TWO DIFFERENT GAMES!
Maybe the teams were different, but you could argue that the outcomes were totally off the charts as far as predicted. Of the two remaining area teams, Class 3-A Elizabethtown and Class 6-A Central Hardin were in familiar territory in as they were playing in the Elite Eight of the KHSAA Football Playoffs.
Elizabethtown would travel to Caldwell County for a rematch in as the two teams has met the past two years in exactly the same situation, but with the same results. This time around, a talented Tiger team which had lost just twice seemed to be a much better matchup than the team which lost 35-10 last season in the Third Round of the playoffs.
The final 52-6 score caught everyone by surprise. Maybe everyone, but Panther head coach Mark Brown. Brown, who has built champions in the past is a master at bringing teams along to peak at the right moment and one facet to victory in the playoffs are strong defense and special teams. So when senior Jay Becherer returned the opening kickoff 81-yards for a touchdown it immediately put the Tigers behind the eight-ball and the pressure mounted when Jey Gregory returned an interception 14-yards for another touchdown. The Panther offense took over and rang up three more touchdowns to build a 39-0 halftime lead.
Most impressive in the 46-point win was the defense which limited Caldwell County to just 136-yards total offense. Perhaps meeting the same team twice before in the playoffs was a huge advantage for Elizabethtown as far as preparation and game planning.
One thing was definitely certain in that the Panthers played like they knew the Tigers inside and out.
If Elizabethtown’s game turned out ridiculously easy, then the Bruins game turned out frightfully scary, but it didn’t start out that way.
Head coach Tim Mattingly’s Bruins started out fast and looked like they were going to maybe score a hundred as they touched down in the end zone three times in the first half when Deonco Wilkerson took a pass from Jacob Hobbs and rambled 52-yards for one score, the DeOnta Duncan scored twice more with a 14-yard run and a 7-yard run in the second quarter. The Central Hardin game plan of ground out the clock and keep Daviess County’s dangerous passing attack off the field was working beautifully as they built a 21-0 lead.
Although the Panthers had lost five-games during the regular season, they were a dangerous team with a quarterback that threw for more that 3,700-yards and 47-touchdowns and Joseph Cambron started to get hot late. First he hit Blake Baker at the two minute mark to make it 21-6 at the half, then after Baker picked up a Bruin fumble took it 75-yards to make it 21-14. The Panthers got even closer as Cambron hit Baker again to make it 21-20, but a missed extra point kept the Bruins up and then Gavin George took a pass from Hobbs to extend the lead to 27-20.
Although the Bruins defense held the Panthers at bay, Cambron did throw a scare into the home crowd as he drove them inside the fifteen, before failing to score then as time was running out was flinging daggers in the air until Chase Elmore pulled down the Panthers last hope.
So, both Elizabethtown and Central Hardin will return to the Final Four of the Football playoffs and will host playoff games next Friday Night.
Boyle County (12-1) @ Elizabethtown (12-1) : And what a matchup between two explosive teams. Elizabethtown will run the Wing T until opposing defenses drop and Jay Becherer may be the most exciting player in the state whether he’s running or returning kicks, defenses must be aware of him and the Panthers are far from a one-man show scoring 559-points, but the defense has allowed just 12 points in three games and will be tested by a Rebel team which has scored over 40-points in eleven games this season and two runners with over 900-yards and 44-touchdowns between them. Quarterback Reed Lanter has thrown for 2,209-yards and 22-tds.
Trinity (Louisville) (13-0) @ Central Hardin (10-3): The Bruins are a very simple team than run the ball to control the clock and play defense to stop the run and are pretty good against the pass like last week when they held the Panthers to -2 rushing yards. As for Trinity, what is there left to say in that they are one of the top teams in the state (not to mention the Nation). The Shamrocks play one of the toughest schedules also and have shut six teams out. Trinity runs a balanced offensive attack with three runners with 17 touchdowns and a quarterback with 33-tds.
Beechwood (10-2) @ Campbellsville (7-6) : Want a good feel good story during the playoffs? That would be Campbellsville. The 1-A Eagles stumbled out of the gate (losing their first three games), but then rebounded to post a 4-3 record the rest of the way outscoring their three playoff opponents 143-34 and made their first appearance in the Final Four. Although head coach Dale Estes has a 1,000-yard runner in Devonte Cubit and passer with 1,600-yards in Arren Hash, the Eagles have been winning with defense and will be tested by 10-2 Beechwood
