In a physical Friday night matchup, the Newport Wildcats defeated the Ludlow Panthers 23-7 on the road to advance to the region finals in the Class 1A playoffs.
“I told the guys they’ve got to trust the system,” Wiggins said.
The Wildcats simmered a hot start by Ludlow’s Dameyn Anness, who had seven straight carries on the opening drive. Getting to Ludlow quarterback Miller Reed on back-to-back sacks, Newport’s defense gave the Wildcats early momentum.
“Defensively they played much better than they had in our previous meetings,” Ludlow head coach Woody McMillen said. “It created some situations that were really difficult for us.”
Newport’s offense, led by senior quarterback Kyle Lee who surpassed 2,000 passing yards Friday night, caught fire early as Lee connected with sophomore AJ Lowe for a 73-yard touchdown pass.
“I’ve got trust with all of these receivers on the team,” Lee said. “With AJ (Lowe) it’s pure chemistry and we’ve been doing this for a very long time.”
As both teams were stalled twice in the second quarter, a crucial third down scramble by Lee resulted in a 32-yard gain. Just two plays later, junior Ayden Stachel’s run finished the drive off to put the Wildcats up by two scores.
With their backs against the wall, Ludlow was in search of a score before half. Hoping to switch the momentum, Reed took a shot deep which landed in the hands of the Panther’s go-to receiver Carson Evans, who caught the 43-yard pass and escaped into the endzone to make it a 14-7 game.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve given that speech but it never works,” Wiggins said jokingly. “The whole point was to hold them before the half because we’d get the ball after half. At some point it’s going to work out that way.”
Getting a key third down stop, Ludlow forced a hot Newport offense off the field as defensive stops became a theme. A Newport fumble recovery and a Ludlow sack on fourth down kept both offenses scoreless in the third quarter.
PHOTOS: Newport-Ludlow slideshow below, provided by Brandon Wheeler.
Taking a chance on a fourth-and-16 play to open the fourth quarter, Reed’s pass was intercepted by Newport junior Kendall Buck-Barber, who corralled his fourth takeaway on the season. Although the stop kept the Wildcats up by a score, Newport would have a long way to go as their drive began on their own one-yard line.
Faced with the biggest third down call of the game, Lee scrambled once more to find Lowe, who snatched the ball over two defenders and broke away for 28 yards. With the addition of a facemask penalty, the Wildcats had the ball in the red zone.
“Kyle Lee is amazing because he just makes plays happen,” Wiggins said. “I tried calling him Houdini but he didn’t know who that was. He’s just a special kind of kid.”
Lee found none other than Lowe once again for eight yards as the score gave the Wildcats a two-possession cushion at 21-7 with four minutes to play.
Newport would add a safety to continue their display of dominance on the defensive end.
“Our defense was the signature tonight and we made it very difficult on them,” Wiggins said. “At times I think they (Ludlow) looked uncomfortable even though we saw stuff from them they’d never run before. If anything it was more credit to our defense.”
Both coaches, alumni and teachers at their school, have led each of their programs to new heights in their respective districts.
McMillen’s program had their second straight winning season with back-to-back district championships. Their last title came 48 years ago in 1976.
As for Newport, their journey will continue next week as they’ll face Kentucky Country Day on the road for a shot at a regional title. Another win would not only keep their season alive, but it would put them a game shy of playing at Kroger Field in Lexington for the Class 1A state title.
“A lot of people didn’t believe in us,” Lee said. “We’re going to see what happens next week.”
Newport’s nine wins are their most since 2005.
WILDCATS 23, PANTHERS 7
LUDLOW — 0-7-0-0 — 7
NEWPORT — 7-6-0-10 — 23
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(N) Lee 73-yard pass to Lowe (4:42) Reynoso kick
2nd Quarter
(N) Stachel 8-yard run (4:00) Kick failed
(LW) Miller 43-yard pass to Evans (1:18) McMillin kick
4th Quarter
(N) Lee 8-yard pass to Lowe (4:19) 2pt conversion
(N) Safety (2:08)
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Newport 271 (Lee 21/34, 2 TD, Thompson 0/2, INT), Ludlow 29 (Reed 4-10, TD, 2 INT)
Rushing Yards: Newport 88 (Lee 12-43, Stachel 6-22, Buck-Barber 2-13, Thompson 8-10), Ludlow 47 (Anness 13-26, Reed 10-9, Evans 1-9, Smith-Baxley 2-3)
Receiving Yards: Newport 271 (Lowe 9-181, Thompson 4-31, Sharp 3-27, Buck-Barber 2-14, Stachel 1-10, Farrell 3-8) Ludlow 29 (Evans 1-43, Brandenburg 2- -4, Wood 3- -10)
First Downs: Newport 13, Ludlow 7
Turnovers: Newport 2, Ludlow 5
Penalties: N- 12(105) LW- 7(60)
Records: Newport 9-2, Ludlow 8-4
