Henderson County showed Friday night it could move the football against one of Indiana’s top teams. However, capitalizing on those yards proved to be the challenge.
The Colonels had two touchdowns erased by penalties, were flagged 13 times for 100 yards and battled injuries throughout a 34-14 loss to Gibson Southern at Colonel Stadium. Henderson still finished with 371 yards of offense against a Titans team that entered the night ranked No. 3 in Class 3A by the Indiana USA Today Network.
Henderson entered the game shorthanded, missing two-way contributors Jack Dalton (concussion), Anzerion Marigny (broken leg), Kingston Shidler (suspension) and Kace Smith (ankle). The absences left the Colonels especially thin at running back, where junior Kieran Cole was called on for a much larger role.
“We were down to our fifth running back, and then we had an offensive lineman out,” Henderson County head coach John Elliott said. “We had a lot of players missing, and then during the game, we lost a couple. So it just came down to the next guy up.”
Cole, who has primarily played safety this season, responded with 44 yards on 12 carries and another 15 yards receiving. He nearly put Henderson on the board on the opening possession after Brody Belt found sophomore Jackson Loveless for 44 yards on the Colonels’ first play from scrimmage. Cole later broke into the end zone, but a holding penalty wiped away the touchdown.
“He’s an example of a young man that’s just waiting his turn,” Elliott said. “He’s been playing safety for us all year long. It was his turn to shine, and I thought he did an outstanding job running the ball.”
Gibson Southern scored on each of its first two possessions to go ahead 14-0, running its offense at a rapid pace while Henderson took nearly the opposite approach. The Colonels regularly worked the play clock down in an effort to shorten the game and keep Gibson Southern’s explosive offense off the field.
Henderson appeared to score again in the second quarter when Belt found Loveless for a 22-yard touchdown, but another holding call erased the score and eventually left the Colonels facing third-and-29.
The Colonels caught Gibson Southern off guard with a hook-and-ladder, as Belt hit Loveless underneath before the sophomore quickly pitched it to Hezekiah Harris coming across the field. Harris took off untouched for the end zone, turning third-and-29 into a touchdown and cutting the lead to 14-7 with 8:40 left in the half.
The Colonel defense did its part to keep it there. Christian Haygan and Luke Mann each sacked Gibson Southern quarterback Caden Rochleau on the same possession to help force a turnover on downs, while Jaxton Duncan later jarred the ball loose with a hard hit and Jerren Joseph recovered.
Henderson had one final opportunity before halftime and moved near midfield in the closing seconds. Belt scrambled toward the sideline on the final play and appeared to get out with one second remaining, but the clock expired before the Colonels could take another shot.
Still, after two touchdowns were called back and Gibson Southern had scored on its first two possessions, Henderson went into halftime down just 14-7.
The Colonels put the Titans in another hole to begin the second half when Spencer Kellen recorded Henderson’s third sack of the night, setting up second-and-29. Rochleau escaped pressure on the next play, however, and found Luke Mallory for a 37-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 21-7.
Gibson Southern added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 34-7, while Henderson continued fighting itself with penalties. One possession saw a Belt run erased by holding before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and another hold backed the Colonels all the way into second-and-45. Belt scrambled for eight yards and then found Loveless for 28 more, but even that was not enough to save the drive.
“It’s hard to make judgment on those from the sideline. We’ll take a look at the film,” Elliott said. “It’s hard to beat a good football team. It’s hard to beat anybody that way. We had almost 400 yards of offense. They had almost 500 yards. The score should have been a lot closer, but because of the penalties, they kept putting us in a hole.”
Despite spending much of the night behind the chains, Belt continued his strong start to the season. The senior completed 14-of-22 passes for 258 yards without an interception and led Henderson with 70 yards rushing. Through four games, Belt has thrown for 842 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception.
Loveless continued to make his case as one of the state’s top young receivers, catching eight passes for 97 yards. The sophomore is up to 24 receptions for 404 yards and five touchdowns through four games, highlighted by his school-record 95-yard touchdown against Pulaski County.
Harris gave Henderson another big-play threat Friday, finishing with three catches for 117 yards. After taking the lateral to the house in the first half, he got behind the Gibson Southern defense again early in the fourth quarter, hauling in a 35-yard touchdown from Belt to make it 34-14.
The Colonels threatened once more in the fourth, with Harris hauling in a 38-yard pass to help move Henderson to the Gibson Southern 14. Belt eventually scrambled down to the 3 before taking another hard hit and being evaluated on the sideline. Henderson came away empty after turning the ball over on downs.
The injuries also continued on defense, as starting linebacker Jake Hall left the game with a hip injury and did not return. According to WSON’s defensive statistics, Hall and Duncan still led Henderson with 13 tackles apiece, while Parker Shappell had 11 and Kellen added seven. Haygan, Mann and Kellen each recorded a sack, while Duncan forced the fumble recovered by Joseph.
Henderson finished with 371 yards to Gibson Southern’s 503, but the Colonels had their chances to make the final score much closer. Two touchdowns were called back, while several drives moved into Gibson Southern territory before coming up empty.
Still, despite playing shorthanded and spending much of the night fighting through penalties, Elliott was pleased with the fight his team showed against one of Indiana’s better teams.
“I thought our kids competed till the bitter end,” Elliott said.
Now 1-3, Henderson will look to put together a cleaner performance Friday when the Colonels travel to Owensboro to take on Daviess County. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
GAME STATISTICS
Gibson Southern 34, Henderson Co. 14
25 First Downs 14
35-192 Rushes-Yards 28-113
26-35-0 Comp-Att-Int 14-24-0
311 Passing Yards 258
503 Total Yards 371
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
9-72 Penalties-Yards 13-100
1-44 Punts-Avg. 5-36.4
Gibson Southern 14 0 20 0 — 34
Henderson Co. 0 7 0 7 0 — 14
GS – Caden Rochieau 4 run (Jeter Simmons kick)
GS – Rochieau 1 run (Simmons kick)
HC – Hezekiah Harris 29 lateral from Jackson Loveless after 3 pass from Brody Belt (Miles Pryor kick) 9 plays, 58 yards
GS – Luke Mallory 37 pass from Rochieau (Simmons kick)
GS – Eli Foster 11 run (Simmons kick)
GS – Elijah Ortiz 6 pass from Rochieau (kick failed)
HC – Harris 35 pass from Belt (Pryor kick) 5 plays, 57 yards
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Gibson Southern – Eli Foster 19-96, Caden Rochieau 12-83, Makade Malone 3-8, Peyton Johnson 1-5.
Henderson Co. — Brody Belt 15-70, Kieran Cole 12-44, Team 1-(-1)
Passing
Gibson Southern – Rochieau 26-35-0 311.
Henderson Co. — Belt 14-22-0 258, Paxden Beck 0-2-0 0.
Receiving
Gibson Southern – Johnson 11-137, Elijah Ortiz 7-57, Luke Mallory 4-83.
Henderson Co. — Jackson Loveless 8-97, Hezekiah Harris 3-117, Christian Haygan 2-29, Cole 1-15.
