After a first half during which little went right for Christian County on Friday night at the Stadium of Champions, the Colonel defense stiffened and the offense found its footing to mount a second-half comeback against visiting Daviess County.
However, time ran out on the rally to hand the Colonels a 24-16 district defeat and a fourth loss in their last five.
Both teams ended the night at 2-5, with Daviess winning for the second week in a row and the Colonels dropping their second straight since knocking off Caldwell County on September 21.
Daviess was in the endzone within the first two minutes of the game when Sam Oberst scored from eight yards out. The extra point was good, and Christian County trailed 7-0.
On 4th and 16 from their own 33, Colonel quarterback Jordan Miles fumbled to give Daviess a 1st and goal from the County 8-yard line. However, the Christian County defense held the Panthers to a field goal for a 10-0 score with 1:50 left in the opening quarter.
Another ill-advised 4th-down conversion attempt handed Daviess County another touchdown. Daviess’ Aydan Ayer picked off Miles’ pass and returned it to the Colonel 1-yard line with just over a minute left in the half. Josh Coffey punched it in on 1st down to send the Panthers into the break with a 17-0 cushion.
With their backs against the wall, the Colonels marched down the field on the opening possession of the second half and received some luck when Miles fumbled forward to set up a 1st and goal from the Daviess 4-yard line. Senior lineman Theo Quarles punched it in from two yards out for his career-first touchdown and added the 2-point conversion to give Christian County some life.
However, the momentum was short-lived. Daviess County’s Jace Hunt caught the ensuing kickoff on the run and hit the left sideline for a touchdown to restore the two-score advantage with 7:14 left in the third.
Christian County again cut it to eight points when Jermaine Dove capped a solid second-half performance with a three-yard scoring run on 4th down. Quarles added his second 2-point run to make it 24-16 with 7:31 to play.
Desperate to get the ball back with four minutes left, the Colonels stopped the Panthers on 3rd down before a late hit extended the drive. After Hunt ran for a 1st down, another Colonel’s late hit gave Daviess the ball at the six-yard line with 1:50 on the clock.
But on 1st down, Christian County’s Isaiah Davidson fell on a Daviess County fumble to give the Colonels one last possession. After a pair of completions and a 4th-down scramble by Miles put the ball at the Panther 35, a final heave to Ja’Sean Riley at the goal line fell incomplete to leave the Colonels at 0-1 in district play.
Christian County hits the road for district contests in each of the next two weeks. The Colonels will head to McCracken County looking for a second-straight win over the Mustangs before trying to snap a three-game losing streak to Henderson County on October 20.
