Washington Outlasts Kentucky 47-42 To Improve To 5-4

The Washington Wolfpack faced off against the Kentucky Barrels on Saturday night. This game wasn’t originally on the schedule. However, with some rescheduling needed, Kentucky was willing to travel to Washington. The game was a back-and-forth battle. Washington outlasted Kentucky 47-42 after holding Kentucky to just 12 points in the second half.

First Half Feeling Each Other Out

On the first drive, Washington was moving the ball down the field. However, a fumble went right into Kentucky’s hands. Kentucky moved the ball down the field as Overstreet threw the ball to Karonce Higgins twice in a row, the second time starting for a touchdown. 

In the second drive, Deshon Williams was able to move the ball down the field nine yards at the start. Brandon Lombana kept the ball moving down the field, driving the Pack down to the 17-yard line. On fourth down from the six-yard line, the Wolfpack went for it. However, Phoenix stepped back and threw an interception. 

Back on defense, Kentucky was moving the ball down the field. As they were, Eugene Ford knocked the ball out of the wide receiver's hand, and Washington recovered the ball to get back on offense. With the ball back, Phoenix hit Brandon Lombana for a twenty-yard gain to set the Wolfpack up heading into the second quarter. To start the second quarter, the Wolfpack scored as Phoenix hit Aakiel Greer for the touchdown to tie the game 7-7.

On the next drive, the Barrels drove the game down to the 1-yard line. They didn’t get the touchdown on their first attempt. On the second attempt, the Kentucky quarterback Overstreet ran it in for a quarterback sneak to take the lead, 14-7.

Immediately on the next drive, Phoenix threw a bomb to Deshon Williams, but the defense played it tight. The next play, Phoenix was tackled by defensive tackle Ezekiel Rose for a safety, giving the Barrels a 16-7 lead. 

Due to the safety, the Barrels got the ball and moved the ball to the ten-yard line in one big play to Flanagan to give the Barrels first and goal. On the next play, Melvin Hollins, the big offensive lineman, scored a touchdown to give the Barrels a 23-7 lead in the second quarter. 

The Wolfpack didn’t hesitate on the next drive as Phoenix hit Williams and then Greer on back-to-back passes. Phoenix then hit Aakiel Greer for another touchdown to bring the game to 23-13. With (kicker name) hurt, Deshon Williams took over kicking duties. 

Overstreet didn’t waste much time, hitting Higgins on a crossing route. Higgins made a shifty move and ended up scoring a touchdown to take a 30-13 lead with 49 seconds left. The Barrels did an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Barrels touched the ball at the nine-yard line, which gave the Wolfpack the ball as a first-and-goal at the nine-yard line. 

The Wolfpack were able to take advantage of the good field position. On fourth and goal, Eric Phoenix hit Deshon Williams for the touchdown to pull within nine points, 30-21. Without much time left in the half, the Barrels tried a full-field play. Wolfpack defensive back Machian Lee was able to intercept the ball. A big fight broke out afterwards, resulting in multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Nobody was ejected as the teams headed into halftime. 

Chippy Second Half Start

To start the second half, multiple players from the Kentucky Barrrels were ejected, and Donte Reed from the Wolfpack was also ejected. Kentucky was able to move the ball down to a first and goal, taking minutes off the board. The Wolfpack held them to fourth and goal and were able to hold the Barrels at the one-yard line to get the ball back with 7:28 left in the third quarter. The Wolfpack trailed 30-21.

From the one-yard line, Eric Phoenix hit Tyler Stephens for a 49-yard touchdown. The Wolfpack went for two with their kicker hurt, but didn’t convert. They trailed 30-27. The defense wasted no time making another big play, as Byron Edwards intercepted the ball in the end zone and returned it to the 15-yard line. 

The Pack drove the ball down to the nine-yard line when Eric Phoenix threw an interception, giving the Barrels the ball back with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. The Pack headed into the fourth quarter, trailing 30-27. The defense wasn’t done, as Deshon Williams rushed the quarterback, forced a fumble, and Jazz Rashid recovered in the endzone. 

The Wolfpack took a 33-30 lead with 13 minutes left in the game. The Barrels wasted no time, as Overstreet hit Desmond Epps for a long pass that took them down to the ten-yard line. On the next play, Desmond Epps caught another pass on a crossing route and scored a touchdown. The Barrels went for two but didn’t get it. They held a 36-33 lead. 

The Wolfpack started hot right away as Brandon Lombana caught a 20-yard pass, bringing the pack down to the 17-yard line. On fourth-and-ten, the ball was intercepted. However, Kentucky was offsides, giving them one more shot on fourth down with just six and a half minutes left in the game. On fourth-and-five, Phoenix hit Brandon Lombana for a touchdown. The Wolfpack took the lead back. They nailed the two-point conversion to go up 41-36.

On the very next play, Wolfpack defensive back Machian Lee intercepted the ball to get the ball back for the Pack with just under five minutes left in the game. Three plays later, Deshon Williams took a short pass to the house for a 37-yard touchdown to take a 47-36 lead with less than three minutes left.

With one minute left, the Wolfpack held on to their 11-point lead. The Barrels moved the ball to the 11-yard line after a long pass to Desmond Epps from Overstreet. The barrels scored on the next play. However, they did not get the two-point conversion, and were still behind 47-42 with forty seconds left. 

The Kentucky Barrels attempted an onside kick after that. Tyler Stephens grabbed the ball and immediately went down, giving the Wolfpack the ball at the ten-yard line. The Wolfpack ran the clock out to hang on to their 47-42 win.

Franchise Records

Not only have the Washington Wolfpack won three games in a row, but this is also their fifth win. It's the most wins in franchise history. On top of that, it's the first time the Wolfpack has been over .500 in their program's history. The Wolfpack believe in themselves, starting at the very top. That belief is spreading as Washington hung on and defeated one of the best teams in the league, record-wise.