Topic: Football
Conner vs. Lafayette
Henry Clay High School
Lexington, KY
August 20, 2021
© 2021 by Ron Harrison
Conner scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes to pull away in a 35-12 victory over Lafayette. Conner recorded 20 first downs and 422 yards of total offense. They were penalized four times for 29 yards, lost a fumble, and had a pass intercepted. Lafayette recorded 15 first downs and 285 yards of total offense. The Generals were penalized four times for 25 yards and had two passes intercepted.
Conner’s ground attack was led by Alijah Thompson with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Alex Castrucci carried the ball 14 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Castrucci completed nine of 13 passes for 118 yards with one interception. Clayton Melcher caught three passes for 44 yards. Terry Phillips and Nathan Table each caught one pass for 28 and 20 yards respectively. Frank Salzarulo returned one kickoff for 38 yards. Nick Keller kicked off six times for a 58.5 average and five touch backs, punted twice for a 47.0 average, and kicked five extra points. C. Lindermann led the defense with six solo and three assisted tackles with two of his tackles resulting in losses totaling eight yards. Frank Salzarulo added four solo and one assisted tackle. Alijah Thompson and Alex Castrucci each intercepted a pass.
JaeWON Kendrick led Lafayette’s ground game with 16 yards on nine carries. Hayden Dawahare completed 20 of 37 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Tanner Pace caught eight passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. Lucas Doneghy added seven receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown. Noah King caught four passes for 36 yards. Hayden Dawahare punted three times for a 48.7 average with a long punt of 67 yards. Caleb Bryant led the defense with eight solo and two assisted tackles. D. Jackson added seven solo and one assisted tackle with one of his tackles resulting in a six yard loss. Bond Jacobs recorded two solo and two assisted tackles and intercepted a pass he returned seven yards. Tre Wilson III recovered a fumble he returned eight yards.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Conner | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Lafayette | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| CONNER | - | Alex Castrucci 7 yard run (Nick Keller kick) |
| CONNER | - | Alex Castrucci 13 yard run (Nick Keller kick) |
| LAFAYETTE | - | Lucas Doneghy 30 yard pass from Hayden Dawahare (Paul McGee kick blocked) |
| CONNER | - | Alijah Thompson 8 yard run (Nick Keller kick) |
| LAFAYETTE | - | Tanner Pace 4 yard pass from Hayden Dawahare (Hayden Dawahare pass fails) |
| CONNER | - | Terry Phillips 24 yard run (Nick Keller kick) |
| CONNER | - | Alijah Thompson 34 yard run (Nick Keller kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Conner | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Alijah Thompson | 21 | 160 | 7.6 | 34 |
| Alex Castrucci | 14 | 120 | 8.6 | 34 |
| Terry Phillips | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Alex Castrucci | 13-9-1 | 118 | 0 | 28 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Clayton Melcher | 3 | 44 | 0 | 23 |
| Alijah Thompson | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Terry Phillips | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 |
| Nathan Table | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Cody Crawford | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Hayden Malott | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
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| Lafayette | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| JaeWON Kendrick | 9 | 16 | 1.8 | 8 |
| Lucas Doneghy | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 |
| DJ Walker | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Tre Wilson III | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Dez Hanley | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Hayden Dawahare | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 12 |
| Team | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Hayden Dawahare | 37-20-2 | 251 | 2 | 50 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Tanner Pace | 8 | 109 | 1 | 50 |
| Lucas Doneghy | 7 | 94 | 1 | 30 |
| Noah King | 4 | 36 | 0 | 16 |
| Derreon Stewart | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats 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.