Cutter Boley not on his "A Game", but LCA still blows past Pikeville

Even when he’s not at the top of his game, Kentucky four-star QB commit Cutter Boley still finds ways to make winning plays. After tossing the ball around for nearly 750 yards and six touchdowns through Lexington Christian Academy’s first two games of the 2023 season, he started off slow against Pikeville on Saturday night in the LCA Bowl.

There would be no shootout this time around, much like there had been in LCA’s first two games — a 56-52 win over Bowling Green and a 47-38 loss to top-ranked Boyle County. Although Saturday night started off with both sides marching down the field for scores, points would be hard to come by for the rest of the half. LCA was clinging to a 13-6 lead after the first two quarters.

But then Boley settled in. He built some momentum with short screen passes before using his legs to push the ball downfield. That opened up more options in the intermediate game. Suddenly, the Pikeville defense, which had allowed an average of 13 points per game through two contests, had been cracked open. LCA would outscore Pikeville 18-7 in the second half thanks to a trio of touchdowns that sealed the 31-13 victory. Boley finished his night 14-22 for 160 yards with one rushing touchdown.

“I think he played a good game,” LCA quarterbacks coach Morgan Newton, who played QB at Kentucky from 2009-13, said of Boley. “He’s just getting better every week and learning from everything that’s going on. Took us some time to get settled in today, but once he did, he did a really good job.”

TOUCHDOWN! 🚨 @LCAEAGLESFB. @cutterBoley rolls out and trots in for a 10-yard score to help put the Eagles up 19-6 10:27 3Q. XP missed. Took opening drive of the 2nd half right down the field pic.twitter.com/ozBU1XemKt

— Jared Peck (@HLpreps) September 3, 2023

“I definitely got a lot better throughout the game,” Boley said afterward. “They came out and there was some different things going on with their defense that I didn’t know about. We missed a few shots deep but that’s what we like to do, we like to take some shots. But it’s always nice to have Brady Hensley in the backfield to help me out. He’s a great player, great leader on our team, and he’s a phenomenal running back. I couldn’t ask for anybody else to be back there with me. I wasn’t on my A-game tonight, but he stepped up, he showed up.”

Hensley, who transferred to LCA from Madison Central over the offseason, more than showed up — he shined. The Eastern Kentucky commit came into Saturday night with 555 rushing yards and six touchdowns already to his name this season. He tacked on four more scores against Pikeville, totaling just a hair under 200 yards with 191 on the evening. A good chunk of his yards came via Boley check-down throws.

“A lot easier to run the football when you have a five-star (quarterback) back there,” Hensley joked.

Lexington Christian Academy (2-1) will be in action again on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. EST in what will be a top-10 showdown on the road against Christian Academy-Louisville.

Future ‘Cat learning from a former ‘Cat

Boley is still a few months away from making it to Kentucky’s campus as an early-enrollee freshman, but he’s already being prepped for life as a Southeastern Conference quarterback. Morgan Newton has been coaching Boley since the latter arrived as a transfer from LaRue County ahead of the 2022 season.

Newton knows first-hand what it takes to play the position at UK, and he sees those traits in Boley.

“He’s made a ton of jumps,” Newton said of Boley. “He’s obviously a year older, he’s done a lot of good things with his footwork and his mechanics. He’s really starting to understand the game more and what defenses are trying to do to him. I think he’s just gonna continue to get better. He’s a sponge. He loves the game and he’ll keep improving.”

Boley even got his first taste of the Big Blue Nation as a commit on Saturday afternoon. Prior to leading LCA past Pikeville, he stopped by Kroger Field to catch the first half of Kentucky’s 44-14 win over Ball State. Not only did he soak in the action and meet with the team beforehand, but he was also engaging with the many visiting recruits who made the trip to Lexington.

“I thought (Kentucky) looked great. I loved the way the offense was running. There was definitely a few mistakes but that’s all gonna get lined out by the end of the year,” Boley said. “I thought the offense looked great, I really liked all the weapons UK has. I feel like they got a bunch of good guys in that program right now. Young guys, old guys, whatever — really good combination of guys in that locker room and I really enjoy being around them.”

Expect Boley to be a regular visitor at Kroger Field this fall as he begins to incorporate himself within the Kentucky football program.