The Christian County Colonels beat the Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado 20-10 to clinch the program’s first unbeaten regular season, finishing 10-0. The Colonels started slow and the record looked to be in jeopardy, before they erupted in the 4th quarter to pull away from the Blue Tornado.
Paducah Tilghman scored on their opening possession to take an early lead. The Colonels fumbled the ensuing kickoff giving the Blue Tornado field position inside the Colonel 20 yard line. The Colonels were in danger of going down two scores, but Tilghman fumbled a hand-off and Colonel senior Shamar Foster recovered.
The Colonels took over and moved down the field, aided by a pass interference penalty, as well as a 10 yard completion from senior quarterback Kolbe Langhi to senior JaQuon Long and a big run by junior Jadonavin McNeal. The drive stalled at the Tilghman 18, and the Colonels sent out junior Ben Settle to attempt the 37 yard field goal, but it was blocked.
Both teams would punt on their next two possessions, with the Colonels pinning the Blue Tornado on their own 1 yard line with 6:15 left in the half. A big run moved the ball out to the 38, before Colonel junior Zadae Jones-Wilson came up with a big 3rd down stop, forcing another punt.
The Colonels next possession ended in a turnover on downs, in spite of another big rushing gain by McNeal, and Tilghman took over and let the half run out, leading 7-0.
The Colonels had the first possession of the 2nd half and promptly fumbled, with Tilghman recovering on their own 42. A big pass to junior Tay Shawn Carruthers got them down to the Colonel 13, but they fumbled on 1st down and Colonel junior Dorian Lones came up with the ball on the Colonel 3 yard line.
After a McNeil run for a first down and a Langhi completion to Long, the Colonels found themselves in a 4th and 1 at their own 22. Christian County gambled and went for it, but were stopped for a loss and turned it over on downs at their own 21. Even with excellent field position, Tilghman couldn’t move the ball and turned to junior Lance Butler to attempt a 41 yard field goal. Butler knocked it through, giving the Blue Tornado a 10-0 lead, and the possibility of a 10-0 regular season seemed to be slipping away from the Colonels.
Christian County took over on their own 27 and moved the ball into Tilghman territory on the strength of four McNeil runs and another Langhi completion to Long. However, when going for it on 4th and 3 on the Tilghman 36, the Colonels would fumble on a pitch, with the Blue Tornado again coming up with the ball. Paducah Tilghman wouldn’t move the ball at all before again fumbling, but this time the Colonels made them pay with senior Trevian Wimbush scooping and taking it 55 yards for the touchdown. Settle’s PAT was good, and the Colonels were back in it, down 10-7 with 11:13 left to play.
Paducah Tilghman opened the door for the Colonels again, fumbling the kickoff, with Long coming up with it at the Tilghman 25. Langhi moved the ball with two completions, the second to Long for an 18 yard touchdown, giving the Colonels their first lead of the game. The snap on the PAT was fumbled, and the Colonels had to settle for a 13-10 lead with 10 minutes left.
Tilghman punted, giving the Colonels the ball on their own 22. After a pass interference penalty and a Langhi pass to freshman Donte Abren, McNeil would continue his big night taking a short dump off from Langhi and going 53 yards for the game’s final touchdown with 5 minutes remaining. Settle added the PAT and the lead was 20-10.
The Blue Tornado kept the ball on the ground almost exclusively all night, but were now forced to pass. On 3rd and 10 from their own 23, Colonel senior Corey Stubbs out-jumped the Tilghman receiver and put the game away with an interception at the Colonel 41.
The Colonels punted, and Tilghman hit a big pass play to the County 30, but couldn’t get any further and turned it over on downs with less than a minute left. The Colonels let time run out, and what had appeared unlikely 12 minutes before became reality for the 10-0 Colonels, touching off a relieved celebration.
The Colonels begin their quest for a 5A State Championship next Friday when they welcome 1-9 Barren County to the Stadium of Champions. A win against the Trojans would set up a November 10th meeting at the Stadium with the winner of South Warren (8-2) and Graves County (6-4). The Colonels needed overtime to top Graves County 21-14 two weeks ago in Mayfield.
