Christian County football had a number of positives to glean upon after Friday night’s Class 6A, District I home matchup against high-octane McCracken County.
For starters, the Colonels managed more than 300 yards of offense again alongside 20 first downs converted — thanks to strong, developing rapport from sophomore quarterback Jaiden Williams and a trio of star wideouts in Zyon Wharton, Josh Bridges and Aiden Jesse.
The Colonels also managed to force four turnovers: two interceptions of vaunted quarterback Maddox O’Neal, and two fumbles forced and recovered, and they ruled on time of possession by more than nine minutes.
But the Mustangs, however, marched up and down the Stadium of Champions, and grabbed the district’s coveted No. 1 seed with an emphatic 70-32 victory in Hopkinsville — courtesy of O’Neal’s school-record-tying seven touchdown passes (a record he set one week ago against Henderson County), and the surrendering of more than 550 yards of offense.
Still the second-highest scoring total for Christian County this season, the Colonels only trailed 21-14 at the end of the first frame, before the Mustangs outscored them 49-18 the rest of the way. The Colonels failed to convert on four of five two-point conversions, and also missed the recovery of two well-timed onside kicks from McCracken County.
First-year Colonels coach Ethan Atchley said players are “buying into the teaching,” but need to be more sound in the finer points of football if the wins are to come.
McCracken County grabbed a 14-0 lead with 8:38 left in the first quarter, in which O’Neal went 4-for-4 on the opening drive and capped it with a 20-yard strike to Reed Brookshire, then followed up a successful onside with an eventual 35-yard dart to Jude Lanier.
Jesse, who finished with seven catches and 80 yards receiving, drew the first of his two defensive pass interference calls on Christian County’s first possession, and Zyon Wharton closed with back-to-back 10-yard-plus carries for the first of his three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing).
Down 21-6 after an 18-yard screen from O’Neal to Dawson Hayden, Christian County got an electric kick return and another pass interference — setting up Williams’ 3-yard touch pass to Wharton, as well as Wharton’s two-pointer, with 55 seconds left in the opening frame.
In the grand scheme, the second quarter proved the most telling for the Colonels. It’s the only frame in which they didn’t score, and O’Neal capped a five-play drive with a 32-yard right sideline pass to Lanier and a 10-yard score to Brookshire. Onside recovery No. 2 followed, and O’Neal gashed for a 30-yard on the very next play, before hitting Brookshire down the middle to make it 34-14 with just under 11 minutes left until halftime.
Williams and the Colonels nearly responded, when they converted on fourth down behind a deep, 41-yard pass to Jesse over the middle — a leaping grab over his defender. But they were denied inside the five-yard line, denied after a forced fumble and recovery against Lanier, and denied again just before half when a long touchdown for Bridges was erased on a hold.
The Colonels would draw no closer than two scores the rest of the way, but did manage some spectacular moments. Williams hit Wharton on a 44-yard screen-and-score with 9:25 left in the third quarter, and later shook off a bobbled snap for a 36-yard touchdown to Bridges — bringing it to within 42-26 with 6:52, and an entire fourth quarter, remaining.
If there were one singular play that deflated the Colonels’ tires, it was with 4:56 left in the third quarter. O’Neal hit his top target, SEMO commit and senior wideout Cooper Falconite, over the middle. Falconite made a leaping snag in single coverage, then outpaced the secondary for a 48-26 advantage, and Christian County would get outscored 21-6 in the last quarter.
Next up? Henderson County at home next Friday. Those Colonels dumped Daviess County Friday night 35-7.
McCRACKEN COUNTY 70, CHRISTIAN COUNTY 32
Mustangs (4-4, 2-0) 21 14 14 21 — 70
Colonels (1-7, 0-2) 14 0 12 6 — 32
SCORING
MC: Reed Brookshire 20 pass from Maddox O’Neal (Brock Wilson PAT), 7-0, 9:35 1Q
MC: Jude Lanier 35 pass from Maddox O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 14-0, 8:38 1Q
CC: Zyon Wharton 10 rush (2-point fails), 14-6, 6:33 1Q
MC: Dawson Hayden 18 pass from Maddox O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 21-6, 3:39 1Q
CC: Zyon Wharton 3 pass from Jaiden Williams (Wharton rush), 21-14, 0:55 1Q
MC: Reed Brookshire 9 pass from Maddux O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 28-14, 11:40 2Q
MC: Reed Brookshire 13 pass from Maddux O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 35-14, 10:54 2Q
CC: Zyon Wharton 44 pass from Jaiden Williams (2-point fails), 35-20, 9:25 3Q
MC: Landon Newman 13 rush (Wilson PAT), 42-20, 7:52 3Q
CC: Josh Bridges 36 pass from Jaiden Williams (2-point fails), 42-26, 6:52 3Q
MC: Cooper Falconite 40 pass from Maddox O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 49-26, 4:56 3Q
CC: Jayden Williams 1 rush (2-point fails), 49-32, 11:55 4Q
MC: Daivon Dunbar 57 pass from Maddox O’Neal (Wilson PAT), 56-32, 10:15 4Q
MC: Jaxon Shackleford 45 interception return (Wilson PAT), 63-32, 9:29 4Q
MC: Landon Newman 50 rush (Wilson PAT), 70-32, 1:10 4Q
PASSING LEADERS
CC: Jayden Williams 15-38-219-3-3. MC: Maddox O’Neal 19-30-334-2-7.
RUSHING LEADERS
CC: Tristin Dillard 14-56, Zyon Wharton 6-29-1, Jaiden Williams 9-(-4)-1. MC: Landon Newman 13-129-2, Maddox O’Neal 3-67, Jude Lanier 1-32, Dawson Hayden 5-11.
RECEIVING LEADERS
CC: Josh Bridges 5-86-1, Aiden Jesse 7-80, Zyon Wharton 3-52-2. MC: Daivon Dunbar 6-110-1, Cooper Falconite 5-92-1, Jude Lanier 4-72-1, Reed Brookshire 3-42-3, Dawson Hayden 1-18-1.
MISCELLANEOUS
First Downs: CC 20, MC 18
Total Offense: CC 69-304, MC 52-573
Turnovers: CC 4, MC 4
Penalties: CC 12-89, MC 19-187
Kickoffs: CC 6-155, MC 11-324
Returns: CC 5-111, MC 8-65
Time of Possession: CC 28:03, MC 19:57
Third Down: CC 4-13, MC 4-9
Fourth Down: CC 2-7, MC 0-1
Red Zone: CC 4-5, MC 4-4
Sacks: CC 1-7, MC 3-24
