It was not the Class 6-A, District 1 football opener the Christian County Colonels hoped for when they traveled to take on Henderson County Friday night.
The northernmost Colonels rolled up 375 rushing yards and 492 total yards and routed Christian County 67-29. The loss dropped Christian County to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in district play.
Henderson (4-3, 1-0) took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Anzerion Margny with 8:34 to play in the first quarter. The drive was set up by the first of six Christian County interceptions on the night.
Christian County briefly took an 8-7 advantage when Tom Johnson tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darius Finch. The two-point conversion gave the southernmost Colonels the lead with 6:24 to go in the first quarter.
A bad snap on a punt resulted in Christian County turning the ball over on its own 16-yard line. Henderson took a 13-8 lead on the next play with a 16-yard scoring run by Brody Belt with 2:32 to play in the opening frame.
Henderson’s next possession resulted in an 18-yard scoring run by Margny and the extra point gave Henderson at 20-8 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the period.
Johnson brought the Colonels back to within 20-14 with 9:19 to go in the half as he connected with Finch again, this time on a 31-yard scoring toss.
Henderson snuffed out any potential upset thoughts as Jack Dalton threw an 11-yard scoring toss to Jack Logan for a 27-14 lead at the 5:24 mark.
Another Christian County interception gave Henderson good field condition and it capped off a six-play, 53-yard drive with a 41-yard pass from Belt to Avant Baxter. The point-after kick pushed the Henderson lead to 34-14 with 2:38 to go.
However, Zyon Wharton returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to cut the lead to 34-22 as Johnson’s conversion pass to James Farley was good at 2:25 to go in the half.
Henderson scored just before the half on a 43-yard pass from Belt to Jack Ryan Reusch and took a 41-22 lead into the break.
The second half was a nightmare for Christian County as Henderson scored on its first four possessions to open up a 67-22 advantage
Christian County’s final score came with 5:02 to play as Deasian Harris got loose for a 47-yard touchdown run. Harris finished the night with 124 yards on 16 carries.
Henderson’s Kieran Cole led Henderson with 113 yards rushing on seven carries. Belt ran for a touchdown and threw for two more scores. Dalton finished with 92 yards rushing on seven carries.
Henderson will make a trip to Hopkinsville next Friday night to take on the Tigers in a key Class 6-A, District 1 game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with airtime set for 6:30 p.m. on Newsradio 99.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP.
Meanwhile, Christian County will travel to take on McCracken County in a district game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the pregame show is set for 6:30 p.m. on 95.3 The Farm and 953thefarm.com.
Photos by Peyton Biaquis