Jim Mashek

SPARTANS COACH BRANDON SMITH: ‘HENDERSON (COUNTY) IS THE SCARIEST OF TEAMS …’

South Warren High School’s football practices seem to have taken on another dimension over the last few days.

Intensity is in. Complacency, definitely out.

Attention to detail? Always. Mental mistakes? Do some push-ups …

Whether it’s by accident or design, Henderson County High School’s squad has the unbeaten Spartans’ attention.

South Warren is unbeaten in 12 games, including last week’s 51-23 drubbing of Hopkinsville High School in second-round play. The Spartans have posted all of those victories by double digits. They’ve got a full head of steam heading into the KHSAA’s regional championship round.

Henderson County, on the other hand, is sporting a .500 record after postseason victories over Meade County and McCracken County. The Colonels (6-6 overall) have put a three-game losing streak in the rear-view mirror, striking for a 41-34 upset of McCracken County last week in Paducah.

They’re a big, physical team, and the Spartans saw them, up close and personal, in the second week of the 2023 season.

That’s when former South Warren QB Bryce Button guided the team to a 38-14 victory over the Colonels in Henderson, Kentucky.

They’ve gotten hot, however, in the last couple weeks.

And they’re basically playing with house money.

“Henderson (County) is the scariest of teams,” longtime South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “They have some really talented players, they play extremely hard. You have to have a ‘killer’ mentality, because they have nothing to lose.

“That’s a dangerous combination.”

John Elliott, Henderson County’s first-year head coach, succeeded Josh Boston after the Colonels stumbled through back-to-back losing seasons. Elliott has an impressive track record, which includes stops at both the high school and collegiate levels, in Kentucky and Indiana. Elliott has been a head coach at several high schools, including three in Indiana — Tell City, Franklin Community High School and South Decatur.

He’s also been the head coach at Ballard Memorial High School, which competes in the KHSAA’s Class 1A ranks.

Elliott has navigated Henderson County through some choppy waters over the last three months, and the Colonels are a solid, resourceful team.

The Spartans have adopted the motto “Stay The Course,” and they’ve been pretty adept along those lines, at least so far.

South Warren’s Camden Page, a polished passer who shares the starting quarterback role with another underclassman, Chase Bell, said the Spartans have been more introspective since the KHSAA playoffs began after Halloween.

South Warren basically got a bye in first-round play, when Christian County chose to forfeit rather than play the Commonwealth’s third-ranked team, regardless of classification, according to On3 and Kentucky Sports Radio. Then the school Christian County is merging with, Hopkinsville High School, made the trip to South Warren, and the Spartans forced a running clock, mandated by the KHSAA, in the fourth quarter of their resounding victory over the Tigers.

“It’s pretty much the same as it’s been all year,” Page said. “We just need to focus on ourselves, and we will be just fine. Just getting better, every day in practice, that’s been our main focus.”

South Warren has taken on all comers, including Louisville’s DuPont Manual High School, two-time KHSAA Class 5A defending state champion Bowling Green and Logan County, which is squaring off against another defending state champion, Paducah Tilghman, in the KHSAA Class 4A quarterfinals on Friday night in Paducah.

They’ve conquered every obstacle to date.

South Warren coach Brandon Smith has vivid memories of the Spartans’ road trip to Henderson County in 2023, and while the Colonels have changed head coaches, they’re still a big, physical squad.

“Nothing has changed there. They have the same mentality on the field,” Smith said.

Henderson County throws the ball sparingly, and junior QB Brady Belt has passed for 1,282 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games. He’s been intercepted seven times.

On the ground, the Colonels like to share the wealth.

Jack Dalton, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior, is a three-sport standout at Henderson County, competing in football, basketball and baseball. He carried the ball 24 times for 137 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s 41-34 victory over McCracken County, and he leads the Colonels with 521 yards rushing on the season.

But that’s just the start of it.

Henderson County’s Anzerion Marigny, a sophomore, has rushed for 436 yards and five touchdowns. Teammates Brady Belk, Kieran Cole and Kingston Shidler have 10 rushing touchdowns between them, and senior wideout Avant Baxter has a team-high 27 receptions for 595 yards and seven scores.

The Spartans can match Henderson County’s size with the likes of two-way star Malik Butler, 6-foot-3, 320-pound junior JaQuise Smith — South Warren’s man in the middle — and Xavier Wilson, a powerful 5-foot-10, 240-pound force on the offensive line. In the secondary, South Warren’s Isaiah Bridges leads the team with five interceptions, and the Spartans defense has other playmakers in Cole Kuzma, Ta’Kyon Darden and Ryley Oiler.

Oiler, Darde and Kuzma are all juniors, too, and they’re a big part of the identity South Warren’s defense has established under veteran defensive coodinator Chuck Smith.

South’s head coach, Brandon Smith, hasn’t given much thought about what lays ahead for the Spartans after Friday night’s game against Henderson County.

“If you need something to get yourself mentally focused, for the third round of the (KHSAA) playoffs, something is wrong,” Brandon Smith said. “Nothing else matters if we don’t win Friday.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.