Football Friday ... playoffs, second round

A few miscellaneous notes left over for tonight's regional semifinals:

Brockman back on defense?: Calloway County's Casey Brockman was a two-way player for much of his junior season, spending a lot of time at free safety in addition to his quarterback duties. But a broken left (non-throwing) hand incurred in a defensive drill early in preseason practice more or less relieved Brockman of his obligations in the secondary.

That could change tonight, when the Lakers host Franklin-Simpson in the Class 4A playoffs.

"With the injury, and factoring in how big a loss he was to our offense, we just didn't feel it was worth taking a chance," Calloway coach Josh McKeel said. "But in the playoffs, we have to put ourselves in the best position to win the game. If that means we have to use him on defense, that's what we have to do."

Brockman has appeared in the secondary in only one game this season, the Lakers' 28-21 win at Hopkins Central that clinched the district title a few weeks ago. But Franklin-Simpson features two tall receivers — 6-foot-6 tight end Jim Murphree and 6-4 Jerron Patterson — and that could mean a role for Brockman, who is 6-2. He could give the Lakers a little more size downfield to go with regular safeties C.J. Dial and Clay Choate, who is 6-4.

Hopkinsville did the same thing with former quarterback Curtis Pulley in 2003 and 2004 — Pulley, who many people felt was a better college and pro prospect at safety than at quarterback, rarely played defense during the regular season, but became more of a two-way player during the postseason.

Road Flash: Lone Oak will become road warriors if it can duplicate last season's march to the state championship game. The Purple Flash will have to win three more games, all on the road, to get back to Louisville's Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

The first stop on the tour is Allen County, which surprised many by beating Warren East and Franklin-Simpson in back-to-back weeks in September to clinch the District 2 title. However, both of those teams were battling injuries and illness at the time.

Franklin-Simpson coach Tim Schlosser, the former Mayfield quarterback and assistant coach, sees Lone Oak's chances of winning hinging on its defensive performance.

"If Allen can take care of the ball and keep (Lone Oak quarterback Jamarielle) Brown playing free safety and cornerback, they've got a good chance," Schlosser said. "Allen doesn't want to get in a scoring contest, but if they control the line of scrimmage they will put up some points."

Da King: Steve Duncan, the first-year coach at Murray, thinks two-way star Jamie King's future is on defense. King is the Tigers' leading rusher and also the leading tackler from his linebacker spot.

"He could be a slot receiver, but he can really play defense," Duncan said. "He has a good nose for the football and he'll hit you. He's the kind of guy that could play zone or man coverage, and he could be the guy that teams use at different positions in different packages."

King's mettle will certainly be tested tonight, when the Tigers visit defending Class 2A state champion Fort Campbell.

Brown's bag of offers: Lone Oak star Jamarielle Brown received a couple of Division I offers this week, from Western Kentucky and Sun Belt Conference rival Florida Atlantic, which is coached by former Miami and Louisville mentor Howard Schnellenberger.

Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins feels Brown's move to quarterback hasn't hurt the interest level shown by college coaches — Brown, who set single-season records for receptions, yardage and touchdowns last season, is projected as a receiver at the next level.

Whatever happened to? ...: Former Paducah Tilghman coach Allan Cox has been in Florida since leaving Lone Oak after the 2003 season, and is currently the defensive coordinator for an undefeated team in that state's panhandle.

Arnold High in Panama City is 9-0, won its district title and hosts its first-round Class 3A playoff game tonight.

Cox was ultra-successful at Tilghman in his 11-year tenure (1983-93), taking the Tornado to the state championship game five times, winning a state title in 1985 and coaching two Mr. Footballs (Kurt Barber and Billy Jack Haskins). He also coached at Madisonville before going to his alma mater, Choctawhatchee in the Fort Walton Beach area. He coached at Lone Oak in 2002-03, steering the program in the right direction before retiring and being replaced by current Purple Flash coach Jack Haskins.