Published: October 11, 2008 01:56 am            

Berea bounces back

BEREA — Despite improving to 5-1 on the season, and topping Clinton County, 42-18, Berea Community coach Kenan McWhorter still wasn’t satisfied.

“We played with very poor effort. We weren’t focused,” McWhorter said. “They were ready to play and we weren’t. Their coaches need to be commended — they came out here with a great gameplan and they played an excellent game.”

However, the Pirates rebounded from a 52-12 beating last week at Estill County by taking the lead late in the first quarter and never relinquishing it. Senior running back Rashad Slaughter was able to finish off a long Pirate drive with a four-yard run into the end zone.

One of the first indications that Friday’s matchup with the Bulldogs was going to be an interesting one happened less than 10 seconds into the second quarter. On a play from the Clinton County 1-yard line, Bulldog quarterback Brent Durham was scrambling through the end zone when he was upended by junior linebacker Auto Becker. In the chaos that ensued, Becker stripped the ball and recovered it for a touchdown.

“That proved you practice how you play,” McWhorter said. “Auto, when we practice, every time we hand the ball off, he strips it. He carried that over into the game.”

Despite a series where Durham nearly threw two interceptions on consecutive plays to junior defensive backs Joseph Parker and Jordan Clontz and right after a play where he was sacked for a loss of nine yards, the Bulldogs were able to put their first points of the game on the board. Durham connected with junior wide receiver Brandon Durham for a 24-yard touchdown reception with 7:57 left in the first half. The ensuing two-point conversion was tipped at the line of scrimmage and incomplete.

After recovering an on-side kick, Clinton County turned the ball over when the quarterback fumbled the snap and senior wide receiver Johnny Demmons accidentally kick-ed the ball into the pile. Senior defensive lineman Chris Logan was able to come up with the fumble recovery. Logan, who had nine tackles, a sack and two fumble recoveries, was crowned Home-coming King during the halftime festivities.

“I’ve watched a lot of football and this is probably one of the craziest games tonight than any football game I’ve ever seen,” McWhorter said. “Guys getting interceptions and then somebody stealing the ball from them. It was just one of those games where they’d kick an on-side kick, we’d recover, they’d hit us and it would go up in the air. Five people bobble it around. It’s things you never hear of.”

During the next Berea possession, Slaughter was able to put it in the end zone on a five-yard run on fourth down. Junior quarterback Bo Brewer rushed for the two-point conversion to extend Berea’s lead to 21-6.

However, the lead was cut down with 4.2 seconds left in the half, when Demmons cut loose for a 15-yard touchdown reception.

In the third quarter, Logan got his second fumble recovery on the Bulldog 31-yard line. Just more than a minute later, senior wide receiver Steve Sandefur got a 16-yard reception for a touchdown on another play on fourth down. Clinton County wasn’t done yet, getting their final points of the game on a five-yard run by Brent Durham.

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Parker nearly got a pick and then was able to finally pull off the interception on the 11-yard line on a ball intended for junior wide receiver Dylan Vincent. Berea was able to take the main offensive threat out of the game with just more than seven minutes left, when Brent Durham was injured on a sack. He sustained a wrist injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game, and probably for games to come.

“Their quarterback was all they had. He was tired,” McWhorter said. “They were riding his coattail a whole lot. We had a couple more offensive weapons than they did, which is probably what made the defense, as well as our overall team speed.”

Berea was able to put a little more cushion between them and the Bulldogs on its next possession. During a series where Parker had a 26-yard rush, Slaughter put the ball in the end zone again on an 11-yard rushing touchdown with 1:50 left in the game. Then, with 1:16 left, senior defensive back Logan Hester intercepted senior backup quarterback Drake Dow and ran the ball 52 yards for a touchdown.

“I was extremely proud of Logan,” McWhorter said. “He is a great leader, on and off the field.”

Slaughter was the leading rusher, with 11 carries for 125 yards and three touchdowns. Brewer was nine-of-13 for 100 yards passing and Sandefur was the leading receiver, with 55 yards. Defensively, Becker had six tackles and a fumble recovery and Slaughter recorded 10 tackles as a linebacker. McWhorter said his main focus since he became the coach of the Pirates was to spread the ball around.

Berea will face off against Kentucky Country Day at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Louisville.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.