ISABELLA MURRAY

Contributing Writer

Some of the best athletes in Danville history were watching the Admirals’ game Saturday. They likely followed the game, observing the younger generation enjoying the same sport many of them excelled in years ago.

And after Danville’s victory over Garrard County, it’s not hard to imagine that they were proud.

The Admirals outplayed Garrard in all four quarters of their game in the Whitaker Bank Pigskin Classic Bowl Game, winning 36-0 for their first shutout victory in four years.

Admiral pride was already flowing through the crowd at Admiral Stadium before the game even began, as the 2022 inductees into the Danville High School Athletic Hall of Fame were honored.

Ronnie Galloway, Sara Jackson, Jennie Reigelman Hulette, James Baughman,  Shadon Brown, Dickie Cassleman, Duran Elmore, Mark Hurst, and the Rankin brothers were celebrated for their success in sports such as football, track and field, swimming, wrestling and basketball.

And after the game, Danville Coach Mark Peach was every bit as proud of the way his team performed.

“I was just tickled with the guys,” said Peach, “I mean for us to come out 36-0, the way we did.”

Within the first few moments of the game, DeMauriah Brown scored the first touchdown for Danville on a pass from Jakeem Ray, who made his debut as the Admirals’ quarterback. Later in the first quarter, Garrad gave Danville safety by stepping back into the end zone, making it 9-0.

Danville’s Jalen Dunn rushed 31 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Brown scored the last touchdown of the first half on a 3-yard run after a Garrard fumble, bumping the score to 23-0.

Braidin Baughman and Demontrae Trumbo ran for their first touchdowns of the season in the second half, scoring on runs of 35 and 25 yards, respectively, as the Ads extended their lead.

Both teams were heavily penalized throughout the game, but Danville seemed to draw the majority of the flags, continuing a trend started in the Admirals’ opener against Lincoln County, when they struggled with penalties throughout the game.

Just as he had been in Danville’s first bowl game, Brown was named the player of the game after rushing seven times for 23 yards and a touchdown and scoring another TD on his 67-yard reception.

“He’s very deserving. We’re proud of him and his efforts and how hard he’s worked,” Peach said.

Peach also mentioned Baughman, Dunn and Ray, the freshman quarterback, and noted their contributions to the game. Baughman had seven rushes for 79 yards, Dunn had one rush for 31 yards and a touchdown and Ray was 3 for 7 passing for 94 yards.

While Danville had 279 yards on offense, the Admirals’ defense held Garrard (0-2) to just 36 in their first shutout since a 40-0 victory over Woodford County on Aug. 18, 2018.

“… It was a complete team effort. … We’ve got a lot of different guys that contribute to this football team,” Peach said.

Malachi Simmons led Garrard with 14 rushing yards and 11 receiving yards. Another Golden Lion, running back-defensive back Austin Adams, suffered a fractured fibula during the game.

Danville visits Boyle County next week in the first Title Town rivalry game since 2019, and Brown said he’s looking forward to it.

“Their defense is great, but our defense is good, so it’s going to be a defensive game. (We) just need to put some points on the board,” he said.

In the opening game, Ethan Willoughby threw for 163 yards (10 for 14) and two touchdowns and ran for 177 yards and two TDs to lead Casey County to a 50-34 victory over Lincoln County.

Sawyer Horton threw for 241 yards (15 for 29) and four TDs and ran for 64 yards and a TD for Lincoln.

Scoring summary

Danville

7 16 13 0 – 36

Garrard County

0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

Danville – Demauriah Brown 67 run (Kaleb Wilcher kick), 11:43.

Second Quarter

Danville – Safety, 10:17.

Danville – Jalen Dunn 31 run (Kaleb Wilcher kick), 9:53.

Danville – Brown 3 run (Wilcher kick), 6:50.

Third Quarter

Danville – Braidin Baughman 35 run (Wilcher kick), 9:38.

Danville – Demontrae Trumbo 25 run (kick failed), 7:45.