Topic: Football
North Hardin vs.Lexington Christian Academy
2025 LCA ECommerce Bowl
Lexington Christian Academy
Lexington, KY
August 22, 2025
© 2025 by Ron Harrison
Lexington Christian Academy earned a 41-21 victory over North Hardin despite having two key players Carter Penix and Mac Darland leaving the game due to injuries. However all-everything back Nash Whalen capably filled in leading the Eagles with four rushing touchdowns. LCA led 21-14 at halftime put pulled away in the second half for the victory. Lexington Christian Academy had 2 first downs and 420 yards of total offense. The Eagles were penalized 11 times for 98 yards. North Hardin recorded 14 first downs and 208 yards of total offense. They were penalized nine times for 69 yards and had a pass intercepted.
Nash Whalen led LCA’s ground game with 137 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries. Bennett Gudalis carried the ball 12 times for 77 yards. Carter Pennix recorded 22 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Carter Pennix completed nine of 16 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Nash Whalen completed three of five passes for 56 yards. Sam Pearson caught six passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Tyler King also recorded six receptions for 74 yards. Tyler King returned three punts for 74 yards with a long return of 38 yards and returned one kickoff for 16 yards. Bennett Gudalis returned two kickoffs for 29 yards with a long return of 21 yards. Thomas Sizemore led the defense with six solo and five assisted tackles. Bode Darland added four solo and three assisted tackles. Nash Whalen recorded three solo and five assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a six yard loss. Sam Pearson intercepted a pass he returned 27 yards.
J. Kirkland led North Hardin’s ground game with 35 yards on eight carries. Zayden Winfield carried the ball six times for 19 yards. L. Beard recorded 15 yards on 10 carries. J, Kirkland completed 18 of 29 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Ronald Lunz caught six passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Carson Thompson added four receptions for 29 yards. Phillip Bostic had two catches for 24 yards. CorVonta Gaines added two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown. Zayden Winfield returned four kickoffs for 139 yards with a 100 yard return for a score. Cohen Campbell led the defense with seven solo and three assisted tackles. Joseph Whaley added six solo and two assisted tackles. Khomil Taylor recorded four solo and one assisted tackles. Malaki Willis chipped in with three solo and one assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a six yard loss.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
North Hardin | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Lexington Christian Academy | 14 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 41 |
NHARDIN | - | Ronald Lunz 15 yard pass from J. Kirkland (Kaden Thompson kick) |
LCA | - | Sam Pearson 25 yard pass from Carter Penix (Dean Hester kick) |
LCA | - | Carter Penix 26 yard run (Dean Hester kick) |
LCA | - | Nash Whalen 54 yard run (Dean Hester kick( |
NHARDIN | - | Zayden Winfield 100 yard kickoff return (Kaden Thompson kick) |
LCA | - | Nash Whalen 18 yard run (Dean Hester kick) |
LCA | - | Nash Whalen 1 yard run (Dean Hester kick fails) |
NHARDIN | - | CorVonta Gaines 15 yard pass from J. Kirkland (Kaden Thompson kick) |
LCA | - | Nash Whalen 34 yard run (Dean Hester kick) |
Selected Statistics
North Hardin | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
J. Kirkland | 8 | 35 | 4.4 | 10 |
Zayden Winfield | 6 | 19 | 3.2 | 9 |
L. Beard | 10 | 15 | 1.5 | 7 |
Team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
J. Kirkland | 29-18-1 | 139 | 2 | 16 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Ronald Lunz | 6 | 46 | 1 | 16 |
Carson Thompson | 4 | 29 | 0 | 13 |
Phillip Bostic | 2 | 24 | 0 | 14 |
CorVonta Gaines | 2 | 23 | 1 | 15 |
A. Barkley | 2 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
Konnor Meredit | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Zayden Winfield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| ||||
Lexington Christian Academy | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Nash Whalen | 15 | 137 | 9.1 | 54 |
Bennett Gudalis | 12 | 77 | 6.4 | 22 |
Carter Penix | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 26 |
Sam Pearson | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 13 |
Mac Darland | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Carter Penix | 16-9-0 | 103 | 1 | 25 |
Nash Whalen | 5-3-0 | 56 | 0 | 48 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Sam Pearson | 6 | 85 | 1 | 25 |
Tyler King | 6 | 74 | 0 | 48 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
Updated: Saturday, 30 August 2025 1:32 PM EDT
Permalink | Share This Post