The first and only time I interviewed then junior Bardstown Tiger quarterback Brady Clark, I was struck at how humble he was. Sure! He is the coaches son and he like his father are use to being grilled by us media hacks, but after the Tigers win over Thomas Nelson he took time to compliment everyone on the team after the victory. From the runningbacks, wide outs, the Offensive Line, who blocks for him, but the defense as well.
It’s not easy to be groomed to be the next guy up under center in a winning program like Bardstown and under dad David Clark, his son had to follow such winners as Santrel Farmer, Keanu Young and Jordan Brewer. Under those guys (most have went on to play at the next level), the Tigers were always a force to be respected and feared whether it be 2-A or currently at the 3-A level.
Brady Clark’s magical mystery tour under center actually began in 2017, after the Tigers had went 10-2 with a huge offensive line that made the sky disappear. In what would be a rebuilding year, Bardstown struggled at times on both sides of the ball, but the freshman passer threw for 1,243-yards and 11-TDs performing well despite playing from behind quite often. The following year, the Tigers showed some improvement as they went 6-6 with Clark’s offense scoring 40-more points in 2018 as opposed to the previous season. The sophomore threw for 619-yards and 12-TDs despite splitting time with Datrail Wright.
It was 2019 that things began to come together and it actually started with a blowout loss to a powerful Pikeville team, 47-25. Clark refered to the setback as a wakeup call that led to seven straight victories and an offense that was led by a diverse running attack that helped average over 30-points a game during that time. Darion Montgomery was the workhorse finishing the year with 1,182-yards and 15-TDs and Clark would finish the season with 2,170-yards passing and 26-TD passes. Perhaps, one of the pivotal games was a 21-14 overtime loss to district rival Elizabethtown in late October on the road. The previous two seasons, the powerful Panthers had embarassed the Tigers and even in defeat they felt like they played head and shoulders with their opponent and were looking forward to a rematch in the second round of the playoffs. This time around Bardstown turned a close game at halftime into a rout as the Tigers won going away in the second half, 51-27. Clark had a great game completing 16-of-19 for 226-yards and 3-TDs in the win as they advanced to the Region Final.
Unfortunetly, DeSales ended their season the following week, still there was much to cheer about.
So after three seasons as the varsity quarterback, Brady Clark is ready to finish his senior year with a bang. It shouldn’t be a surprise. The young guy, who has admitted that both he and the Head Coach sometimes always talk about football and enjoys it appears ready to finish up what he started and despite the 2020 football season getting started until the second week of September, the Tigers really got things going fast with a 6-0 start averaging 40-points a game and Clark was having a marvelous year throwing for 1,176-yards and 24-touchdowns. The offense has been paced by four different backs running for over 300-yards each and five different receivers with at least 10-catches. The only blemish being an ugly 33-6 lose to District rival Elizabethtown on a night in which nothing went right.
With the playoffs coming up, the Tigers have some unfinished buisness and you can be sure that they and their quarterback Brady Clark will most definitely have a say in what happens in the final result as the guy, who has really made a habit of making a difference will most likely be the reason why in the end.
