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In a matchup of the state's last two Class 6-A runners-up, Scott County ran away from Pleasure Ridge Park quickly Friday night.

The Cardinals forced three turnovers and scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back in a 63-21 rout at Georgetown College's Toyota Stadium.

PRP (2-1), last year's second-place finisher, had six turnovers in all, including two that were returned for touchdowns. Within 10 minutes, the Cardinals had flown past the Panthers.

Scott County had a 60-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to set up a score and another TD carry of 78 yards following an interception. Then, after PRP's Blake Byerly lost a fumble on a sack, defensive lineman Jeremiah Happy returned it 8 yards for a TD and a 21-0 lead at the 3:11 mark of the first quarter.

"I kind of felt like we spotted them 21 points," PRP coach Jason Hiser said. "We started fighting, and there were some times that we showed that we could compete. All phases of the game kind of seesawed. If the offense was playing good, the defense was playing bad. If the defense did something good, the offense had a bad series. ...

"But you know where you need to get better early on, and that's why we scheduled them."

Theo Price rushed for three touchdowns for Scott County, while sophomore Noah Hughes led the Cardinals with 158 rushing yards and scored once. Scott County had 330 yards on the ground.

The Cardinals converted two more PRP turnovers into TDs in the fourth quarter, including Brad Caldwell's 29-yard interception return for the game's final scoring play. The Panthers also lost a fumble on the last play of the game.

"The best motto is always to get ahead and figure out some way to stay ahead," Scott County coach Jim McKee said. "If you get ahead, it's a little less pressure than playing from behind."

The Panthers moved the ball when they could hold onto it and showed they have multiple playmakers. They led Scott County in total yards (467-421), first downs (26-18) and time of possession (29:08-18:52).

Byerly completed 14 of 23 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown but was picked off twice. Deshan Rushin caught six passes for 168 yards, and Malik Warner caught six for 119 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown play in the third quarter. Delvon Dunn ran for 131 yards and a TD.

PRP, which lost to Trinity in last year's state final, had won 14 straight regular-season games since falling 35-7 to Butler on Oct. 14, 2011.

"It was frustrating," Warner said. "We made a couple big plays, then one play would mess up the whole drive. ... We knew they were going to come out and hit us. We needed to come out and hit them first, but we didn't do it."

Scott County did most of its damage without a big game from wide receiver and Mr. Football candidate Scott Daniel, who had four catches for 43 yards, including a 16-yarder for TD that made it 56-21.

The Cardinals have beaten Lafayette, Ryle and PRP by a combined score of 175-57.

"We didn't lose a lot from last year's team that went to the state semifinals and gave Trinity a run," Daniel said. "These guys were tops in 6-A, and we're tops in 6-A, and I don't think we should be taken lightly. That's not a cocky a statement. We've proved it the last three games we've played, and I think these first three games are the hardest on our schedule. I think we sent a message that we're for real."

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