Remembering Sept. 11, honoring America bigger than football when two of Kentucky’s best got together
By John Herndon, 110forChrist.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Every Friday night, we are reminded just how embedded high school football is in the fabric of American culture. Millions crowd into stadiums of all shapes and sizes across small towns and major cities across the country.
We call it “Friday Night Lights.”
Last Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, was the 25th anniversary of the horrible terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. You know that. Those old enough can remember exactly where they were when they heard the news, when they saw United Airlines Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center on live television and when they saw the towers topple, also on live TV.
And on Sept. 12, 2001, we said we will never forget.
In 2001, I was working as the sportswriter for The Anderson News in Lawrenceburg, Ky. The attacks occurred on Tuesday morning. That Friday, Anderson County was scheduled to play Western Hills and frankly, not many were paying attention.Neither team had won a game and both would finish at 1-9.
Since President George W. Bush had proclaimed Sept. 14 as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, schools rescheduled those games for the following night. It was much-needed as I worked a game that had an overflow crowd for a pair of teams not going anywhere in 2001. There were patriotic ceremonies prior to the game and it seemed like in their own small way, fans were saying, “We are not going to be defeated!”
Anderson won that one, 50-6, but what I remember most was a quote from Coach Jimmy Joe Jackson, who said, “Osama Bin Laden is not going to stop us from playing football!”
I thought of that statement last Friday as I stood near midfield for some extraordinary ceremonies at Lexington Christian Academy, prior to the Eagles’ game with Franklin County. This time, it was a pair of central Kentucky’s powers. A year ago, Lexington Christian claimed the state Class 2A championship while Franklin County advanced to its second consecutive Class 5A final and its third in six years.
It was a meeting of teams that have earned their way to the realm of Kentucky’s elite.
Lexington Christian would dominate the second half, turning a close game into a 40-21 romp. The Eagles evened their record at 2-2 after losses to Pulaski County and Christian Academy of Louisville.
LCA had turned a Franklin County fumble into a first quarter score when Nash Whelan connected with Paxton Gray on a 52-yard strike, then took a 20-7 lead on an 8-yard run from Davin Hood and a 7-yard pass from Whelan to Sam Pearson with 21 seconds left in the half.
Franklin needed just three plays after a squib kick to get back in it with quarterback Knox Barrett connecting with Aaron Jones for a 33-yard score on the last play of the half.
“At halftime, we really challenged them,” Lexington Christian coach Oakley Watkins said.
Obviously. The Eagles scored on their first three possessions of the second half and limited Franklin to 19 yards in the third quarter.
Pearson found paydirt from 17 yards out and Hood twisted his way into the end zone from five yards out.
Hood finished with 120 yards on 18 carries. His position coach last season, former Kentucky Wildcat Ryan Timmons, left LCA in the summer for a position as assistant principal at Franklin County. Watkins said they two were extremely close and that Hood’s night was special.
Gray closed out the Eagles’ scoring with a 72-yard sprint 32 seconds into the fourth quarter. Gray collected 103 yards in just four carries.
Franklin, now 1-3 against a rugged early season schedule, didn’t score in the second half until Cameron Payne found the goal line with 45 seconds to play.
Watkins, a Franklin County graduate, said beating his alma mater didn’t carry the euphoria that some might expect. “Eddie (James, the Flyer coach) is one of my closest friends and confidantes in the coaching industry.”
And that relationship played a major role in the pregame ceremonies remembering Sept. 11. Watkins said Franklin County provided shirts noting 9-11-2001 for both coaching staffs while Lexington Christian presented coins commemorating Friday’s game to veterans and first responders in attendance. One side of the coin shows the World Trade Center towers and an American flag while the other side carried LCA and Franklin County logos with the inscription, “Together We Win.”
Players from both teams joined the honorees at midfield and many were greeting them before the game.
“We always talk about football is bigger than one person,” Watkins said. “Those people at the 50-yard line have made great sacrifices for our freedom.
“It was a positive image for me. In my 13 years here (as an assistant and head coach), one I will never forget is seeing our boys go down the line, shake their hands and look them in the eye to thank them for their service.
“It has been an emotional day. We want to educate and it was two schools working together to pull it off. When you have two schools coming together like that, it’s an example of something being bigger than football. That’s what we are trying to teach our kids.”
Well done, Lexington Christian. Well done, Franklin County.
And a tip of the hat to those high schools across the nation who remembered the September 11 victims Friday night, honored the heroes and reminded the world that terrorists will not stop the American way of life.
You never forgot.
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