Aug 18 at George Rogers Clark
Aug 25 vs. Manual
Sep 1 vs. Henderson County
Sep 8 vs. Meade County
Sep 15 at Bowling Green
Sep 22 vs. Central
Sep 29 at Warren Central (District)
Oct 6 vs. North Hardin (District)
Oct 13 - BYE
Oct 20 at Barren County (District)
Oct 27 at Bryan Station

I can see at least 5 losses with this schedule.

Tough good schedule for Central Hardin. Type of schedule that prepares you for playoffs.

Hear that this may not be 100% complete. 

Central Hardin Key Losses:

DL/OL Andrew Hobbs

TE/DE Adam Hobbs

RB/DB Terry Brooks

LB Lamarion Blount

G/ Brandon Barnes

LB Gage Bryant

TE/DE Bradyn Robbins

K Kase Van Bligenburgh

Central Hardin Key Returnees: 

OL/DL Tucker Walters

QB Zach Spurrier

RB/LB Noah Payton

RB/DB Walker Meredith

RB/LB Brandon Lee

RB/LB Mason Gardner

DB Caden Elmore

Central Hardin will probably be the favorite to win District 2 in the 2023 season. They have the experience returning at the skill positions on the offensive side but must replace several key lineman on both sides of the ball. 

The key to stopping Central Hardin is to win the line of scrimmage, stop the run, and force them to pass the ball. Central Hardin needs to become more balanced on offense, but with the current coaching staff in place, it is old school Wing T, with no passing game to speak of. This will take you only so far in the playoffs. A no better example was watching Bardstown vs CAL in the state championship game. CAL won the line of scrimmage, stopped Bardstown's running game, and dared them to pass the ball. the result was a 38-0 pasting of Bardstown. 

 

Central Hardin has got its toughest schedule in years. I see them going 5-5 but winning the District. A key offseason loss for Central Hardin is FB Jumyni Noel who moved to North Hardin. He has the potential to be the best RB/FB Hardin County has seen in a long time. 

2023 Central Hardin Bruins 

Coach: Tim Mattingly

Class: 6A 

District: 2

August 18th at George Rogers Clark

August 25th vs Manual

September 1st vs Henderson County

September 8th vs Meade County

September 15th at Bowling Green 

September 22nd vs Central

September 29th at Warren Central

October 6th vs North Hardin

October 20th at Barren County

October 27th at Bryan Station

Offense: Central Hardin comes off of a season where their rushing attack churned out 3,526 yards on the ground behind an experienced offensive line and a running back by committee approach. Senior QB Zak Spurrier returns to lead the offense and is another dangerous runner when necessary with a 6"4" 225 in frame. The running game returns Mason Gardner (1,171 yards- 26TDs), and Walker Meredith (917 yards- 7TDs), as well as Spurrier who rushed from the QB position for 650 yards and 9TDs. Jaxson Engstrand returns as the top receiver for Central Hardin. The offensive line graduated Andrew Hobbs, Tyler Caudill, and Brandon Barnes, and will need some underclassmen to step up and provide blocking for this rushing Attack. A key returnee along the offensive line is Tucker Walters. 

Kicking Game: Central Hardin will also look for a replacement in the kicking game as Case Vanbligenburgh (35-36 PATS 6-6 FGs) graduated. 

Defense: The defense allowed only 20 points or more twice last season. The rushing defense allowed only 931 yards and the secondary only gave up 746 yards on the season. With both Adam and Andrew Hobbs gone from the defensive line, the lone returnee, Tucker Walters will have to rely on some new linemen to develop as the season progresses. The linebackers and secondary should be the strong point of the defense with linebackers Noah Payton, McKay Payton, Brandon Lee, Mason Gardner, and Matthew Withers, all returning for the 2023 season The secondary also returns Caden Elmore (16 INTs), Walker Meredith, Omar Mareez, and Jaxson Engstrand to bolster the back side of this defense. 

This is a brutal schedule with six teams with winning records and three with 10-win seasons in 2022. 

I can see this team going 6-4 and winning District 2, which includes: Warren Central, Barren County, and North Hardin. 

The size of Central Hardin last year was incredible.  I liked their team but man I didn't like that offense.  Could have used that size much better I think. 

That is what 1980s concepts and running the wing T with no passing game will do for you. Eventually you will face a team who will stop your run game and when you are forced to pass the ball and haven't been balanced on offense all season, you will see your season come to an end. 

On 7/29/2023 at 10:51 AM, Hardin County Preps said:

That is what 1980s concepts and running the wing T with no passing game will do for you. Eventually you will face a team who will stop your run game and when you are forced to pass the ball and haven't been balanced on offense all season, you will see your season come to an end. 

Would you rather them run a system like the spread that does not fit the personnel and go 2-8 every year?  Good coaches run systems that fit their school and players.  The offense that Central Hardin runs fits the profile of the typical players they get.  They do a good job with it. 

Counldn't disagree more. Just imagine if CH used TE Adam Hobbs on 10 -yard crossing routes over middle last season or used a screen pass play similar to North Hardin. Every pass that CH throws, which isn't much, they are long passes. I can tell you that after watching all 6 state championship games last year, the winners all had one thing in common; they were balanced on offense. Bardstown is a great example of being one dimensional with only a run game. CAL stopped their run game, they couldn't pass because they weren't balanced all season, and got their doors blown off. In 2011, CH hired Mark Perry, who implemented a spread offense with existing players and immediately turned the program around with multiple winning seasons. 

I don't think that offense fit very well with the team they had last year but I haven't watched or kept up with Central Hardin much the last several years.  Maybe it has more in the past.  Plus, that coach knows more than I do.  My comment was based mostly on the sheer size of many of the CH players from last years team and thought it could have been used better.  But again, I'm not a coach.  Just another opinion.  

My disagreement was with Bruin 66

I love that there are teams out there still running the wing-t, wishbone, flexbone/option, etc., but it's hard to contend for championships at the 'big school' level that way. The only school running an archaic offense to break the Big 3's grip on 6A was Scott County - a great program, no doubt - and that was a one-off deal. The Cardinals are 1-11 against T, X, and H in the last quarter century running the wing-t. 

Belfry and Johnson Central have shown that you can be great and even dominant doing what they do, and I find it beautiful to watch, but the gap between 3A/4A and 6A - specifically the Big 3 - can't be overstated. 

At a school with Central Hardin's enrollment and the Elizabethtown area's considerable talent pool, getting great athletes out for football shouldn't be difficult. In this case, I think the wing-t holds them back a little. Maybe a lot. 

Truthfully, most of the athletes these days in Hardin County end up at North Hardin. You have to be balanced these days. Eventually in the playoffs you will run into a defense that can stop the run. If you haven't been balanced all year and cannot throw the ball effectively, your season comes to an end. I remember watching Bardstown vs CAL last year in the state title game and thinking, " I am watching a version of Central Hardin". Bardstown could not move the ball on the ground and could not throw the ball effectively. As a result of not being in a balanced offense during the season, they didn't stand a chance and were blown out by a superior team that was very balanced on offense and had a defense that had great defensive lineman who had great lateral movement along the line of scrimmage.