Offense sells tickets.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES!
Kicking Games win Championships.
When they put that slogan together, I’m sure they must have had Octavious Oxendine and Jordan Lovett in mind.
When the North Hardin Trojans took the field to start the 2019 High School Football season, I’m sure head coach Brent Thompson knew that he had a veteran defense behind him to slow opposing offenses down. He just probably didn’t figure that they would be quite that good.
In thirteen games, that’s including playoff games, the North Hardin Defense allowed under hundred points (97) scored on them.
They allowed ten opponents just one trip through the end zone.
They allowed four opponents NO points.
Of course, the 54-point beating they took from eventual 6-A State Champion Trinity inflated that total a bit, but there is no question that this was a vastly an improved group from the one that allowed 335 in 2017.
Oxendine was in the middle of the Trojan “Black Curtain” Defense that allowed only 603-yards rushing in thirteen games and forced enemy passers to throw into a secondary that resembled a school of swarming sharks looking for blood.
The big Defensive Lineman was in on 62-tackles, 32-solo tackles, 30-assisted and 17 for lost yardage. He also forced 2-fumbles and recovered two of them while scoring a touchdown as well. His powerful push forward into opposing backfields caused problems for everyone and allowed the Trojans as a team to tally 55-quarterback sacks. Oxendine had 14 ½ himself and when he came into the quarterbacks line of vision, he made the moon disappear.
The senior’s big effect on the defensive unit wasn’t lost on college recruiters as he announced that he would be attending Kentucky University on a football scholarship.
While Oxendine’s senior season wasn’t really a surprise, Jordan Lovett’s junior season was.
The wide receiver was asked to make the move to secondary during training camp with the graduation of Jerome McKinney. Thompson thought he would be a great part in a secondary that returned quite a few pieces from the defense that allowed just 164-points in twelve games. The question being, could Lovett at least match the four picks that McKinney had during the 2018 season?
He did and then some!
Lovett would finish with 15-interceptions in thirteen games and easily led the entire state in that category. Not bad for a guy who had a habit of dropping passes as a receiver on offense. Lovett showed an ability to read that ball in flight on the defensive side and a knack of coming up with the big pick at the right time.
One of those came in the first Central Hardin game back in October when both teams came in undefeated and the winner would most likely have the No.1 seed and home field advantage in the playoffs in the next meeting. With the Trojans holding on to a 7-0 lead late in the fourth quarter, the “Black Curtain” came up with three game saving plays and the one turned in by Lovett was a game breaker when he beat the intended Bruin receiver to the ball on a deep route, made an over the shoulder catch to save the game.
Then in the playoffs against Barren County, Lovett picked off four passes and recovered a fumble in a 24-0 Trojan win.
Going into the 2020 Football season, Lovett will field his share of scholarship offers and are currently on several D-1 coaches radar’s as well.
Trying to pick one player off a team which broke and set school football records would not be easy, but there was no question that both Octavious Oxendine and Jordan Lovett were two standouts on one of the toughest defenses in 6-A and that’s why they were the Sporting Times Regional Co-Defensive Players of the year.
