It was a third and long for DeSales near midfield and they held a three-point lead over the homestanding North Hardin Trojans in week six of the 2018 season. A defensive stop would ensure a Colt punt and the Trojans would have another chance to either move in position for a game tying field goal to possibly force overtime and a chance to put a halt to a one game losing streak for the Trojans, but a first down pretty much locked up the game for DeSales. As the Colts broke from the huddle they lined up in an obvious passing formation with several outside receivers, so when DeSales Quarterback Aaron Pfaadt dropped back and scanned the field he began rolling to his left. A running quarteback is always a problem defenses because as a defensive back you don’t know whether to stay in coverage or abandon you spot and come up and make the tackle. In this case, the Trojans held their position and with the defense spread out Pfaadt, who was the Colts second –best runner in yardage gained picked up more than the necessary first down yardage. DeSales held on and won 27-24 and North Hardin, after overcoming a huge deficit to nearly tie the game had once again come up short. It was the only two game losing streak North had that season as they had an offense that could score and a defense that stuffed the run and a secondary and linebackers that could cover as well. The Trojans would finish 9-3 that season winning a playoff game before losing to eventual State 6-A Champion Male. The Trojans had put together a winning season and were suddenly the talk of the area and they would actually be BETTER next season, but it all took six long seasons to finally come together for coach Brent Thompson and it wouldn’t be easy.
When Thompson took over the North Hardin football coaching job, he was following Crad Jaggers, who’s father legendary Joe Jaggers had won multiple State Titles was a tough act to follow. Although after taking over for Joe Washington (like Joe Jagger was another former Fort Knox football coach), Jagger struggled in his first three seasons going 12-20 and failed to win a playoff game. During that time, North Hardin showed a flair for just coming up short in several games. A problem that Jagger promised would not continue as his infectious coaching style became more integrated in the younger players. When he left after the 2011 season, the Trojans looked to be making progress when they went 6-6 and posted their first postseason win. Things were looking up for the next guy who took over.
Thompson stepped in and brought a spread offensive philosophy which seemed to have a structured short passing game mixed with a running attack for good measure. Despite inheriting a pretty talented team he experienced similar struggles. The North Hardin football team went 3-8 in 2012 and 1-10 in 2013 and the 2014 season appeared to be moving in the same direction until an October 17 meeting with 5-A rival John Hardin may have begun to turn their fortunes around. After losing eight straight to the Bulldogs, the Trojans put 44-points on the board against a John Hardin defense that would make a Final Four appearance in the playoffs. They did it using a running game designed around the tough inside push of junior runningback Taven Graves, who carried 42-times for 216-yards and 4-TDs and sophomore quarterback Isaiah Bankhead, who completed 16-passes for 233-yards and 2-TDs. The win set the stage for another tight game with area rival Meade County and although they lost to another eventual Final Four finalists, North Hardin fought hard and tied the game late at 37-all with about five minutes left before falling. Graves, Bankhead and junior wide out Will Alexander had big games and despite a 2-8 record, the Trojans couldn’t wait for the 2015 season to begin.
The excitement of the late surge from 2014 looked to help the expectations of the 2015 Trojans as they started with a win over Mercer County,but they would lose their next four straight and would finish 2-7. The Trojans struggled to score at times yet still averaged about 21-points a game, however defensively allowing four or five a game putting them in tough position. Perhaps the Elizabethtown game best summed up their season as they fell behind 28-7, but then mounted a furious rally as Graves scored twice (he gained over 150-yards rushing) and Bankhead threw for two scores as they tied the game at 28-all with about three minutes left, but a kickoff coverage mistake allowed a wingman to return the kickoff for a game winning touchdown and Bankhead threw an interception when he was driving the Trojans in the final seconds. The Trojans were still coming up short and it seemed to be a habit. With the coming season and the prospect of graduation taking their top runner and several other starters, 2016 looked like another rebuilding year in Radcliff.
The following season, Thompson needed a running game to help senior quarterback Bankhead with Graves gone and the defense needed to be upgraded with the loss of several starters, but no one could have predicted the 4-0 start for the Trojans. It started off with a 21-20 OT win over Boyle County and ended with two straight comeback wins over both Caldwell County and Elizabethtown. The Caldwell County game was a perfect example as North Hardin trailed late and Bankhead drove the team for a game tying score with less than two minutes left in regulation. Then Brandon Leak intercepted a pass and set up a game winning field goal to pull it out 24-21. The following week, the Trojans overcame a 12-0 deficit to score the final 27-points to beat the Panthers. The ability of North Hardin to overcome lost situatons was something that this team hadn’t shown in previous seasons. But trouble just seemed to be right around the corner. With the loss of Bankhead due to a shoulder injury, Thompson inserted sophomore Eric Moore at quarterback. Despite the change under center the Trojans continued to move on. Moore showed a flair for long passes and gave the Trojans another dimension as it opened things up . Bankhead moved to wide out and actually led the team in rushing along with Tavien Starks and Mark Marlin. However, the team struggled again in the second half of the season going 2-3 and allowing over 30-points in their last two games. A loss in their first playoff game to Eastern was a tough way to end a season that began so bright, but ended on a dark note.
2017 was a repeat of the 2015 season as the team only scored 169-points in eleven games and the defense struggled to hold opposing offenses down. Eric Moore stepped right in and did throw for 1,769-yards, but the running game struggled with two freshman and Starks. The defense was overrun again allowing over 300-points for the five of the six seasons. It seemed like everytime North Hardin would take a step forward, the next season, they would take one back. Still, things looked bright for the team if they could get a little bigger, older and faster at several positions. Fortunately for them, that was about to happen quickly.
If the past six seasons seemed like a transition period, the 2018 season was a sign of good things to come and it all started with a loss in the first game which turned into a win. North Hardin was awarded a forfeit win over Northeast, TN because they had played several ineligible players although they were outscored 26-16. Thompson’s team went on a 5-0 tear scoring close to 40-points in those wins before losing two straight games to both Boyle County (21-14) and DeSales (27-24). Ironically, losing to two teams which were considered the best in their Classifications wasn’t a crime and in both games they were in position to either tie or win late. Thompson didn’t feel any letdown as they responded by beating Meade County (24-7), Central Hardin (47-7) and Doss (39-8). Most notable was their shutdown win over the Bruins, a team which they hadn’t beaten in nine years. The offense was humming right along thanks to the improvement of senior quarterback Eric Moore, who threw for 2,395-yards and a whooping 26-TDs against just 5-interceptions. Younger brother Josh Moore was the main target with 66-catches for 1,224-yards and 15-TDs. Both had a knack of coming up with the big play and average yards per catch was nearly 30. Junior runningback Lavell Wright was right at home in the spread picking out holes to roam through for 1,316-yards and 17-scores. The offense was getting the ball in the end zone, but the biggest improvement was the defense which allowed just 164-points in twelve games. They were averaging less than two scores a game and in five games either shutout or allowed just one score. Opposing offensive coordinators said that what made North’s “Black Curtain Defense” so tough was their big lineman and quick linebackers. Octavious Oxendine blocked out the moon on the line and Micheal Lunz and Darren Green were piling up the tackles. Veso Lilo had a nose for the ball carrier and Jerrell Campbell was making a name for himself. Jerome McKinney led the team in tackles and led the seconday with four picks. With a 8-2 record, the Trojans were cheered during their first home playoff game win over DuPont Manuel (14-0) and hopes were high as they faced Male in the second round in front of another home crowd. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs as they would prove when they won the State Class 6-A championship, were simply too much for the Trojans. The 40-16 loss did put a damper on the North 2018 story, but only on the ending. The entire novel itself was quite an exciting read at that and going into 2019, no one, but no one could have predicted what lay in store for the Black shirted Trojans or their fans.
After going 9-3 last season, their best record in years, the Trojans had plenty of high expectations and just as many questions as well. Fortunately, most of the defense that played “Lights Out” last season and was getting a reputation as an Elite squad returned most of their parts, but there was a question in the secondary. With Jerome McKinney gone, Thompson needed to make a decision on who to move in the defensive secondary. Junior Jordan Lovett, who had been a wide receiver the previous season had collected five receptions and scored once, was asked to make the move. Lovett, who admitted there was a time when he couldn’t catch the ball to save his life would now be asked to either knock it down or tackle whoever had it with the wrong color jersey. That shored up one problem. The other was under center as Eric Moore was also gone and with both junior Logan Coleman and sophomore Manie Wimberly in the wings, it would be a tough question who to start. Both graded well, but Coleman got the nod early as the Trojans started fast and quick in their first three games beating Waggener (48-14), Elizabethtown (20-13) and Ballard (10-6). The first two games, Coleman went most of the way and the offense looked sharp at times. After a tight victory over Ballard, Wimberly got the start against Tates Creek and ran the offense pretty much the rest of the regular season. Not that it mattered as the defense was playing lights out against opponents shutting down running lanes and forcing teams to abandon the rushing attack and go to the air. In ten regular season games, the Trojan defense only allowed two teams to rush for over 100-yards and several didn’t even run for positive yards. Octavious Oxendine, Darren Green, Micheal Lunz, Lilo Vesi and Jerrell Campbell were swallowing runners up into a Black Hole and directing passers into the secondary which swarmed over the ball like sharks after a kill. The Defense produced 38-interceptions and Lovett was the recepiant of 15-inteceptions (State High). The North Hardin defense allowed only 55-points in the final seven games and until their final game of the playoffs it was the least amount of points in 6-A. Meanwhile, the offense was hitting on all cylinders scoring 275-points, bringing their total to 350 for the regular season.
Perhaps the highlight of their season was the week nine matchup with unbeaten Central Hardin. Because it was a game with two 8-0 District teams, National Media made it “The Game of the Week” and spotlighted both schools. With such titanic buildup, the game did play like a championship game under rainy conditions and it eventually ended 7-0 in favor of the guys in Black. It was also a showcase for the Trojans Defense which stopped two Bruins drives in the fourth quarter with a fumble recovery near the red zone and a highlight interception by Lovett that stified another. A fumble recovery on the Bruins last offensive possession ended the game. The Bruins finished with just 27-yards rushing and they didn’t do much better in the second round of the playoffs which were at North Hardin, when they picked up 48. Still, in that game, Central Hardin got on the board first thanks to a bad center snap. After that, the Trojans scored 31-straight points behind Lavell Wright’s 202-yards rushing ansd three touchdowns and Wimberly’s 161-yards passing. The following week, North Hardin took it to McCracken County in a 38-2 win that finalized their Region Championship. Once again, the “Black Curtain” shutdown the rushing game and Wrights 230-yards rushing set the tone in the win.
One more victory and the Trojans would be playing in Lexington in December for a 6-A Championship and once again, they would host a playoff game, but this time it was against Trinity (Louisville) and the outcome would not be pretty. Wimberly was unable to go because of an injury against McCracken County, so Coleman got the nod at quarterback and he like the Trojans were a little over their heads. The game did start out well as North Hardin drove down field and scored first to take a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, that was to be the last ray of hope as Trinity would score the last 54-points and had the Final Four playoff game on a running clock in the fourth quarter. The Shamrocks as they would when they won the State Title the following week, were simply the better team as they ran on the Trojan defense like no one had all season. Runner Armon Tucker finished with 151-yards and three scores on the ground and the Shamrocks as a team had 238-yards and 6-TDs rushing. It was a dismal end to a dream season for the black shirted Trojans.
The 13-1 finish will go down as the best in school history and it came at a time when they really needed it. Thompson was able to find a great mixture of run (Wright finished with 1,819-yards and 25-TDs) and passing (Wimberly 2,649-yards 24-7 Coleman 720-yards 7-4) with two different passers during parts of the season. His receiving corps (Josh Moore 43-903-yds-10-TDs/Cameron Smith 39-763-yds-6-TDs/Marcus Harris 37-621-yds-7-TDs/Lavell Wright 34-553-yds-3-TDs/Ramaj Adams 46-487-yds-4-TDS) were effective all season long and a big and experienced O-Line kept opening holes along the way.
The defense which was much of the focus played well allowing just 603-yards rushing in 13-games and just 1,105-in the air as well. The pass rush produced 55-quarterback sacks (Darren Green -12 / Oxendine-15 / Campbell-15) and they forced 17-fumbles recovering 16, while the secondary swiped 38-passes.
The gaudy numbers made the Trojans a prize on many D-1 and D-2 recruiter maps as Oxendine was the first (he chose Kentucky) to weather the pressure of a long and lengthly college search. Michael Lunz has been fielding offers during the offseason as has Marcus Harris. Jordan Lovett’s thiefery didn’t go unnoticed as several colleges including Louisville have added him to their list as MUST HAVES. LaVell Wright proved he can carry a load for the season and has been getting his share of looks as well until finally announcing that he too will join Oxendine at UK. So with success come the spoils and the reality of even higher expectations next season.
The Trojans will be on everyone’s radar and won’t have the advantage of surprise. The defense will go through some changes with a lot of their starters gone and some playing on Saturdays. The offense will return plenty of firepower with both quarterbacks, Wright and several wide outs. The O-line will be retooled and should be ready to go barring any forseen circumstance by opening game.
So, the story of the 2019 North Hardin football team may seem like rags to riches, but it did take seven years to go from 1-10 to 13-1 and if you were to ask last year’s team, they would probably tell you that they might remember that one-win season, but were still in grade school when it happened.
Maybe they don’t, but Thompson does and that may be why North Hardin probably won’t repeat history again.
At least the wrong kind.
