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Westry, Meyers, Brumbaugh return home for Taxslayer Bowl

Randy Lefko
Posted 1/5/17

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson passed for 175 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team-high 49 yards and another score, but the Kentucky football team …

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Westry, Meyers, Brumbaugh return home for Taxslayer Bowl


Posted

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson passed for 175 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team-high 49 yards and another score, but the Kentucky football team came up short on Saturday, falling to Georgia Tech 33-18 in the TaxSlayer Bowl at EverBank Field.

Kentucky (7-6) was able to match Georgia Tech’s potent offense, as the Yellow Jackets had 371 yards, while the Wildcats had 324. Tech’s offense came largely on the ground, as the Yellow Jackets rushed for 266 yards, compared to Kentucky’s 149. The Yellow Jackets passed for just 105 yards, while Kentucky threw for 175. Georgia Tech had 21 first downs, compared to 20 for Kentucky.

Defensively, linebackers Jordan Jones and Denzil Ware led Kentucky in tackles with nine apiece. Courtney Love had eight stops, while Josh Allen, Mike Edwards and Marcus McWilson each had seven.

Two area athletes and one coach; Oakleaf High graduatge Chris Westry, a sophomore defensive back for the Wildcats,

Ridgeview High graduate Ramsey Meyers, a junior offensive guard for the Wildcats and Keystone Heights graduate Jimmy Brumbaugh, four years as a defensive line and strength coach, all had special intentions for the game.

Westry, the strong side defender for the Wildcat secondary, returned as a freshman All-Southeastern Conference selection last year, finished a quiet year at his position with opposing teams shying away from the 6-foot-5 defender with a near-12 foot wingspan from fingertip to fingertip.

“To be honest, I don’t know why the numbers are down on my side, but I know I come to work everyday to get better,” said Westry. “The biggest thing this year was to get in the weight room and get bigger. I had to be durable to face up with the bigger guys in our conference.”

Westry met up with former Oakleaf coach Derek Chipoletti at a Wednesday practice at University of North Florida and got emotional about the role of his high school coaches and teammates for his Kentucky successes.

“Playing in my first college bowl game is special knowing where I came from to get here,” said Westry. “It’s good to be home. Everybody is coming to watch.”

For Chipoletti, now doing financial advising in the Jacksonville area after leaving Oakleaf, seeing his former players on television in college bowl games at the SEC level is special.

“These guys are living out their childhood dreams on the big stage,” said Chipoletti, who had Westry at Kentucky and two grads; Shaquille Quarterman and Darrion Owens, both linebackers at the University of Miami, Nelson Santiago, an offensive lineman at University of South Alabama, and Aaron Duckworth, a running back for the University of Idaho, all getting playing time in major college bowls recently. “The same thing I preached to them at Oakleaf; hard work, attention to detail and putting team ahead of self, is what they have used to be successful in life in general. Football is a small part of being a conduit to the real life successes. These guys just happen to be talented enough to be able to play at this level.”

Brumbaugh, who has a storied career as a former Keystone Heights High School and Auburn University standout and long-time college coach starting in 2004 and including stints at LSU (part of 2007 national title coach staff), Syracuse, Louisiana Tech and now Kentucky exuded his excitement with being able to return to the Jacksonville area to perform in front of family and friends.

“Any time you have the ability to play or coach back at home is nice,” said Brumbaugh, who played in three bowl games while an All-SEC lineman Auburn, winning two. “This is only the second time I’ve been able to come back to the Jacksonville area for a bowl game. In the past, it was seven hours to Auburn, 13 hours to Louisiana, now my family only has to travel 35 minutes.”

Brumbaugh’s return as a coach is a little different than as a player.

“Every knows Jacksonville is home to a lot of great athletes,” said Brumbaugh. “I spent two days in Keystone Heights this week, Christmas was at home and it was special. I’m a little bigger these days so I wasn’t recognized on the street like before.”

Brumbaugh noted that kids like him from small towns that have strong football programs are harder to get into college, but that the persistence on and off the field was what got him into big doors.

“They can’t measure heart in a player from film,” said Brumbaugh, who was coached at Keystone Heights by Wesley Dicks and Bob Wright with current coach Chuck Dickinson an assistant coach at the time. “In recruiting, you can see three and five star players in a flash, but things you can’t coach are guys who fly around every play and play anywhere the team needs them.”

Ridgeview High graduate Meyers, a starting guard for the past two years, has already indicated that he will not return to Wildcat football for his senior year in anticipation of other interests.

Against Georgia Tech, Kentucky got the ball first and the Wildcats moved the ball into Georgia Tech territory. But on a third-and-two from the Tech 49, Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson was stripped, and Tech’s P.J. Davis scooped up the fumble and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown, giving the Yellow Jackets and early 7-0 lead.

After a Kentucky punt, Georgia Tech drove 75 yards in 12 plays, but the Kentucky defense held. Tech got a 23-yard field goal by Harrison Butker, giving the Yellow Jackets a 10-0 lead. That would be the score at the end of the first quarter.

On Kentucky’s next drive, the Wildcats drove into the red zone, but the drive stalled, and Kentucky was forced into a 37-yard field goal by Austin MacGinnis which was good, cutting the Georgia Tech lead to 10-3.

The Wildcat defense then forced Georgia Tech into a three-and-out and a punt, giving Kentucky the ball at their own 28 yard line. From there, the Wildcats marched into Georgia Tech territory and when senior running back Jojo Kemp ran right for 25 yards, the Wildcats were in business at the Georgia Tech 14. But on a fourth-and-one from the Georgia Tech five yard line, Kemp was caught in the backfield and stopped short of the marker, giving the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech (9-4) took advantage, driving 94 yards in 11 plays and 4:29, ending with a 21-yard touchdown rush by Justin Thomas, giving the Yellow Jackets a 17-3 lead just before the half.

Kentucky seemed to have the last possession of the half, but on fourth-and-two, Grant McKinniss had his punt blocked, giving Tech one more possession and 24 seconds with which to work. As the half expired, Butker hit a 52-yard field goal to extend the Tech lead to 20-3 at the break.

On the first possession of the second half, Kentucky forced Georgia Tech into a three-and-out, then Nico Firios blocked Ryan Rodwell’s punt, setting the Wildcats up at the Georgia Tech 43. But Kentucky couldn’t take advantage of the good field position, and was forced into a punt of its own.

Neither team could get anything going until late in the third quarter, when Tech got good field position, beginning its drive inside Kentucky territory at the 45 yard line. But after driving inside the Kentucky 25, Tech was forced into another field goal from Butker, who connected from 44 yards to increase the Yellow Jackets’ advantage to 23-3 with 2:15 left in the third period.

As the third quarter ended, Kentucky was mounting perhaps its best drive of the day. And early in the fourth quarter, Johnson hit Dorian Baker in the corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown, cutting Tech’s lead to 23-10 with 13:40 left in the game. Kentucky went 75 yards in 12 plays in 3:33 to score its first touchdown of the game.

Tech responded with a 12-play, 68-yard drive, covering 7:18 and ending with a 26-yard Butker field goal, extending the lead to 26-10.

But Kentucky was not finished. The Wildcats drove 75 yards in nine plays, culminating in a 21-yard scoring scamper by Johnson. Kentucky converted on a two-point conversion when Johnson hit C.J. Conrad, cutting the lead to 26-18 with 3:57 left in the game.

The Wildcats needed a stop on Georgia Tech’s next drive, but the Yellow Jackets drove for a touchdown by Dedrick Mills to seal the game.

Kentucky finishes the season at 7-6, marking the program’s first winning season since 2009. Saturday’s TaxSlayer Bowl was Kentucky’s first bowl appearance since the 2010 BBVA Compass Bowl.

Excerpts from UKathletics.com