‘This is a big one.’ They won only 2 games in 2 years. Now, they’re district champs.
Madison Central couldn’t have asked for a better start against Bryan Station in its Class 6A, District 8 football championship game Friday night.
Great field position, touchdowns on three of their first four possessions and everything (aside from an interception that later proved harmless) was going the way of the visiting Indians.
Finally, Bryan Station’s offense rallied and capped an 11-play drive with a 20-yard TD pass from Trenton Cutwright to J’Marious Lindsay to cut the Madison Central lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter.
But just as the glimmer of hope appeared for the Defenders, Madison Central snuffed it.
Three plays after the Bryan Station score, Madison Central quarterback Hagan Harrison took the snap and sprinted to the right edge of the formation on a third-down-and-6 play from his own 26-yard line. He turned upfield and shook a would-be tackler.
“As soon as I hit that move on him, I was gone,” said Harrison, whose touchdown made the score 28-7 with 7:11 left till halftime. “I got down to the 20 and started getting tired and I had to look back to see if they were catching up, but nobody was there, and I did a little dance walking into the end zone. It was awesome.”
Madison Central went on to defeat Bryan Station 41-18, giving the Indians their first district title since 2018 and first under Mike Holcomb. Holcomb, a Kentucky high school football coaching legend with three state title wins at Breathitt County, took on the task of rebuilding Madison Central’s program this year after it suffered back-to-back one-win seasons.
“These players done that,” Holcomb said, deflecting credit. “We’ve got a great bunch of players and they believed in themselves and they’ve worked hard.”
The win also avenged a 21-13 regular-season loss at home to the Defenders and a 14-13 defeat at their hands last year in the first round of the playoffs.
“This is a big one for those guys and everybody and all of Madison County. I’m really proud for our team,” said sophomore running back Brady Hensley, who rushed for a game-high 166 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 40-yard TD pass from Harrison late in the first quarter. “It just kept snowballing for us. We kept going and kept pounding them and we finished the job. …
“This is the best we’ve been playing all season.”
Madison Central (9-3) has been known for grinding out scores with long drives this year. But against Bryan Station on Friday, the Indians popped for a 35-yard TD pass from Harrison to Jayden West, Hensley’s 40-yard TD reception, and Harrison’s 74-yard sprint. Each of those drives lasted only three plays.
“We’ve been working trying to get better and better and do a few more things offensively,” Holcomb said. “I think the fast start was big for us. We haven’t done that in awhile. Our defense put us in great field position.”
The defense held Bryan Station (10-2) to just 28 yards rushing and forced punts on its first three possessions (two of which went for negative yardage).
“The defense is what has really been the backbone for us all year,” Holcomb said.
Harrison rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns in addition to his TD passes to West and Hensley. Those were his only two completions on six attempts for 76 yards.
“It finally came together for us,” Holcomb said of his offense’s huge numbers Friday. “Our quarterback has really settled in good. Our offense is playing well, our offensive line is playing well.”
Next, Madison Central will face Paul Laurence Dunbar, a 41-34 winner over Tates Creek on Friday in District 7. The Indians defeated the Bulldogs 34-24 in the second game of the season. As the No. 7 RPI-rated team, the Indians will host No. 15 Dunbar in a game tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.
