By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There were some anxious moments early in the second half, but Simon Kenton pulled out a 38-21 win over Campbell County on Friday to secure a home game in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs that begin in three weeks.
The Pioneers scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of Friday’s home game to offset their shaky start in the second half. After Campbell County took a 21-17 lead with a touchdown that followed a pass interception, the Camels blocked a punt to get the ball back at the 35-yard line.
But a quarterback sack by Simon Kenton linebacker Tucker Ober on a third-down play forced Campbell County to punt and Simon Kenton came charging back to claim the victory.
“In the second half, it looked like we were about to crumble there for a second,” said Simon Kenton coach Joe Wynn. “But our guys had some mental toughness and battled back and really controlled the line of scrimmage.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Simon Kenton senior running back Landon Brown scored his second touchdown on a 29-yard run and Miles Mullen kicked the extra point to put the Pioneers back on top, 24-21.
After a pass interception at the 5-yard line, Simon Kenton sophomore quarterback Grant Webb broke free on a 72-yard run. Jordan Pendleton took it into the end zone from 22 yards out on the next play and he scored again on a 38-yard run with 1:47 left to cap the victory.
Brown said keeping Campbell County out of the end zone after the blocked punt in the third quarter was a turning point in the game.
“I think it was,” he said. “That really opened our eyes that we needed to come out and play harder.”
Of course, Campbell County coach Brian Weinrich was disappointed by his team’s missed opportunity.
“In a game like this … you’ve got to take advantage of situations and that one slipped through our fingertips,” Weinrich said. “If we capitalize there, everything flips the other way. That’s the way the game goes sometimes.”
Campbell County senior quarterback Lucas Anthrop was injured last week and sophomore Xander Guy took his place for Friday’s game. He threw touchdown passes to Cade Antrobus and Gavin Richardson in his first varsity start, but the Camels went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Next week, Simon Kenton will play Ryle to decide the Class 6A, District 6 winner. Both teams have a 5-3 record, but Ryle has been ranked among the state’s top 10 Class 6A teams all season.
“We’ve said all along we need to take it one week at a time and each week will become the biggest game for us,” coach Wynn said. “We’ve gotten better each week and we’ll have to put a ton of work in this week to get ready for the Raiders.”
Simon Kenton turned the ball over on downs on its first two possessions in Friday’s game and fell behind 7-0 early in the second quarter when Campbell County scored the first touchdown on an 18-yard run by Cooper Lairson.
The Pioneers then ran off 17 straight points to take the lead. The scoring spree started with Mullen kicking a 28-yard field goal. After two three-and-outs by Campbell County’s offense, the home team got back-to-back touchdowns on a 1-yard run by Brown and 21-yard pass from Webb to Forest Hughes.
That put Simon Kenton ahead 17-7 with 37 seconds left before halftime, but that was enough time for Campbell County’s longest scoring play in the game. Cade Antrobus caught a pass from Guy and went 42 yards to the end zone to make it 17-14 at the break.
SIMON KENTON 0 17 0 21 — 38
CAMPBELL COUNTY 0 14 7 0 — 21
CC — Cooper Lairson 18 run (Blake Minor kick)
SK — Miles Mullen 28 FG
SK — Landon Brown 1 run (Mullen kick)
SK — Forest Hughes 21 pass from Grant Webb (Mullen kick)
CC — Cade Antrobus 42 pass from Xander Guy (Minor kick)
CC — Gavin Richardson 29 pass from Guy (Minor kick)
SK — Brown 29 run (Mullen kick)
SK — Jordan Pendleton 22 run (Mullen kick)
SK — Pendleton 38 run (Mullen kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 5-3, Campbell County 2-6.
High school football scoreboard
FRIDAY
Beechwood 56, Gallatin County 0
Newport 6, Bellevue 0
Brossart 21, Ludlow 20
Simon Kenton 38, Campbell County 21
Cooper 42, Scott 6
Dixie Heights 55, Boone County 0
Newport Central Catholic 49, Dayton 8
Covington Catholic 56, Harrison County 0
Highlands 42, Mason County 6
Holmes at Thomas Nelson
Walton-Verona 28, Owen County 7
Ryle 46, Great Crossing 20
Bracken County 35, St. Henry 7
Holy Cross 56, Trimble County 0