first half. But Ludlow then ran off 22 straight points to tie the score.
The Panthers’ comeback was led by senior Jalen Stone. He returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown and then scored on a 36-yard pass from junior quarterback Miller Reed with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
Newport turned again to Jackson. He powered in from eight yards out to regain the lead and broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown run on the next possession to put the Wildcats ahead 36–22.
“I feel like I played a big part, but I can’t do it without my linemen,” Jackson said. “They started it off, and I followed them.”
Ludlow mounted a promising drive early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers reached the Newport 9-yard line, but junior Andre Engelmon fumbled and the Wildcats recovered at their own 1.
The home team then put together a clock-draining drive highlighted by a 35-yard pass from Davae Andrews-Glover to Elijah Brandt. The drive ended with seven straight Jackson carries, including an 11-yard run into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the night.
Ludlow finished with 276 total yards (239 passing, 37 rushing). Reed rushed for 34 yards and completed 10 of 17 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Newport (6-5) will take its four-game win streak into its second-round playoff game against a Holy Cross team coached by Curt Spencer that improved to 9-2 with a 41-7 win over Bellevue on Friday.
“Spence does a great job with Holy Cross,” Wiggins said of his head coaching counterpart. “They’re put together really well, and I think it’s going to be a monster game.”
LUDLOW 0 7 15 0 — 22
NEWPORT 14 8 14 8 — 44
N — Jackson 36-yard run (run failed)
N — Miller 99-yard pass from Andrews-Glover (Jackson run)
N — Andrews-Glover 1-yard run (Hurry run)
L — Englemon 99-yard pass from Reed (McMillian kick)
L — Stone 61-yard kickoff return (McMillan kick)
L — Stone 36-yard pass from Reed (Stone run)
N — Jackson 8-yard run (run failed)
N — Jackson 55-yard run (Brandt pass from Andrews-Glover)
N — Jackson 11-yard run (Hurry run)
RECORDS: Newport 6-5, Ludlow 6-5.