Titans Throttle 6A Bulldogs
The Harrodsburg Herald/Sam Warren
Senior quarterback Thaddeus Mays dove for the end zone during the Titans 38-22 win over Taylor County this past Saturday, Aug. 19.
Sam Warren
Herald Staff
sports@harrodsburgherald.com
The Mercer County Titans football team’s (2-0) game against Paul Laurence Dunbar (0-2), scheduled for Friday, Aug. 25, was rescheduled due to lightning. The game meant to be played in Woodford County, was moved to Harrodsburg and scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. the next day.
The Titans faced 6A giant Dunbar during the intense heat, and both offenses came out slow because of it. Dunbar found it difficult to gain any advantage running the ball Saturday and most of their yards came through the air. After stopping the Bulldogs, the Titans took over at their own 28 yard-line, and following two short runs and an overthrown deep ball they punted in less than a minute.
It was an impressive outing for each of Mercer’s defensive lineman. On the ensuing Dunbar drive, senior defensive end Kingston Mays threw a Dunbar lineman into the backfield and made a tackle for a four-yard loss. Shortly after on first and 20, senior defensive tackle Aiden McKinney secured his first sack of the evening to make it second and 27. On the very next play McKinney was back in the backfield grabbing his second sack. On fourth and 18, the Bulldogs settled for a field goal, making the score 3-0 with 2:36 left in the first quarter.
“Aiden continues to arguably be one of our best defensive linemen. Every opportunity he gets he just continues to make plays, and I’m really happy for him, really happy his lightbulb has turned on this year and he’s played excellent for us these last two games,” said Head Coach of Titan football Craig Yeast.
After failing to convert initially, the Titans were saved on fourth and five by an encroachment call against Dunbar. The Titans took advantage of the extra plays and senior running back Denim Griffieth broke several tackles on the way to a 19-yard gain. Later, after completing a third and short situation, the Titans ran a hurry up offense and Thaddeus Mays scampered outside and into the endzone from three yards out.
Dunbar’s senior quarterback Ethan Teall still couldn’t escape the pressure on the Bulldog’s responding drive. It was sophomore defensive lineman JJ Goodman this time, dragging Teall down from behind for a six-yard loss. Dunbar was forced to punt on fourth and 20.
