Published: September 27, 2008 01:09 am      

Carter raids end zone

MOUNT STERLING — Ashland junior Rashard Carter was among the state’s leading rushers before Friday’s game at Montgomery County, but he had not scored a touchdown.

That resoundingly changed by game’s end. Carter ran 25 times for 177 yards and three scores, and the Tomcats took out the Indians in a 48-27 district win at Cunningham Field.

“I was aware of the (zero) touchdowns,” Carter said. “… I wouldn’t have done anything without my line in any of the games, so I just give a big shout-out to our offensive line.”

The line helped the Tomcats to 372 rushing yards. Junior Josh Alber ran for 105 and two touchdowns, and junior Dominic DeMartino added another 70.

Ashland’s defensive scoring per game average rose slightly, from 11.7 points a game to 14.8, but the Tomcats sacked Montgomery County quarterback Seth Dotson four times, recovered two fumbles and took an interception back 55 yards for a score.

“We came out defensively and took care of business,” said senior defensive lineman Ryan Bonner, who had two of the sacks. “We shut them down for the most part.”

Ashland coach Leon Hart said his team “didn’t play inspired” in the first half. He said that was partly due to an emotional 18-6 loss at Ironton two weeks ago and last week’s 36-10 victory over Russell.

“We’re coming off back-to-back emotional ballgames,” Hart said. “I think it’s hard to do continue to do that over and over and over again. I thought we played better in the second half.”

The Indians are a young team, so maybe it was fitting for two sophomores to hook up for the first score. Justin Covey corralled a deflected pass from Dotson and took off for a 37-yard school with 7:51 to go in the first quarter.

Ashland ran for 153 yards in the first half, but penalties frequently negated the gains — the Tomcats were whistled five times for 40 yards in the first half and racked up 70 yards for the night.

Carter and Alber, however, overcame Ashland’s miscues. After an offside penalty, Alber went up the middle for a 20-yard touchdown with 10:22 left in the half, and Carter scored from eight yards out with 20.3 seconds before intermission.

In between, Montgomery County turned in the game’s longest run. Senior Ryan Hackworth ran practically untouched for an 86-yard score with 4:22 to go. The result: a 13-13 tie.

Hackworth led the Indians (1-4 overall, 0-2 in Class 5A, District 6) with 102 yards rushing.

Another Ashland mistake, a fumble of the second half kickoff, set up Montgomery County for its last lead at 19-13 when Dotson hit senior Tyler Cundiff with a 14-yard pass five plays later.

Ashland (3-2, 1-0) effectively put the game out of reach by the end of the third quarter. Carter scored from four yards out, and Demartino scored from 38.

Alber’s 20-yard scoring run made it 41-19 midway through the fourth quarter. Dotson and senior Tyler Murphy later connected for a 27-yard touchdown pass, and Ashland’s Daniel McDavid ended the scoring when he took Dotson’s pass 55 yards with 5:50 left in the game.

“They had two backs that ran really hard, and their offensive line just kept coming,” Montgomery County coach Dan Gooch said. “Their defensive line kept coming. We couldn’t block their defensive line.”