Ashland, Ky. — In an absolute slobber knocker Lawrence County came up just short on the road 19-14 against Ashland Friday at Putnam Stadium.
Lawrence County took the opening drive right down the field capped off by a Grey Derifield 13 yard touchdown jaunt and Isaac Febish added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
Ashland evened the score on a 20 yard touchdown run from Daylen Farrow and a PAT from Max McCalister with 3:03 left in the first quarter.
The Tomcats took the lead on the last play of first half on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Tanner Stutler to Justin Hughes for a 13-7 halftime advantage.
On the first play of the fourth quarter Luke McCoy found paydirt from 20 yards out to make it 19-7 Ashland.
On the ensuing Bulldog drive Kaden Johnson hit a wide open Gray Derifield in stride for a 67 yard touchdown and Febish booted the PAT and it was 19-14 Ashland with 10:35 left in the game.
With 3:36 left in the game the Dawgs got one more chance to pickup a huge road victory but after crossing midfield a sack put them behind the sticks and Lawrence Co. couldn’t convert a 4th and 15 and turned it back over to the Tomcats with 1:23 left in the ballgame.
2026 LC Cheerleaders
Front L to R Ady Bartlett, Kelsey Fyffe, Hayden Boggs,Violet Preece, Blair Cantrell
Middle L to R Laila Dolan, Piper Ward, Jaylen Salmons, Marrena Dotson
Back L to R Kaylan Powell, Kenzie Sloan, Aubree Howard, Lakyn Wilburn, Kate Collins
Not pictured Bella Prince
Lawrence County was led in rushing by Kaden Johnson with 58 yards on 11 carries, Caven Williams 7 carries for 43 yards, Chandler Preece 40 yards on 7 carries, Gray Derifield 5 carries for 32 yards, Carlo Chicko 4 carries for 12 yards.
Johnson completed 3 of 6 passes for 102 yards.
Derifield caught 2 passes for 96 yards and Williams caught 1 pass for 7 yards.
The Dawgs ( 2-1 ) will be off next weekend before going to London to face North Laurel ( 1-1 ) on Friday September 18th.
Ashland ( 3-0 ) will travel to Nicholasville on Friday September 11th and play East Jessimine ( 2-1 ).
Bulldog Head Coach Alan Short
COACH’S COMMENTS
“… Our team came ready to battle, and they showed their mettle. We didn’t let up when two long drives ended on downs near the red zone and when Ashland grabbed momentum to start the final frame, extending their advantage to two possessions.
We answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown strike from Johnson to Gray Derifield.”
“…It was just grit and toughness, This was a man’s game, and it was a good football team that we played tonight. Unfortunately, we came up just a little bit short, but we are going to grow and learn from this game. We will be better down the line. It was a great test for us early in the season. I am disappointed right now. My heart hurts for our kids, but we are walking out of here with our heads held high.”
“… Johnson has been a leader and stepped up in an uncomfortable position, He’s adapted well to it and runs our team. It’s no secret that we run through him right now.”
