Yellowjackets generally pose more of a nuisance than a danger.
That would describe the Woodford County Yellowjackets during Covington Catholic’s 48-27 win over them in a Class 5A first-round playoff game on Saturday.
After the first two minutes, CovCath led the entire game. But every time it looked like Woodford County would stop pestering the Colonels, the Yellowjackets would sting CovCath for a long run or make a critical special-teams play.
“Anything could happen in this game, and it did,” CovCath senior quarterback Brayden Erpenbeck said. “When you thought things were going to go your way, it changed, and the momentum changed a lot.”
CovCath also ended Woodford County’s season last season at Wooten Field with a 42-13 win in the opening round of the Class 5A postseason.
The Colonels were in complete control the first quarter-plus. Sophomore Gabe Gray took the opening kickoff back to the Woodford County 18, and Erpenbeck completed two passes and then scored on a one-yard run just 3:06 into the game.
Two drives later, CovCath went 72 yards on nine plays, including four completions in five attempts by Erpenbeck. His final pass was tipped by senior Alex Connelly and hauled in by senior Joey Keene for a touchdown.
The Yellowjackets got their first first down early in the second quarter, but eventually punted for a touchback. On CovCath’s first play of the ensuing possession, Gray went 80 yards down the sideline to make it 20-0.
“I wish we could take away the whole first quarter,” Woodford County coach Chris Tracy said. “We gave away three scores pretty easily – you take those away and we’re tied.”
But then Woodford County started breaking off large gains on the ground as well. A 42-yard run by sophomore Brandon Campbell on the Yellowjackets’ next possession cut the Colonels’ lead to 14, then after CovCath punted, a 40-yard gain by sophomore quarterback Matt Couch set up another Woodford County score with 2:49 left in the half.
CovCath drove 53 yards before halftime, capped off by a 23-yard TD pass by Erpenbeck to Connelly, and the Colonels led, 27-13 at halftime.
Despite the four touchdowns on offense, Erpenbeck was unhappy with his offense’s performance.
“We came out pretty flat in the first half,” Erpeneback said. “We had a bunch of drops, blown assignments, bad balls, you name it, it was all there.”
CovCath sophomore Michael Best was intercepted on a busted halfback option, giving Woodford County a short field. The Yellowjackets needed 10 plays, but they went 40 yards to again cut the Colonels’ lead to a touchdown, 27-20.
Erpenbeck took off for a 70-yard touchdown run to give CovCath a 34-20 lead, which the Colonels held until the end of the third quarter.
But CovCath had to punt on the first play of the final stanza, and junior Adam Shumate’s kick was blocked and recovered by senior Kristian Larsen for a touchdown.
CovCath’s emotions kept changing with each of the game’s twists and momentum swings.
“It kind of became a problem,” Erpenbeck said. “We’d score, be excited and go out and mess it up, and the next thing you know we’re only up by six points.”
So once again, the Yellowjackets were within seven points. But in the 58 seconds, CovCath would put the game out of reach.
Woodford County attempted an on-side kick, but it took a high bounce and was fielded cleanly by junior Cary Thaxton, who ran it back to the Yellowjackets 9. Erpenbeck connected with Connelly for a nine-yard touchdown pass on the first play.
When the Yellowjackets got for the ball back, Couch was intercepted by senior Neil Martin. Martin returned it 24 yards for a TD to make it 48-27.
“Our defense gave up some points, but it really came through at the end,” Erpenbeck said. “They gave us stops when we needed them, and scored, and special teams helped a lot, too.”
CovCath outgained Woodford County, 461-300, and the Colonels piled up 295 rushing yards. Gray finished with 10 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, and Erpenbeck had 105 ground yards and two TDs on 11 carries, despite losing 26 yards on a snap that sailed past him at the end of the first quarter.
Erpenbeck was 15-for-26 for 166 yards and three touchdowns, and did not throw an interception or lose the ball on a fumble.
“Taking care of the football is the No. 1 priority for a quarterback in any offensive system, and especially in ours,” CovCath coach Dave Wirth said. “(Erpenbeck) probably didn’t have the game that we wanted him to have, but we also go into every game with high expectations for him in terms of run/pass stuff. He took care of the football and managed the offense and kept his cool and made the plays with his feet when he had to, and that helped us win the football game.”
Senior wide receiver Michael Robinson, who missed the majority of the regular season after suffering internal injuries during a scrimmage, caught six passes for 63 yards to lead all CovCath receivers.
“We didn’t get enough pressure, and that’s key,” Tracy said. “I don’t think they killed us deep, it’s just a short dink-and-dunk. They did a good job.”
Couch and junior Ryan Garrahan, who split time under center, were 16 of 34 for 123 yards, no TDs and two picks. Couch was the Yellowjackets’ leading rushing with 72 yards.
For the second straight year, CovCath will travel to Johnson Central for a second-round postseason matchup on Friday. Johnson Central beat the Colonels, 49-14 last season to end their season.
Photos to follow…WOODFORD CO. 0-13-7-7—27 at COVCATH 13-14-7-14—48 CC-Erpenbeck 1 run (kick failed) CC-Keene 6 pass from Erpenbeck (Talkers kick) CC-Gray 80 run (Talkers kick) WC-Campbell 42 run (kick failed) WC-Larsen 3 run (Ratcliff kick) CC-Connelly 25 pass from Erpenbeck (Talkers kick) WC-Larsen 4 run (Ratcliff kick) CC-Erpenbeck 70 run (Talkers kick) WC-Larsen 10 blocked punt return (Ratcliff kick) CC-Connelly 9 pass from Erpenbeck (Talkers kick) CC-Martin 21 interception return (Talkers kick) RECORDS: CovCath 6-5, Woodford County 5-6.
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