Going on five seasons without a win in the playoffs, the Christian County Colonels hit the road on Thursday to face the red-hot Owensboro Red Devils in the first round of the 5A UK Healthcare Sports Medicine State Football Finals.
Owensboro is 8-2, winners of six straight, and advanced to the semifinals last season before falling to Frederick Douglass.
And while the Colonels enter the contest at 2-8 and must look all the way back to 2017 for the program’s last postseason victory, they have some momentum after a 27-20 Senior Night win over McCracken County last week at the Stadium of Champions.
Senior quarterback Jordan Miles went down on the opening drive against the Mustangs, and freshman Deameion Leavell came off the bench to throw for 395 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Miles has posted just over 1,000 yards through the air this season, with seven TDs and seven interceptions. After his breakout performance last week, Leavell has four touchdowns with a pair of interceptions and 557 yards.
Miles also leads the Colonels in rushing with 535 yards and six TDs, followed by Josiah Jenkins with 235 yards and a score.
Elijah Underhill has been the favorite target of the Colonel quarterbacks, with 580 yards receiving and four touchdowns. JaSean Riley has 410 yards and three scores, and Prince Northington II has found his way to the endzone four times with 308 yards.
The Colonels figure to get a heavy dose of Owensboro senior running back, Kenyatta Carbon. Carbon has rushed for 1,178 yards with an eye-popping 21 touchdowns this season.
Red Devil quarterback Kasey Boone has thrown for 1,159 yards with 11 TDs and six interceptions. Khalil Rogers has been his most reliable receiver, with 24 catches for 304 yards and six scores.
The Colonels and Red Devils will kick it off at 6 PM on Thursday at Owensboro’s Rash Stadium. The teams last met in 2018, a 42-28 Owensboro victory. The Red Devils have won two of the last three over the Colonels after Christian County earned four straight victories from 2008 to 2010.
