By JON WEBB
GLASGOW — The second half of Friday’s night game between Bowling Green and Barren lasted barely more than the regulation 24 minutes, making it one of the shortest possible halves in high school football.
For Barren, the first half was a lot longer.
Bowling Green put up seven touchdowns in the first half en route to a 49-0 win over Barren on the Trojans’ senior night.
Head coach Jeff Richey said he admired his teams’ effort, despite the score.
“We gave every ounce of our God-given ability tonight,” he said. “I’m proud of my kids. They didn’t quit.”
Barren wasn’t the only thing that wouldn’t quit on Friday.
An incessant rain poured down throughout the game, muddying the field and complicating playing conditions.
The Purples offense, however, didn’t seem to mind.
Bowling Green amassed 314 total yards - 209 more than Barren - including 229 passing yards from quarterback Chandler Spears.
The ground game gave Bowling Green its first lead, though. A 20-yard run from Lavance Anderson gave Bowling Green a 7-0 advantage with 10:14 left in the first quarter.
After forcing Barren to punt on its first possession, Bowling Green again found itself within striking distance after a Taylor Austin punt from the endzone put the Purples at Barren’s 23 yard-line.
Kris Aquino momentarily ended any Purples hope for an early two-touchdown lead when he intercepted a Spears pass in the end zone and ran it out the Trojan five-yard line.
Barren would hold the Purples out of the end zone until 19 seconds remaining in the first, when Spears hit Sam Howard for a 10 yard score.
And that’s when the Purples took control.
Bowling Green rattled off 35 second-quarter point to build a 49-0 lead heading into the half.
Due to the large lead, the clock ran continuously in the second half, only stopping on timeouts.
Barren did find some offensive success in the second half thanks to a 12-yard pass play between quarterback Colton Phelps and receiver Tyler Hughes.
Jud Perkins stepped in at fullback to compile 15 yards on three carries, while Tim Sneed and Shelby Bailey also broke off large runs to help Barren move deep into Bowling Green territory for the first time all game.
In the end, however, Barren couldn’t put a dent in the Bowling Green lead and fell 49-0.
“We just got beat by a better team tonight,” Richey said.
Phelps lead the Trojans in rushing with 32 yards on 12 carries. Perkins added 15, followed by Sneed (10), Bailey (9), Hughes (4) and Tyler Furlong (4).
Although Barren wasn’t able to move the ball effectively, they were able to hold on to it.
The Trojans committed only one turnover — a fumble — in the game despite the rainy conditions. The Barren defense forced three Purple turnovers, including the Aquino interception and two fumbles.
The loss ends Barren’s regular season at 3-7. The Trojans will face Christian County next week for in the first round of the 5A Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl.
Christian went 6-4 and lost to Bowling Green 22-3 in its first game of the season.
Richey said his team will need some luck - and time - before turning its attention to Christian and forgetting about Friday night’s lopsided loss.
“We’ll need some healing,” he said.
