Butler holds off PRP 14-12 in duel for playoff berth

By Michael Foust
Special to The Courier-Journal
Oct. 28, 2000

The high school football regular season ended just the way Butler's Craig Turner envisioned.

The senior tailback rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries as the Bears qualified for the Class 4-A playoffs by racing to a 14-6 halftime lead, then holding off Pleasure Ridge Park 14-12 last night at Butler.

Although both teams took losing records into the game, the winner would get the final playoff berth in Region Two, District Four.

Turner -- the Louisville-area's second-leading rusher -- is relieved that it's the Bears who still are alive.

"Coach (Scott Carmony) asked me how I wanted to be remembered, and I said I wanted to be remembered as a senior that helped our team finally go to the playoffs and beat PRP," he said.

Butler (5-5), which will open the playoffs Friday at North Hardin, dominated most of the game but had to rely on its defense in the final minutes.

With his team trailing 14-6 with 5:52 left, PRP quarterback Ricky Ovington engineered a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended on Tres Evans' 8-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left. After a timeout the Panthers went for a two-point conversion, but Cauvey Jackson bobbled the pitch and was tackled at the 23.

Butler recovered the onside kick and ran the clock down to 30 seconds before punting. PRP (4-6) took over on its 13 with no timeouts left and failed to make a first down.

Carmony said his defense came up big when it had to.

"We knew it would be some kind of sweep," he said of the two-point conversion try. "We got lucky with that ball rolling around, and we were lucky enough to hang on to him and seal the game."

The Panthers' final scoring drive was set up when Butler's Domonique Burrell was stopped short on fourth-and-one from PRP's 36 with 5:57 left.

With the exception of its long fourth-quarter drive, PRP failed to move the ball all night. The Panthers picked up just five first downs and gained only 103 yards on 34 carries. Butler, meanwhile, rushed 46 times for 236 yards and had eight first downs.

"Their game plan was to keep the ball, eat the clock and give it to their best player -- which they did," PRP coach Dan Leasor said. "I thought we did a good job of containing them. . . . We shut them out in the second half. We just played too many snaps on defense, and we didn't move the ball offensively."

It is the first losing record in Leasor's seven seasons.

"I can't fault the effort," he said. "It's been a long time at our place since we had a losing season."

After a scoreless first quarter, both teams got rolling in the second.

The Bears struck first, driving 67 yards in five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Turner provided the big play, a 33-yard run to PRP's 18. On the next play Justin Jewell faked a handoff and ran around right end for the touchdown with 7:41 left in the half.

PRP answered when Evans returned the kickoff 95 yards to the Butler 4. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Jackson ran through the right side, cutting the gap to 7-6. Josh Duggins' extra-point kick was wide right.

Burrell gave the Bears a 14-6 halftime lead by scoring from the 6 at 1:32 to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive.

Two penalties aided the drive. A 9-yard run by Turner turned into a first down when PRP was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. On third-and-five from the PRP 36, Jewell was tackled for a short loss, but the Panthers were called for a 5-yard face-mask penalty. On third-and-two, Turner ran 15 yards for the first down.

"It was just like we thought it would be," Carmony said. "I envisioned a one- or two-point game on either side of the ball. That's just what kind of football teams we are."