LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Conner Cougars got the game they expected when they traveled to face off against Dupont Manual in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday at Moore High School. It was a shootout between two high-powered offenses that wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars ended up falling behind, and ultimately falling short, 50-39.
“They’re a good offense,” Conner head coach James Trosper said. “So we knew we were going to have to score to stay with them. We battled and gave ourselves some opportunities, but we just didn’t see them through.”
Conner looked sharp on its first possession, driving 52 yards down to the Manual 11-yard line in just under two minutes of play. Facing fourth and one, senior quarterback Nick West optioned right and tried to make the pitch as he was hit, but it was intercepted by Manual’s Andrew Ledford, who took it the length of the field for a touchdown and 7-0 Crimson lead.
It was just the start of a rough first half for the Cougars, and West, who went on to throw two more first-half picks.
“We had some adversity early on, turned the ball over, and in the playoffs that’s what gets you,” Trosper said. “But we were able to come back, and respond.”
Both team, and quarterback, settled down and put up a valiant effort. West completed 28 of 51 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns, and added 93 yards and two scores on the ground, directing the Cougar offense. Seniors Anthony Boden and Ryan Delph pulled in six catches each, for 71 and 52 yards respectively. West’s favorite target, however, was junior Taylor Miller, who was regularly a step behind the defense on deep routes throughout the game. Miller finished with six catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite Conner’s offensive firepower, the defense struggled to stop Manual’s dominant rushing attack, repeatedly getting driven by the offensive line in the trenches. The Crimsons poured on the points, taking a 26-7 lead at one point in the second quarter.
But every time it seemed as though the game was getting out of reach, the Cougars would claw there way back. After West settled in, he led the offense on an 80-yard drive, capped by a 45-yard strike to Miller, to cut the Crimsons lead to 12, 26-14 with just over three minutes before halftime.
Conner recovered the ensuing kick after it was bobbled by a Manual player, drove 55 yards, and tacked on another touchdown with 45 seconds left, when West found Boden on a 5-yard dump-off over the middle to make it 26-20 at halftime.
After a Manual field goal gave the team a nine-point lead early in the second half, the Cougars again answered, this time on West’s 5-yard touchdown run with 3:58 left in the third to pull Conner within two, 29-27.
“That’s just Cougar pride,” Trosper beamed. “We fight all the time. We never quit; we never give up. This senior class has seen it all: A 1-9 season, 7-5, 8-3 now, and they just continue to play hard and compete every snap.”
They would get no closer, however. Though the Cougars managed to take better care of the ball in the second half, they still had trouble stopping the Crimsons, who rolled to 285 yards on the ground, and used back-to-back scores to jump out to a 43-27 lead early in the fourth.
Conner kept chipping away, with West seemingly willing them to a comeback. He found Miller again with 8:41 in the fourth for a 53-yard touchdown that pulled the Cougars within 10, 43-33. Conner then recovered its second onside kick, and followed it with a 33-yard drive, capped by West’s 2-yard touchdown run with 8:12 remaining in the game, to make it 43-39.
But the magic ran out. Conner narrowly missed recovering its third onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and the defense couldn’t stop the Manual rushing attack as the Crimsons ate up five minutes driving 68 yards for the final score to put the game away, 50-39, with just over three minutes remaining.
It was a disappointing end to a tremendously successful season for the Cougars. But Trosper extolled the play of his team, especially the seniors, in the hard-fought defeat.
“The entire senior class played their hearts out,” he said. “They put everything on the line, left everything on the field, and that’s all you can ask for. It was just a total team effort. They played hard and got after it. We just ran out of time.”CONNER 0-20-7-12--39
at MANUAL 14-12-10-14--50
DM-Ledford 80 interception return (Dunn kick)
DM-Minor 17 pass from Woodmore (Dunn kick)
C-Miller 31 pass from West (Nicol kick)
DM-Gardner 3 run (pass failed)
DM-Gardner 2 run (pass failed)
C-Miller 45 pass from West (Nicol kick)
C-Boden 5 pass from West (kick failed)
DM-Dunn FG 22
C-West 5 run (Nicol kick)
DM-Gardner 4 run (Dunn kick)
DM-Woodmore 1 run (Dunn kick)
C-Miller Taylor 53 pass from West (pass failed)
C-West 2 run (kick failed)
DM-Helm 25 run (Dunn kick)
RECORDS: DuPont Manual 5-6, Conner 8-3.
