Published: October 12, 2008 10:24 pm            

MARK MAYNARD; Shootout takes its place in history

If you missed Saturday night’s Woodford County-Ashland high school football shootout in Putnam Stadium, you missed a lot.

Ashland won the wild affair 54-44, rallying for 20 points in the last six minutes after falling seemingly hopelessly behind

44-34.

Showing great resiliency, the Tomcats never quit to pull out the improbable Class 5A district victory that, at the very least, guarantees Ashland won’t have to face Fort Thomas Highlands in the opening round of the playoffs.

It was an offensive smorgasbord worth 98 points, 930 total yards and nearly three hours of action. The video-like game was full of big plays, both passing and running. It was truly a tale of two offenses – Woodford County through the air and Ashland on the ground. It was as if somebody had the X button pressed down firmly at all times.

The 98 points is the largest combined total in the 71-year-old history of Putnam Stadium. The previous high-point combined total was 97 points when Ashland defeated Perry County Central 63-34 in the playoffs in 2003, Leon Hart’s first season as the Tomcats’ head coach.

Only two other times in Ashland history has two teams combined for that many points in a game. The Tomcats crushed Pikeville 70-28 in the 1997 Pike County Bowl. That ‘97 team had two other high-scoring games – a 69-22 win over Magoffin County and a 42-41 loss to Ironton. The ‘27 Tomcats walloped Louisa 98-0, single-handedly matching the total from Saturday.

The Tomcats of the 1930s laid some whippings on foes all by themselves. Ashland defeated Paintsville 92-0 in 1935 en route to a 9-0 season when it outscored opponents 367-2 and the Tomcats crushed Louisville Manual 91-0 in 1930 on the way to a 10-0 season that saw them outscore foes 591-6.

In the first night game at Putnam Stadium in 1944, Ashland drilled Huntington Vinson 80-6. The Tomcats defeated Wayne, W.Va., 87-6 in 1949. Another high-scoring game in Ashland history was a 42-40 victory over Barboursville in 1979 that would be the only win that season.

But not even those wild games matched the scoring total from the shootout with Woodford County.

Some of the highlights:

‰ Ashland running back Rashard Carter, all 150 pounds of him, carrying it 33 times for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

‰ Woodford County quarterback Steven Duckworth completing 26 of 35 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 82 yards and a TD.

‰ Ashland defensive ends T.R. Hush and Stephen Burns combining to intercept three passes in the last three minutes.

‰ Ashland freshman quarterback Sam Hunter having his own personal coming out party by throwing for 145 yards and a TD.

‰ Ashland scoring 40 points in the second half.

‰ Ashland and Woodford County combining to run 131 plays from scrimmage.

Saturday’s game was memorable for a lot of the right reasons, too.

After the game, players and coaches from both teams went through the obligatory handshake line and paid respects to each other. It was a great show of sportsmanship.

I’m not a big fan of the handshake line simply because of football’s intense nature. Too many times the wrong thing is said and something ugly happens, especially in a game with a lot of twists and turns like the one on Saturday. But Woodford County’s players and coaches showed class immediately after what had to be a frustrating district loss.

Woodford County coach Chris Tracy was complimentary of Ashland’s team and especially Putnam Stadium, which he called “a great place to play.”

Ashland’s players stuck around on the field after the game, taking photos in front of the scoreboard and generally celebrating a victory they’ll remember the rest of their lives.

It’s always nice to be part of a special game and not every team can be state champion. But games like Saturdays will be talked about for years to come even if these Tomcats don’t make a long playoff run.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

        

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