The game is not over until the final buzzer sounds, and the Bowling Green Purples played until that buzzer on Friday night. Down 25-20 with under a minute to play, Bowling Green quarterback Devin Hayes threw a game-winning touchdown to Nacarius Fant to beat Blackman 26-25.
Blackman put the Purples in unfamiliar territory to open the game. BHS found the endzone with a 37-yard run from star quarterback Jauan Jennings. The early touchdown for Blackman fazed Bowling Green for an early portion of the game, as the Purples were forced to punt on their first drive. BGHS straightened up for their second drive. Hayes threw his first touchdown of the game to Fant to tie the game at seven in the first quarter.
BGHS was forced to rely on their passing game throughout the game. Blackman held star running backs Blake Pillow and Blue Tisdale to only 54 yards on 18 rushes. Bowling Green did manage to find paydirt on the ground with Tisdale in the first half to go up 13-7. Bowling Green couldn’t manage to hold onto their first lead of the game in the first half. Jennings threw an eight-yard touchdown to take a 14-13 lead. BGHS had the ball to end the half following a Blackman field goal, and that was when the craziness began. Hayes threw an interception as time ran out in the second quarter, and both teams began to taunt and yell as they ran off the field. Coaches and players had to be restrained coming off the field, but in the end, Blackman held a 17-13 lead going into the second half.
Bowling Green received the ball to open the half, and only dug themselves in a deeper hole. The Purples had a bad snap in the back of the endzone that resulted in a safety, and a 19-13 lead for Blackman. These would be the last points until Tisdale scored from one yard out to take a 20-19 lead.
The Tisdale touchdown never would have happened if not for six unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Blackman in the second half. The Blaze continued to shoot themselves in the foot for the duration of the second half, but scored on a long touchdown pass from Jennings to take a 25-20 lead on the Purples with under five minutes to play. BGHS had held the Blaze to a 3rd and long, but the speedy Jennings was able to scramble out and find an open receiver for a 47-yard score.
Hayes would have to lead Bowling Green on a drive with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter from his own 36 yard line. Hayes relied on Fant to make big catches throughout the final drive. He looked for him on a crucial third down conversion to put BGHS inside the Blackman ten. A short run by Pillow gave the Purples a 2nd and six at the eight, but back-to-back sacks gave BGHS a difficult situation to end the game. Bowling Green was forced to try and convert a 4th and 11 with under a minute to go at the Blackman 14. Hayes once again relied on Fant to make a big catch, and he came through. Fant caught a 14-yard touchdown to put the Purples up for good, 26-25.
Throughout the night, the Purples defense bent, but refused to break. Jennings ran well and made big throws, but BGHS managed to make defensive stops and give their offense good field position. “He moved the offense, he made big plays,” said BGHS defensive lineman Darrian Scott. “We executed on defense, though.”
The Purples had several players make their way into the record books against Blackman. Fant became only sixth player in KHSAA history to record more than 200 career receptions. Hayes’ two touchdown passes gave him 77 career passing scores, which ties him for 35th all-time.
The win was perhaps the most impressive of the long string of victories for BGHS. Blackman has been in the National Top 100 Rankings throughout the season, and Jennings is one of the top players at his position in the 2015 class. The Purples managed to stay true to their number one rank in Kentucky with another big win on Friday. “It was a big game, them coming up here and us getting the victory is amazing,” said Scott. Bowling Green’s difficult test has prepared them for the playoffs, which start next week at Bowling Green High School. The Purples will take on Apollo High School in the first round of the tournament.
