PHOTO - Hunter Smith, WBKO-TV
A tough way to end a tough season Friday night for the Christian County Colonels. The South Warren Spartans would score all the points they would need in the first 30 seconds of the game, as they rolled to a 36-6 win over the Colonels in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs in Bowling Green.
It did not take the Spartans long to get things rolling. South Warren took the opening kickoff and returned it to the Christian County 9 yard line. After a holding penalty, Caden Veltkamp connected with Christian Conyers for a 19 yard score to put the Spartans up 7-0 with just 24 seconds gone off the clock.
After the Colonels went three and out on their first possession, South Warren took over at their own 43. The Spartans were on the move when Cameo Gordon came up with a pick for the Colonels to shut South Warren down.
However, the Colonels were not able to take advantage of the turnover, and had to punt again after a second straight three and out.
A short punt would set South Warren up at the Christian County 34 yard line. The Spartans would take advantage of the opportunity. Caden Veltkamp would hit Nathan Neal for a 36 yard score to extend the lead to 14-0 with 6:03 to go in the opening quarter.
Another three and out for the Christian County offense would again give South Warren a short field, and once again the Spartans would take advantage of the opportunity. After taking over on their own 42, Veltkamp would hit Jantzen Dunn for a 4 yard score with 10:49 to go in the half to extend the lead out to 21-0.
On the next possession, the Colonels would have one of their best drives of the night. Starting at their own 18, the Colonels would drive the ball deep into South Warren’s end of the field. The Spartans would slam the door however when Tyler Snell picked off Donta Abren at the South Warren 12 yard line with just under seven minutes to go in the half.
The Colonels defense bucked up and forced the Spartans into a punt, with Christian County taking back over at their own 22 yard line. But this time it would be the South Warren defense making the big play as William Trussell picked off Donta Abren and returned it 29 yards for the score to make it 28-0 with 4:02 left in the opening half.
The Colonels offense found its bearings on the next possession. Christian County, on the arm of Donta Abren, would drive all the way down to the South Warren one yard line, but the clock ran out on an imcomplete pass, as the two teams headed off to the locker room with South Warren holding a 28-0 lead.
A big problem for the Colonels in the opening 24 minutes was not being able to establish any kind of running game, as South Warren held them to a total of -10 yards rushing. Two turnovers also hurt the Colonels’ chances early in the contest. Christian County would finish the half with 111 total yards.
South Warren only mustered 146 yards of total offense in the opening half, but the Spartans played on a short field most of the half, and had the defensive touchdown to help get out to the 28 point lead.
Things did not get any better for the Colonels coming out of the locker room in the second half. The Colonels started their first offensive possession of the half at their own 20. Christian County ended up going in the wrong direction and would punt from their own three yard line.
South Warren took over after the punt at the Christian County 32 yard line. On the very next play, Caden Veltkamp threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, connecting with Christian Conyers for a 32 yard score to push the lead out to 36-0 with 9:21 to go in the third, and start the running clock for the rest of the night.
Christian County would avoid the shutout when Donta Abren found Cameo Gordon for a 57 yard touchdown pass to make it 36-6 late in the 4th quarter.
The Colonels finished the night with 202 yards of total offense. Donta Abren was 7-20 through the air for 187 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. L’Ray Coleman was the top rusher for Christian County with nine carries for 39 yards. South Warren limited the Colonels to just 15 yards on the ground.
South Warren improves to 6-0 on the season with the win and will now move on to the 2nd round of the Class 5A playoffs, where they will host crosstown rival Bowling Green next Friday night. The Purples advanced by taking down Greenwood.
Christian County sees their COVID-19 shortened season come to a conclusion at 1-5.
