Kroger's Kentucky High School Football Rundown - Week 8
Check out KSR’s recap from Madison Central’s 27-14 victory over George Rogers Clark below, along with a statewide scoreboard thanks to our friends at Kroger. KSR also chatted with Kentucky OT commit Malachi Wood, who has been impressive during his senior season for Madison Central. He discusses his recruitment to UK and his connection with Wildcats’ offensive line coach Zach Yenser.
Madison Central Holds Off GRC to Improve to 7-1
The 5-2 George Rogers Clark Cardinals traveled to Richmond Friday night to face off against the 6-1 Madison Central Indians in 6A action. These two teams have met on 26 different occasions since 1998, with Madison Central coming out on top in 19 of those matchups. The Indians won eight straight from 2002-2008.
This season, GRC started out 4-0 before dropping two of their last three games, while the Indians started out 5-0 before being drummed 50-14 by Pikeville on September 30th. These teams got off to hot starts but had since cooled down.
Central’s Hensley Has Big Night
In his second game back from injury after missing weeks three through six, junior running back Brady Hensley put on a show. Hensley was all over the field for the Indians, making big play after big play. It didn’t matter whether or not he was breaking off long rushes or making crucial first-down catches on fourth down, the game plan was to get the ball in No. 42’s hands.
After Madison Central senior receiver Jayden West got the Indians on the board with a great touchdown catch in the back of the endzone, Hensley gave Central a two-possession lead on a five-yard touchdown run with 10:46 remaining in the second quarter.
On the first play of the drive after a GRC muffed punt, Hensley took the handoff 30 yards to the house for his second score of the game. When the Cardinals scored on their first drive of the second half, it was imperative that the Indians kept their momentum going. With this in mind, coach Mike Holcomb rolled the dice on 4th & 12.
“We had a new center and two new guards, and we didn’t know about that until about Wednesday,” Coach Holcomb said after the win. “We had people step up and make plays and we need to keep doing those things.”
Madison Central senior quarterback Hagan Harrison found Hensley across the middle to keep the drive alive. This led to an absolute dime thrown by Harrison to Hensley right through the defender’s fingertips to give Hensley his third touchdown of the day.
GRC’s Comeback Falls Short
After Hensley’s third touchdown of the day, Madison Central led 27-6 with 3:12 remaining in the third. If the Cardinals had any hope of making this a game, they had to score on their next possession. As the clock drained into the fourth quarter, GRC senior quarterback Tyleik Maxwell broke off a 50-yard rush before being tackled at the Central 20-yard line.
On third down from the 10-yard line, junior running back Bryce Chesnut would catch the short pass from Maxwell and make two elusive plays, a spin and a juke, to break the goal line and make this game a little tighter. A successful two-point conversion would cut the Central lead to 27-14 with 7:38 remaining.
GRC got the score they needed, now they needed to get the ball back as fast as possible. With 5:19 remaining in the game, Central’s quarterback Harrison tried to force a ball to senior receiver Travis Grant from their own 10-yard line. GRC junior linebacker Hayden Heath jumped the passing lane and returned it to the five-yard line before being pushed out of bounds.
The Cardinals had four tries from the five-yard line to get into the endzone to make it a one-score game but could not convert. On fourth and goal from the one, the Madison Central defense stuffed sophomore running back Kalen Washington to get the game-clinching goal line stand.
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The Indians would run the clock out and hold on to win 27-14, but it was close to being 27-20 with more than three minutes remaining in the game.
Three-Star OT Malachi Wood talks Kentucky Commitment
Madison Central senior offensive tackle Malachi Wood is every bit of 6’8″, 289 pounds. He committed to Kentucky back in March over schools such as West Virginia, Miami (OH), and Marshall.
“It just felt like home,” Wood said when discussing why he chose the ‘Cats. “It felt like a real brotherhood that can teach me to be a good football player but also a better man as well.”
In a September sit-down interview with KSR, Wood discussed his relationship with Kentucky’s late, great offensive line coach John Schlarman.
“Before Coach Schlarman passed, I went to this Fan Day when I was 11 or 12 and we talked for like 20, 30 minutes. We just had a really good talk,” Wood said. “He said he’d be on the lookout for me even that early. I still remember that.”
After Schlarman’s predecessor Eric Wolford bolted for Alabama after just one season, head coach Mark Stoops hired former San Francisco 49ers assistant Zach Yenser to be the next leader of the Big Blue Wall. Yenser began his coaching career at the University of Troy as a graduate assistant, working under coach Schlarman.
“[Coach Yenser] is a great guy and a great coach,” Wood said with a big smile on his face. “I love being around him and being in the film room with him.”
It seems as if Kentucky got a good one in both Coach Yenser and Malachi Wood.
Madison Central improves to 7-1 and travels to 5-3 Bryan Station next Friday, which started out 0-3 but has since won five straight. George Rogers Clark falls to 5-3 but looks to get back on track next week as they host 0-8 Oldham County.
Kroger’s Scores From Around The State
Kroger is a staple in your hometown community just like high school football. There’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the Bluegrass. We are honored to share this journey with Kroger and you for the third consecutive season.
(KSR High School Rankings listed)
Thursday, October 13
| No. 21 Bardstown | 45 | at Thomas Nelson | 7 |
| Berea | 43 | vs. Eminence | 12 |
| No. 25 Bryan Station | 49 | at Oldham County | 6 |
| Bullitt East | 48 | at Southern | 0 |
| North Laurel | 35 | vs. Whitley County | 19 |
Friday, October 14
| Apollo | 48 | vs. Marshall County | 14 |
| Ashland Blazer | 20 | vs. Russell | 14 |
| No. 4 Ballard | 34 | vs. Eastern | 0 |
| No. 20 Beechwood | 34 | vs. Lloyd Memorial | 7 |
| Bishop Brossart | 38 | vs. Paris | 13 |
| No. 12 Bowling Green | 35 | vs. Greenwood | 7 |
| Boyd County | 34 | at Scott | 13 |
| No. 9 Boyle County | 36 | vs. Anderson County | 0 |
| Breathitt County | 49 | at Morgan County | 0 |
| Bullitt Central | 6 | vs. Western | 3 |
| Butler County | 27 | at Todd County Central | 21 |
| Caldwell County | 23 | vs. Murray | 20 |
| Campbellsville | 21 | at Bethlehem | 14 |
| Carroll County | 53 | vs. Owen County | 13 |
| Casey County | 34 | vs. Hart County | 22 |
| Central | 52 | vs. North Oldham | 0 |
| Central Hardin | 37 | vs. Meade County | 10 |
| Clay County | 30 | vs. Perry County Central | 27 |
| Cooper | 54 | at Boone County | 0 |
| No. 6 Corbin | 63 | vs. Lincoln County | 0 |
| Crittenden County | 47 | vs. Fulton County | 14 |
| Danville | 53 | at Washington County | 7 |
| No. 3 DuPont Manual | 28 | vs. Pleasure Ridge Park | 19 |
| Elizabethtown | 54 | vs. Russell County | 7 |
| Estill County | 15 | at Garrard County | 7 |
| Fairdale | 49 | at Iroquois | 0 |
| Fleming County | 59 | vs. Pendleton County | 12 |
| Fort Campbell | 36 | at Caverna | 34 |
| Franklin County | 55 | at Waggener | 0 |
| Franklin-Simpson | 35 | at Warren Central | 20 |
| No. 2 Frederick Douglass | 54 | at Great Crossing | 0 |
| Gallatin County | 40 | vs. Trimble County | 32 |
| Grayson County | 33 | at Ohio County | 14 |
| Green County | 38 | vs. Edmonson County | 16 |
| Greenup County | 21 | at East Carter | 20 |
| Harlan | 54 | vs. Lynn Camp | 8 |
| Hazard | 25 | vs. Sayre | 21 |
| No. 18 Henderson County | 73 | vs. Daviess County | 35 |
| Henry County | 41 | at Mercer County | 38 |
| Highlands | 32 | at No. 7 Covington Catholic | 21 |
| Holmes | 48 | at Harrison County | 15 |
| Holy Cross (Louisville) | 50 | vs. Fort Knox | 7 |
| Hopkinsville | 49 | at Calloway County | 6 |
| John Hardin | 38 | vs. Marion County | 14 |
| No. 24 Johnson Central | 43 | at Harlan County | 0 |
| Kentucky Country Day | 55 | vs. Frankfort | 12 |
| Lawrence County | 35 | vs. Belfry | 21 |
| Leslie County | 43 | at Knott County Central | 7 |
| No. 8 Lexington Catholic | 49 | vs. Bourbon County | 0 |
| Lexington Christian | 43 | at Somerset | 0 |
| Ludlow | 1 | at Bellevue | 0 |
| Madison Central | 27 | vs. George Rogers Clark | 14 |
| Madison Southern | 43 | vs. West Jessamine | 15 |
| Madisonville-North Hopkins | 41 | vs. Hopkins County Central | 20 |
| No. 11 Male | 50 | vs. Fern Creek | 0 |
| Martin County | 48 | vs. West Carter | 0 |
| Mason County | 48 | vs. Lewis County | 6 |
| No. 16 Mayfield | 50 | at Ballard Memorial | 0 |
| Metcalfe County | 23 | vs. Adair County | 0 |
| Monroe County | 37 | at Clinton County | 20 |
| Muhlenberg County | 45 | vs. Breckinridge County | 21 |
| Nelson County | 37 | vs. LaRue County | 34 |
| Newport Central Catholic | 55 | at Dayton | 0 |
| North Bullitt | 48 | at Jeffersontown | 22 |
| North Hardin | 35 | vs. Barren County | 7 |
| Owensboro | 56 | vs. Graves County | 7 |
| Paintsville | 42 | at Betsy Layne | 20 |
| Paul Laurence Dunbar | 22 | vs. Henry Clay | 19 |
| Pike County Central | 13 | vs. Magoffin County | 12 |
| Prestonsburg | 51 | vs. Bath County | 8 |
| No. 16 Pulaski County | 35 | at Bell County | 29 |
| Raceland | 68 | at Fairview | 6 |
| Rockcastle County | 48 | at McCreary Central | 14 |
| Ryle | 48 | vs. Dixie Heights | 21 |
| No. 23 Scott County | 56 | at Montgomery County | 0 |
| Shelby Valley | 62 | at East Ridge | 20 |
| South Oldham | 42 | vs. Seneca | 0 |
| No. 17 South Warren | 52 | vs. Christian County | 14 |
| No. 19 Southwestern | 49 | vs. South Laurel | 0 |
| No. 1 St. Xavier | 38 | at Butler | 6 |
| Tates Creek | 43 | at Lafayette | 0 |
| Taylor County | 43 | vs. Glasgow | 14 |
| Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA | 45 | vs. Phelps | 14 |
| Trigg County | 27 | vs. Webster County | 20 |
| No. 13 Trinity (Louisville) | 34 | vs. St. Mary’s (St. Louis), MO | 13 |
| No. 22 Union County | 20 | vs. Paducah Tilghman | 16 |
| Valley | 44 | at Moore | 26 |
| Walton-Verona | 28 | vs. Shawnee | 0 |
| Warren East | 40 | at Allen County-Scottsville | 26 |
| Wayne County | 67 | at Knox Central | 38 |
| Western Hills | 26 | vs. DeSales | 18 |
| Williamsburg | 42 | at Pineville | 0 |
| No. 10 Woodford County | 41 | Collins | 28 |
Saturday, October 15
| Holy Cross (Covington) | vs. Newport (at Bishop Brossart) | 2:00 PM |
| Russellville | vs. No. 14 Pikeville (at Somerset) | 2:00 PM |
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