The Golden Eagles bulldoze the Lions behind 252 yards and four touchdowns by Zack McCoart. JC ran for 468 yards in total.

 

Johnson Central came in from the opening play as McCoart ran one to the end zone on second back through out of the wishbone. The big difference in JC between this year and last year, I feel, is with McCoart back they have the player they're looking for that can take it for a long touchdown on any play. They also have a lot of depth in that backfield. JC's poise and maturity was impressive and when Boyd County would make a great play, it did not phase them and they would respond with one of their own.

It may not look like it from the score, but IMO this is a huge win for Johnson Central. Coming into the game Boyd was a touchdown away (lost 36-31 at Bell County) from being 4-0 and with two more wins this season, will have has many wins between 2020 and now as they did in all of the 2010's. That shows how far they have come as a program. Last year Boyd, on the road, came in and had Johnson Central trailing 14-0 in the playoffs and this year responded with a touchdown drive of their own after that long run by McCoart. However, that didn't phase JC coming into a tough environment on the road. Boyd County has made significant strides since hiring Evan Ferguson in 2019, winning a district championship in 2022 and the following season giving both Ashland and Johnson Central good runs. 

Johnson Central always amazes me. Having been a part of a team that competed against them my senior year and also having been to many of their games since, they're easy to scout for the most part because you know everything they're going to do. Normally you can pick up on the tendencies teams will have, and that's especially the case here. They'll throw in a little wrinkle every now and then, but for the most part they do not hide anything and you know where they're going to attack in almost every yardage situation. Stopping their attack, however, is another story.