In his previous two games, Conner senior quarterback Nick West completed 77.5 percent of his passes for a combined 506 yards and seven touchdowns. He was looking for more of the same Friday night against a Ryle squad that was coming off a 20-point beating to Simon Kenton the week before.
But by the time West – and, more to the point, his receivers – got warmed up at Clifford R. Borland Sr. Stadium, it was much too late.
The Raiders successfully put last week’s disappointment behind them in time to stifle the Conner offense for most of the game, and Ryle sophomore running back Travis Elliott rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Raiders to the 31-22 victory.
“This is huge,” said Ryle coach Bryson Warner, whose squad moved to 3-1 in District 6 (behind only the 4-0 record of Simon Kenton) and would clinch home-field advantage next week with a win vs. Boone County. “Our district is extremely tough. To get a big win will really be a catalyst for the rest of the season.”
On Friday, though, the only catalyst Ryle (6-2) needed was Elliott. For the first time this season, he played defense and played well. But he was a superstar when taking the handoff from Raiders quarterback Conner Hempel (10 of 15 for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception) on offense.
On the first series of the game, Hempel gave Elliott the ball on six straight plays. The first four gained 8, 15, 36 and 11 yards, respectively, and he capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. It looked easy, and though he had a tough time catching his breath on the sideline after the drive was completed – “I was getting used to the cold air,” Elliott said later – the Cougars (7-2) never figured out a way to stop him.
“We had to get back to the basic fundamentals (after the Simon Kenton game),” Warner said. “We know we have a good football team when we do things right.”
For most of the night, the Raiders played like it, while Conner – who fell to 2-2 in Class 6A – struggled in the red zone.
In the first quarter, after Nathan Freese intercepted Hempel to give the Cougars the ball on their 47-yard line, West led his team to the Ryle 4-yard line. On first down, senior Brady Fogle dropped what would have been a touchdown pass from West. Two failed running plays later, senior kicker Aaron Stephen’s 25-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright.
Six plays after that, Hempel found tight end Tate Nichols for a 38-yard touchdown pass and the 14-0 Ryle lead.
“We had opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of them,” Conner coach David Trosper said. “We had two chances in the end zone, and we didn’t catch it.”
The second one occurred on the first play of the fourth quarter with the Cougars losing 21-7 and with the ball on the Ryle 7-yard line. Again, West threw a nice pass, and again, one of his receivers couldn’t corral the ball. This time, the ball went through the hands of senior Michael Gill, and it landed in the embrace of Ryle defensive back Logan Hollman for the touchback.
The Cougars, though, weren’t finished, and after the Raiders built a 31-7 lead late in the game, Conner began its comeback.
Taking possession with 3:05 to play, West led the Cougars on an eight-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass from West to Ryan Delph. Conner then recovered the onside kick, and on the very next play, West found Gill for the 53-yard score to cut the lead to 31-22.
“I’m glad West didn’t get started earlier,” Warner said. “We got up 31-7, but they’re taught not to give up.”
And the Cougars didn’t. But on the next onside kick, sophomore running back Jake Nutter cradled the ball to seal the game.
“We fought until the end,” Trosper said. “Our kids will play from top to bottom and start to finish. We just ran out of time.”CONNER 0-0-7-15–22 at RYLE 14-0-7-10–31 R–Elliott 10 run (Pederson kick) R–Nichols 38 pass from Hempel (Pederson kick) C–West 6 run (Stephens kick) R–Elliott 22 run (Pederson kick) R–Pederson 37 field goal R–Elliott 5 run (Pederson kick) C–Delph 20 yard pass from West (Stephens kick) C–Gill 53 pass from West (Boden from West) RECORDS: Ryle 6-2, Conner 7-2.
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