GROUND ATTACK!
It was a typical Central Hardin – John Hardin Football game. Both teams determined to wear out the other in a physical contest which had very few passes and a heavy dose of the running game. Over the years during the Mark Brown era at John Hardin, the Bulldogs had dominated the series, but over the last several seasons, that has changed. Since 2014 (the two teams didn’t play each other in 2013), the Bruins have won the last two until John Hardin came away with a tough 14-7 win last season.
That was Central Hardin’s second straight loss (in what would eventually be three straight losses) from which coach Tim Mattingly’s team turned things around not losing again until their playoff overtime game to Ballard in mid-November. This time, the Bruins were coming off losses to Christian Academy of Louisville and South Warren and really needed a win badly.
On the other hand, John Hardin was coming off their second straight win after starting out 0-2 and under new coach Chris Engstrand rediscovered the running game as running back Steven Livers had a couple of real big games during that time. So, it really should have been no surprise as the first quarter of this vital game was scoreless, but finally in the second quarter, the Bruins changed that taking a 7-0 halftime lead on a 13-yard Jacob Hobbs run with a little over four minutes remaining.
Both teams struggled offensively with their Wing T attacks in the game as the defenses took over, but John Hardin after several fruitless attempts finally broke through on a 50-yard run by Livers about a minute into the third quarter, but the extra point was missed.
On a misty, cool evening points would be hard to come by, but two plays finally won the game for Central Hardin. Leading 13-6 late in the third quarter, sophomore Gavin George fielded a punt and nearly took it the distance finally being tackled in the red zone. The huge special teams play set up Josh Volentine’s second touchdown run to increase the Bruins lead to 20-6.
The second big play was a quarterback rollout that Hobbs took around left end for 51-yards and just clipped the end zone goal line to increase the Central Hardin lead to 27-6. Hobbs later said that it was a planned play and the run was on a read so he took off. Central Hardin outgained the Bulldogs 294-yards to 95 on the ground, but Hobbs play did turn out to be big as John Hardin finally broke through again on a short pass from Bulldog quarterback Anthony Witherspoon that turned into a 57-yard touchdown when he split the gap down the middle of the field on a slant route. The score made the game a 15-point difference, but the Bruins eventually held on for the win.
It was a typical Central Hardin-John Hardin game, which really shouldn’t surprise anyone and although the two teams are in different classifications (Central Hardin 6-A and John Hardin 4-A) it’s always interesting to watch football the way it once was before the game became an aerial circus when the ground rumbled under the feet of the ground game.
