Instant classic vs. LCA gives Madison Central’s Mike Holcomb his 300th career win
In his 35-year coaching career, few regular-season victories could have been more memorable than No. 300 for Madison Central Coach Mike Holcomb.
In a much-hyped season-opening matchup with 2A power Lexington Christian on Friday night, Madison Central, ranked fourth in Class 6A entering the season, escaped with a 38-34 win thanks to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Hagan Harrison to Jayden West with two seconds on the clock.
“He won’t soon forget his 300th win,” said LCA Coach Doug Charles. “This one was a dandy.”
Much of the attention entering the Roy Kidd Bowl was pointed at LCA quarterback Cutter Boley, a class of 2025 recruit who transferred to LCA from LaRue County and picked up a scholarship offer from Alabama in June.
Boley shined while playing in a spread offense for the first time, completing 17 of 25 passes for 367 yards. He threw touchdowns of 59 and 63 yards and ran for a 5-yard score.
LCA and Boley rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a 34-31 lead with 1:11 remaining following a JVeontae Emerson 12-yard touchdown run to cap off a 94-yard drive.
But Madison Central was not finished.
“We knew what we had to do, we knew we needed to score,” Madison Central offensive tackle and Kentucky class of 2023 commitment Malachi Wood said.
The Indians marched down the field, appearing to score the go-ahead touchdown at one point only for the play to be called back due to a penalty. That setback proved only to be temporary as Harrison found West again, this time on the opposite side of the field, for the winning score.
“Our kids just played hard and gutted it out,” Holcomb said. “We’re playing a few more kids both ways, and it’s hot. But it’s a great game. It’s sort of like playing tennis. Whoever had that thing last is going to have a chance at it.”
Harrison completed nine of 17 passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns. He added 64 rushing yards on 15 carries. West, who picked up his first Division I scholarship offer from Eastern Kentucky this month, was the star of the night with five catches for 68 yards and three touchdowns. He also forced one of the few miscues from Boley on the night with an interception.
While Madison Central emerged from the game victorious, both coaches found plenty of positives in the back-and-forth classic.
“Nobody deserved to lose this football game,” Charles said. “It was a grown man’s game. I told our guys before what we were getting into. It was entertaining. At the end of the day, you’ve got to keep things in perspective. It’s a football game. We learned a lot about our kids. I’m really proud of them.”
Holcomb knows what it takes to build a champion.
He coached Breathitt County to state titles in 1995, 1996 and 2002. His Breathitt County teams won 42 consecutive games from 1995 to 1997. With the win Friday, Holcomb, who also coached at Letcher Central, became the 13th coach in Kentucky high school football history to record 300 wins.
Holcomb inherited a Madison Central program that went 1-8 in 2020, but led the Indians to a 10-4 record and state semifinal loss in his first season on the job.
“(300 wins) really just means I’ve been coaching a long time,” Holcomb said. “I’ve been fortunate in my life to coach a lot of great players and have a lot of great assistant coaches. I’ve been at three schools that really supported what we were doing. I just happened to be the guy in charge as far as keeping those accounts. I know I’ve got a few on that other end, too.”
