Written by Brad Laux of 1016 Sports.

GEORGETOWN, KY. | It was the Timmy Emongo show on Friday night in Georgetown, as the junior all-purpose back accounted for a total of 218 combined yards and four touchdowns across all three phases of the game to help host Scott County to a 42-6 victory and continue its football dominance against George Rogers Clark with its 20th straight victory since 1998. It was the season-opener for both schools.

Junior fullback Skyler Way joined Emongo in helping the host Cardinals compile 370 rushing yards. Way finished the night with 17 carries for 163 yards and one touchdown.

When asked about his team’s offensive performance, longtime Scott County coach Jim McKee did everything he could to deflect attention from his stars.

“Twice we had two 3-and-outs. We don’t like punting. Three-and-outs, not good. We need to do a little bit better with our play-action passing game,” he said. “Now, (sophomore quarterback) Charlie (Ellison) played fine, and we hit a couple of nice play-action passes. But we were just, what, three inches off on the post route down the middle. And so we need to clean some of that up.”

Still, it was a strong defense that most impressed McKee.

“I mean, anytime you can hold the opponent to six points, you’re gonna win a lot of football games,” he said. “And the six points that they got, we had a critical error on our kickoff coverage, and what did they run it back to the 15 or so? So, we really played well on defense. We had a good summer defense league all throughout the summer. Our defensive staff does a good job, and when you can play defense like that, you’re gonna be in a lot of football games.”

Scott County (1-0) held GRC to 245 yards of offense, but 171 of that came on the ground for an average of 5.18 yards per carry.

So, really, it was the SCHS Cards’ running attack that was the story of the night.

Emongo scored the hosts’ first four touchdowns, all of which came in the first three quarters.

He did not even touch the ball until the sixth play of the opening drive, but when he got a hold of it, he was electric, scampering for 29 yards on a 3rd-and-13 play.

Emongo capped off the initial possession with a 6-yard touchdown run at the 8:04 mark of the first quarter. Junior kicker Isaiah Elliott’s extra point made it 7-0 for the home side, and it never looked back.

Clark County (0-1) looked like it was in business as it also scored on its opening drive.

A 79-yard kickoff return by junior Athias Morris got the visiting Cards right back into the game. GRC needed just three plays to get on the scoreboard. Junior quarterback Braylon Nester ran up the middle for a 1-yard TD. However, all of the momentum gained by that score was erased when Scott County senior defensive back Aiden Norton got a hand on the point-after-try and batted it down.

Scott County did have to punt on its next drive, but it was one of only two drives that ended with a fourth-down kick.

Junior defensive back Asher Brewer stopped the next GRC possession with an interception at the hosts’ 44-yard line.

The home Cardinals then proceeded to move 56 yards on eight plays over the final 4:13 of the first half, before punching the ball over the goal line on a Emongo 26-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Elliott again added the extra point, his second of six on the night.

After a 6-play drive highlighted by Stryker Davidson’s 35-yard run that included the senior running back shaking off multiple tacklers, Clark County’s fortunes evaporated after a fumble that was returned 11 yards by junior defensive back Ju Ju Harmon.

The hosts went back to their ground game and racked up 68 yards on 10 plays, while using up five minutes and 38 seconds on the clock. Emongo’s third touchdown came on a 5-yard run after receiving a pitch from Ellison. Scott County benefitted from a 4th-and-10 pass interference penalty from the 11-yard line. That gave the team new life.

Right before the end of the first half, GRC converted a 4th-and-8 fake punt when upback Davidson took the direct snap and scampered for the first down. The visitors got the ball down to the 21-yard line before the clock ran out on a hook-and-ladder play that advanced just eight yards.

Things did not get better for the visiting Cardinals as they went 4-and-out on their first possession of the second half. Scott County needed just five plays to get back on the board with an 86-yard drive that included a 41-yard run by Way, which got the ball down to the GRC 31-yard line. On the next play, Ellison connected with Emongo for the score.

Clark County benefitted from a pass interference call deep in its own territory on a 4th-and-4 play. But the visitors could only get as far as the Scott County 49, before an Emongo interception that was returned 37 yards got the ball back in the hands of the hosts. A penalty on the play wiped out most of the yardage, with SCHS starting the drive on its 35-yard line.

The hosts went 3-and-out for the second time of the night, aided by the defense pressure put on by senior Cole Rose and sophomore Tripp Cecil, with the former making a 1-yard tackle for loss on 3rd-and-8.

Clark could not convert that momentum into a first down as its 4th-and-2 pass play from its 48-yard line fell incomplete.

Scott County’s next drive straddled the third and fourth quarter, ending after four plays and 48 yards, and concluding with a 22-yard run by Way.

Davidson had a nifty return on the ensuing kick that included him breaking free from a scrum for a 19-yard gain. Buoyed by the return, the visitors mounted an impressive 13-play drive that moved the ball down to the Scott County 7, before unsuccessfully attempting a pass on 4th-and-5.

GRC’s possession chewed up most of the fourth-quarter clock, giving the ball back to the hosts with 4:36 to play. However, the home-standing Cardinals needed just two minutes and 10 seconds of it as junior running back Jayden Garrett pushed the game into running-clock territory with a 47-yard touchdown run.

It was a tough outing for the Red and White Cardinals, but coach Joe Chico found some bright spots.

“We never gave up. We continued to fight. I’m proud of my guys. Proud of the work. We just gotta get better,” he said. “I mean, they’re a good football team, so give them credit. They executed. We missed on a few things and that’s what happens. Just proud of the guys, proud of the coaches, proud of all of them. We just gotta keep getting better.”

Scott County scored all six of its touchdowns on drives that lasted less than five minutes and 39 seconds.

Scott Country travels across the county to face rival Great Crossing next Friday, while GRC will look to bounce back against Hurricane (W.Va.) next Saturday at home in the Clark County Hall of Fame Bowl.

George Rogers Clark 6 0 0 0 | 6

Scott County 7 14 7 14 | 42

First Quarter

SC – Timmy Emongo 6-yard run (Isaiah Elliott kick), 8:04 7-0

GRC – Braylon Nester 1-yard run (kick blocked), 6:59 7-6

Second Quarter

SC – Emongo 26-yard run (Elliott kick), 11:52 14-6

SC – Emongo 5-yard run (Elliott kick), 4:02 21-6

Third Quarter

SC – Emongo 31-yard pass from Charlie Ellison (Elliott kick), 8:24 28-6

Fourth Quarter

SC – Skyler Way 22-yard run (Elliott kick), 11:54 35-6

SC – Jayden Garrett 47-yard run (Elliott kick), 2:26 42-6

Rushing: SC (42-370) Skyler Way (17-163), Timmy Emongo (14-104), Jayden Garrett (2-46), Jay Herring (1-26). GRC (24-171) Stryker Davidson (9-84), Braylon Nester (7-59), Athias Morris (2-15), Landon Belcher (7-14), Team (1- -1).

Passing: SC Charlie Ellison (2-4-0 42). GRC Carter Muzic (8-15-2 57), Braylon Nester (2-4-0 17).

Receiving: SC (2-42) Timmy Emongo (1-31), Ju Ju Harmon (1-11). GRC (10-74) Braylon Nester (4-37), Gunnar Martin (3-17), Haddon Cecil (1-9), Santi Guerrant (1-3), Athias Morris (1-1).