Christian County RB JaDonavin McNeal found the end zone 5 times on Friday night against visiting Graves County, but an inability to tack on points after the scores cost the Colonels in a 44-36 loss to the Eagles. Christian County misses on an opportunity to assure a first-round home game in the playoffs, slipping to 4-4 overall. Graves County wins its third-straight to also even its record at 4-4.
After Zadae Jones-Wilson picked off a pass by Eagles’ quarterback Ryan Mathis, the Colonels handed the ball back on a fumble. Graves County wasted no time getting in the end zone on a 31-yard strike, but had the extra point blocked. McNeal kicked off his big night with a 2-yard touchdown run, with Ben Settle’s extra point sailing wide.
Less than a minute elapsed before the Eagles were back on top, with Nelson Browning hauling in a Mathis pass for a 68-yard touchdown. McNeal responded with his second touchdown, getting in from 13 yards. In what would become a theme, the Colonels couldn’t punch in the 2-point conversion and trailed 14-12 with 6:00 left in the half. Another big play, this time a 36-yard touchdown catch by Drew Cooper with 5:00 until halftime, gave the Eagles a 20-12 advantage that they took into the break.
Graves County seemed to take control early in the third quarter when Mathis ran it in himself for a 28-12 lead. However, it only took the Colonels a couple of minutes to respond, with McNeal breaking a 41- yard scoring run. Once again, the 2-point attempt was no good, leaving the score at 28-18.
Momentum swung to the Colonels when Jase Polley stepped in front of a screen pass and rumbled 46 yards for the score, but they were unsuccessful on the 2-point play again. With under 2:00 in the third, Christian County took its first lead of the night on McNeal’s fourth scoring run. The 2-point attempt was no good, and the Colonels led 30-28.
McNeal’s final score of the night came on a 6-yard run with 11:00 to play, but an unsuccessful conversion kept it a one-possession game. Inside of the final 5:00, Mathis capped off a drive that began at mid-field with a 2-yard end-zone plunge. The Eagles tacked on 2 more points with a clever reverse and pass to tie the game at 36-36.
The Colonels were forced to punt near mid-field, but a fumbled snap gave the Eagles to ball on the County 36-yard line with 1:28 to play. Graves County moved the ball to a 1st and goal from the 5, before Mathis found his way into the end zone and ran in the 2-point conversion for the final 44-36 score.
