By MARTY WARREN
Contributing Writer

Danville coach Mark Peach said he had never been so nervous about starting a game as he was Friday night.

The Danville coach saw his team go through two scrimmages, two games and had missed the last two weeks because of Covid-19 protocol.

So it was only natural for him to cross all of his fingers and toes prior to Friday night’s game with North Hardin hoping the game would start with no more incidents.

What the fans got to see was an action-packed second half that saw the lead change hands four times before Danville rallied from behind for a pleasing 28-25 win over the Class 6A Trojans at Admiral Stadium.

“I was really proud of the ways the kids kept battling through adversity all night,” Peach said. It’s been so frustrating and the kids have anxiously awaited getting back on the field to play again. They were disappointed with the second cancellation because they really wanted to play, and then covid hit again.”

Peach was just happy he could pick up a game after this week’s opponent, Atherton, came down with symptoms on Wednesday.

“Thankfully, we were able to get a game with North Hardin after their game was canceled, too,” the Danville coach said. “We were able to work them for about an hour Wednesday, then try to watch a film and put a game plan together before going about an hour and a half on Thursday. The guys did a great job getting ready to play.”

Danville got on the scoreboard midway in the first period. Taking over at the North Hardin 42, the Admirals got 32 of Caleb Burns’ team-high 112 yards during an eight-play drive that ended with Demauriah Brown’s one-yard run. Keegyn Wilcher’s PAT gave the Ads a 7-0 lead with 3:50 left in the first period.

North Hardin would rally and tie the score at 7-7 at the half with a 10 play, 67-yard drive of its own, and scored on a 13-yard pass from Manie Wimberly to Skylar Coffey. Cayden Logsdon added the point after to knot the score at the half.

“Our defense, with the physicality of the game, was fantastic tonight, especially in the first half,” Peach added. “Then in the second half, we saw our offense come to life, Having Corydon (Crawford) back, Caleb hit the holes and Brady getting more confident in his throws just makes us a better team.”

Crawford gave the Admirals the lead back on the first play of the second half with an electrifying 80-yard touchdown catch over the middle of the field. Once he got to the edge he outran everyone to give Danville the lead, but Wilchers’ PAT was blocked leaving the score at 13-7.

It took exactly one play to get that score back. After being backed up to their own eight, Shaun Boykins outran everyone for a 92-yard touchdown run, but the extra point failed to leave the score at 13-13.

Five minutes later, Wimberly found Coffey open for this second touchdown catch, this time from 42 yards to give the Trojans their first lead of the night at 19-13.

The lead changed hands three times in the fourth quarter.

Danville regained the lead on a two-yard Brown touchdown run, his second of the night, but David Boyd scored on an eight-yard touchdown with 6:16 to play. Crawford, who had five catches for 175 yards and two scored, was on the receiving end of a 51-yard scoring pass from Morse, then Morse found Keelan Story for the two-point conversion to give the Ads’ a 28-25 lead and the win.

Next week was supposed to be an off week for the Admirals, but Peach confirmed after the game that Danville will travel to Hazard next week to play the Bulldogs.

At Danville
North Hardin 0 7 12 6 – 25
Danville 7 0 6 15 – 28

First Quarter
Danville – Demauriah Brown 1 run (Keegyn Wilcher kick), 3:50.
Second Quarter
North Hardin – Skylar Coffey 13 pass from Manie Wimberly (Cayden Logston kick), 4:59.
Third Quarter
Danville – Corydon Crawford 80 pass from Brady Morse (kick blocked), 11:47.
North Hardin – Shaun Boykins 92 run (kick failed), 8:25
North Hardin – Coffey 42 pass from Wimberly (run failed), 3:29.
Fourth Quarter
Danville- D. Brown 2 run (Wilcher kick), 9:39.
North Hardin- David Boyd 8 run (run failed), 6:16.
Danville- Crawford 51 pass from Morse (Keelan Story pass from Morse), 3:30.

RUSHING – North Hardin, David Boyd 19-140, Shaun Boykins 5-104, Skylar Coffey 1-(minus 2). Manie Wimberly 5-(minus 25). Danville, Caleb Burns 17-112, Brady Morse 7-37, Demauriah Brown 5-5, Team 4-(minus 4).
PASSING – North Hardin, Wimberly 11-22-0-150. Danville, Morse 12-24-0-179, Enrique Gutierrez-Jacobs 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – North Hardin, Coffey 4-76, Jabari Rasheed 2-10, Joseph Estelita 2-10, Queshaun Davis 2-30. Danville, Corydon Crawford 5-175, Keelan Story 5-27, Demauriah Brown 1-20, Burns 1-9.