Topic: Football
Lexington Christian Academy vs. Danville
Class 2A Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
Danville High School
Danville, KY
November 17, 2017
© 2017 by Ron Harrison
Danville led 14-7 at halftime but pulled away in the second half to defeat Lexington Christian Academy 49-7 to earn the regional championship. Danville QB Zach Thornton threw for four touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns and Dmauriae VanCleave caught two touchdown passes and scored on an interception to lead the Admirals tonight. LCA was missing one of their primary weapons QB Logan Nieves who suffered a late season ACL injury and star RB Dillon Wheatley was effectively bottled up by the swarming Danville defense. Danville recorded 16 first downs and 375 yards of total offense. The Admirals were penalized five times for 30 yards. LCA recorded 19 first downs and 307 yards of total offense. The Eagles were penalized four times for 25 yards and had a pass intercepted.
Donlevy Harris led Danville’s ground game with 43 yards on seven carries. Zach Thornton carried the ball 16 times for 22 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Thornton completed 13 of 18 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns. Dmauriae VanCleave caught seven passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Jaleel Warren added two receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. Tanner Ford added a 34 yard touchdown reception. Chase Tandy led the defense with eight solo and three assisted tackles with four of his tackles resulting in losses. Christian Hill added five solo and five assisted tackles. Kishown Brown also recorded five solo and five assisted tackles. Dmauriae VanCleave added four solo and one assisted tackles and intercepted a pass he returned 55 yards for a touchdown.
Dillon Wheatley led Lexington Christian Academy’s ground game with 105 yards on 26 carries. Josh McClurg carried the ball 12 times for 25 yards. Josh McClurg completed 28 of 36 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Ryan Stucky caught seven passes for 58 yards. Caelen Lebryk added five receptions for 56 yards. Drayden Burton recorded 10 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Drayden Burton returned three kickoffs for 52 yards. Jonathan Kaufmann led the defense with three solo and five assisted tackles. Blane Hardin added one solo and six assisted tackles with two of his tackles resulting in losses. Drew Long recorded four solo tackles with one of his tackles resulting in lost yardage.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Lexington Christian Academy | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Danville | 14 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 49 |
| DANVILLE | - | Zach Thornton 3 yard run (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Tanner Ford 34 yard pass from Zach Thornton (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| LCA | - | Drayden Burton 14 yard pass from Josh McClurg (Tyler Dobbs kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Zach Thornton 1 yard run (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Dmauriae VanCleave 45 yard pass from Zach Thornton (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Jaleel Warren 55 yard pass from Zach Thornton (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Dmauriae VanCleave 19 yard pass from Zach Thornton (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
| DANVILLE | - | Dmauriae VanCleave 55 yard interception return (Nathan Hazlett kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Lexington Christian Academy | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Dillon Wheatley | 26 | 105 | 4.0 | **** |
| Josh McClurg | 12 | 25 | 2.1 | **** |
| Dearious Smith | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | **** |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Josh McClurg | 36-28-1 | 178 | 1 | **** |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Ryan Stucky | 7 | 58 | 0 | **** |
| Caelen Lebryk | 5 | 56 | 0 | **** |
| Drayden Burton | 10 | 51 | 1 | **** |
| Wade Drake | 3 | 11 | 0 | **** |
| Dillon Wheatley | 3 | 2 | 0 | **** |
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| Danville | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Donlevy Harris | 7 | 43 | 6.1 | **** |
| Zach Thornton | 16 | 22 | 1.4 | **** |
| Dmauriae VanCleave | 5 | 14 | 2.8 | **** |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Zach Thornton | 18-13-0 | 296 | 4 | **** |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Dmauriae VanCleave | 7 | 137 | 2 | **** |
| Jaleel Warren | 2 | 88 | 1 | **** |
| Tanner Ford | 1 | 34 | 1 | **** |
| David Walker | 1 | 33 | 0 | **** |
| Donlevy Harris | 1 | 4 | 0 | **** |
| Brennen McGuire | 1 | 0 | 0 | **** |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to the LCA Stats Crew for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.