By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ludlow senior quarterback Justin Blackburn posted some impressive offensive statistics this season, but he couldn’t get the Class A playoff win the Panthers have been striving for since 2011.
Louisville Holy Cross took a 14-0 lead in the first eight minutes and went on beat Ludlow, 30-21, in the first round of the small-school playoffs on Friday at Ludlow.
Blackburn had a combined total of 257 yards rushing and passing in the final game of his varsity career. He finished the season with more than 3,200 all-purpose yards, but he was disappointed with the way it ended.
“We made a lot of errors, bad snaps and got a punt blocked the one time,” he said after Friday’s loss. “If we didn’t make those mistakes, it probably would’ve turned out different.”
Ludlow was one of a dozen local high school football teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. There were 20 games involving teams from Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties on Friday and they had a 8-12 combined record.
The Panthers fell behind in the opening minutes because of bad snaps on its first two punt attempts. On the first one, Holy Cross recovered the ball on the 19-yard line and scored six plays later. On the second one, the visitors took over on the 38 and ended the short drive with a 23-yard TD pass.
“We came out a little under the weather and they got a couple of quick ones on us,” said Ludlow’s first-year head coach Greg Taphouse. “We fought back, but it wasn’t enough.”
Early in the second quarter, Blackburn scored on a 2-yard run and Cameron Underwood kicked the extra point to make it 14-7. But Holy Cross blocked a punt with less than 37 seconds left in the half and kicked a 26-yard field goal to go ahead 17-7 at the break.
Blackburn had a pass intercepted in the third quarter, but the Holy Cross player fumbled the ball on the return and the Panthers recovered it. Four plays later, Blackburn threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Trey Donahue to cut the margin to 17-14.
In the fourth quarter, Holy Cross put together a 77-yard scoring drive with senior running back Mario Convenuto carrying the ball on nine of the 10 plays. He ended it with a 6-yard run into the end zone that extended the Cougars’ lead to 23-14.
Ludlow responded with a 65-yard touchdown drive of its own, but it took 11 plays and ate up a lot of precious time. There was only 1:40 left on the clock when Blackburn took the ball into end zone on a 3-yard run.
After Holy Cross recovered the onside kick, Convenuto sealed his team’s victory by scoring his third touchdown on a 40-yard run. He accounted for most of his team’s 260 total yards by rushing for 191 on 33 carries and catching four passes for 17 yards.
Blackburn was one of eight seniors on the Ludlow team that finished the season with an 8-3 record. The last time the Panthers won that many games was 2004. During his three-year varsity career, Blackburn had 4,590 yards rushing, 2,785 yards passing and scored 63 touchdowns.
“It’s been an amazing experience. I love Ludlow and loved playing for them,” he said after his last game. “I think they’ll pick up right where we left off and be a great team next year.”
“It was amazing,” coach Taphouse said of Blackburn’s career. “I mean, he’s a special athlete. It’ll be different without him here, but I think we’ll be able to take the next step with the kids we have in the program.”
HOLY CROSS 14 3 0 13 — 30
LUDLOW 0 7 7 7 — 21
HC — Convenuto 2 run (Meiman kick)
HC — Avdevich 23 pass from McDonald (Meiman kick)
L — Blackburn 2 run (Underwood kick)
HC — FG Meiman 26
L — Donahue 10 pass from Blackburn (Underwood kick)
HC — Convenuto 6 run (kick failed)
L — Blackburn 3 run (Underwood kick)
HC — Convenuto 40 run (Meiman kick)
RECORDS: Ludlow 8-3, Holy Cross 6-5
Football playoff scoreboard
CLASS A
Louisville Holy Cross 30, Ludlow 21
Frankfort 42, Bellevue 0
Kentucky Country Day 55, Dayton 0
Raceland 55, Brossart 14
CLASS 2A
Walton-Verona 72, Louisville Shawnee 0
Lloyd 43, Green County 6
Newport Central Catholic 37, Metcalfe County 12
Glasgow 64, Holy Cross 0
Monroe County 36, Newport 6
CLASS 4A
Scott 49, Rowan County 7
Ashland Blazer 52, Holmes 6
CLASS 5A
Covington Catholic 56, Bullitt East 14
Highlands 34, Oldham County 7
Bullitt Central 18, Dixie Heights 14
CLASS 6A
Louisville Butler 20, Ryle 14
Simon Kenton 48, Jeffersontown 17
Campbell County 19, Louisville Eastern 14
Pleasure Ridge Park 37, Cooper 12
Louisville Male 64, Conner 0
Louisville Ballard 20, Boone County 12