Kentucky STUNT splits 2023 Bluegrass Classic, records first perfect game in program history

Kentucky+players+cheer+on+their+teammates+during+the+Kentucky+vs.+Michigan+State+STUNT+game+on+Saturday%2C+March+4%2C+2023%2C+at+Memorial+Coliseum+in+Lexington%2C+Kentucky.+Michigan+State+won+15-14.+Photo+by+Samuel+Colmar+%7C+Staff

Samuel Colmar

Kentucky players cheer on their teammates during the Kentucky vs. Michigan State STUNT game on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky. Michigan State won 15-14. Photo by Samuel Colmar | Staff

Cole Parke, Sports Editor

Kentucky STUNT finished the 2023 Bluegrass Classic 2-2, bringing the team’s overall season record to 3-7.

The Classic was scheduled to be a pair of double-headers with two games on Friday and two on Saturday.

The event kicked off with a stumble for the Cats, who were promptly defeated 22-6 by Davenport.

The Panthers were on fire from the start, finishing the first period with a 4-0 lead and eventually taking an 8-1 lead into halftime. 

Kentucky managed to escape the third quarter only being outscored 3-2, but the Panthers scored an impressive 11 points in the fourth quarter to blow out the Wildcats.

The Wildcats then prepared for the second game of the Bluegrass Classic but were instead merely awarded the victory when Ursuline College forfeited.

Waking up on Saturday looking to earn a true victory, Kentucky recorded its first perfect game in program history, demolishing Tiffin 24-0.

With the day bringing the final home game of the season for the Wildcats, the home team used the opportunity to honor its six seniors beforehand. 

Keeping the Dragons scoreless for the entirety of the game, the result didn’t just mark the first time Kentucky had recorded a perfect game, but also the first time the Cats had kept an opponent scoreless and marked the highest total number of points scored in one game.

Unfortunately for Kentucky, the good feelings would not last as the Cats were defeated 24-4 by Cal Baptist in the final game of the 2023 Bluegrass Classic. 

The Lancers, a two-time national championship winning program, entered the game as the top ranked team in the country and put that talent on full display as they took an 8-1 lead into halftime.

Despite the eventual lopsided loss, Kentucky head coach Blair Bergmann was pleased with the day as a whole.

“We had a great day today,” Bergmann said in a press release. “The biggest thing that was such a difference maker in both games was the energy we brought to the mat. You could see that everyone was having fun, they were confident, they were enjoying being out there. We have such a good foundation now, we’ve just to start fine-tuning things. As a young team, we’re getting better at an exponential rate. We’ve just got to get over that hump a little bit more.

Kentucky STUNT returns to action on Wednesday, March 22, as it plays a double-header against Vanguard and Concordia Irvine.

The first matchup, against Vanguard, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EST with the second game set to begin at 10:15 p.m. EST.