Ludlow hit a rough spot early in the season.
They lost three straight, including a 16-14 loss to Newport, but the Panthers found
their groove at the right time.
Since that loss, Ludlow has won seven of their eight games and is one of just eight
teams remaining in the Class A playoffs after a 28-6 victory over the visiting Wildcats at James Rigney Stadium on Friday night.
“This is pretty sweet. We told our guys all year. You guys are playing for 48 more
minutes. If you win, you get another 48 minutes and that’s what we were trying to do
this week.” Ludlow head coach, John McMillen said. “We used the old quote from
Apollo in Rocky 3 when he said, “There is no tomorrow.” because this time of year
there is no tomorrow.”
The Panthers won the rematch in convincing fashion.
After Newport opened up with the first score of the game on Rodzion Thompson’s 49-yard run, it was all Panthers from there. Thompson finished with 53 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards. The dry spell then began.
Penalties hit Newport hard. The Wildcats had 16 for 125 yards.
And then there’s the Panther defense.
In their last seven wins, they’ve held their opponents to 14 points or less and they
continued to show their dominance.
“There’s a reason Ludlow was a one seed,” Newport coach Ryan Hahn said. “They’re very physical. Defensively, they’ve got tenacity. It’s impressive to watch. They’ve got themselves a team this year. They figured it out and that’s what good teams do when they make it to the playoffs.”
Ludlow caused three Newport turnovers, including an interception by Dameyn
Anness. The defensive front caused problems for the Wildcats offensive line all night.
Newport quarterback Kyle Lee had negative 45 rushing yards and the team combined for negative one.
Anness was the star of the night for Ludlow. Along with his interception, the Class A, District 4 Player of the Year had 27 carries for 102 rushing yards and three
rushing touchdowns.
Aiden SmithBaxley also had his share with 49 rushing yards and a score that put the
game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Ludlow had a total of 226 yards, 185 of those coming on the ground to Newport’s 126
yards.
“We just kept plugging away. It’s kind of like a 15 round boxing match. Boxing
matches don’t go 15 rounds very often and that’s what we tried to turn it into. That’s
how we like to play on offense and defense.” McMillen said.
Newport ends the season with an 8-4 record.
“For us, this year and last year, half of our battle is more than just football. We have
the stadium and trying to get so many more things going that we had to worry
about,” Hahn said. “I’m very proud and impressed with the kids that we have. The
kids that came out here today, knowing that with our limited numbers that we had
to do something crazy. They gave it their all and that’s all any coach could ask for.”
The Panthers move to 8-4 with another program changing win.
“I’m awfully proud of our players, coaches, our community, leadership, principal
and superintendent. They’ve been very supportive of our team and this program.
The community has really gotten behind these guys and I can’t thank them enough.”
McMillen said.
Ludlow will move on to a region championship date with Kentucky Country Day.
PANTHERS 28, WILDCATS 6
LUDLOW — 6-8-0-14 — 28
NEWPORT — 6-0-0-0 — 6
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(N) Thompson 49-yard run (8:51) Lee pass failed
(L) Anness 1-yard run (3:06) Huff kick failed
2nd Quarter
(L) Anness 6-yard run (5:47) Anness run
4th Quarter
(L) SmithBaxley 9-yard run (8:07) Anness run
(L) Anness 19-yard run (5:25) kick failed
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Ludlow 41 (Mays 8-12), Newport 127 (Lee 12-21)
Rushing Yards: Ludlow 185 (Anness 27-102, SmithBaxley 11-49, Conley 1-12, Ralston
3-11, Brandenburg 1-7, Powell 1-4, Mays 3-0), Newport -1 (Thompson 10-53, Kendall
Buck-Barber 1-(minus)9, Lee 10-(minus)45)
Receiving: Ludlow (Powell 4-23, Anness 4-18), Newport (Kendall Buck-Barber 3-65,
Lowe 2-35, Thompson 5-22, Sharp 1-4, Farrell 1-1)
Turnovers: Ludlow 3, Newport 3
Penalties: Ludlow 2-20, Newport 16-125
Records: Ludlow 8-4, Newport 8-4