Published: September 29, 2008 10:59 pm      

684 and could have been more

Johnson Central kneels only 26 yards shy of record

PAINTSVILLE — The most frightening number from Friday night’s high school football may have been the 684 rushing yards Johnson Central piled up against Woodford County in a 54-33 victory.

Even more frightening? It could have been more.

“We had probably 100 yards in rushing called back (because of penalties),” said Johnson Central coach Jim Matney.

Not only that, but the Golden Eagles took a knee on their last three plays of the game — and only 26 yards away from the state record of 710 set by Henderson County in 1997. Johnson Central’s total would rank No. 3 in state history.

“I had no clue,” Matney said. “It didn’t dawn on me. I probably would have gone for the record if I felt confident we could have broken it and not scored another touchdown.”

Woodford County was shellshocked enough after Johnson Central’s impressive rushing performance.

Chase Richardson and Nathan Dillon ran for more than 250 yards apiece, scoring touchdowns on runs of 76, 72, 22 and 85.

“It was a neat thing to watch,” Matney said. “We had a lot of big rushing nights but I don’t recall anything like this.”

When Matney was the head coach at Sheldon Clark, he had a quarterback, Jesse Watts, who passed for 651 yards in a game.

But for rushing, this was tops for him.

It also pushed Johnson Central over the 2,000-yard mark for the season at 2,075. The Golden Eagles are averaging better than 400 yards per game

Richardson, Nathan Dillon, fullback Tanner Bratten and quarterbacks Dennis Dillon and J.K. Hall give the Golden Eagles plenty to choose from when it comes to running the football.

Matney said the offensive line, from end to end, is what makes it all possible.

The ends asre Ian Welch and Jeremy Bratton, tackles are John Little and Casey Brown, guards Travis Scott and Ryan Harlow and center Josh Lackey.

Matney calls Welch “one of the best receivers in the state” but the Golden Eagles hardly ever put it in the air.

“Jeremy Bratten is 6-6 and has fabulous hands and Ian Welch is one of the premier football players in the whole state,” he said.

Johnson Central is 5-0 and 2-0 in the Class 5A district with games remaining against Montgomery County and Ashland. For now, the Golden Eagles step back out of district play against crosstown rival Paintsville in the Apple Bowl on Thursday night.

“Paintsville is certainly capable of giving anybody a good game,” Matney said. “It’s a backyard rivalry, so you never know what’s going to happen.”

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.