The Christian County Colonels dropped their second-straight game in sloppy conditions, falling 15-12 at Madisonville-North Hopkins on Friday night. The Colonels fall to 4-5 overall, while the Maroons claim their fifth-straight win to improve to 7-2 on the year.
After a scoreless first quarter, Jase Polley recovered a Maroon fumble with 3:27 left in the first half. However, on 1st down, the Colonels put the ball on the ground and were forced to fall on it in their end zone for a Madisonville safety. The game looked set to go into halftime with a 2-0 score, but Madisonville’s Marquise Parker picked off a J’Lin Powell pass and returned it 20 yards for the first touchdown of the game with :21 to play in the half. The Maroons were unsuccessful on the the 2-point attempt and took a 9-0 lead into the break.
On the first play of the second half, the Maroons handed Christian County a break, with Antonio Abren falling on a fumble to give the Colonels a 1st and 10 at the Madisonville 27-yard line. However, the Colonels were stuffed on a screen pass on 4th and 4 from the 25 and turned the ball over on downs.
On the Maroons’ next drive, the Colonels were called for 3 pass interference penalties, the first of which nullified a Christian County interception. With 3:15 left in the 3rd quarter, the Colonels came up with their third fumble recovery when Cambrin Hayes picked up a loose ball on their own 39-yard line.
As the third quarter expired, the Maroons pinned Christian County on its own 1-yard line with a punt. The Colonels were unable to move the ball and were forced to punt from their end zone, with a bad snap to Polley forcing him to run the ball out to the Colonels’ 6, setting up the Maroons for what looked to be a sure 7 points. But the Colonel defense came through again, with Abren scooping up his second fumble recovery of the game and taking it 94 yards for a momentum-swinging touchdown. They were unsuccessful on a 2-point attempt, the second week in a row that the Colonels failed to add a single point after touchdowns, and they trailed 9-6 with 9:09 to play.
The Maroons answered with their first offensive score of the night, with Aaron Miller beating the Colonels to the sideline and motoring 44 yards for a touchdown. After another failed 2-point attempt, Madisonville led 15-6 with just over 6:00 left to play.
The Colonels took possession on the Maroon 30-yard line with a minute on the clock, with Powell finding Nate McGregor for 27 yards to the 3. Powell finished it off with a touchdown plunge for the final points of the game, as the Colonels would fumble on the 2-point attempt.
Christian County closes out the regular season next Friday with a visit from Paducah Tilghman. The Blue Tornado blow into Hopkinsville at 7-2 and riding a 3-game win streak. Madisonville goes on the road next week for a meeting with the 1-8 Fort Campbell Falcons.
