Hardin County Preps

42 yard FG by JH makes it John Hardin 3 Hancock County 0 6:19 left in the 1st qtr

Pass complete to the 32. 4th and 14

Incomplete pass. 3rd down

Holding on JH makes it 2 nd and 16

Martin run to the Hornets 21

Pass to #12 for a first down to the Hornets36

No gain, third and 3

Pass to #6 to the Hornets 39

Martin run good for a 1st down to the 48 of the Hornets

QB Lunsford run for 2 yards

Run up the middle to the 44

JH returns the kickoff to the 41 yard line. 1st and 10

JH to receive

John Hardin in red and white helmets. Hancock County in white and red helmets

Wow

Go Rocks

NH senior QB Connor Meredith will be starting vs Lexington Christian Academy. A dual-threat quarterback, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Meredith can hurt defenses on the ground and through the air although he has little expereince at the position.

For those of you interested in this game, I will be updating this matchup from Bulldog Stadium this Friday at 7:30.

I think this game will be close but Elizabethtown pulls out the win 28-24

I would put Corbin at the top of this list. I would argue that Corbin was the better team in last years semifinal game vs Boyle County.

NH QB Jakylin Kirkland, (2256 passing yards), has graduated. Sophomore QBs Eli Lunz and Demauri McCary have little experience at the varsity level. Leading Rusher Zayden Winfield returns for his senior season . Gone is big play receiver Ronald Lunz. Also gone from the defensive side are Josiah Hope, Cohen Campbell, Joseph Whaley, Malakai Willis, and Marquis Hendricks. This defense is going to have to grow up quick with the likes of LCA, and Pulaski County at the front end of the schedule. On Offense, RB Winfield must carry this offense early until this new group of receivers develops some continuity with whomever emerges at the QB position. My Prediction: LCA 42 North Hardin 14

Former John Hardin high school football player, Jeremy Harness, was hired as the new Football coach back in January of this year. He replaces Doug Preston, who retired after coaching six seasons at John Hardin. Harness spent the last two seasons as head coach at Warren Central in Bowling Green where he went 6-15. He was a great athlete during his time with the Bulldogs rushing for 3,112 yards, 1,745 receiving yards, and 63 TDs. He helped John Hardin to three region championships and a 2009 state runner-up. He went on to play football at Murray State as a receiver, totaling 2,326 yards on 204 catches and 12 TDs. Along with a new coach, the Bulldogs must replace QB Austin Richardson and standout RB Cavalli Pittman. Cavalli Pittman totaled 6,238 rushing yards in four seasons at John Hardin. Key returning players include TE/DL DJ Hightower, Elijah Luna, Trae Martin, at RB, and Aiden Franklin in the backfield. He was also their leading receiver from last season with 315 yards on 17 receptions. Senior QB Adrian Lunsford will assume the role of leading this John Hardin squad. He has little experience at the position and must rely on his offensive line to give him time in the backfield. Junior Trae Martin is the leading returning RB with 536 yards on 101 rushing attempts last season. Luna returns as the Bulldog leading tackler with 66 total tackles last season and will be counted on to carry this defense early in the season. BJ Stewart also returns on the defensive front with 55 tackles on the 2025 season. The Bulldogs must shore up a defense that allowed 1558 rushing yards on the season in 2026 and 1287 passing yards. Hancock County is coming off of a 6-5 season in 2025 They have defeated John Hardin 3 straight seasons and look to add a fourth this year. They return QB Brady Eubanks who passed for 885 yards on 99 pass attempts in 2025. Eubanks is also a threat to run the ball. He led the team in rushing, compiling 887 net yards on 128 rushing attempts. Also returning are RBs Kalab Helms (779 yards rushing), and Kyle Anderson (419 yards rushing). Their top 2 receivers, Cooper Jones and Hunter Greathouse, graduated. Their top two tacklers on defense, Ross Powers and Trevan Coiles, also graduated. I think that John Hardin’s inexperience in the offensive backfield will be the difference in this game. My Prediction: Hancock County 36 John Hardin 14

The 2025 season was tough for the Bruins and new coach Lance Gregory, as they started the season 0-9 before beating North Bullitt and finishing 1-10. Hopefully things will change in 2026 with a new group of players. Opening night at Atherton should see Caleb Wilson at QB and a different backfield. Harrison Hamilton is the lone returning receiver as coach Lance Gregory will look for the offensive line to improve from last season after losing three linemen to graduation. The defense loses their top six leading tacklers and will see some changes as well. The schedule will mirror last season with Elizabethtown, North Hardin, CAL, Atherton and South Warren along with Meade County on the schedule. The Bruins, who were held to 88 points; second fewest in Class 6A last year, do return junior guards Austin Bly and Xzayvieon Farrar who should be the leaders of the offensive line this year. Central Hardin graduated its top six tacklers from a season ago, a unit that gave up 455 points on the season but will lean on juniors Thayden Geiger and A.J. McKinley and seniors Conner Dupin, Everett Beckley, and Areel Wilson to lead the defensive backfield. The Bruins battled the injury bug all season in 2025 and finished with their fewest wins since a 1-5 record during the COVID-plagued six-game 2020 season. The returning players have responded well to offseason workouts. In a New Enterprise article dated July 7th 2025, Bruins focused on revamping O line, linebackers | Sports | thenewsenterprise.com, coach Gregory stated that “We've had a core group of guys really committed to getting better this offseason, and those same guys have been showing up to every June workout,” Gregory said seniors like Cory Crain, Everett Beckley, and Caleb Wilson have led the way. “They’ve gotten stronger, faster and have really made an effort to do the things it takes to be successful this season,” Gregory said. “We also have a great freshmen group coming in this year that we're really excited about.” Some of the core returning players stated that they have had a productive offseason and have shown up every day and are committed to the process. Gregory stated that they are emphasizing the difference between being committed or just interested in getting the Central Hardin program back on track. Gregory stated:” We still have too many guys that are just interested, if I'm being honest, but I'm incredibly proud of our guys that have made the decision to commit to being the best they can possibly be and to making the 2026 team the best it can possibly be.” Some of the returning players are excited for this season. I think they have a chance to surprise a lot of people this year. They’ve got a good group of returning players like Caleb Wilson, Tony Hinton, Everett Beckley, and Austin Bly, who have been putting in a lot of work this offseason, along with several younger players, are ready to step up into leadership roles. The energy around this team is different from last year. Everyone has bought into what the coaches are asking of them, and they have been pushing each other, every day, to improve in the weight room and on the field. The team chemistry, work ethic, and experience are going to give the Bruins a chance to compete every Friday night. This returning group is excited about proving people wrong and showing what Central Hardin football is all about this season. I think that Central Hardin can go 4-6 during the regular season, which would be a step in the right direction and lay the groundwork for getting this program back to its winning ways. Atherton went 12-2 last season and scored 516 points on the season. The only two games they were held to less than 28 points were their two losses including a shutout loss to Pulaski County in the state semifinals. Atherton also had eight shutout victories and held opponents to 201 rushing yards and 473 passing yards in the season. Leading rusher Du Zye Grundy graduated. He had 21 rushing touchdowns and averaged over 100 yards per game. Two quarterbacks split time for the Ravens last season. Lamar Sistrunk, Jr. had 1141 yards passing and 15 TDs and Deairus Smith, 968 yards apssing and 12 TDs on the season. So not only do the Ravens need to deal with a potential QB controversy, they also need to replace Grundy and Garyon Hobbs who transferred back to CAL in the off season. While there are some questions offensively, defensively, they should be very good. Central Hardin will struggle with the athleticism on the Ravens team. Prediction: Atherton 34 Central Hardin 7

The second scrimmage for John Hardin is; Friday, August 14th at Valley 7:00pm