It wasn’t the start that either team hoped for, but Boyle County’s high-powered aerial attack proved to be too much for Garrard County.

Reed Lanter threw five touchdowns as Boyle beat the Golden Lions 49-6 in the first district game of the season for each team.
A lightning delay forced both teams off of the field after just five minutes passed in the first quarter, but the Rebels were quick out of the gate when play resumed.

“The delay wasn’t any fun, it made it long, we had a nice crowd here till the delay came, that kind of messed that up,” Boyle head coach Chuck Smith said. “It was kind of a flat game, not a lot of loud, enthusiasm. That was disappointing. But it is what it is, our kids found a way. We do have a lot of kids out, don’t know if we’re getting any of them back or not. We’ll find out as the week goes next week whether we’ll get these guys back and if they can play in the game.”

Lanter hit Drew Baker on a 30-yard score on the first play after the break to put Boyle ahead 7-0.

But Garrard answered right back with a powerful drive, capped by an 18 yard fourth-down touchdown throw from Brice Burkhart to Colton Howard. The two-point conversion was no good, giving Boyle a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.

Again, the Rebels worked quickly through the air and Lanter found Reiley Colwick on a 27-yard score with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

“We need that, we need other people to step up and catch the ball,” coach Smith said. “I thought Reiley did a really good job in the early part of the game when the game was on the line, I thought he did a good job stepping up and making plays.”

Lanter would hit a third receiver, this time Luke Sheperson, on an 81-yard touchdown pass on the first play of Boyle’s next drive. Lanter and Colwick would hook up for a 14-yard score before halftime, giving Boyle a 28-6 lead at the break.

As good as the Rebels’ aerial assault was on offense, the running game wasn’t there. Landen Bartleson led the Rebels with four carries for 19 yards in the first half.

“We should be able to throw the ball on people. We have good receivers and a good quarterback,” coach Smith said. “But we should be able to run, too, but I don’t think we ran the ball as well as we could. But we’re really patching a lot of people up there, patching the offensive line.”

Coach Smith noted two players — senior Jon Adams and sophomore Jake Hester — as two linemen who stepped up into starting roles on Friday.

“I think the guys that stepped up were Jake Hester and Jon Adams, both had not been starting and they stepped up today and started for us tonight,” the coach said. “They came through and helped carry the load.”

Bartleson broke free for the first time all game to start the second quarter, running 64 yards to the one yard line. Two plays later, Lanter found Cameron Yates for another passing touchdown.

Garrard’s next drive resulted in a blocked punt by Boyle’s Clay Karsner, recovered by Sheperson, which enacted a running clock. The Rebels led 42-6 with 8:57 left in the third quarter.

Jacob Graves would score the final touchdown of the night for Boyle, a powerful one-yard run into the end zone.

Boyle will visit Lexington Catholic next week in a game that will determine the district’s top seed. Catholic defeated Western Hills 49-42 on Friday night.

“It’s a big game, it carries a lot of weight,” coach Smith said. “They’ll be ready, they’re always ready. They have a great, great quarterback and he’ll test us.”