The Christian County Colonel football team honored its 24 seniors, crowned a king and queen, and beat the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons 49-12 on Friday night at the Stadium of Champions. The Colonels used big plays and took advantage of 5 turnovers to drop the Maroons to 5-4 on the year, while Christian County remains unbeaten heading into the last week of the regular season.
The Colonels scored on their first possession when senior JaQuon Long grabbed a pass that had bounced off one of his teammates and a Maroon defender, and took it for a 53 yard touchdown. Junior Ellis Dunn added the 2 point conversion on a sweep to give the Colonels an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Madisonville would go three and out and punt, and after a big return by Dunn was brought back by a block in the back, the Colonels took over on their own 38 yard line. They would soon see another big gain brought back, when junior Jadonavin McNeal had a 62 yard score negated by a holding penalty. Senior quarterback Kolbe Langhi, who would be named Homecoming King at halftime, was sacked and the Colonels were forced to punt.
The Maroons took over deep in their own end and were able to move the ball out to midfield as the first quarter expired, but had to punt and the Colonels took over on their own 28. On 3rd and 10, Langhi would heave it down the sideline, with Dunn making an incredible catch over a defender, and then turning and outrunning the Maroons to the end zone. Junior Ben Settle added the PAT for a 15-0 lead with 10:48 left in the half.
Colonel senior Corey Stubbs would intercept the Maroons’ pass on 3rd and 10 and return it to the Madisonville 43. However, on first down Langhi was picked by Ronak Patel, with the senior returning it all the way to the Colonel 22.
On 3rd down, senior Kendarius Major got a tackle for a loss back to the 35, with the Maroons deciding to punt. The Colonels would punt right back, giving Madisonville the ball on their own 48. The Maroons would get their running game going, with junior DJ Slaton doing most of the damage. With 1:14 left in the half Slaton earned their first points with a 7 yard touchdown run, but the 2 point attempt failed, leaving the Colonel lead at 15-6.
After two Colonel penalties and one on the Maroons, Christian County faced a 3rd and 10 from their own 25 with 53 seconds left. The Colonels appeared to be settling for running out the clock with a run up the middle, but McNeal broke it and went 75 yards for a back-breaking score. The two point attempt was stopped, and the half ended with a 21-6 Colonel lead.
The Colonels punted on their first possession of the second half, but the Maroons fumbled it and Colonel senior Dustin Montgomery fell on it. Three runs by McNeil would get them on the scoreboard again, with an 8 yard rush finishing the drive. Settle added the PAT for a 28-6 lead with 8:51 left in the quarter.
Madisonville set up to punt again, this time from their own 35, but instead caught the Colonels with a fake. Maroon junior James Gilbert took the pass down the the Colonel 25, with two runs by sophomore Jariah Hightower getting them back within two scores of the Colonels with 4:33 left in the quarter. The 2 point conversion would fail, leaving the score at 28-12.
Despite a 34 yard rush by McNeal taking them into Maroon territory, the Colonels would punt. Madisonville again couldn’t handle the punt, this time giving the Colonels possession at the Maroon 2. Senior Diion Leavell got in from there and the PAT was good, pushing it back to a three score game at 35-12.
The Maroons’ special teams nightmare would only get worse, with Christian County getting the ball on the Madisonville 29 after they fumbled on the kickoff and senior Dorian Lones recovered. Langhi hit freshman LRay Coleman for 31 yards down to the 3, and senior Tyrique Douglas got in from there. After Settle’s PAT the Colonels posted a 42-12 lead.
Incredibly, the Maroons again fumbled the kickoff, giving the Colonels the ball on the Maroon 19. The third quarter would end with the Colonels facing a 3rd and 10 from the 19.
The Colonels went for it on 4th and 10, but were stopped at the 12 and turned it over on downs. Madisonville went three and out and punted out of bounds, giving the Colonels the ball on the Maroon 39. Junior Donte Abren was now in at quarterback, and the Colonels turned to Douglas in the backfield. He picked up 20 yards on a couple of runs before receiving a screen pass from Abren and taking it 20 yards for the final Colonel touchdown. After the PAT, the Colonels led 49-12 with 5:40 left in the game. Madisonville would get a kick return to midfield from sophomore Deljuan Johnson, and moved the ball to the Colonel 17, but couldn’t score before time ran out.
Next Friday, Christian County will travel to play Paducah Tilghman, 4-5 and winners of 3 straight, looking to wrap up an unbeaten regular season.
