It could not have started better, and subsequently went so far south, for Christian County on Thursday night in Owensboro.
A 54-16 final, but you would not have seen that coming in the first few minutes.
The Red Devils began the game with the football and as they drove down the field you go the sense that they were dependent on a running back. Dion Winstead is an elite back.
That being said, you cannot just run the ball to win a game, or at least you normally cannot.
Owensboro driving down the field on drive number one took a shot, it failed. In fact, it led to their first of two interceptions thrown as Cyrus Greenwade came down with the ball in the endzone defensively.
Then came, quite literally, exactly what interim Head Coach Zach Self told me he would do, take a shot on play number one.
Coach Self had told me on Wednesday that if they stopped the Red Devils on their first drive, that he would go deep on the next play.
Well not only did they stop Owensboro, they caused a turnover. So now it is not only a stop, it is sudden change. Perfect time for the shock play.
Well Owensboro certainly looked/seemed shocked when on play one Deameion Leavell dropped a dime to Elijah Underhill who took it eighty yards to the house.
7-0 Colonels right? Wrong. In a microcosm of their entire season, an illegal motion penalty would negate the big play. Following that would be more penalties and a sack before an Underhill punt that, albeit it, was booming and Prince Northington did a fantastic job in coverage, but Christian County never fully recovered.
Before you knew it the Colonels had fumbled at the goal line on a subsequent drive and thrown a pick six and it was 34-0 at the end of the first quarter. It all happened so fast.
Throughout the rest of the game the Colonels would only be outscored 20-16. They would come up with another INT, block a FG, and return a kick-off 83 yards for a TD (Northington). A 34-0 hole was just insurmountable though, and it happened so quick it was like an avalanche overwhelming them.
Winstead had nearly 200 yards rushing and I do want him to be credited for that. he was truly something to watch.
However, Owensboro is not a 54-16 win better than Christian County. Any given night though anything can happen and like most of the season it did not go the Colonels way.
We will recap the season and talk next year, next week. For now the Colonels will reflect on a night that just got out of hands quickly, and unfortunately.