In a game that was played on the ground and not through the air, the Central Hardin Bruins and the John Hardin Bulldogs staged a reenactment of the old “Black and Blue” Division wars fought by NFL teams in the old Central Division. It certainly seemed that way as the both teams were coming off tough losses and both desperately wanted to win and hopefully establish a streak of some sorts. And in the end it really came down to two plays: One was a hit and one was a miss.
The “Miss” came with the score tied at 21, with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs chose to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Central Hardin, but senior linebacker Aaron Chandler tackled running back Korie Cleveland for a 5-yard loss when he tried to sweep wide ending the threat. The “Hit” came when Central Hardin took the ball on the initial offensive drive and moved to the Bulldog 12 with time running down. After a timeout, John Hardin coach Chad Lewis dialed up a blitz, but running back Darius Barbour sweep wide left avoiding the rush and tumbled into the end zone for winning touchdown with about 00:21 left.
It was the junior back’s second score of the night and his 104th-yard of the night proved to be decisive on a night when defense and the running game ruled. Both quarterbacks (Reese Iler and Shay Stone) combined for a total of 166-yards through the air and the two were actually more effective as runners as Iler gained 74-yards on the ground and Stone 66-yards. In fact, Iler’s escape of a near sack with time running out in the third quarter resulted in a 4-yard touchdown pass to Barbour which broke the 14-all halftime tie. John Hardin knotted it back up at 21 when Stone connected with Isaac Kenner from 12-yards out for a touchdown with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter. Much of the talk before the game centered on how the Central Hardin attack would function without star back Xavier Arnette out with an MCL sprain, but the Bruins actually out rushed the Bulldogs 251-141.
It was also the second straight time that Central Hardin and coach Tim Mattingly had beaten John Hardin. The last time was last season, which was the first time they had done so in ten tries. The 28-21 win was the first time they had won at John Hardin, which in the past had been a house of horrors for this team.
