Colonels fall short

“We were uninspired,” said Whitley County coach Jim Black after his team’s 31-18 loss to Lincoln County Friday night. “It’s a Homecoming game, you would think the kids would be excited to play. I’ve got to do a better job getting them emotionally ready.”
Ready or not, Lincoln County was hungry for a win over Whitley County. The Colonels went into Death Valley and knocked the Patriots off last year and cost Lincoln County a spot in the playoffs.
“We really wanted this game,” Lincoln County coach Larry French said after the game. “The coaches say our season really doesn’t start until district time.”
And, the Patriots got their district slate started off quickly, scoring two first quarter touchdowns that gave Lincoln County a 13-0 lead. Both touchdowns came when Whitley County gave the football to the Patriots on the Colonels side of the field.
After a short series by the Colonels, the Patriots took over at the Whitley County 45 yard line. With its starting quarterback (Levi Rogers) on the sidelines with a concussion Trey Edwards got the call behind the center. He handed the ball off once to running back Braxton Miller then to Trent Calhoun. It didn’t take the two long to reach the end zone. It was Calhoun going in from five yards out with 6:04 in the opening quarter to put Lincoln County ahead 6-0.
It was three and out for the Colonels and again the punt landed in Colonels’ territory at the 42 yard line. Lincoln County put together a six-play drive that ended in a Ryan Young touchdown of 28 yards and a 13-0 lead when Devon Denson booted the PAT through the uprights with 2:41 in the quarter.
Lincoln County dominated the line of scrimmage and put together two more short drives in the second quarter, extending their lead to 25-0.
The final touchdown proved to be the key score in the game. After Whitley County had stopped at Lincoln County drive at the 23 yard line with 2:02 in the half, the went three and out and were forced to punt the ball back to the Patriots with seconds to play.
The Patriots took the long punt at their own 33 yard line. Edwards was then hit with an 11 yard sack with :29 left. Miller got 13 yards back on the second and 21 at the 22 yard line then expecting a pass, Calhoun broke up the middle for a 75 yard touchdown that put the Patriots ahead by 25 points at the half.
“I thought we laid around the field on that play,” said Black. “We sorta stood around and watch instead of making the play. We were expecting a pass on the play. I think there were three or four miss tackles on the play.”
“We tried to play the second half like it was 0-0 and we go out and win the second half, but that’s not a ballgame and that doesn’t help us,” said Black.
But, his Colonels did take it to the Patriots. Whitley County put a 47-yard drive together in the third quarter to get on the scoreboard. Jason Powers got the big run of the drive at the 20 yard line and taking the ball down to the two. Cody Jeffries and quarterback Jordan McCumbers followed with one yard runs, the second going for the touchdown with 3:10 in the period.
Lincoln County answered on a Calhoun run of 28 yards at the :37 mark for a 31-6 lead. From that point on it was all Whitley County as the Colonels rolled up the yardage and scored two touchdowns to make the game respectable.
“I don’t know the difference between the first half and the second half,” said Black. “We made some mistakes defensively but we made some stops.”
“Offensively we had one first down in the first half and some drops that should have been catches. We had some fumbles,” Black said. “Those things hurt you.”
“Lincoln County is a good football team and those things are going to come back to haunt you,” he said. “You’ve got to play four quarters of football, you can’t play two, you can’t play three, you’ve got to play four.”
“If you come out and play the first half like you played the second half, you are in the position to win the game,” said Black. “We didn’t put ourselves in the position to win the game.”
The Colonels played hard in the second half, Whitley County had a minus one yard in the first half but came back with 220 yards in the second half. “We found something that worked in the second half,” said Black. “We just didn’t convert first downs in the first half and if you aren’t going to do that you are going to be in trouble. If you give that type of field position, you are going to be in trouble. By doing that we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
It’s back to the road for the Colonels Friday night. Whitley County will travel to Richmond to take on defending champion, Madison Central. The Indians may very well be on the warpath this week after losing to Montgomery County last week, 26-21.
“We got to find our heart,” said Black. “We have to play with heart and passion the whole game. We were inspired the second half but we have to play a whole game that way.”
“We can either show up and take the game to them or we can sit back and take a wait and see attitude and seeing if we can play with them,” said Black. “If we come out and play and are physical and make plays we will be fine, but if we take that wait and see attitude they will run us off the field.”
“I know (Madison Central) they are a good football team, they have some good athletes,” said Black. “They will be difficult to defend and they will be good on defense.”
The Indians (2-2) are led by senior quarterback Chaz Hope, son of EKU coach Danny Hope.
Madison Central has lost two games in a row. They dropped a 34-31 double overtime loss to Tates Creek, September 1. Hope’s main targets are Keyshawn Simpson and Ricky Rhodes, the two have combined for six touchdowns.
“There are some things I think we can take advantage of,” said Black. “It’s just going to take a good game plan.”
Game-time in Richmond is 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln Co. 31, Whitley Co. 18
Lincoln Co. 13 12 6 0- 31
Whitley Co. 0 0 6 12- 18
First Quarter
LC – Trent Calhoun, 5 run (kick failed)
LC – Ryan Young, 28 pass from Trey Edwards (Devon Denson)
Second Quarter
LC – Braxton Miller, 22 run (kick failed)
LC – Calhoun, 76 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
WC – Jordan McCumbers, 1 run (pass failed)
LC – Calhoun, 28 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
WC – Cody Jeffries, 1 run (pass failed)
WC – Jason Powers, 1 run (pass failed)