Football leftovers ... Week 3

The buzz of the weekend was about the wild and crazy contest between Mayfield and Ballard Memorial. The Bombers, who had only come within three touchdowns of Mayfield once in 17 meetings over the previous 13 seasons, led 18-0 in the first half, held a 31-14 lead at halftime and was up 38-21 going into the fourth quarter before succumbing to a furious comeback.

"I didn't sleep very well this weekend," admitted Ballard coach Chris Cooper, who is still looking for his first win as a head coach. "It was a new situation for our guys. Emotions were so high for three quarters, then we hit a wall. We had some medical issues and some cramping. We lost four players late in the third quarter and in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter."

Mayfield coach Joe Morris credited a heroic effort from two-way starter Tyrese Murrell, who scored four touchdowns — two each rushing and receiving. A friend of mine who was at the game called Murrell's performance "a Kellen Winslow-type game," referring to the San Diego Chargers' tight end who had to be helped off the field after the Chargers outlasted Miami in overtime in a memorable NFL playoff game in 1981.

"Tyrese is in there every single play," Morris said. "He's the difference-maker on this team."

Mayfield turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions, with two of them turning directly into scores. Cooper said linebacker Stephen Pullen's hit on Mayfield quarterback Luke Guhy forced a ball that ended up in the hands of end Will Mallory, who took it in for Ballard's first touchdown. Noseguard Shane Davis' hit on Murrell created a fumble that Jimmy Hoskins ran back for a score.

"We had four turnovers — two of them were run back for touchdowns and another set up one," Morris said. "We just gave them 18 points.

"And really, we weren't ready to play. You could sense it in pre-game. We cut it to 24-14 late in the half, then they're just trying to run out the clock and break a 79-yard run with a minute left. We've beaten Ballard pretty bad a few times, and we couldn't make our guys believe that they were improved. They're a little bigger and a lot more physical than they've been.

"Usually, you get out in front of them and you're in pretty good shape, but they took it to us, got the lead and got some confidence."

Cooper admits the loss could have some lingering effects — physical, if not emotional. Nathan Bledsoe, a speedy running back and cornerback, left the game with a concussion and could be out for a few weeks. Steven Mix, a tight end and defensive end, has been battling some knee problems. Mix is also the Bombers' punter and placekicker, and he could be relegated to strictly kicking duties for the next week or two.

Taylor Edging, Cody Hoskins and Pullen — all two-way players — left the game with cramps, taking with them a big chunk of the Bombers' skill-position talent for the fourth quarter.

If Ballard had held on, it would have gone down as one of the biggest upsets in western Kentucky history. Ballard was 0-2 coming into the game after losses to South Fulton (Tenn.) and Todd Central. Six turnovers cost Ballard against South Fulton and the Bombers led Todd going into the fourth quarter.

"You know what? We're still 0-3," Cooper said. "But in our minds we're a heck of an 0-3 team. We had South Fulton beat and had Todd beat and we had Mayfield beat. We've got to finish these games. If we do, we're 3-0 and looking really pretty.

"There are no excuses. Sunday, when the kids came in to watch the film, they were excited. They realize what we've been talking about and realize how good they can be. They're also upset — they wish they had another chance to play that fourth quarter."

• Crittenden County coach Al Starnes was a little reluctant to discuss in detail what could be the best district race in far western Kentucky — the Class 4A chase involving Calloway County, Lone Oak and Hopkins Central. His Rockets scrimmaged Hopkins Central in the pre-season and have lost to Lone Oak (54-13) and Calloway (28-6) in the last two weeks.

"Hopkins Central has the speed and skill players," Starnes said. "Lone Oak has the speed at quarterback (Jamarielle Brown) and I think they're a little better up front. Calloway's good, too. We did a good job of stopping Tyrrell Willis in the running game and we wanted to make the quarterback (Casey Brockman) scramble. He showed us he can run and throw.

"His numbers would have been better, but they had some drops. They had several, five or six off the top of my head."

Pressed to name a favorite, Starnes laughed and begged off the question.

"They're all pretty good teams," Starnes said. "They could all win it and they could all finish third. That's all I'm going to say about it."