‘It’s like a family.’ Transfers already helping elevate Tates Creek football.

If BJ Evans Jr. and Darnell Burnside Jr. hadn’t already fit in with their new Tates Creek teammates before the season opener, their performances in the Commodores’ 48-6 home win over Eastern last Friday probably smoothed over any rough edges.

Evans, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior transfer from Lexington Christian, rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns against Louisville’s Eagles. Burnside, a 6-2, 175-pound junior transfer from Frederick Douglass, threw for 144 yards, including touchdown passes of 38 yards to JT Cooper and 43 yards to Marquis Hale.

“We had a great performance,” Evans said. “We played good as a team. The line did what they did and I got my yards and (Burnside) got his touchdowns.”

Evans nearly matched his 2023 yards, carries and TDs in one game. Playing behind Eastern Kentucky signee Brady Hensley at LCA last year, he rushed for 258 yards and five scores, fewer yards and touchdowns than he had as a freshman.

At Douglass, Burnside saw limited action as the second-string quarterback. He’s happy he made the switch from orange to maroon.

“It’s like a family,” Burnside said. “They welcomed me like I’d been here already.”

In his second season as head coach, Jonathan Hawks led Tates Creek to an 8-4 record and a district championship, but the Commodores graduated a ton of offensive production, which included leading rusher Marquevion Smith and Andrew Witherington, a three-year starter at quarterback.

Evans and Burnside transferred to Tates Creek over the winter break. Hawks, of course, was pleased with their first game out.

“We just ask them to come out and play loose,” Hawks said. “The team brought those guys along. … We talk about “C-R-K,” the Creek brand, and they fit right into it. They really came in and understood what we needed from them as a teammate.”

In recent years, Lexington Christian has drawn a number of high-profile transfers, like Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley from LaRue County in 2022 and Hensley from Madison Central in 2023. LCA coach Doug Charles isn’t used to seeing someone go., but he wasn’t shocked Evans had a breakout game for his new team.

“We’re not surprised at all. God gave him a lot of great gifts and he’s enhanced those. He’s hard-working and has an immense amount of talent,” Charles said. “Kids come and go in this day in high school football. Fortunately, we’ve had more come than go, but when they go, they’re still our guys and we wish them the very best.”

Tates Creek hosts Madison Southern on Friday. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Four-star Kentucky commit sees action for Douglass

Cedric Works, a 6-4, 220-pound senior defensive end from Clayton, Ohio, became eligible for Frederick Douglass in time for the Broncos’ 35-13 win over Bowling Green on Saturday.

The four-star Kentucky commit had 2.5 tackles as he eased his way into the defensive rotation.

“He’s going to keep working into it,” Douglass coach Nathan McPeek said. “He’s only had X amount of practices in our system. But you saw his pass rush ability right there and how twitchy he is. He’s only going to get better.”

Douglass faces its toughest test of the regular season Friday when it hosts No. 1 Trinity (1-0), the defending Class 6A champions. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

The No. 3 Broncos (1-0) split a pair of games with the Shamrocks in Louisville last season, but lost the most important one, 14-7 in overtime, in the state semis.

This week’s other Lexington matchups

Games are Friday unless noted.

Bryan Station (0-1) at Boyle County (1-0), 8 p.m. Saturday: Defenders are in the middle of a stretch of playing three straight defending state champions. This week, it’s the Class 4A No. 1 team in Danville.

Franklin County (1-0) vs. Lexington Christian (0-1) (at Boyle County), 5 p.m. Saturday: The Flyers ranked No. 5 in Class 4A this preseason. The Eagles’ brutal out-of-district schedule could leave them 0-5 heading into their first district game on Sept. 27 at Shawnee.

Madison Central (1-0) at Lexington Catholic (0-1) 7:30 p.m.: Indians defeated Class 4A power Johnson Central 25-14 last week. The Knights lost 17-7 at Highlands.

Lafayette (1-0) at Henry County (1-0), 7:30 p.m.: The Generals won their season opener for the first time since 2018 led by JJ Richardson’s 146 yards rushing.

Sayre (1-0) at Bracken County (1-0), 7:30 p.m.: The Polar Bears won’t be a pushover.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (0-1), at Woodford County (1-0), 8:45 p.m.: The Yellow Jackets have routed the Bulldogs in their two meetings this decade.

Cooper (1-0) at Henry Clay (0-1) 7:30 p.m.: The visiting Jaguars were Class 5A runner-up last season and have four-star North Carolina commit Austin Alexander.

This week’s big rivalries

Games are Friday unless noted.

Great Crossing at Scott County, 7:30 p.m.: It’s the first true “home” game for the Cardinals in 30 years.

Highlands at Covington Catholic, 8 p.m.: One of the state’s most storied rivalries.

Also: Owensboro at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.; Murray at Calloway County, 7 p.m.; Male at Ballard, 7:30 p.m.; Johnson Central at Pikeville, 8 p.m. Saturday.

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Vote: Kentucky.com’s high school football defensive player of the week (Week 1)

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