Trailing by seventeen points late in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s matchup with undefeated Greenwood, the Christian County Colonels waged a furious comeback before falling 25-24 to the host Gators. Despite the late rally, the Colonels slip to 1-1 after their first game in almost a month, while Greenwood improves to 5-0.
The Colonels showed some rust early on, going three and out with a penalty on each play in their first possession. They were forced to punt, with the snap sailing into the endzone to give Greenwood a safety and an early 2-0 lead.
The Gators added a touchdown. midway through the first quarter, taking an 8-0 advantage on a 7-yard TD pass from John Morrison to Lofton Howard. Greenwood looked poised to add to the cushion in the final seconds of the quarter, but Christian County’s Cyrus Greenwade intercepted a Morrison pass at the goal line and returned it to the Colonels’ 36-yard line.
They wasted no time getting on the board after the turnover, with L’Ray Coleman taking a screen pass and rumbling 66 yards for the touchdown. Jordan Myles connected with J.T. Adams for the 2-point conversion, tying the game at 8-8.
Greenwood restored its advantage with just over five minutes left in the half, with Morrison finding Howard in the endzone on 4th and 2 from the 4-yard line. The PAT was good, and the Gators once again led by a touchdown.
Parker Scott picked off a Donta Abren pass at the Greenwood 3-yard line and returned it to the 8, but the Gators couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt with :47 on the clock. The Colonels got to the punt and took over on the 11-yard line with a chance to add points. However, with no time outs left, the clock ran out and they came up empty.
Greenwood took a two-score lead midway through the third quarter, with Dave Odom scoring on a 24-yard run for a 22-8 advantage. With less than thirty seconds to play in the third and the Gators looking to put the game out of reach, Greenwade came up with another goal-line interception and returned it to the Christian County 31-yard line.
Drew Smothers added a field goal to stretch the Greenwood lead to 15 with 5:50 to play, and the Gators looked to be well on their way to their fifth victory. However, the Colonels had other plans, beginning with a 46-yard touchdown connection between Abren and Joseph Alexander with four-and-a-half minutes left. Coleman added the 2-point conversion, but the Colonels still trailed by two scores.
With a chance to put the game away with 2:27 on the clock, Greenwood went for it on 4th and 15 from the Christian County 25, but the Colonels held, and a personal foul on the Gators gave them the ball on their own 45-yard line.
Abren and Joseph hooked up again, this time for a 43-yard scoring strike, pulling the Colonels to within a point with just over a minute left after another 2-point conversion. However, after recovering a short kick, the Gators picked up a first down that allowed them to run out the clock and escape with the narrow victory.
The Colonels are in for another stiff test next week when Bowling Green makes its way to the Stadium of Champions. The Purples shut Christian County out 49-0 last season, on their way to a 5A state semifinal appearance.