By HARVEY SIMPSON

Dispatch Sports Editor

LOUISVILLE — Unable to make Thomas Jefferson’s favorite jet sweep plays crash and burn more times than they safely landed in the end zone, Fullington Academy’s Trojans dropped a gut-wrenching 30-24 GISA Class A state semifinal decision Friday night.

That outcome advanced the host Jaguars to a sixth state championship game appearance in the last nine years. They’ll play host this Friday to Terrell Academy, a 28-0 winner over Briarwood in the other semifinal. Fullington finishes its best season in years with an 8-4 mark.

“Our kids played their hearts out and never quit,” frustrated Trojans’ head coach Ken Fowler said. “Even after we got down by 14 late in the game, we battled back and had a chance to win before throwing an interception that allowed them to run out the clock.

“From a fan perspective, it was a great game to watch but from the standpoint of our players and coaches the loss really stings. The further I get removed from the game, the prouder I am of the accomplishments of our kids, par

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ticularly the seniors and the job they did these last two years in turning our program around.”

Fullington wasted no time in showing the heavily-favored home team it had come to play, getting a 70-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game. Caleb Frenchko recorded it when he hit off left tackle behind a key block by Stephen Simmons. Frenchko then ran the conversion to leave the home crowd stunned and the Jaguars facing an 8-0 deficit just 1:24 into the contest.

Much of the remainder of the period turned into a defensive struggle before Thomas Jefferson cranked up a 14-play, 71-yard scoring drive capped by Austin Dressell’s 7-yard run with 10:05 left in the half. A missed PAT left the home team trailing 8-6.

“On that drive, they kept running their best play — the jet sweep — just like they’ve being doing for years,” Fowler said. “Sometimes we did OK against it and sometimes we didn’t. When it’s blocked right, it’s hard to stop.”

After the Trojans shanked a punt on their ensuing possession, the Jaguars set up shop just 36 yards away from the Fullington end zone. On the first snap from there, Taylor Barrentine reached paydirt on a —yep, you guessed it —jet sweep. He also ran the two-point conversion for a 14-8 lead.

“At that point in the game, our guys really showed a lot of character in the face of all the excitement on Thomas Jefferson’s sideline by responding to their score with one of our own,” Fowler said. It came on an eight-snap, 80-yard march that ended on Dylan Gay’s 14-yard sprint. Brandon Bailey’s conversion run put Fullington back on top, 16-14.

“At halftime, we were feeling confident we could win but we also knew it would be a battle all the way,” said Fowler who saw his prediction begin to come true when the now 9-2 Jaguars scored less than two minutes into the third period.