#1 - Javeius Bunton
After avenging a regular season loss to crosstown rival South Warren in the district championship game this past Friday night, the Bowling Green Purples will face a somewhat unfamiliar foe in the third round of the KHSAA Class 5A football playoffs this week. Bowling Green will host North Bullitt Friday night with a trip to the Class 5A semifinals on the line.
The matchup between the Purples and the Eagles will be the first ever meeting between the two football programs.
North Bullitt comes into the game with a record of 8-2. Their losses came to DuPont Manual and Elizabethtown. Their wins include Bullitt Central, Shelby County, Seneca, South Oldham, Jeffersontown, Bullitt East, Atherton, and South Oldham a second time in last week’s district championship contest.
The Eagles reached the third round by scoring the final 19 points of the game last Friday to take down South Oldham 19-7. South Oldham held the momentum in the game until the final seconds of the half when Connor Dorsey blocked a punt in the waning seconds of the first half and then recovered it in the end zone to tie the game at the half at 7-7. From that point on, the Eagle shut down South Oldham to pick up the win.
The Eagles can put points on the board. They come into the game averaging 46.6 points per contest. However, North Bullitt can also give up points as well. Their defense has been giving up 23.9 points per game, and twice gave up more than 50 points.
The North Bullitt offense is lead by senior running back Cole Durbin. Durbin is averaging more than 10 yards per carry on the season. He has 134 rushes for 1448 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Quarterback Drew Hadley is 61-128-8 on the year for 1272 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Eagles can move the ball up and down the field, as they average just over 400 yards per game in total offense.
One of the stories of the football season has been the recovery of North Bullitt’s Zach Vorbrink. Vorbrink suffered a serious brain injury during the Eagles regular season game with South Oldham on October 9. He was injured making a tackle, suffering a concussion and a brain bleed that required emergency surgery. Thankfully, Vorbrink is continuing to recover and was able to be at his team’s game on November 6, cheering his teammates on in a win over Bullitt East.
The Purples are back in the 3rd round for the second season in a row. Bowling Green comes into the game with a record of 7-2. Their losses came to South Warren and Louisville Trinity, while their wins were over St. Xavier, Pleasure Ridge Park, McCracken County, Christian County, Greenwood (regular season and playoffs), and South Warren.
Much like North Bullitt, Bowling Green used a blocked punt to spark a run to the third round of the playoffs. Trailing 16-14 in the 3rd quarter, Bowling Green blocked a South Warren punt and recovered it for a touchdown to begin a 20-0 blitz over the rest of the quarter to take a 34-16 lead. The Purples then cruised on out to a 41-24 win over the Spartans to keep their season alive.
While offense has carried the load for North Bullitt, the Bowling Green defense has led the way for the Purples. Five times this season, Bowling Green has held their opponents to less than 10 points. Three of those five were shutout performances.
Quarterbacks have faced a “hard life” against the Purples’ defense. Bowling Green has come up with 25 sacks on the season, led by Jeremiah Lightfoot with six and Davis Moran with 5. The Purples also have 12 interceptions. Rece Jones leads the Purple defense in tackles with 104 on the season and three sacks.
On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Jordan Dingle gets much of the attention and deservedly so. The UK commit has caught 32 passes on the season for 422 yards and two touchdowns. Dingle is a big body on the field and is a tough matchup for any team facing the Purples.
But Bowling Green is far from a one-man show. Javeius Bunton has carried the ball 151 times for 795 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Bowling Green offense. Quarterback Conner Cooper if 106-182-5 through the air with 11 touchdowns on the season.
The Purples are averaging just over 300 yards per game on offense.
YourSportsEdge.Com spoke with Coach Mark Spader about his team’s shot to advance on to the Class 5A semifinals.
Kickoff is set for 7pm Friday night in Bowling Green.
