By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
A quarterback sack on a fourth-down play with less than two minutes left on the clock dashed Ryle’s hopes for a comeback victory in Friday’s season opener and the Raiders lost to Lexington Catholic, 24-21, in Union.
Ryle’s final offensive possession began at midfield with 4:16 remaining. The Raiders picked up 30 yards on their first four plays before a five-yard loss on a fumbled handoff and an incomplete pass broke the momentum.
An 11-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Logan Verax to junior running back Jayce Hardin put the ball on the 18-yard line for the crucial fourth-down play. Verax took the snap and was buried by blitzing defenders before he could get off a pass.
Ryle coach Mike Engler said his players made too many mistakes to beat a good team, but he couldn’t criticize their effort.
“I’m proud of our team,” he said. “We overcame adversity several times and still had a chance to win.”
In only his second game as Ryle’s starting quarterback, Verax completed 16 of 19 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 66 yards on 15 carries. He was the main reason the Raiders finished with a 389-354 advantage in total yards.
But Ryle committed three turnovers — one interception and two fumbles — and LexCath scored touchdowns following two of them.
The visitors had a 10-0 lead late in the second quarter when Ryle got its first touchdown on a 34-yard pass from Verax that was tipped into the hands of wide receiver Hunter Vaughn, who took it into the end zone.
Both teams scored in the final minutes of the second quarter. After recovering a fumble, LexCath took a 17-7 lead on a 39-yard pass from Jack Gohmann to Blake Busson. But Ryle cut it to 17-14 on a 46-yard pass from Verax that glanced off the hands of a defender and into the arms of Gavin Ruark nine seconds before halftime.
The teams scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions once again in the third quarter. The Knights got theirs on a 9-yard pass from Gohmann to Mark Mooring that came after another fumble recovery. The Raiders answered with a 67-yard drive that ended with Verax throwing a 20-yard TD pass to Kaden Gardner.
Gohmann completed 17 of 25 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. The Knights finished with 134 rushing yards compared to 165 for the Raiders. LexCath junior Walker Hall was the game’s leading rusher with 116 yards on 26 carries.
Ryle senior linebacker Jackson Belk made 14 solo and three assisted tackles. He also had one of his team’s five tackles for a loss during the game.
LEXCATH 7 10 7 0 — 24
RYLE 0 14 7 0 — 21
LC — Hall 5 pass from Gohmann (DeGraff kick)
LC — DeGraff 22 FG
R — Vaughn 34 pass from Verax (Ruark kick)
LC — Busson 39 pass from Gohmann (DeGraff kick)
R — Ruark 46 pass from Verax (Ruark kick)
LC — Mooring 9 pass from Gohmann (DeGraff kick)
R — Gardner 20 pass from Verax (Ruark kick)