A Boyles boost

By ADAM VANKIRK - The Independent

RACELAND September 27, 2008 11:01 pm

— The fans at Ram Stadium weren’t disappointed with the display as Raceland held off Lexington Christian 37-35 in a Class A district game that provided plenty of fireworks on Friday night.
The teams combined for 36 first downs, Raceland putting together nearly 300 yards for 34 points before halftime and LCA gearing up its spread offense to the tune of over 300 yards through the air.
There were big plays, big third- and fourth-down plays and big individuals performances.
Offense didn’t lack.
But in the end, it was perhaps the unlikely candidate — the Rams’ defense — that secured the win.
With LCA driving deep on Raceland’s side of the field with under a minute to play and down two, senior Tyler Boyles picked off a pass at the goal line that kept Raceland unbeaten on the season and put the Rams in firm command of the district.
Boyles — roaming from his safety position — made the interception as LCA quarterback Lucas Witt was trying to hit running back Dominique Hayden down the middle of the field.
Boyles gave credit for the play to his coaches.
Deciding to make a final stand on defense, the Rams had just came out of a timeout, facing the second-and-20 play from the 25-yard line.
“We talked about it. We knew what he was going to do,” Boyles said of Hayden’s pattern. “It’s big. The past two years we’ve come up short against them (in the regular season) and we had to go on the road for the second round of the playoffs.”
The win gives Raceland sole possession of first place in the district. Should a LCA rematch come about later in the postseason — as it has each of the past two seasons — then the game would be played at Raceland after Friday’s outcome.
With just under a minute left in the game, defensive coordinator T.J. Maynard said the Rams were willing to use their remaining two timeouts — despite that LCA had driven much of the length of the field to get deep into Raceland territory — because it was time to make a play.
As it turns out, they only needed one. One timeout — and one play.
“We didn’t feel like we had enough time to go the length of the field if we did get the ball back,” Maynard said. “It was time to step up the defense and make a play. It was either that or they were going to win the game.”
After the interception, Boyles went back under center for a kneel down and a Bret Denton dive that ended the game.
While Boyles provided the dramatics of the game’s end, he also led Raceland’s offense. He was 12 of 16 for 185 yards, throwing a touchdown and putting the game’s first points on the board on a 2-yard run.
Boyles’ consistency making plays in the passing game also allowing Raceland to work the ball on the ground in the first half. Running mostly trap plays up the middle, Denton and John Scott Carver had 185 yards combined before halftime.
Carver scored three times on runs in the first half as the Rams opened up a 34-21 lead.
The Rams’ ability to establish the run in the first half was one of keys in the game, according to LCA coach Paul Raines.
“We didn’t really have any intensity on defense in the first half,” Raines said. “We finally started playing like we wanted to win in the second half, but in the first half we allowed Raceland to control the ball and the momentum.”
One of the key plays of the first half came just before halftime. Down a score, LCA made a push — going heavy to the passing game — to try even things up with just over a minute left in the second quarter. It backfired, though, as Witt was picked off on LCA’s 38-yard line by Bobby McKee.
The Rams converted the turnover into a 31-yard scoring strike from Boyles to Todd Selvage with just 38 seconds remaining before halftime.
After some adjustments in the locker rooms, the second half slowed down a bit. Raceland went to a more conservative style while LCA started to pick up more steam in the running game.
LCA’s star running back, Hayden, was held to just 10 yards in the first half. He ended up with 45 yards on 12 carries.
Ben Hartley scored on a 21-yard reverse in the third quarter for LCA. Witt found Brandon Burdette, who had six catches for 90 yards, on a 9-yard comeback for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave LCA the lead at 35-34.
Tate Preston kicked a 20-yard field goal to put Raceland back ahead with 3:40 remaining in the game, but it was Boyles who made a nice read earlier in the drive that made it possible.
Seeing that no one was covering McKee at one of the receiver positions before the snap, Boyles went directly to him on a quick-hitter. McKee made nice move to shed a defender and took it 53 yards deep on LCA’s side of the field, setting up the winning field goal.
The Rams (4-0 and 2-0) still have district games against Nicholas County and at Paris, but look to be in strong shape for the top seed going into the playoffs — where that LCA rematch is a strong possibility.
“It was a big game, but the bottom line is that second game is the one that matters,” Raines said. “That’s the game where someone will pack their bags.”
ADAM VANKIRK can be reached at avankirk@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.

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