Christian County faced two opponents in Friday’s Class 5A first-round playoff game at Central Hardin.
First, a Bruin defense that allowed only three run plays of 10 or more yards.
And second, a seemingly invisible red zone barrier that saw the Colonels fail to score on four of its five trips inside the Bruin 20-yard line.
The result was a 34-6 loss that ended Christian County’s season at 1-10.
“I think we’ve had some of that all year long where we’ve been able to get some chunk plays and we get down there and stub our toe. We’re our own worst enemy,” said Colonel coach Ethan Atchley.
Christian County had the early momentum, recovering Paul Grace’s perfectly placed onside kick to begin the game. The Colonels advanced to the Bruin 28-yard line but a Jaiden Williams pass was deflected to Central Hardin’s Gavin Calloway – one of four Colonel interceptions.
The Bruins used a successful option and misdirection attack to score two touchdowns on their first five plays. Caeden Taylor took an option pitch three plays after the interception and raced 30 yards for the score.
After a Christian County punt, Jackson Rachau scored two plays later on a 36-yard counter play.
The Bruins missed another chance to score on a 42-yard field goal attempt that missed wide late in the first quarter.
After Seth Laudermilt’s 5-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter gave Central Hardin a 20-0 lead, the Colonels embarked on a 17-play drive that ended with an interception at the 5-yard line.
The Colonels consistently moved the football using receiver Zyon Wharton, the Wildcat. He finished with 60 yards on 12 carries.
Late in the first half, DeAndre Watkins picked off a 19 pass and returned it to the Bruin 4-yard line with 7.9 seconds left. With no timeouts, Wharton was sacked on a rollout to end the half.
The Colonels again used a long drive to begin the second half, using 13 plays to advance to the Bruin 24-yard line before a lost fumble ended the drive.
“We had some opportunities. People got behind people in the end zone, but we didn’t throw it to them. I thought we had some holes that we just missed. It’s some things that in moments we’ve done this year, and we got down there and didn’t want to get across it.”
Central Hardin answered with a 5-play drive capped by a 3-yard run by Jaxon Engstrand.
The Colonels dented the scoreboard for the first time a minute into the fourth quarter when Aidan Jesse took a Williams screen pass nine yards into the end zone.
The game’s final score came with 7:26 left on a 15-yard run by Caleb Irwin. The drive was marked by penalties on five straight plays, a foreshadowing of the next Colonel drive.
Williams was picked off at midfield and then suffered from a seemingly vicious blindside block that knocked him out of the game. The interception was returned for a touchdown but was called back on the flag – one of three Bruin TDs negated by a penalty.
Central Hardin was whistled for 17 flags for 162 yards, while Christian County was penalized nine times for 106 yards. There were also five times when offsetting penalties were called at the play’s end.
This saw the traditional handshake line after the game abandoned at the request of Atchley and agreed upon by Central Hardin coach James Stockdale.
Wharton moved to quarterback and led an 11-play drive into the Central Hardin red zone that ended with an interception.
It was the culmination of a night that saw the Colonels run 72 plays to 33 for the Bruins. However, Central Hardin outgained the Colonels 309-237.
Christian County possessed the football for 30:16 to 17:44 for Central Hardin but five turnovers and a 1-of-5 success rate in the red zone were too much to overcome.
In addition to Wharton’s 60 rushing yards, Williams added 45 on 13 carries and Tristin Dillard added 31 on 13 carries.
Williams was 10-of-26 passing for 93 yards.
Taylor led the Bruins with 111 yards on five carries while Laudermilt added 69 yards on seven carries. Central Hardin had 280 rushing yards on 30 carries.
The Bruins (3-8) will play at McCracken County in the second round next week.
For the Colonels, they suffered their eighth straight playoff loss dating back to 2017. Last year, the Colonels lost 60-0 to Central Hardin in the first round.
“Luckily, a lot of the kids that played return, especially in the skill positions. Everybody’s pretty much back,” Atchley said. “The off-season needs to be really good to us and we need a big one. We’re still trying to get rid of bad habits and some of the last little bit of a losing mentality or a belief that somehow, some way we’re not going to win. We just need a little time to get better and our team didn’t quit.”
