RICHMOND, Ky. – The Frederick Douglass Douglass Broncos traveled south and defeated the formerly 5-1 Madison Central Indians 21-14 in a top 25 high school football matchup on Friday.

In the early stages of the game, both teams struggled to find their rhythm. The score after quarter one was 7-0 after Broncos running back Peyton Smith recorded a 1-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive to open the scoring.

In the second quarter, Madison Central started to find its offense.  The Indians equalized the game at seven in less than two minutes with a highlight 21-yard touchdown throw from sophomore quarterback Carson Herbst to a heavily contested by Cody Morrison on the goal line. 

The third quarter, however, was all Broncos as they dominated the running game with dual threats of Smith and Kenoxie “TayTay” Allen in the backfield.

Smith scored again on a 35-yard scamper, putting Frederick Douglass up 14-7. 

While the majority of the game was a defensive display, the final twelve minutes of regulation were something completely different. 

Kicking things off, Allen scored a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Broncos up two touchdowns on the Indians and, just when it seemed to be over, the Indian defense stepped up big to give Herbst and co. a chance to win the game.

Shaun Reese then scored a 3-yard touchdown for Madison Central to close the gap on Douglass as the Broncos struggled to put the game away late due to the Indians’ D-line pressure.

With a chance to tie, the Indians, in the final five minutes, had numerous opportunities to cash in six points to the game but the Bronco defense stood tall one last time after a controversial goal-line stop.

Despite an interception from quarterback Jaxon Strautman, he was a key contributor for Douglass’s offense going 6/10 for 73 yards, which was a building block for most of the rushing touchdowns. 

Madison Central Head Coach William Blair spoke on how he tried to keep his team’s mindset in a healthy place when trying to get back into the game.

“We just do what we do, keep the tempo of the game where we want it, slow the game down, keep the possessions down and keep the ball moving on each side of the line with different players,” he said.

As for Frederick Douglass, the win over a strong opponent was critical after a tough loss to Louisville Male in Lexington the week prior. Broncos Head Coach Nathan Mcpeek emphasized the value of the momentum gained from the victory heading into another notable matchup next week.

“We’re not doing things certainly well that we need to, so we got to get a lot better if we’re going to compete in the playoffs,” he said. 

Now with a 4-3 record on the season, the Broncos will look ahead to Bryan Station next week.

For the Madison Central Indians, they recorded their second loss of the season and will look to bounce back against the George Rogers Clark Cardinals next week at home at 7:30 p.m.