Henderson County went into halftime of Friday night’s home opener within a field goal of Madisonville-North Hopkins. By the end of the third quarter, the game had gotten away from the Colonels.
The Maroons used a dominant rushing attack to pull away in the second half, handing Henderson a 53-19 loss in the Colonels’ annual Hall of Fame Game at Colonel Stadium. Friday marked the first meeting between the two programs since 2014, when Madisonville defeated Henderson 49-0 at Colonel Stadium.
HCHS trailed just 16-13 at halftime before Madisonville outscored the Colonels 37-6 over the final two quarters. The loss dropped Henderson to 0-2 following a 41-16 defeat at Pulaski County in the season opener.
“We’ve got to get a lot better,” Henderson County head coach John Elliott said. “It was a three-point game at halftime, and we folded in the second half.”
To Henderson’s credit, the Colonels looked like a different team early, going toe-to-toe with Madisonville throughout the first half.
Starting from their own 40-yard line, quarterback Brody Belt soon found Jackson Loveless for a speedy 48-yard completion down the sideline. Henderson eventually faced fourth-and-6, but Belt went back to Loveless across the middle for a 16-yard touchdown. Miles Pryor’s extra point gave the Colonels a 7-0 lead with 8:55 remaining in the first quarter.
It continued a strong start to the season for Loveless, who was coming off a seven-catch, 167-yard performance against Pulaski County. The sophomore receiver again led Henderson on Friday, catching four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Through two games, Loveless has 11 receptions for 233 yards and three scores.
“Loveless had another good game,” Elliott said. “He’s been very difficult to cover for our opponents, and he’s really playing well right now.”
Madisonville answered Henderson’s opening score with an 80-yard drive capped by a one-yard touchdown run from senior Gage Kinney. Ryder Sandidge ran in the two-point conversion to put the Maroons ahead 8-7.
Henderson’s defense forced a punt on Madisonville’s next possession, but the Colonels ran into trouble on their following drive. A fumbled snap on a punt attempt left Madisonville with possession at the Henderson 17.
The Maroons capitalized, with Sandidge eventually scoring from one yard out before adding the two-point conversion himself to extend the lead to 16-7.
After a pair of Madisonville penalties helped move the Colonels into Maroon territory, Belt found senior receiver Hezekiah Harris for a 24-yard touchdown. Henderson’s two-point attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the Colonels down 16-13.
The Colonels kept Madisonville out of the end zone on its final possession of the half, sending Henderson into the locker room within three.
Henderson also entered halftime shorthanded. Senior running back Jack Dalton exited with a head injury and was not cleared to return, while junior running back Anzerion Marigny was taken to the emergency room with a leg injury after leaving the game following a hard hit in the second quarter.
The Maroons leaned on their ground game on the opening possession out of the half, and Sandidge broke loose for a 39-yard touchdown. Another two-point conversion pushed Madisonville’s advantage to 24-13.
Henderson would respond just once more.
Harris gave the Colonels excellent field position with a kickoff return to the Madisonville 30. Christian Haygan made a 12-yard catch along the sideline, Harris picked up another first down on a short reception and Belt finished the four-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
The conversion attempt failed, but Henderson had pulled back within 24-19. The Colonels would not score again.
Sandidge added a four-yard touchdown later in the third quarter before breaking a 47-yard scoring run to help Madisonville take a 40-19 lead into the fourth. He struck again from 47 yards out in the final period before Bryson Shoulders capped the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run.
Sandidge finished with 309 rushing yards on 31 carries and five touchdowns. Madisonville totaled 425 yards on 54 rushing attempts and finished with 508 yards of offense.
Henderson had the opposite problem on the ground.
The Colonels finished with negative 15 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Dalton and Marigny each gained eight yards before exiting, while Belt finished with minus-15 yards despite scoring Henderson’s lone rushing touchdown. Henderson totaled 164 yards of offense compared to Madisonville’s 508.
“We’ve been able to get the ball in the air,” Loveless said. “We just haven’t set the tone in the run game yet.”
Belt completed 11-of-20 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Kace Smith added two catches for 46 yards, while Harris caught two passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Senior linebacker Jake Hall provided a bright spot defensively, leading Henderson with 11 tackles. Kieran Cole and Spencer Kellen followed with nine tackles apiece, while Christian Haygan finished with five tackles and recorded the Colonels’ lone sack.
In just his second varsity start, Hall credited his offseason work and film study with helping prepare him for the larger role. Still, he pointed to discipline and gap responsibility as areas the Colonels have to improve.
“We need to be gap sound,” Hall said. “We need to be more responsible for our gaps up front. We have to fix our alignment to stop the run game.”
For Henderson, the focus now turns to responding to an 0-2 start in which the Colonels have been outscored 94-35 through two games. They will travel to Lexington next Friday to face Henry Clay, which also enters the matchup at 0-2 following an 8-6 loss to Madison Southern.
When Elliott was asked what Henderson would work on heading into next week, his answer was brief.
“Everything,” he said.
