Playing without quarterback Jordan Miles against undefeated Marion, IL, at the Stadium of Champions on Friday, the Christian County Colonels used a ground-based attack to lead the Wildcats for much of the first half. But after a rollercoaster fourth quarter that saw the Colonels trail by as many as four touchdowns and then close to within two scores, Marion held on for a 55-38 victory to improve to 4-0.
With Jerry Foster and Prince Northington II splitting time under center, the Colonels scored on their opening possession when JaSean Riley found the endzone from four yards out.
With Christian County leading 8-0 after a two-point conversion, Marion answered on their first possession on a three-yard dive by Ryian Colonne.
Foster added a three-yard TD to make it 14-6 with 5:41 left in the half, but the Colonels wouldn’t score again until they trailed by 28 points early in the fourth quarter.
Jordyn Beverly tied the game with a nine-yard scoring run, and after a failed fourth-down conversion by Christian County, Marion took the lead for good on Patrick Walker’s TD run from five yards out.
Walker and Beverly each added touchdown runs in the third quarter, and Beverly added his third score on a 47-yard scamper to make it 42-14 with 10:30 to play.
A pair of big plays, an 86-yard scoring strike from Northington II to Joshua Bridges and a long scoop and score by Devontravion Wilford, pulled the Colonels to within 12 at 42-30 with just under ten minutes left.
However, Sam Adkins closed the door on a Colonel comeback when he hauled in a pass and went 87 yards to the house. On Christian County’s first play on the ensuing possession, Amarion Owen picked off Northington II for the second time and took it back for a touchdown.
Northington II capped the scoring in the final seconds with a 13-yard TD run and a two-point conversion.
Christian County slipped to 1-3 with a trip to Caldwell County coming up next week. The Colonels were forced to forfeit last season’s game due to the use of an ineligible player, ending a seven-game winning streak in the series.
