WATCH Cameron Racke interview with TSF's Brady Laber in the video player above.
INDEPENDENCE, Kentucky – Cam Racke said he had a bad feeling about Friday's game even before Simon Kenton's second snap sailed over his head and set up a Conner touchdown.
“We came out today flat. I knew something bad was going to happen," the three-year senior starter said. "Sure enough, first possession, the snap goes over my head on a miscommunication. Loud crowd … I love their enthusiasm. We just misunderstood the call and they pounded it in on us.”
Conner built a two-touchdown lead before the unbeaten Colonels knew what hit them. It was up to Racke to calm his teammates and get them back on track. And he succeeded, leading Simon Kenton to a 39-27 victory.
"Took them over to the sideline, got on a knee in front of them, looked them in the eye and said, 'We're in trouble,'" Racke said. "We ain't used to be being down. Everybody's freakin' out. The crowd's silent. Nobody knows what to do.
"Told them they just got to relax and play football. Do what we do, and that's what they did. Finally we got the lead and didn't look back from there."
Racke, who also lined up at running back and wide receiver, led a second-quarter comeback that put the Pioneers ahead for good. He scored on a 5-yard touchdown run and followed Matt Shearer's 77-yard TD pass to Fisher Hayden with a two-point conversion run.
Shearer was a big part of the game plan as he and Racke were on the field at the same time for much of the game. On the TD pass to Hayden, Shearer first faked a handoff to Racke and froze the defense.
"Having two quarterbacks, we usually get out there and the other team's sideline starts freakin' out. Nobody knows what's coming," Racke said.
"We can do a lot of stuff out of that formation. Matt's a great ballplayer. He's slinging it all over the field. He can run the ball, too. I like that formation a lot."
Racke showed his guts when he had to leave the game twice in the second half - first with a sprained knee and later when he cramped up because his knee brace was too tight.
“Cam really put us on his back tonight,” said head coach Jeff Marksberry. “He’s our leader, a three-year starter, team captain, and those are the kind of things we have come to expect out of him.”
Listen to what else Marksberry had to say:
Simon Kenton (3-0) will go on the road next week to take on Dixie Heights while Conner (1-1) will host Scott.
