The first round of the 2025 Class 6A State Football Finals took place on Friday night, and McCracken County started their postseason run strong with a 47-6 win over Central Hardin. A lightning delay couldn’t stop the Mustang momentum, as they ran away with the win in the second half.
“Anytime you can win in the playoffs, it’s a blessing,” head coach Tyler Brooks said.
Overall, the game’s pace was slow at first due to the Bruins’ run heavy offense, which chewed a lot of time off the clock after picking up a few first downs on their opening two possessions. This did not phase the Mustangs, who scored on all three drives in the first half.
The first score was a 22-yard pass from Maddox O’Neal up the seam to Brently Gregory, who made a nice one-handed catch and ran the rest of the way for six. Unfortunately six was all they mustered on that drive, as the PAT was blocked.
McCracken opted for a dual quarterback system, as O’Neal and Cole Presswood interchanged every drive. The freshman stepped into the game and shined, throwing three touchdown passes throughout the night. Both O’Neal and Presswood completed 8 passes on 13 attempt, neither with a turnover. The senior had the edge on yards with 127 compared to 101, but the freshman’s three touchdowns beat out O’Neal’s two. Presswood spoke after the game about his opportunity and performance in the win.
“We had a young guy that earned reps, and we wanted to get him in,” Coach Brooks said. “He’s a freshman, so he’s eventually going to take over that spot. I felt like with the team we played, we could get him in and get some stuff going. He took advantage of it and did a heck of a job, so he earned more opportunities.”
“Especially as a freshman, he trusts me a lot,” Presswood said about Coach Tyler Brooks. “That feels great to me, feeling that my coach trusts me. I trust him to call the plays and do everything else.”
Presswood hit Reed Brookshire on a non-yard slant route for the game’s second score, and that’s when the game went into an hour long lightning delay, putting a halt on the game with just 33 seconds left in the half and the Mustangs knocking on the door.
After receiving the second half kickoff, O’Neal hit Jude Lanier int he flat, who weaved down the sideline and used that incredible speed for the 53-yard scored. That touchdown marked 19 points in just one minute of gamete, a truly wild sequence for the home team.
“It was different for sure. During the lightning delay, we decided we were just going to totally flip it around and go straight to the third quarter. We got some luck, caused a turnover, and scored twice in thirty seconds. That was pretty cool.”
After that things slowed down at Marquette Stadium. McCracken added two more touchdowns off a 39-yard rush from Newman and 15-yard pass from Presswood to Lanier. The Bruins added a touchdown late on a long run, but wasn’t nearly enough to mount a comeback, finalizing the score at 46-7.
McCracken advances to the second round of the playoffs, where they will face Henderson County. The Mustangs defeated the Colonels just two weeks ago, but narrowly in a 55-42 shootout. That game will undoubtedly be an interesting matchup as both teams will bring their best and adapted game plans.
“You have to take everything that happened in the regular season and throw it out the window. It’s playoff football, anything can happen,” Coach Brooks said. “We have to come in focused and ready to go, and go get another one next week.”