MOUNT WASHINGTON – A Bullitt East touchdown on the first drive of the game, the first time it has happened this season, gave the Chargers the early lead and they never trailed on Friday as they gave a large homecoming crowd something to cheer about as they defeated Central 41-20.
The win was the third in a row for the red and gold and they seem to be hitting their stride heading into another difficult slate of games.
One problem that the Chargers have worked hard to improve is how they start games. That paid dividends on Friday as Bullitt East jumped on top 7-0 and 13-12 before blowing the game open with a pair of touchdowns in 90 seconds of game time bookending halftime.
The first of the two touchdowns came with just three seconds remaining before halftime. Seven plays after Central had pulled within 13-12, Bullitt East marched 65 yards in just 51 seconds. After reaching the 17-yard line, Charger quarterback Cole Cornell had a pair of incompletions on short passes. Deciding to go for it all at :07, Cornell found wide receiver Jose Barajas wide open at the goal line for the touchdown.
The extra point by Easton Hughes made it 20-13 at the break.
Central got the ball to start the second half. The yellowjackets lost five yards on the first play and then completed a short pass. On third down, quarterback Phillip Baker dropped back and tried to get a pass to the sideline. Bullitt East defensive back Camerson Hansford, a senior, jumped the route, catching the ball in stride and returning it 45 yards for the touchdown.
That made it 27-12 and the Chargers were in control.
Getting off to better starts has been a focal point for the team over the past few weeks.
“That’s been a big focus,” senior defensive end Connor Heun said on the field after the game. “We have talked about not digging ourselves a hole. We have to come out and fire and do our best and not get in a hole.”
The Bullitt East defense lost its leader, senior Baron Hardesty when he was injured on the first series of the pre-season scrimmage against Ballard. Heun said that the other defensive starters did not have to do more, but just do their jobs and not try to fill in for Hardesty.
“You cannot try to do that,” the senior said of doing your job and someone else’s job. “You have to do your job. You don’t want to be out of position.”
Bullitt East head coach Keegan Kendrick has talked about the better starts and also wanting his team to play hard for 48 minutes. The performance was better against the traditionally strong Yellowjackets, but the coach felt there were a few soft spots, so he ranked it as 40 minutes of strong play.
“Our challenge to them was the play hard for 48 minutes,” the coach said. “In the last three games we have played portions of a 48-minute games. We need to play for 48 minutes against some of the better teams we are going to see.
“It was more about 40 minutes tonight,” the coach added. “We didn’t lock in for the full 48 minutes. At the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth we had some letdowns. We had a good solid first half. Then we started strong in the third quarter.”
Bullitt East’s first touchdown came on a 26-yard run by Cornell on a quarterback draw. After Central pulled within 7-6 on a 29-yard pass play, the Chargers rebounded with a 29-yard pass from Cornell to Evan Butler. The Yellowjackets answered on the very next drive, scoring on a 16-yard pass play, but then missing the two-point conversion.
That led into the 51 second drive right before halftime and then the interception early in the second half. Midway through the third quarter the Chargers had a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ended with running back Cole Fackler scoring from a yard out.
Central did not stay down long. On the ensuing kick-off, Jalen Dantzler returned the kick 80 yards for a touchdown.
The final points of the game came at the 3:31 mark when the Chargers ran the old jump pass. On a fourth down play, Cornell took the snap and ran to the line of scrimmage before rising up and throwing a short pass to Fackler who had leaked out of the backfield. The senior had to reach back to get the pass but he hauled it in and scored to cap the 14-yard play.
That accounted for the final 41-20 score.
The Yellowjackets threw the ball more than Bullitt East expected, switching to that after scoring just six points over the first three games of the season.
“They threw it more than we thought they would,” Kendrick said. “They have added that. They have been running it a lot like we saw from the m last season. It was a good game plan.
“Coach (Marvin) Dantzler has done it for a long time,” the Charger coach added. “They are not afraid to play anybody. I admit the way he does things. That’s why I like having them on the schedule.”
Bullitt East finished this game with 449 yards of total offense. That included 273 yards on the ground and 176 through the air.
Cornell completed 15 of his 29 passes for the 176 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jewell had four receptions for 59 yards with the two scores. Butler had six catches for 42 yards.
On the ground, the normal one-two punch of Cornell and Fackler had all but one carry for the Chargers. Fackler had 33 carries for 161 yards with a touchdown. Cornell had 14 carries for 110 yards and a score.
The Chargers’ defense held Central to 190 yards of offense with 158 passing yards and 32 on the ground. The leading tacklers for the Chargers were Brady Weihe and Camren Covyeow with six each. The Chargers had seven tackles for loss with two each by Adam Marcum and Covyeow.
Next Game: Bullitt East will go on the road on Friday to battle Class 6-A rival Manual. The game will be played at Manual Stadium which is located several miles east of the school. The Crimsons moved to 4-1 on the season with a 59-24 win over Cooper last Friday. The lone loss for Manual was a 27-17 setback to South Warren in the second week of the season.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2022 second-round play-off game in Mount Washington, one of the most exciting games in Charger football history. Bullitt East won 36-35, stopping a two-point conversion at the end. The win propelled Bullitt East to the state championship.
This will be the very first football game on the new artificial turf field at Manual Stadium.
Game time at Manual Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday.