Fueled for 53 weeks by last year’s second-round playoff loss to Trinity, the Male High School football team cleared a huge hurdle toward a potential state championship Friday night.
Zackery Smith scored two touchdowns, Devin Gentry rushed for 110 yards and a score and the host Bulldogs survived a late scare to beat the Shamrocks 20-19 in a Class 6-A, Region Two final that befitted a matchup of the state’s top two squads in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings.
Trinity beat Male 38-31 in the playoffs last year on the way to winning the state title. Male linebacker Jack Kuerzi said he and his teammates never got over it.
“It hurt in the pit of our stomachs,” said Kuerzi, who had four tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. “It fueled us every single day in the summer down on that practice field. It feels great now.”
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No. 2 Male (13-0) will travel to Central Hardin (10-3) on Friday in a Class 6-A state semifinal. The Bulldogs are chasing their first state title since 2000.
“This was a huge win for me personally and the program,” Male coach Chris Wolfe said. “We’ll figure something out (for Central Hardin) on Monday. After this hurdle, these guys will be focused again next week.”
Down 20-13 in the fourth quarter, No. 1 Trinity (11-2) drove 68 yards on 12 plays to set up last-minute drama. Jacob Woosley hit Rodjay Burns for a 5-yard touchdown pass to pull the Shamrocks within 20-19 with 1:08 remaining.
A personal-foul penalty on Male moved the extra-point attempt from the 3-yard line to the 1 ½-yard line, and Trinity initially lined up to go for a two-point conversion and the lead. But coach Bob Beatty called a timeout and decided to kick it.
“The personnel group we were in, we felt like we had a chance to get to the edge,” Beatty said. “That’s what the kids were calling for. From what we saw, we didn’t think so.”
Trinity’s Jay Nunamaker missed the extra-point kick, leaving Male with a 20-19 lead. After the Shamrocks’ onside-kick try didn’t travel 10 yards, the Bulldogs got the ball and ran out the clock.
“It doesn’t come down to that play necessarily,” Beatty said of the missed kick. “Everybody thinks it was because of that play, but we had numerous chances to win the game.”
Trinity built 6-0 and 13-6 leads in the first half before Male got a huge play from Smith, one of the state’s top punt and kickoff returners.
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Smith fielded a punt at the Trinity 45-yard line, made a cut and raced to the end zone to tie the score at 13 with 3:34 left in the second quarter.
“Coach told us we needed a big play and to return that one,” Smith said. “I told him I had it and just went to the house. As soon as I caught it, I knew I was gone. I had one block on the outside and saw the seam and hit it. It was over from there.”
Male’s Stephon Mayes intercepted a Woosley pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead score. On third-and-9, Hayden Shelton found Smith in the back-left corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass and a 20-13 lead with 10:20 left.
“I honestly don’t know if I got any feet down,” Smith said. “All I know was it was a touchdown. (Shelton) couldn’t have put the ball in a better place.”
After the teams traded punts, Trinity got the ball back with 5:53 left for its final drive. Woosley’s 25-yard pass to Burns on fourth down kept the drive alive, and six plays later the two hooked up again for a touchdown.
Then came the missed kick and a bit of redemption for the Bulldogs.
“Last year the randomness went against us,” Wolfe said. “This year it goes against them. That’s the great thing about sports.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
TRINITY 6 7 0 6 – 19
MALE 6 7 0 7 – 20
T – Jailen Reed 26 pass from Jacob Woosley (kick failed); M – Devin Gentry 54 run (kick blocked); T – Reed 1 run (Jay Nunamaker kick); M – Zackery Smith 45 punt return (Eric Sorensson kick); M – Smith 14 pass from Hayden Shelton (Sorensson kick); T – Rodjay Burns 5 pass from Woosley (kick failed).
T M
First downs 12 14
Total yards 55-289 54-295
Rushes-yards 30-78 30-132
Comp-Att-Int 16-25-2 13-24-1
Passing yards 211 163
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Punts-avg 4-42 3-31.3
Penalties-yards 6-40 3-15