It had been talked about for a long time. It was anticipated to be a barnburner. But when it actually happened, the outcome was one that wasn’t exactly expected and therefore stunned many.
Bowling Green and South Warren — two of the most dominant high school football teams in all of the area and in the state of Kentucky – met for the first time ever on Friday night at El Donaldson Stadium in what many thought would be a game of the ages.
It may have seemed that like for BG, but certainly not for South, as the Purples played one of their best games of the season and rolled to a 43-7 win over the Spartans to claim the Class 5A, District 2 championship and earn appropriate bragging rights.
“It was a great way to win districts,” Bowling Green junior quarterback Beau Buchanan said. “I felt like we just went out there and played a great game against our new crosstown rivals.”
The Purples (7-2 overall, 4-0 Class 5A, District 2) dominated the debut meeting from start to finish and used a powerful offense and stout defense to overwhelm the Spartans (7-2, 3-1) and win their sixth-straight contest.
Buchanan recorded his best outing of the year in the victory, passing for 336 yards and five touchdowns while completing 16–of-21 passes. He had already thrown for 164 yards and three scores at halftime.
Along with Buchanan, senior wide receiver Nash Hightower performed well in the marquee matchup, catching seven passes for 133 yards and two TDs.
“My o-line blocked amazing and my receivers – some of those balls weren’t on target, but they still caught them and got yards – and they just did a great job.”
The two sides were knotted at 7-7 after the first quarter, but BG went on to explode for 21 points in the second to lead 28-7 at the break. The Purples then tacked on 15 more points throughout the second half to cruise to the victory.
It didn’t take long for Bowling Green to get going.
The Purples returned the opening kickoff all the down to the South Warren 30-yard line and used just two plays to score on a Buchanan touchdown pass to Hightower. The quarterback received the snap, rolled right and then connected with the wideout to put BG up 7-0 at the 11:06 mark of the first.
On the Spartans’ first drive, BG linebacker Justice Dingle forced a Christian Winn fumble and it regained possession at the South 2-yard line. However, on the first play of the Purples’ series, it fumbled and the Spartans’ Rowdy Shea recovered.
Following South Warren’s recovery, it scored on a two-yard TD run by Winn, who rushed for 77 yards on the short scoring drive.
The senior Winn performed at a high level Friday and was South’s main weapon, as he carried the ball 24 times for 138 yards and a TD.
Bowling Green responded to the Spartans’ score with a successful series of its own to open the second quarter. Buchanan hit Hightower with a 22-yard pass to move the chains and Vito Tisdale followed up with a TD run from two yards out to push the Purples’ lead to 14-7 with 8:29 remaining in the opening half.
Leading by a score, BG added to its advantage on Austin Brown’s 7-yard reception from Buchanan. Prior to the play, the Purples used a hook-and-ladder – which consisted of a pass from Buchanan to Hightower and then a toss from him to Dazhon Blakely – to put themselves in a great spot.
“They’ve been a big help to me,” Buchanan said of his teammates Blakely and Hightower. “Knowing that I can just toss it up to Nash and he catch it and run a couple of yards and Dazhon – I can dump it off to him if no one’s open and he can run forever. It’s just great.”
Brown’s catch made it a 21-7 decision, but just before Ziyon Kenner reeled in a 53-yard pass from Buchanan to put Bowling Green up 28-7 under a minute before halftime.
The Purples needed just a little more than two minutes into the second half to add to their side of the scoreboard, forcing a Spartans’ fumble and turning it into seven points on an 11-yard TD strike from Buchanan to Hightower to make it 35-7.
Buchanan’s fifth touchdown toss of the night – a 40-yarder to Blakely – and a successful two-point conversion pushed Bowling Green’s lead to 43-7 and triggered the KHSAA state mandated running clock to put South Warren away for good.
The Purples close out their regular-season slate next Friday in a 7:30 p.m. affair at Bullitt Central while the Spartans do the same at Owensboro Catholic, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
“This isn’t our biggest goal – our biggest goal is state,” said Buchanan. “We’re gonna come in tomorrow, look at some film and move on to Bullitt Central.”
Tyler Mansfield; @_TylerMansfield
