2012 in Flatwoods, down 28-10 going into the 4th. Won 32-28. Mason Co. vs. Russell.

Any win over the Red Devils was monumental because of our respect for Coach Ivan McGlone, their staff & program. First class people and the way they did their business. 

22 hours ago, Breds82 said:

NewCath scored 17 points in the last 6 minutes or something. Danville had the game won, just needed a yard for a game ending first down. The QB/Crnter exchange was fumbled and NewCath recovered. Then they hit a miracle with a a pass to Vickers who took it to the house. The play that changed the game was a roughing the punter on Danville. What a change of emotions for the Breds fans.

I've always said that was the game that broke Sam Harp at Danville.  He never made it back to the finals and had only 1 appearance in the semis after.

It also broke the program a bit as Danville has only won 1 state title since.

Danville was getting like 3-4 yards a carry to run the clock out, and they just fumbled that last exchange. 

On 6/27/2025 at 9:33 AM, Tkinslow said:

Now that would be a running clock and impossible to make a comeback. 

The halftime score was 42-21.  It was a remarkable performance offensively.  Beau Hoge had 5 TD's but the biggest kudos go to the defense that gave up 42 in the first half and then hung a goose egg on Owensboro in the second.

In 2017, second round of the playoffs, South Oldham down 34-21 to Highlands with a minute left in the third quarter. Came back to win 35-34. Defense finally came together in the fourth quarter to shut them down. Passing game started to click to help the running game. 
 

In 2015, the Dragons came back as Fairdale took the lead with just over a minute left. The Dragons marched 65 yards in just under a minute and scored on a 37 yard TD pass from Drew Zaubi to Keenan John. That gave South Oldham their first District Championship since 1992! 

I'm not sure what the largest comeback or blown lead for Warren Central has been, but these are two I'm aware of that stand out in my mind.  

For a blown lead, Warren Central visited Franklin-Simpson for a district game with likely implications for the #2 seed in the district on 10/2/2015.  The Dragons were in their sole season under Clay Stephens, and while not in total freefall yet, the struggles were beginning to show for the program.  They entered the game at just 2-4, with a game still to be played against ascendant South Warren.  A win was not only important for playoff seeding, it was important to try to avoid their first losing record in 7 years.  After a scoreless first quarter, the Dragons struck on a 6 yard run, taking a 6-0 lead that was followed by fireworks in the final two minutes of the half.  The Dragons hit on a 71 yard touchdown pass from Chance Shanklin to Tristen Murray with just under 2 minutes in the half remaining.  Franklin put together a rapid drive to make the score 12-7, but then allowed a trick play touchdown on the first play from scrimmage 14 seconds later, when Tristen Murray threw a 71 yard touchdown pass to Damani Walker to make it 18-7 at the half.  2:30 into the third quarter, Shanklin and Murray connected again to make it 25-7. That score held till midway through the third when Franklin scored on a 4 yard run, but it was still 25-14 going into the final quarter.  But it slipped away from them as the Wildcats put together three touchdown drives in the final period.  On the first drive, Central committed penalties on three separate fourth down conversion attempts.  Central finally scored on a 1 yard QB sneak in the final minute to cut it to 36-31, but that was the final, as the onside kick attempt failed.  18 is a somewhat modest amount and that came early in the third, but I can't recall Central blowing a lead of that size at any point in any other game.  Franklin-Simpson went on to secure the #2 seed, and were able to convert that into a run to the region title game.  Central fell to the #4 seed, falling on the road at Hopkinsville by a 15-9 score, and still have not won a playoff game since 2013 (two years before this game).  Worse, one week after this game against Franklin-Simpson they beat Warren East.  It would be their final win for seven agonizing years and they have won only 11 games (including that Warren East game) since this blown lead against Franklin-Simpson.

On a happier note (for Central supporters), is the comeback.  On November 18th, 2005, Warren Central hosted Christian County for the 4A Region 1 finals.  Central entered the game 11-1, falling only to eventual 3A runner-up Bowling Green by a 14-6 score.  Just three weeks prior they had defeated Christian County in Dragon Stadium by a 42-40 score.  The Dragons would jump out early on, taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.  But they would allow 35 points in a row, the last on a pick six late in the third, and with 9:30 left in the 4th, Central still trailed 35-14.  Central finally got on the board again with a 4 yard run by Blake Ayers to cut it to 35-20 (the PAT was missed).  On the ensuing possession Christian County went 3 and out, with the drive stopped when future NFL player Keith Tandy, playing QB, completed a pass but had passed the LOS to take a penalty and forfeit the down.  The next drive for Central had possibly the most dramatic moment of any season I've followed for the Dragons.  After a sack put the Dragons in 4th and 21 from their own 38, Ayers found Nikko Beason for a 62 yard bomb to make the score 35-27 with 5:41 remaining.  Christian County was misaligned on the play, with a defender lined up in tight coverage when the intent was for him to be 10-15 yards back (on the footage you can hear the coach SCREAMING at the player to back up and absolutely dying when the ball is snapped).  The Colonels started their next drive at their own 20, going three and out again, with a third down conversion pass just out of reach of the receiver.  They took only 1:40 off the clock, and a snap over the head of their punter resulted in a punt that only got to the CCHS 18 (a miracle they did even that well).  Four plays later Ayers scored from 1 yard out to draw to 35-33 with 2:50 left, but the two point conversion was no good.  Despite everything that had happened, the Colonels were still in position to kill the clock.  They started the next possession from their own 10, and Tandy gained 13 yards for a first down.  Two runs picked up only a yard apiece, setting up a 3rd and 8.  Again the Colonels tried to throw for it instead of running clock, and while the receiver was there, he just flat dropped it.  Christian County punted back to the Dragons with about 1:30 left on the clock, with Central starting on their own 48.  On the fourth play of the drive, Blake Ayers hit Lee Owens for a 27 yard pass down to the CCHS 13.  A Chase Goff run down to the 4 made it 2nd and 1 with 15 seconds remaining.  With the Dragons out of timeouts, they kicked it right there, the ball splitting the uprights to put Central up 36-35.  A misplay on the kickoff put the Colonels 95 yards away with less than 10 seconds left, and no timeouts left (having used all three to try to ice Central's kicker on the go ahead field goal).  Tandy's heave was intercepted at midfield, and the Dragons had completed an improbably 21 point comeback in the game's final quarter to win the region title.  To date, it is their last region title, and it could not have come in any more memorable fashion.

7 hours ago, DanvilleFan said:

I've always said that was the game that broke Sam Harp at Danville.  He never made it back to the finals and had only 1 appearance in the semis after.

It also broke the program a bit as Danville has only won 1 state title since.

I never thought of it that way in terms of coach Harp. They had a pretty devastating loss in the 2A finals in 97 or 98 to Caldwell Co, I believe. Roughing the punter or something like that. 
 

I'm old enough to remember Danville being an absolute beast in at least 1-3A. Harp is an absolute legend. Hearing his interview on the Coaches Podcast you can tell how upset he is with the current administration.

On 6/26/2025 at 7:08 PM, Tkinslow said:

I remember Glasgow trailing Monroe Co. in 1990 26-0 in the second quarter and comeback and won 27-26. They also trailed Bardstown in the playoffs in 2021 28-6 in the first quarter and comeback and won. Their worst blown lead that I recall was in 1999 when they led the John Wesley Monin Bardstown team 24-0 at halftime and lost on a Hail Mary at the buzzer 27-24.

I actually forgot about another great comeback by the Scotties in 1986 they were down 20-0 to Bowling Green and come back and nipped them 21-20. I was actually at that game I was in little league and got in free, which was a big deal for a kid back then. A more interesting part of that game was that was the 5th out of 6 straight wins by the Scotties over the Purples, couldn’t imagine beating the Purples 6 straight times with how powerful they have become now.

4 hours ago, DragonFire said:

I'm not sure what the largest comeback or blown lead for Warren Central has been, but these are two I'm aware of that stand out in my mind.  

For a blown lead, Warren Central visited Franklin-Simpson for a district game with likely implications for the #2 seed in the district on 10/2/2015.  The Dragons were in their sole season under Clay Stephens, and while not in total freefall yet, the struggles were beginning to show for the program.  They entered the game at just 2-4, with a game still to be played against ascendant South Warren.  A win was not only important for playoff seeding, it was important to try to avoid their first losing record in 7 years.  After a scoreless first quarter, the Dragons struck on a 6 yard run, taking a 6-0 lead that was followed by fireworks in the final two minutes of the half.  The Dragons hit on a 71 yard touchdown pass from Chance Shanklin to Tristen Murray with just under 2 minutes in the half remaining.  Franklin put together a rapid drive to make the score 12-7, but then allowed a trick play touchdown on the first play from scrimmage 14 seconds later, when Tristen Murray threw a 71 yard touchdown pass to Damani Walker to make it 18-7 at the half.  2:30 into the third quarter, Shanklin and Murray connected again to make it 25-7. That score held till midway through the third when Franklin scored on a 4 yard run, but it was still 25-14 going into the final quarter.  But it slipped away from them as the Wildcats put together three touchdown drives in the final period.  On the first drive, Central committed penalties on three separate fourth down conversion attempts.  Central finally scored on a 1 yard QB sneak in the final minute to cut it to 36-31, but that was the final, as the onside kick attempt failed.  18 is a somewhat modest amount and that came early in the third, but I can't recall Central blowing a lead of that size at any point in any other game.  Franklin-Simpson went on to secure the #2 seed, and were able to convert that into a run to the region title game.  Central fell to the #4 seed, falling on the road at Hopkinsville by a 15-9 score, and still have not won a playoff game since 2013 (two years before this game).  Worse, one week after this game against Franklin-Simpson they beat Warren East.  It would be their final win for seven agonizing years and they have won only 11 games (including that Warren East game) since this blown lead against Franklin-Simpson.

On a happier note (for Central supporters), is the comeback.  On November 18th, 2005, Warren Central hosted Christian County for the 4A Region 1 finals.  Central entered the game 11-1, falling only to eventual 3A runner-up Bowling Green by a 14-6 score.  Just three weeks prior they had defeated Christian County in Dragon Stadium by a 42-40 score.  The Dragons would jump out early on, taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.  But they would allow 35 points in a row, the last on a pick six late in the third, and with 9:30 left in the 4th, Central still trailed 35-14.  Central finally got on the board again with a 4 yard run by Blake Ayers to cut it to 35-20 (the PAT was missed).  On the ensuing possession Christian County went 3 and out, with the drive stopped when future NFL player Keith Tandy, playing QB, completed a pass but had passed the LOS to take a penalty and forfeit the down.  The next drive for Central had possibly the most dramatic moment of any season I've followed for the Dragons.  After a sack put the Dragons in 4th and 21 from their own 38, Ayers found Nikko Beason for a 62 yard bomb to make the score 35-27 with 5:41 remaining.  Christian County was misaligned on the play, with a defender lined up in tight coverage when the intent was for him to be 10-15 yards back (on the footage you can hear the coach SCREAMING at the player to back up and absolutely dying when the ball is snapped).  The Colonels started their next drive at their own 20, going three and out again, with a third down conversion pass just out of reach of the receiver.  They took only 1:40 off the clock, and a snap over the head of their punter resulted in a punt that only got to the CCHS 18 (a miracle they did even that well).  Four plays later Ayers scored from 1 yard out to draw to 35-33 with 2:50 left, but the two point conversion was no good.  Despite everything that had happened, the Colonels were still in position to kill the clock.  They started the next possession from their own 10, and Tandy gained 13 yards for a first down.  Two runs picked up only a yard apiece, setting up a 3rd and 8.  Again the Colonels tried to throw for it instead of running clock, and while the receiver was there, he just flat dropped it.  Christian County punted back to the Dragons with about 1:30 left on the clock, with Central starting on their own 48.  On the fourth play of the drive, Blake Ayers hit Lee Owens for a 27 yard pass down to the CCHS 13.  A Chase Goff run down to the 4 made it 2nd and 1 with 15 seconds remaining.  With the Dragons out of timeouts, they kicked it right there, the ball splitting the uprights to put Central up 36-35.  A misplay on the kickoff put the Colonels 95 yards away with less than 10 seconds left, and no timeouts left (having used all three to try to ice Central's kicker on the go ahead field goal).  Tandy's heave was intercepted at midfield, and the Dragons had completed an improbably 21 point comeback in the game's final quarter to win the region title.  To date, it is their last region title, and it could not have come in any more memorable fashion.

I miss WC being good.

Mayfield was getting beat 21-0 at halftime against Fort Campbell in the playoffs. Fort Campbell was the number 1 team in the whole State according to Litkinhouse, this was 82 or 83. Anyway's, Mayfield came back in the second half and won 28-21. A unlikely victory but sometimes you get those.

On 6/27/2025 at 9:31 AM, TheBigLebowski said:

Not a Highlands guy, but this has to be the biggest comeback that I can ever recall in a High School game...

If memory serves me correctly, it was 42-7 at Halftime. 

Saturday, December 6, 2014
Highlands	49	vs.Owensboro (at Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium)	42	Class 4A Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl Class 4A Champion

Beau Hoge went into halftime with a hurt arm from what I could tell. He balled out in the second half and orchestrated Highlands best comeback ever. It was wild to watch. Highlands last State Championship …. 

I'd think Cooper coming back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to defeat Highlands 61-24 in last season's 5A semifinals may be a landmark for both programs. 54 in a half of HS football is unbelievable against a good team like Highlands.

22 hours ago, El Diablo said:

Beau Hoge went into halftime with a hurt arm from what I could tell. He balled out in the second half and orchestrated Highlands best comeback ever. It was wild to watch. Highlands last State Championship …. 

Don’t recall Beau being hurt, but he performed like he did all year.  Biggest change was BW taking I’ve the defense at halftime.  Different alignment resulted in second half shutout.  

On 6/28/2025 at 6:07 PM, Tkinslow said:

I actually forgot about another great comeback by the Scotties in 1986 they were down 20-0 to Bowling Green and come back and nipped them 21-20. I was actually at that game I was in little league and got in free, which was a big deal for a kid back then. A more interesting part of that game was that was the 5th out of 6 straight wins by the Scotties over the Purples, couldn’t imagine beating the Purples 6 straight times with how powerful they have become now.

I was a Freshman and went to this game at Glasgow.  Never forget they made the kicker take every football players lunch tray back to the cafeteria for a whole week after the game.  He missed the extra point.

On 6/28/2025 at 4:50 PM, Breds82 said:

I never thought of it that way in terms of coach Harp. They had a pretty devastating loss in the 2A finals in 97 or 98 to Caldwell Co, I believe. Roughing the punter or something like that. 
 

I'm old enough to remember Danville being an absolute beast in at least 1-3A. Harp is an absolute legend. Hearing his interview on the Coaches Podcast you can tell how upset he is with the current administration.

Yeah, I enjoyed that interview greatly.  There were some brutal losses that Harp took at Danville, including one in the second round to Lexington Catholic on a last second pass the year after the Caldwell loss (I think) that Harp always believed cost the Ads another state title.

It just seems like the program was never the same after that 2006 title game, though.