We Congratulate Bowling Green Purples Football Team's Win Over 62-20 John Hardin, On Their Way To The State's Class 5A Championship. Next (And Last) Victim On December 3? Anderson County. Way To Go Purples!

Purples give John Hardin first loss of season to reach Class 5A final
By MICHEAL COMPTON

Forget about Black Friday. This Friday was purely Purple.

The No. 1-ranked Bowling Green football team rode a wave of first-quarter momentum, crushing No. 2 John Hardin 62-20 in the Class 5A state semifinals at El Donaldson Stadium.

Click here for more photos from Friday’s games.

The Purples used three first-quarter turnovers to build a 34-0 lead and cruised from there, clinching their first state title appearance since 2007.

“That’s pretty good stuff right there,” BG coach Kevin Wallace said. “That’s a great football team over there. A lot of things went wrong for them tonight, and a lot of things went right for us. I’m just happy it went our way.”

Bowling Green (14-0) set the tone defensively, with three turnovers and two three-and-outs on John Hardin’s first five possessions.

Armando Music recovered a fumble on the second play of the game, setting up a Scooter Hollis 10-yard touchdown run 94 seconds into the game.

Bowling Green scored again 13 seconds later when Montel Carpenter stripped Jeremy Harness and raced 15 yards into the end zone to make the score 14-0.

It was the first of two defensive touchdowns in the quarter for the Purples, who capped a 34-point outburst with a 25-yard fumble return by Daquan Irvin late in the opening quarter.

“Turnovers are killers,” Wallace said. “For the last three weeks we’ve seen them on film and they’ve really turned the ball over - putting it on the ground. We talked to our kids about stripping the ball and trying to make good things happen. I’m so proud of them.”

The offense kept the pressure on John Hardin, with Hollis hooking up with Nacarius Fant on a pair of touchdown passes.

BG’s defense picked up one more turnover late in the second quarter, setting up a Brandon Green touchdown run.

John Hardin (13-1) picked up the final score of the half - a 12-yard reception from Harness - but still went into the locker room trailing 48-13.

The Bulldogs added another touchdown reception from Harness late in the third quarter before Bowling Green sealed the win with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

“It feels so good (walking off this field for the last time with a win),” Carpenter said. “Since seventh grade (the seniors) have been playing together, talking about getting a ring. We’re finally here, so I’m happy.”

Bowling Green finished with 372 yards of offense.

Hollis was 8-for-11 with 208 yards and three touchdown passes. The scores gave the senior 26 for his career, passing Trent Steelman’s school record of 24.

Fant finished with six catches for 158 yards.

“We came out and worked as hard as we could in practice to get the routes down and the timing right,” Fant said. “Me and Scooter have had this connection for the last two years. We just have to keep it going.”

John Hardin finished with 107 yards of offense. Harness, who entered the game with more than 1,500 yards rushing, was held to 18 yards on 11 carries and added five catches for 62 yards.

“We’re a good defensive team,” Wallace said. “I think he is probably less than 100 percent, but I thought we did a super job.”

Bowling Green will finish its season where it began - at Houchens-Smith Stadium with a 48-0 win over Allen County-Scottsville - but this time it will be for the 5A state championship at 7 p.m. Dec. 3. The Purples will meet Anderson County, a 49-8 winner over Southwestern.

“We’re going to go play at Western,” Wallace said. “We’re going to finish where we started and we’ve got to finish our business. I’ve been in five finals and I’ve been a part of winning one of them as an assistant. There is a whole big difference in how you feel when it is over with. I want to make sure we have a good feeling next Saturday night.”

JHHS 0 13 7 0 - 20

BGHS 34 14 0 14 - 62