Florence, KY – Oldham County hadn’t lost a fumble in three weeks, since losing two fumbles to the Ballard Bruins. In ten regular season games, the Colonels had lost 14…in 32 minutes against the District 6 champs, the Boone County Rebels, Oldham County put the ball on the ground four times – and lost all four. Combined with an interception, the Colonels turned over the ball five times in their first round playoff game.

Twice Oldham County fumbled the ball inside their own 20, with each resulting in a Boone touchdown. A third fumble killed a promising Oldham County drive at the Boone County 19 yard line. The interception – picked off at the Oldham County 28 – resulted in a Rebel field goal. In all, the five turnovers resulted in 17 Boone County points and undoubtedly denied the Colonels at least one score of some kind.

Boone County came into the game riding a four game winning streak. The Rebels, playing in the highly-competitive 6^th District, were the district champs for the second year in a row. Last year, Boone had been upset in the first round of the playoffs by the 5^th District’s fourth-place team, the Shelby County Rockets. They were determined not to allow a repeat in front of the home fans. The Rebels were riding the legs of star senior running back James Brown, who had rushed for over 1,300 yards on the season, along with the pinpoint passing of senior Nick Humbert, who had passed for 1,000 yards, while completing 60% of his passes.

Oldham came into the contest on a two game winning streak, having whipped Jeffersontown, 49-0, and South Oldham, 56-20, to wrap up the season and snatch the fourth place playoff berth at the proverbial 11^th hour. Like Boone, Oldham was primarily a running team, with sophomore sensation Kevin Bramblett leading the charge. Since becoming the primary ball carrier three games into the season, Bramblett had racked up over 800 yards rushing. He was coming off a 154 yard game against South Oldham in which he had run for five touchdowns and thrown for a sixth.

The fireworks started early. After forcing a Boone punt on their first possession, Oldham County’s Miles Brewer provided the first turnover of the night, fumbling away the punt at the Oldham 19. From there, it didn’t take the powerful Boone County running game long to punch the ball into the end zone, with Brown going in from the four. Steve Swann’s point after made it, 7-0, with 6:51 remaining in the first.

Boone returned the favor in the final minute of the first period. Humbert’s second pass attempt of the night sailed high and was tipped by his intended receiver, right into the hands of Oldham’s Justin Stewart, who returned the ball to the Rebel 14 yard line. On the very next play, center Adam Johnson snapped the ball directly to Bramblett, who started to the outside, hesitated, then dashed straight up the middle for the touchdown. Nick Hoover tied the game at 7 with the point after with :36 showing in the first quarter.

But one week after allowing two long kickoff returns against South Oldham – one for a touchdown – the Colonels were again burned for a long kickoff return. This time, Boone County returned the ball 50 yards to the Oldham County 26 yard line. For the second time, the Rebels didn’t have far to go, and Brown scored his second TD of the night on a 2 yard run with 10:06 showing in the half to push the Rebels back on top, 14-7.

For the night, Boone County would score six times. Five of those scores would come after Boone started deep in Oldham territory: at the Oldham 19, 26, 26, 17, and 28 yard lines.

Oldham’s next drive got off to a great start following a 31 yard ramble by Bramblett. But the usually sure-handed Jeremy Edgar couldn’t hang onto a handoff, and the opportunistic Rebels were there to fall on the loose ball at the Boone 38, killing the drive.

After the Oldham defense forced Boone to go "three and out", the Colonels finally put together a complete drive, marching 69 yards to tie the game at 14. Bramblett did the honors, dashing 22 yards down the sideline for the score with 3:58 remaining in the first half.

That was more than enough time for Boone to score again, and with 1:43 to play, Swann booted a 35 yard field goal that gave Boone the lead – for good – at 17-14 as the two teams went to the halftime locker rooms.

At the break, Oldham had outgained Boone County, 184-109, but the Rebels led, 17-14. Bramblett alone had accounted for 133 yards rushing on only 15 carries. Six of his fifteen carries had gone for 10 yards or more. Although Miller had only thrown three passes, he was an effective 2 for 3 for 38 yards, with Miles Brewer catching both completions.

The Colonels began the second half the way they started the first. A Colonel fumble at their own 17 led to a quick Rebel touchdown – an eight yard run by James Brown – and a 24-14 Boone County lead with 9:42 remaining in the third.

The Colonels continued to self-destruct throughout the period. The next Colonel drive started promisingly, after Miles Brewer returned the kickoff 58 yards from the Oldham County 1 to the Boone 41 yard line. But the drive died on – what else – a fumble with 7:59 remaining in the period at the Boone 19.

The Colonels forced a quick punt, and took over in great field position near midfield at the Oldham County 43, but the Rebels’ defense held, and resulting Kevin Bramblett punt was blocked, and the Rebels took over at the Colonel 29.

After the Oldham defense forced the Rebels to turn the ball over on downs, the offense committed its fifth turnover of the night, as Derek Miller threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage. Boone took over at the Oldham 28 with :48 showing in the third period, and the turnover led to a 43 yard field goal by Steve Swann in the first minute of the fourth period. That score made it 27-14, Boone County, with 11:16 remaining.

The tally for the disastrous third period: four possessions, three turnovers, and a blocked punt.

Midway through the final period, Oldham still trailed, 27-14, but the Colonels made a final rally. Starting at their own 27 with 7:19 remaining, the Colonels drove quickly downfield. With Boone finally slowing Bramblett down, Oldham went to the air repeatedly, with Miller and Brewer repeatedly connecting. With 6:21 to play, Bramblett scored his third TD of the night, from two yards out. Hoover’s kick put Oldham right back into the contest, trailing 27-21.

But the weary Oldham defense, pounded by the Boone rushing attack all night, was unable to keep Boone County from scoring again. With barely three and a half minutes remaining, Brown tried the left side of the Oldham line, was seemingly stopped for no gain, then sprang out of a pile of defenders to the right for 34 yards and the clinching touchdown. Swann’s kick made it 34-21 with merely 3:33 to go.

Swann, who kept the Colonels pinned all night with deep punts, and long kickoffs, did it again on the ensuing kickoff. Oldham’s return left them 75 yards from paydirt, but Miller and company weren’t finished yet and the Rebel fans were unable to start any early celebrations. Keyed by completions of 19 and 18 yards to Miles Brewer, Miller moved his team quickly downfield, with Bramblett taking it in from eleven yards out for the score with just 54 seconds remaining. Hoover’s kick left Oldham down by just six at 34-28, but the Colonels were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick attempt, and Boone County ran out the clock for the victory.

The loss ended the Colonels’ season at 5-6, the first losing record since 1994, and the only losing record in Mike Jackson’s eight years at the helm. However, the season may have been the toughest in recent memory, as the Colonels faced six teams ranked in the top 10 during the year (#1 Trinity, Eastern, Ballard, Danville, St. X, and Boone County).

Boone County advances to play Eastern in round 2.

Other Class 4A Region 3 scores:

Trinity 48, Ryle 9

Eastern 22, Conner 7

Dixie Heights 43, Ballard 21

Player Notes:

Senior Miles Brewer caught seven passes for 180 yards, bringing his unofficial season totals to 35 catches for 840 yards, one of the best single season efforts ever for an Oldham County player. Donta Smith set the single season record for both catches and yards last year (52 catches / 931 yards) and Brandon Lloyd’s 42 catches for 886 yards in 1997 ranks second in both categories.

Brent Gibbs failed to register a sack in Oldham’s last two games, but his total of ten sacks this season tied Mike Schindler’s single season mark, and his 19 sacks over the past two seasons set a new Oldham County career mark, eclipsing Aaron Riordan’s 15.