It was homecoming and senior night at the Stadium of Champions on Friday night for Christian County. All eyes, ultimately, though, were on a Freshman.
Deameion Leavell replaced Jordan Miles after the first offensive drive where Miles went down with an apparent ankle injury.
A collective sigh was let out by the crowd, but not by his teammates or coaches. They knew what they had.
Leavell had played late in games and come in for a drive or two when Miles needed to get patched up, but had never been handed a game where it would no doubt be his for three plus quarters.
It took him a few drives before he got into a rhythm struggling early. Once he settled in though, man was this offense off to the races.
Leavell in the end would go twenty-one for thirty-five for three hundred and ninety five yards and two touchdowns.
Many people are going to talk about two key moments though. His interception thrown, and his final drive.
Let’s clear up the first one quickly. The Colonels had been rocking with the screen pass game all night, mostly to Elijah Underhill who has one hundred and ninety eight yards and a touchdown, and on the INT it was no different. Leavell went to throw a quick timing route, the screen to Underhill, and it was read like a novel by senior Jonathan Venable. Venable jumped the route, caught the ball in stride and as a dynamic athlete himself made a house call.
Most high school QB’s period would fold up in that situation. A freshman with very little varsity experience? No chance he keeps it composed and together. Wrong.
Well he would not have to do it all himself. The defense stepped up in a major way. After allowing a drive inside their own twenty, on fourth down the Mustangs would do something unprecedented; attempt a FG. They had only attempted three all year, and had not made one. Their fourth attempt, as you would expect, did not go very well either.
Blocked by the Colonels, that would have been enough, No though, Jayvion Hawkins had other plans. Scooping it up he juked, trucked, and sprinted his way sixty plus yards to the house and tied the game at twenty.
Then came Leavell’s defining moment; that final drive I mentioned.
Two and a half minutes, defense had made a stop near the goal line. Here we go. Ninety-seven yards, two and a half minutes, game on the line. He delivered.
A strike to Underhill. Rush to the line, a strike to Riley. Rush to the line, run play to bleed clock as they were now inside the Mustangs of McCracken County thirty-five yard line. From there they chipped away until they got to around the ten, then the athlete Leavell took over. First down run inside the five. Then one, two, three sneaks and a dive for six points, the lead, and the ball game.
Eight seconds remained and McCracken County did all they could but the Colonel defense shut down the lateral game quick they walk away with a 27-20 victory and some hefty momentum entering the playoffs.
Next week it is Thursday night playoff football and Christian County goes to a Owensboro team that limited to the finish line against Henderson County. Owensboro trailed 8-7 midway through the fourth quarter before they scored to win 14-8.
They regroup, as do the Colonels, and prepare for the season anew. Everyone is 0-0 again. Records out the window, its one shot under the lights win or go home, and the Colonels are thinking win.