Topic: Football
2025FBPL3RYLEFD
Ryle vs. Frederick Douglass
Class 6A 2025 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals
Frederick Douglass High School
Lexington, KY
November 21, 2025
© 2025 by Ron Harrison
Ryle defeated Frederick Douglass 28-27 in a game played through periods of drizzle that had a little bit of everything. Ryle had to battle through adversity as do-everything LB/RB Jacob Savage suffered an ankle injury and had to leave the game. Ryle finally got the scoring started with an 18 yard run by Nathan Verax with five minutes left in the first half. Frederick Douglass answered with a 26 yard touchdown run by Dakari Talbert to tie the score 7-7 heading into the intermission. Frederick Douglass took a 20-14 lead with a 20 yard run by Dakari Talbert with 3:15 left in regulation but the extra point attempt was blocked. Ryle tied the score on a one yard run by Dameyn Anness as time expired in regulation. However the extra point attempt hit the crossbar leaving the score at 20-20. Ryle won the coin toss for overtime ad chose to go on offense and Frederick Douglass scored on a one yard run by Dakari Talbert and the conversion kick by Clayton Wallace gave the Broncos a 27-20 lead. Ryle was next up and scored on a one yard run by Dameyn Anness and the Ryle coach Mike Engler rolled the dice to go for a two point conversion to take the win on the road. Ryle lined up with their “strong” formation and Douglass was prepared for a straight ahead line plunge but QB Nathan Verax veered to the outside and cut back in untouched for the 28-27 victory in a game that will be long remembered by both schools.
Ryle recorded 18 first downs and 441 yards of total offense. The Raiders were penalized seven times for 70 yards. Frederick Douglass recorded 17 first downs and 361 yards of total offense. The Broncos were penalized six times for 40 yards.
Dameyn Anness led Ryle’s ground attack with 85 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Nathan Verax carried the ball 14 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Savage recorded 21 yards on eight carries. Nathan Verax completed nine of 21 passes for 240 yards. Dylan Lee caught five passes for 181 yards. Gavin Lyons added three recptions for 53 yards. Dameyn Anness returned one kickoff for 31 yards. Evan Kincaid returned three kickoffs for 28 yards with a long return of 17 yards. Grant Foley led the defense with three solo and seven assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a two yard loss. Andrew Smith added three solo and three assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a four yard loss. Jacob Savage and Xavier Collins each recorded two solo and four assisted tackles.
Dakari Talbert was in “animal mode” all night refusing to be stopped and led the Frederick Douglass ground game with 210 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries. Demond Green carried the ball once for 19 yards. Jayden Guzman completed 12 of 23 passes for 134 yards. Dandre Clay caught four passes for 69 yards. TJ Stewart added two receptions for 45 yards. Jeremiah Turner returned three punts for 28 yards with a long return of 10 yards and returned two kickoffs for 70 yards with a long return of 45 yards. Kane Bell Pointer returned one kickoff for 26 yards. Keenan Banther led the defense with five solo and four assisted tackles. Phillip Higgins added three solo and four assisted tackles with two of his tackles resulting in losses totaling two yards. Toby Robinson recorded three solo and three assisted tackles. Demond Green chipped in with four solo tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a five yard loss.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
Ryle | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Frederick Douglass | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
RYLE | - | Nathan Verax 18 yard run (Gavin Moses kick) |
DOUGLAS | - | Dakari Talbert 26 yard run (Clayton Wallace kick) |
DOUGLAS | - | Dakari Talbert 19 yard run (Clayton Wallace kick) |
RYLE | - | Dameyn Anness 11 yard run (Gavin Moses kick) |
DOUGLAS | - | Dakari Talbert 20 yard run (Clayton Wallace kick blocked) |
RYLE | - | Dameyn Anness 1 yard run (Gavin Moses kick fails) |
DOUGLAS | - | Dakari Talbert 1 yard run (Clayton Wallace kick) |
RYLE | - | Dameyn Anness 1 yard run (Nathan Verax run) |
Selected Statistics
Ryle | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Dameyn Anness | 15 | 85 | 5.7 | 25 |
Nathan Verax | 14 | 78 | 5.6 | 18 |
Jacob Savage | 8 | 21 | 2.6 | 10 |
Xavier Collins | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Nathan Verax | 21-9-0 | 240 | 0 | 84 |
Team | 2-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Evan Kincaid | 1-1-0 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Dylan Lee | 5 | 181 | 0 | 84 |
Gavin Lyons | 3 | 53 | 0 | 24 |
Andrew Smith | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
Bredyn Elder | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| ||||
Frederick Douglass | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Dakari Talbert | 33 | 210 | 6.4 | 44 |
Demond Green | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 |
Jeremiah Turner | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 |
Jayden Guzman | 1 | -7 | -7.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Jayden Guzman | 23-12-0 | 134 | 0 | 37 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Dandre Clay | 4 | 69 | 0 | 37 |
Dakari Talbert | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
TJ Stewart | 2 | 45 | 0 | 33 |
Terry Cayson | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Karlan Morton | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Kaden John | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
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.
Updated: Thursday, 27 November 2025 5:27 PM EST
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