Both the Hancock County Hornets and the Todd County Central Rebels knew one thing headed into their district battle Friday night, win and your season would continue into the Class 2A football playoffs, lose and you would be packing up the gear for the season following next weekend’s action. So, while it was not ‘officially’ a playoff game, it essentially was just that for both the Hornets and the Rebels as they squared off in Elkton.
The Rebels’ postseason fate would not be secure until they stopped Hancock County on a 4th down and 25 in the final minute of the game as Todd County Central held on for a 16-14 win. The 4th down stop was necessitated after the Hornets scored on a one-yard touchdown run from Kaleb Keown with 1:29 left in the game and then recovered the ensuing onside kickoff, giving Hancock County one last chance to pull the game out of the fire.
On the fourth down play, the Hornets caught the pass on their own sideline, however, it was caught out of bounds, giving the Rebels the ball back and sending them into the Class 2A playoffs in two weeks.
Early on in the contest, defense ruled for both teams. Neither team could find the end zone in the first 12 minutes of the game. The Rebels were held to just two first downs in the opening quarter, while the Todd Central defense limited the Hornets to just one.
The Rebels finally broke through on their second possession of the second quarter. After a Nate Reding interception gave Todd Central the ball at their own 49, the Rebels drove 51 yards in seven plays, capping off the drive with a three yard touchdown run from Jamarion Smith. After the two-point conversion, Todd Central led 8-0 with 4:13 left in the opening half.
It did not take the Hornets long to respond. Three plays later, Hancock County quarterback Cole Dixon escaped a collapsing pocket and rambled 58 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 8-6 with 3:06 to go in the first half. That would be the score as the two teams headed off the field at the break.
The Rebel defense limited Hancock County to just three first downs and 114 total yards in the half. Todd Central was a bit more productive, picking up 8 first downs and 149 total yards.
The third quarter was much like the first, with neither team able to strike paydirt. Hancock County gave up an interception while the Rebels turned the ball over on a fumble. When the third quarter ended, the scored was still 8-6.
After stopping Hancock County on downs with 11:47 to go in the game, the Rebels took the ball at their own 38 yard line and chewed up more than four minutes on an 8-play scoring drive that was capped off with a 30 yard touchdown run from Jamarion Smith with 7:18 to go. After the 2-point conversion, the Todd Central lead was 16-6.
Hancock County responded with a long 15-play drive that cut the lead to 16-14, but the drive chewed up nearly six minutes and left the Hornets with no choice but to try an onside kick. The Hornets recovered the ball but a holding penalty set them behind the eight ball and they never got out from behind the penalty yardage.
Todd County Central finished the night with 256 total yards, 145 on the ground and 111 through the air. Jamarion Smith led the ground attack with 125 yards and two touchdowns. Nate Reding was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 54 yards. Gavyn Nolan finished the game 10-19-1 for 111 yards passing.
The win improves the Rebels to 5-4 on the year and 1-3 in district play. Hancock County falls to 6-3 and 1-3 in the district. Todd Central wins the tiebreaker with the Hornets due to the head-to-head win.
The Rebels will now host Green County next Saturday afternoon at 3. Todd Central will play at Mayfield in two weeks during the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs.
