When the final horn sounded, you could just feel the weight being lifted off the back of the Christian County Colonels. After a tough start to the final season of Christian County Colonel football that capped off with their coach resigning at the beginning of the week, the Colonels had something to feel good about Friday night.
With interim head coach Kelly Myers at the helm, the Colonels scored the game-winning touchdown with just over a minute to go and then came up with an interception in the waning moments to pick up a tough 40-32 road win over Caverna.
The game-winning touchdown capped off a back-and-forth came that saw five lead changes and two ties.
Caverna got things started on its opening possession, driving the ball down the field for a score. Tyson Martin hit his brother Kenyon on a 21 yard pass to put the Central Kentucky Colonels up 8-0 with 8:33 to go in the first.
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Christian County got on the board for the first time late in the opening quarter when Deasian Harris capped off a drive with a one-yard touchdown run to even the game at 8-8 with 1:52 to go in the first.
It did not take long for Caverna to respond, scoring on the very next possession. Tyson Martin scored on a 12 yard jaunt and Caverna was back in front 14-8 with 11:01 to go in the half.
Christian County took the lead for the first time on the next possession for the Colonels. Tristin Dillard ran it in from 9 yards out and Christian County led 16-14 with 8:45 to go in the half.
The scoring blitz continued moments later as Caverna got back to the lead. Tyson Martin found his brother Kenyon again, this time on a 47 yard screen past, and Caverna made it 20-16 with 6:18 to go before halftime.
Caverna held the lead until 1:18 to go in the half when Tristin Dillard found paydirt again, this time on a one yard plunge and Christian County was back in front at 24-20, for the moment.
After nearly whiffing the kickoff after the score, Christian County set Caverna up at the Western Kentucky Colonels’ 41 yard line. Kenyon Martin scored again, this time on a 2 yard jet sweep with 12.4 seconds left in the half, as Caverna would take a 26-24 lead into the locker room at the break.
The pace of scoring slowed down a bit as the second half got started. Caverna appeared to grab the momentum when Tyson Martin rambed 57 yards for a score with 4:18 to go in the third, extending the lead to 32-24.
But give the Christian County Colonels their due. Even after everything that had gone on this week, they kept fighting back, which is a big statement about the heart of the team and the coaching staff. Deasian Harris scored his second touchdown of the game on a one yard run with 11:21 to go, tying the game at 32-32.
Both teams had chances coming down the stretch, but could not get back to the lead until inside the final two minutes. Christian County was moving the ball and threatening to put points on the board when quarterback Tom Johnson was picked off with 2:08 to go at the Caverna 23. To add insult to injury, Christian County was also flagged on the play.
With Caverna trying to drive down the field for the game-winning score, Christian County came up with an interception and took over at the Caverna 47 with 1:18 to go. On the very next play, Tom Johnson hit Michael Tandy over the middle and Tandy found a lane to the end zone, giving Christian County a 40-32 lead.
Christian County sealed the win a few moment later with another interception with just 11 seconds to go in the game.
Christian County piled up 416 yards of offense for the night, 139 on the ground and 277 through the air. Harris led Christian County with 81 yards rushing. Darius Finch was the leading receiver with 95 yards.
Christian County improves to 1-4 with the win. The Colonels now get ready for a long road trip next Friday night to take on top-ranked South Pittsburg.
One Response
Caverna is one of the worst teams in the state. Most middle schools could beat them. Not a big win but I guess better than nothing