GLASGOW — Daniel DeLeon was just too much for Barren County Saturday night.

The Metcalfe County senior running back rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns and had a game-high 12 tackles on defense to lift the Hornets to a 28-21 come-from-behind victory over the Trojans in the TJ Samson Bowl.

“It’s a first win over here in a hostile place,” Metcalfe coach Larry Harbison said. “They had a huge crowd again. It’s a good thing to be a part of this and I’m happy for the win.”

The Hornets scored 22 points in the third quarter, erasing a 14-6 halftime deficit, to take a 28-14 lead. The Trojans added a score early in the fourth quarter to cut the visitor’s advantage to 28-21.

But for the next 11 minutes, it was a heart attack a minute.

“We actually did try to give that one away,” Harbison said. “I don’t know that I ever remember giving a team that many opportunities to win a ball game. But I have to praise our defense just a little bit, because they could have got their heads down when they had to go right back out there about three series in a row, it seemed like. And we started playing with the intensity that I wanted in the third and fourth quarters.”

Metcalfe fumbled the ball on its second play after Barren‘s touchdown. The Trojans took over in Hornet territory and fumbled on their first offensive play. DeLeon had a pair of runs for the Hornets before they fumbled again, this time on the third play of the drive. Barren took over at the Metcalfe 25-yard line and gained one yard on three plays. Caleb Bogard missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt with 7:07 left in the game.

Metcalfe took over and Barren’s defense held the Hornets to three plays. The Trojans took over after the punt at the Hornet 46-yard line.

The Trojans had two incomplete passes sandwiched around an eight-yard run from Kris Aquino. Barren went for it on fourth and two from Metcalfe’s 38-yard line. Sneed was stopped after a one-yard gain and the Hornets took over at their own 37-yard line with 4:25 left.

But the Hornets fumbled on their first play and the Trojans took over again, this time at the Metcalfe 30-yard line.

Aquino lost two yards on a carry before Gill Thomas found Hunter Jones for a seven-yard reception. Kyle Holley broke up Thomas’ third down pass before picking off the very next one to give the Hornets the ball at their own 11-yard line with 2:51 left in the game.

The Hornets had three runs, including one on a holding penalty, to set up a third down and three with 1:09 left in the game. DeLeon punched ahead just far enough for a first down with a three-yard run that allowed Metcalfe to run out the clock and seal the win.

“It’s just like you work hard and you think you’re in a position to do something good and then...that’s just the way it works,” Barren coach Jeff Richey said. “It’s tough right now. You look at the whole summer and the prepping, the getting kids ready, and it’s tough.”

The Hornets started their comeback with a blocked punt midway through the third quarter, taking over at the Barren 24-yard line.

DeLeon had a one-yard run, followed by a four-yard run from quarterback Zack Morgan and another DeLeon run, this time for four yards. That set up a fourth and one play from the Barren 15-yard line.

DeLeon scampered around the right side on a sweep play for a 15-yard touchdown with 6:06 left in the third quarter. DeLeon’s run on the two point conversion attempt failed. Barren led 14-12.

The Trojans ran just one offensive play before Tyler LaFever intercepted a pass to give the Hornets the ball at the Trojans’ 32-yard line.

DeLeon scored on a 21-yard touchdown run on Metcalfe’s third play of the series as the Hornets pulled ahead. Morgan scampered in on the two point conversion run to give the Hornets a 20-14 lead.

Metcalfe’s defense held Barren to a three-and-out on the Trojans’ next possession. The Hornets recovered a bad snap on the punt and took over at the Trojans’ 10-yard line.

DeLeon needed just one play to extend the Hornets’ lead. He scored on a 10-yard run and caught the two point conversion pass from Morgan to build a 28-14 advantage with 1:42 left in the third quarter.

“That turned the ball game around,” Harbison said. “It gave us the momentum and put their backs to the wall. It just about allowed us to take over the ball game....

“We did have them on the ropes and they were worn out for having to play the defense so much right there, but again, my hat’s off to them. They kept playing hard. I’m just glad my defense got a little bit better at the end of the game.”

Barren wasted no time cutting into the lead. The Trojans used a six-play scoring drive that culminated on Tim Sneed’s 12-yard run that cut the lead to one score. Caleb Bogard’s extra point cut Metcalfe’s lead to 28-21 with 11:22 left in the game.

In addition to DeLeon’s big day, Colton Satterly ran for 49 yards and Lonnie Thompson had nine yards on the ground. Holley caught one pass for 12 yards.

Aquino led the Trojans’ ground attack with nine carries for 73 yards. Sneed rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns while Thomas had 26 yards on the ground and one score.

Thomas was 2-of-7 passing for 24 yards, while Hughes went 2-for-3 for 32 yards.

Metcalfe jumped out to the early lead in the first quarter. The Hornets used an eight-play 91-yard drive to take the initial advantage. DeLeon scored on a eight-yard touchdown run at the 2:48 mark of the opening frame for a 6-0 lead.

Barren took the lead on a 10-play drive in the second quarter. After a one-yard run, Thomas found Tyler Hughes for an 18-yard gain to move the ball to the Metcalfe 31. The Trojans drove the ball to the 10 yard line on a five-yard run from Aquino on third down and seven. The Hornets jumped offsides on a fourth and two play to give Barren the ball at the five yard line.

Aquino ran for four yards before Thomas’ one-yard run put the Trojans on the scoreboard. Bogard’s extra point gave Barren a 7-6 lead with 6:37 left in the first half.

Barren’s defense held Metcalfe on its next possession. Jones blocked the Hornets’ punt and the Trojans took over at the Metcalfe 29-yard line. Aquino had runs of nine and 13 yards before Sneed scored from seven yards out. Barren led 14-6 with 2:34 left in the half.

DeLeon returned the ensuing kickoff for a what would have been a touchdown on the very next play. But penalty on the return brought the Hornets back to their own 10-yard line with 2:19 left in the half.

The Hornets ran four plays and then took advantage of a Barren personal foul penalty to move the ball to the Trojans’ 26. DeLeon had runs of 20 and five yards to give Metcalfe a second and goal play from the one yard line with 3.7 seconds left in the half. The Hornets fumbled on the snap and the Trojans led 14-6 at the break.

“For my guys, we got down 6-0 and they took it right back down and scored, got up 7-6. Went up 14-6 at half time,” Richey said. “I told our guys, we haven’t won anything yet but we’re in good position. Let’s go out and keep playing. We knew we could take advantage. We tried to run our iso(lation) play to the weak side. We got some success out of it.

“It just came down to making some good throws at the end. We just didn’t make it happen. Tyler and Gill both played really well for sophomores. They did a good job there. Hat’s off to them. The line blocked really well. The backs hit the holes hard. We just didn’t stop number five when we had to. It’s frustrating.”



Score by quarter

Metcalfe 6 0 22 0 - 28

Barren 0 14 0 7 - 21



Metcalfe rushing

Daniel DeLeon 30-212 (4 TD), Colton Satterly 2-49, Lonnie Thompson 2-9, Cam Jolly 1-0, Zack Morgan 7-(-14).



Barren rushing

Kris Aquino 9-73, Tim Sneed 11-57 (2 TD), Till Thomas 9-26 (1 TD), Tyler Hughes 3-13, Jud Perkins 3-8, Coty Lynn 3-5, Caleb Bogard 1-(-12).



Metcalfe passing

Zack Morgan 1-8, 12 yds.



Barren passing

Tyler Hughes 2-3, 32 yds. INT, Gill Thomas 2-7, 24 yds, INT



Metcalfe receiving

Kyle Holley 1-12



Barren receiving

Hunter Jones 2-18, Kris Aquino 1-21, Tyler Hughes 1-17



Metcalfe leading tacklers

Daniel DeLeon 12, Kyle Holley 8, Shea McCoy 6



Barren leading tacklers

Tim Sneed 8, Colby Long 6, Matt Thibault 4, Tyler Hughes 4



Metcalfe interceptions

Kyle Holley, Lincoln Bell