Ben Brooks
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Pope John Paul II High School football team hoped to build some momentum entering the postseason, but penalties and miscues doomed the Knights, as they suffered a 36-14 loss to South Warren (Ky.) at Spartan Field.
“It’s frustrating,” Pope John Paul II head coach Justin Geisinger said. “That’s a good football team we played, and they’re undefeated for a reason. We knew that had a lot of team speed, and it was something we would have to deal with. They have a lot of good athletes on both sides of the ball, especially in the secondary.”
South Warren (10-0) began the game by reeling off 22 unanswered points. The Spartans scored first on a 5-yard run from Kayron Namvong.
Several drives later, quarterback Ryder Litten connected with Zach Haynes for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Late in the second quarter, Litten ripped off a 31-yard run.
The Knights (2-8) found an answer on the ensuing drive as senior running back Quar’Derius Hunter scored on a 7-yard run, cutting the Spartans’ lead to 22-7 at halftime.
Litten threw two touchdown passes on consecutive Spartan drives in the third quarter, first connecting with Namvong on a 35-yard screen and later on a 46-yard strike to wide receiver C.J. Hayes.
“Up front, we really struggled to move the ball early in the game, and when you get in a position where you have to throw the ball nine out of 10 times in the second half to get back in the football game, it’s tough against a really talented defense,” Geisinger said. “We needed to stay in that game and jump on them early, but unfortunately, we didn’t do that.”
Trailing 36-7 late in the third period, the Knights’ offense completely turned to the passing game. Junior quarterback Ben Brooks, who finished with 201 passing yards, found classmate Pace Dempsey on a 67-yard touchdown pass.
Gesinger expects his squad to regroup and shift its focus to preparing for their opening-round playoff game, which will be at McCallie on Friday.
“We’ll go back and look at it,” Geisinger said. “It’s playoff time now, and everyone plays where we’re at. We’ll watch this tape and try to learn from it and get ready to try to play at our best next week.”
table.tableizer-table {
border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12px;
}
.tableizer-table td {
padding: 4px;
margin: 3px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
}
.tableizer-table th {
background-color: #104E8B;
color: #FFF;
font-weight: bold;
}
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pope John Paul II | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 14 |
| South Warren | 7 | 15 | 14 | 0 | — | 36 |
SW – Kayron Namvong 5 yard run. Alex Cohron kick. SW – Zach Haynes 28 yard pass from Ryder Litten. Bryan Cummings run. SW – Litten 31 yard run. Cohron kick. PJP – Quar’Derius Hunter 7 yard run. Jackson Morris kick. SW – Namvong 35 yard pass from Litten. Cohron kick. SW – C.J. Hayes 46 yard pass from Litten. Cohron kick.
table.tableizer-table {
border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12px;
}
.tableizer-table td {
padding: 4px;
margin: 3px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
}
.tableizer-table th {
background-color: #104E8B;
color: #FFF;
font-weight: bold;
}
| JPII | SW | |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 3 | 16 |
| Rushes-Yards | 21-21 | 39-257 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 16-35-0 | 8-17-1 |
| Passing Yards | 201 | 112 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-Avg. | 5-31 | 2-49 |
| Penalties-Yards | 11-80 | 6-65 |
RUSHING
Pope John Paul – Quar’Derius Hunter 6-17, Jalon Cambridge 2-15, Jamaal Thompson 1-0, Ben Brooks 12-(-11)
South Warren – Kayron Namvong 19-121, Ryder Litten 13-98, Bryan Cummings 2-18, Andrew Houchens 3-12, Franklin Williams 1-10, DeVante Colton 1-(-2)
PASSING
Pope John Paul – Ben Brooks 16-35-0-201
South Warren – Ryder Litten 8-17-1-112
RECEIVING
Pope John Paul – Pace Dempsey 5-106, C.J. Laws 5-59, Jalon Cambridge 3-24, Jamaal Thompson 1-7, Andrew Cassman 2-5
South Warren – Kayron Namvong 1-35, C.J. Hayes 2-57, Zach Haynes 2-33, Bryan Cummings 1-15, Chase Japp 1-5 DeVante Colton 1-2