No. 3 Male holds off No. 8 Frederick Douglass 31-28 in top-ten clash

No. 3 Male solidified itself as a top-three team in the state Friday night as the Bulldogs took down No. 8 Frederick Douglass 31-28 in KSR’s Game of the Week.

Louisville commit Antonio Harris dominated for the Bulldogs, hauling in three receiving touchdowns (all in the first half) to push his season total to six. Junior quarterback Jordan Williams finished with four passing touchdowns (three to Harris), setting a single-game career high.

Frederick Douglass’ up-and-down season continues, as the Broncos fell to 3-3 with the loss. All three losses however are quality L’s, as they’ve come to No. 3 Male, No. 6 Trinity, and No. 16 DuPont Manual. The Bronco strength of schedule is no joke.

Male gets its revenge on Douglass, as the Broncos held off the Bulldogs 22-21 in last season’s Class 6A Playoffs. Male three-star OL Isaac Sowells Jr., who committed to NC State back in July, was proud of his team following the win.

“Frederick Douglass beat us on the road last year. They came in our place and beat us. We went for two and didn’t get it and that hurt,” Sowells said. “We keep that in our memory. Next time we got a chance to play these guys, we knew we had to come in and handle business.”

Sowells, who picked the Wolfpack over South Carolina, Kentucky, and Louisville, was matched up against Frederick Douglass four-star EDGE rusher Cedric Works Jr. for most of the game. Works Jr. committed to Kentucky in June.

I enjoy watching these line of scrimmage battles between 2 of the top players in KY. Isaac Sowells (72) and Cedric Works (5).

Good game here at The Farm in this top 10 matchup.

Male 21
Douglass 14

Half pic.twitter.com/VnjORoyIf6

— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) October 5, 2024

“When you play a guy of that caliber, of course you’ve got to watch film on him,” Sowells said. “He’s a tall, lanky guy so I knew he might try and beat me with some speed and some long arms. I just knew I had to play to my technique and I knew I had a great O-line coach in my pops (Isaac Sowells), preparing me for guys like that.”

Male was practically handed its first points of the game as Douglass quarterback Jaxon Strautman fumbled on his own 18-yard line to set the Bulldogs up with prime field position. On the next play, quarterback Jordan Williams found Antonio Harris wide open for the score from 15-yards out.

Douglass bounced back quickly however, as a long pass from Strautman to three-star Western Michigan commit Aveion Chenault set the Broncos up nicely at the Male 20-yard line. Chenault had to lay out for it, but a Strautman wobbler over the middle of the end zone was hauled in for the Bronco score to tie the game at seven as the first quarter came to an end.

The Bulldogs however swung momentum with 14 consecutive points, both courtesy of the Louisville commit Harris. On Male’s first play from scrimmage following the Douglass score, Williams hit Harris in stride for a 73-yard touchdown. After forcing a Bronco punt that traveled less than 10 yards, Williams found Harris in the corner of the end zone from 15 yards out for the duo’s third score of the game.

Jordan Williams to Antonio Harris for 73 a yard bomb makes it 14-7 Male over Douglass 2Q. Harris now has both receiving touchdowns for Male. pic.twitter.com/78ZND9ZN6r

— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) October 5, 2024

Bronco running back Pharo Watts cut the deficit to seven at the half with a rushing touchdown just before the break, but Male pushed its lead back out to 14 with Williams’ fourth passing touchdown of the game. This time Williams found senior receiver Camden Angelini from 20 yards out near the end of the third quarter.

Douglass put up a good fight with 14 points in the fourth quarter, but a Male field goal with three minutes remaining was good enough to hold on for the win.

The Bulldogs improve to 5-1 on the season and now hold quality wins over No. 4 St. Xavier and No. 8 Frederick Douglass. The Broncos fall to 3-3 and will travel to No. 23 Madison Central next Friday night as they look to get back over the .500 mark.