Topic: Football
Harlan County vs. Madison Southern
Class 5A Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl (Semifinal)
Madison Southern High School
Berea, KY
November 24, 2017
© 2017 by Ron Harrison
Madison Southern defeated Harlan County by a score of 27-20 before a packed house in an example of what high school football should be like in a playoff atmosphere on a Friday night in late fall. Harlan County held a 20-13 lead late in the game before Madison Southern scored on a one yard run by Carter Smith and Baylor Willis kicked the conversion kick to tie the game at 20-20. Madison Southern recovered a fumble on their 17 yard line with 1:18 left on the clock. The Eagles went 83 yards on four plays ending with a 27 yard run by Carter Smith to the end zone shedding tackles along the way and a conversion kick by Baylor Willis to make the score 27-20 with 46 seconds on the clock. The Eagles held on for the victory and punched their ticket to the championship game. Madison Southern recorded 15 first downs and 324 yards of total offense. The Eagles were penalized six times for 73 yards, lost a fumble, and had a pass intercepted. Harlan County recorded 16 first downs and 271 yards of total offense. The Black Bears were penalized eight times for 49 yards and lost a fumble.
Carter Smith led Madison Southern’s ground game with 151 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Landen Stacy carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Nathaniel Eads carried the ball once for 27 yards. Landen Stacy completed 10 of 11 passes for 61 yards with one interception. Nathaniel Eads caught five passes for 30 yards. Carter Smith added two receptions for 23 yards. Noah Hughes returned one kickoff for 23 yards. Carter Smith punted three times for a 41.0 average with a long punt of 43 yards. Carter Smith led the defense with six solo and five assisted tackles. Alex Knuckles added five solo and two assisted tackles. Hunter Richardson recorded four solo and three assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a six yard loss. TJ Estes recorded two solo and one assisted tackles with two of his tackles resulting in losses totaling nine yards.
Tyrese Simmons led Harlan County’s ground game with 82 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Quentin Mickens carried the ball 21 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. Colby Cochran completed five of 14 passes for 64 yards. Tyrese Simmons caught three passes for 48 yards. Tyrese Simmons returned four kickoffs for 64 yards. Marcus Kelly kicked off five times with four touchbacks. Garry Henson led the defense with three solo and six assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling two yards. Tyrese Simmons added four solo and four assisted tackles. Caleb Carmical recorded one solo and seven assisted tackles. Jacob Branson recovered a fumble and Devon Rodrigues intercepted a pass.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Harlan County | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Madison Southern | 0 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
| HARLANCO | - | Marcus Kelly kicks a 40 yard field goal |
| MADSOUTH | - | Landen Stacy 7 yard run (Baylor Willis kick) |
| HARLANCO | - | Quentin Mickens 3 yard run (Marcus Kelly kick) |
| MADSOUTH | - | Carter Smith 3 yard run (Nathaniel Eads run fails) |
| HARLANCO | - | Marcus Kelly kicks a 25 yard field goal |
| HARLANCO | - | Tyrese Simmons 64 yard run (Marcus Kelly kick) |
| MADSOUTH | - | Carter Smith 1 yard run (Baylor Willis kick) |
| MADSOUTH | - | Carter Smith 27 yard run (Baylor Willis kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Harlan County | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Tyrese Simmons | 5 | 82 | 16.4 | 64 |
| Quentin Mickens | 21 | 78 | 3.7 | 13 |
| Colby Cochran | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 15 |
| Devon Rodrigues | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 |
| Garry Henson | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Caleb Carmical | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Colby Cochran | 14-5-0 | 64 | 0 | 33 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Tyrese Simmons | 3 | 48 | 0 | 33 |
| Devon Rodrigues | 2 | 16 | 0 | 13 |
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| Madison Southern | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Carter Smith | 20 | 151 | 7.6 | 27 |
| Landen Stacy | 15 | 70 | 4.7 | 26 |
| Nathaniel Eads | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 27 |
| Hunter Richardson | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Alex Knuckles | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Landen Stacy | 11-10-1 | 61 | 0 | 21 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Nathaniel Eads | 5 | 30 | 0 | 18 |
| Carter Smith | 2 | 23 | 0 | 21 |
| Hunter Richardson | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Seth Shepherd | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Tobias Storm | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Hugh Davis for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.