The Holmes Bulldogs senior duo of running back Curtez Hill and fullback Emauryon Arnold wore down the Scott Eagles for a huge 44-6 Class 4A, District 6 victory on Friday night at Tom Ellis Field.
Even though the Eagles eliminated the Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs last season, Bulldogs head coach Ben Nevels said there was no extra motivation headed into the final district matchup of the year. Holmes (6-3 overall) and Scott (4-5) finished tied with Rowan County at 2-2 overall meaning the Ratings Percentage Index will decide playoff positioning with one week left in the regular season.
That currently favors Holmes for a playoff spot with a .52339 RPI. Rowan County would take the third seed at .48531 and Scott the fourth seed at .43697.
“All that was on our minds was we get to play at least one more home game with our seniors and send them out in style,” Nevels said. “It’s Scott versus Holmes. If you need more motivation than just hearing that, then you might not want to play this game.”
Holmes outgained Scott, 255-233 overall. The Eagles outrushed the Bulldogs, 200-191.
But Holmes passed the ball better completing two of their three passes for 64 yards. Holmes had 34 carries overall averaging between five and six yards per carry and Scott had 31 carries averaging between six and seven yards per touch.
The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and finished it with a 10-yard score from Hill. His successful two-point conversion run gave Holmes an 8-0 lead and the Bulldogs did not look back.
Scott’s Bennie Hill countered with a score of his own from one yard out. The Eagles once again relied upon their senior running back all night giving him the ball eight times on its opening drive. He found his way across the goal line after being stopped short on first and second down by a host of Bulldogs defenders. He slipped on the two-point try leaving the Bulldogs up 8-6.
Bennie Hill finished with 133 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown. But the Eagles completed just 3 of 12 passes for 33 yards once again making things harder for him.
After an errant snap sailed over quarterback Miguel Garcia’s head in the shotgun look and the ball skipped back to his own two-yard line, the Bulldogs seemed poised to go the conservative route. However, Garcia found junior running back Kayden Crowell open for a 47-yard reception when it needed 32 for a first down.
“Miguel is playing at a very high confidence level right now,” Nevels said. “Anytime you give a player like him confidence, it’s going to be very beneficial for us.”
With the quarterback keeping the drive alive, he extended Holmes’ lead to begin the second quarter with a 33-yard scramble straight through the Eagles defense and into the end zone for a 14-6 advantage.
That’s when Curtez Hill and Arnold started to chip away. After nine consecutive run plays, Garcia found a wide open senior running back Dawoo Holtman for a 26-yard touchdown.
With less than two minutes until halftime, Scott looked to cut into the three-score deficit. Scott senior quarterback Dasani Lane found senior Nolan Hunter over the middle for 14 yards to midfield and a first down as the clock ticked toward one minute. Lane looked Hunter’s way again down the left sideline but instead found Bulldogs senior cornerback Adam Boone, who dropped a would-be interception. But Crowell picked off Lane’s next pass and raced the other way untouched for a 60-yard interception return to lengthen Holmes lead to 28-6.
The Eagles were able to get a turnover to begin the second half forcing an Arnold fumble to start from the Holmes 36. But Scott’s offense only gained 15 yards. The drive fizzled out at the 21 when Lane’s pass fell onto the turf in the end zone on fourth down.
The Holmes ensuing drive did not take long with 79 yards to go. After a four-yard carry from Curtez Hill, Arnold’s second down carry for 60 placed the Bulldogs within striking distance once again. Several plays later, Arnold found the end zone from three yards out for a 36-6 lead. Curtez Hill’s 80-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter enabled a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Nevels said Arnold and Curtez Hill are special football players adding the offensive line did an excellent job blocking and the defense rose to the occasion multiple times.
“We started off districts a little slow and I was very honest with the guys,” Nevels said. “I said, ‘Look, our goal is to always host a home playoff game and we feel like we still have at least a shot of doing that. But in order to do that, we’ve got to win out and that’s what we did.”
But the Eagles turned the ball over three times to one for the Bulldogs throwing two interceptions. Both teams lost one fumble. Holmes also converted on five of six third-down tries for 83 percent and held Scott to three for eight for 38 percent.
Holmes travels to Erlanger for its final regular season game against 6-3 Lloyd Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Scott looks to break its two-game skid at home next Friday against Dixie Heights (2-7) at the same time.