Central Hardin, like South Warren, is used to winning important football games…and the Bruins are also used to losing one at the wrong time. The 6A Bruins came to SWHS off a dominant win at home over Bullitt East. The Spartans had forced a running clock in back to back weeks, but Brandon Smith told the Sporting Times that he expected a much different challenge against Central Hardin. He would be right, but the result would be no different.
South Warren would win, but they would leave with battle scars that may carry into practice next week. Ryder Litten’s leg was twisted on a run deep in his own territory early in the game and he was unable to move without a severe limp for the remainder of the contest. Jacob Lacey was carted off after a leg injury late in the first half, and hopefully that situation wasn’t as bad as it initially appeared. Stay tuned to SportingTimesMagazine.com all week long for the latest on those injuries.
On the field in the first half, Litten was intercepted twice, both in bad spots, but South Warren simply wouldn’t allow Central Hardin to convert the mistakes into big points. The two miscues resulted in exactly three points, which would be the Bruins total on the scoreboard after the first 24 minutes of play. Offensively, Kayron Namvong was back in the lineup and found the end zone for the first time in the 2015 season. On the opposite side, Devante Colton was the benefactor of a TD return off a blocked punt, which is the second straight week for a punt block score. Brycen Lacey gave South Warren the lead for good a mere 14 seconds into the contest as he returned the opening kickoff to the house. Litten was 0-5 passing in the first half, likely overcompensating for the pain in his leg.
In the second half, it was more of the same, but without the errors. The offense moved it where it could but the defense continued to dominate. In the end, Brandon Smith just wanted to see the scoreboard hit zeroes. It was a tough night, with injuries to Litten, Lacey, Bryan Cummings, Devante Colton, and Jacob Wilde. The latter two weren’t deemed serious and Wilde was named Bluegrass Cellular Player of the Game.
South Warren travels to North Hardin next week for a 7:30 kick. Sporting Times Broadcast Network coverage begins at 7:15 with the State Farm Pregame Show. Spartans open 2015 4-0 with a 24-3 win over Central Hardin.
