A few notes on the area girls' basketball picture as we close out 2008:
Even after its close call with Calloway County, Marshall County remains the clear favorite in the First Region race. A lot of little things went in Calloway's favor in the first of five potential meetings, and the Lady Marshals still prevailed in overtime.
First of all, Marshall was without point guard Margaret Thomas, whose ability to penetrate was missed when Calloway played zone. Marshall coach Howard Beth also felt that she was missed on the defensive end.
Calloway also got some unexpected contributions. Reserve Karlie Wilson buried four 3-pointers and Averee Fields looked like the best player on the court at times, particularly in her 17-point first half, before she fouled out late in regulation.
The two teams meet again in a few days, so we'll see what adjustments both teams make.
• Both teams could take their lumps in tough holiday tournaments. Calloway lost to Lexington Lafayette in the first round at Montgomery County and takes on a top-20 team in Southwestern in the consolation bracket.
Marshall faces an even tougher field at Greenwood. Christian County beat the Lady Marshals on Saturday, and Monday finds Louisville Iroquois on the same court. Iroquois, the state runner-up in 2007, is led by guard Adia Mathies, a Kentucky signee.
Ballard Memorial is in a tough field at Bourbon County, and Murray — which looks like the Lady Bombers' top challenger in the All A Classic — hosts its own tournament this week. Murray showed a glimpse of its potential even while going 1-3 in Ballard's pre-Christmas tourney. Murray took Clarksville Northeast and Tennessee signee Kamiko Williams to overtime in pool play, and Northeast later beat Ballard in the finals.
And we can't overlook Paducah Tilghman, which probably will meet Murray in the championship game of the Lady Tiger Classic. The Lady Tornado, which has gotten good work from sisters Natalie and Chelsey Shumpert and Brandy Allen, is 6-1 with its only loss coming in overtime to a Central Hardin club that has lost by single digits to top-20 teams North Hardin and Elizabethtown.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Catching my breath ... boys
The Christmas tournament crunch takes a break on Sunday, so let's take a look at what we have learned over the last week or two about the area basketball picture:
Who is the First Region boys' favorite? Good question.
Paducah Tilghman has become the trendy pick, given its high-octane, athletic club and a solid showing against Lexington Catholic in Marshall County's Hoop Fest. One caveat is the Tornado's depth — Brad Stieg's can ill afford to lose any of his four veterans (Bryon Wright, Tony Hazard, Josh Forrest and Kris Jackson) for any extended stretch. And there is the nagging suspicion that the Tornado could be beaten in a half-court game by a team that can pound the ball into the post.
Murray showed how that strategy can work, playing the Tornado tough in the championship game of the Tilghman Christmas Tournament. Marshall County and Calloway County have that blueprint in mind, too, and the wherewithal to pull it off.
Marshall's biggest question is health. Josh Madding won't be back until sometime in January as he recovers from a broken bone in his right arm. Denver Seay is off to a fine start, but a couple of hard hits on his separated right shoulder could take a toll.
But the Marshals also have guard Scott McKenty, who could be the region's best player so far this season, and the inside tag team of Seay and Jamie Dowdy could pose Tilghman some problems.
Calloway goes as deep as anyone in the region, but it could take some time to mesh the non-footballers with the football players that joined the team after their playoff run. Derek Solomon, the Lakers' 6-7 center, is critical in their development, as is sophomore guard Brock Simmons — Calloway needs his perimeter shooting.
Graves and Murray are in the mix, too, but the Tigers don't have much depth and Graves seems downright allergic to full-court pressure. Still, a lot of things can change between now and March.
Murray looks like the All A Classic regional favorite, but keep an eye on Carlisle County and high-scoring swingman Caleb Hardy. The Comets are 6-0, albeit against a soft schedule, but they will get a chance to show some mettle in Grayson County's tournament over the next couple of days. Carlisle takes on the host squad in Monday night's semifinals.
Grayson is 8-2, with the only two losses to Owensboro and Louisville Seneca in Apollo's tournament. Lone Oak coach Andy Poore, whose team played in the same tournament, reports that Grayson will be a contender in the Third Region.
Speaking of Lone Oak, the Purple Flash copped a badly-needed win over Allen County in Graves County's tournament, breaking a six-game losing streak. Lone Oak remains a dangerous team, especially when they can make some 3-point baskets.
Don't overlook St. Mary and Mayfield, either, in the Class A race. The Vikings have all kinds of size and a capable scorer in Blake Averill and Mayfield always seems to be better than I expect them to be in the end. Chris Guhy gets credit for that and the Cardinals will make a run if Xavier Shelton produces upon his return.
Ballard Memorial, Heath and Fulton City could make it very interesting as well.
• I got my first look at a couple of talented players that not everyone knows about in my ventures through Illinois over the weekend, Trigg County's Jonathan King and Meridian's Isaiah Jones.
King is a 6-4 swingman with plenty of range on his jump shot and enough size and mobility to cause loads of matchup problems. He put on a show in the second half of Trigg's 65-62 win over Herrin at the Marion (Ill.) Tournament on Friday, scoring 30 points in the final 16 minutes. He also had two big steals and a couple of blocked shots, including one on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
On the other hand, King never saw a shot he didn't think he can make, and he forced a couple that nearly cost the Wildcats.
Jones, Meridian's 6-1 junior point guard, had 17 points, six assists and five steals as the Bobcats slammed McLeansboro in the quarterfinals at Eldorado. Jones is a little too consicious of making the highlight reel sometimes, but he makes some jaw-dropping passes in traffic. He also buried three 3-pointers in a third-quarter run that buried McLeansboro.
He faces a tough test against Massac County's athletic crew in Monday's semifinals.
• Marshall County won't play Pleasure Ridge Park as part of its visit to the Laurel County Hoop Fest in late January. PRP withdrew from the event because it had to alter its schedule because of Title IX concerns, and Hoop Fest founder Steve Woodward was forced to scramble to line up an opponent.
North Oldham, which appears to be one of the better teams in the Eighth Region, will play the Marshals. North Oldham is 3-2 with losses to Louisville Ballard (78-68) and Henderson County (89-80). We'll know a little more about the Mustangs after they play in Jeffersontown's Gaslight Holiday Classic — their first-round foe is Owensboro, the Third Region favorite.
Who is the First Region boys' favorite? Good question.
Paducah Tilghman has become the trendy pick, given its high-octane, athletic club and a solid showing against Lexington Catholic in Marshall County's Hoop Fest. One caveat is the Tornado's depth — Brad Stieg's can ill afford to lose any of his four veterans (Bryon Wright, Tony Hazard, Josh Forrest and Kris Jackson) for any extended stretch. And there is the nagging suspicion that the Tornado could be beaten in a half-court game by a team that can pound the ball into the post.
Murray showed how that strategy can work, playing the Tornado tough in the championship game of the Tilghman Christmas Tournament. Marshall County and Calloway County have that blueprint in mind, too, and the wherewithal to pull it off.
Marshall's biggest question is health. Josh Madding won't be back until sometime in January as he recovers from a broken bone in his right arm. Denver Seay is off to a fine start, but a couple of hard hits on his separated right shoulder could take a toll.
But the Marshals also have guard Scott McKenty, who could be the region's best player so far this season, and the inside tag team of Seay and Jamie Dowdy could pose Tilghman some problems.
Calloway goes as deep as anyone in the region, but it could take some time to mesh the non-footballers with the football players that joined the team after their playoff run. Derek Solomon, the Lakers' 6-7 center, is critical in their development, as is sophomore guard Brock Simmons — Calloway needs his perimeter shooting.
Graves and Murray are in the mix, too, but the Tigers don't have much depth and Graves seems downright allergic to full-court pressure. Still, a lot of things can change between now and March.
Murray looks like the All A Classic regional favorite, but keep an eye on Carlisle County and high-scoring swingman Caleb Hardy. The Comets are 6-0, albeit against a soft schedule, but they will get a chance to show some mettle in Grayson County's tournament over the next couple of days. Carlisle takes on the host squad in Monday night's semifinals.
Grayson is 8-2, with the only two losses to Owensboro and Louisville Seneca in Apollo's tournament. Lone Oak coach Andy Poore, whose team played in the same tournament, reports that Grayson will be a contender in the Third Region.
Speaking of Lone Oak, the Purple Flash copped a badly-needed win over Allen County in Graves County's tournament, breaking a six-game losing streak. Lone Oak remains a dangerous team, especially when they can make some 3-point baskets.
Don't overlook St. Mary and Mayfield, either, in the Class A race. The Vikings have all kinds of size and a capable scorer in Blake Averill and Mayfield always seems to be better than I expect them to be in the end. Chris Guhy gets credit for that and the Cardinals will make a run if Xavier Shelton produces upon his return.
Ballard Memorial, Heath and Fulton City could make it very interesting as well.
• I got my first look at a couple of talented players that not everyone knows about in my ventures through Illinois over the weekend, Trigg County's Jonathan King and Meridian's Isaiah Jones.
King is a 6-4 swingman with plenty of range on his jump shot and enough size and mobility to cause loads of matchup problems. He put on a show in the second half of Trigg's 65-62 win over Herrin at the Marion (Ill.) Tournament on Friday, scoring 30 points in the final 16 minutes. He also had two big steals and a couple of blocked shots, including one on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
On the other hand, King never saw a shot he didn't think he can make, and he forced a couple that nearly cost the Wildcats.
Jones, Meridian's 6-1 junior point guard, had 17 points, six assists and five steals as the Bobcats slammed McLeansboro in the quarterfinals at Eldorado. Jones is a little too consicious of making the highlight reel sometimes, but he makes some jaw-dropping passes in traffic. He also buried three 3-pointers in a third-quarter run that buried McLeansboro.
He faces a tough test against Massac County's athletic crew in Monday's semifinals.
• Marshall County won't play Pleasure Ridge Park as part of its visit to the Laurel County Hoop Fest in late January. PRP withdrew from the event because it had to alter its schedule because of Title IX concerns, and Hoop Fest founder Steve Woodward was forced to scramble to line up an opponent.
North Oldham, which appears to be one of the better teams in the Eighth Region, will play the Marshals. North Oldham is 3-2 with losses to Louisville Ballard (78-68) and Henderson County (89-80). We'll know a little more about the Mustangs after they play in Jeffersontown's Gaslight Holiday Classic — their first-round foe is Owensboro, the Third Region favorite.
BluegrassPreps.com rankings ...
Boys
1. Covington Holmes
2. Jeffersontown
3. Scott County
4. Lexington Bryan Station
5. Elliott County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Christian County
10. Hazard
11. Louisville Eastern
12. Shelby Valley
13. Corbin
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Louisville Trinity
16. Clark County
17. Owensboro
18. Louisville Male
19. Louisville Moore
20. Warren Central
Girls
1. Louisville Manual
2. Louisville Iroquois
3. Elizabethtown
4. Franklin-Simpson
5. Christian Academy of Louisville
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Lexington Christian
10. Louisville Mercy
11. Lexington Catholic
12. Louisville Butler
13. Southwestern
14. Fort Thomas Highlands
15. Simon Kenton
16. Marshall County
17. Lincoln County
18. Nelson County
19. Henderson County
20. Rockcastle County
1. Covington Holmes
2. Jeffersontown
3. Scott County
4. Lexington Bryan Station
5. Elliott County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Christian County
10. Hazard
11. Louisville Eastern
12. Shelby Valley
13. Corbin
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Louisville Trinity
16. Clark County
17. Owensboro
18. Louisville Male
19. Louisville Moore
20. Warren Central
Girls
1. Louisville Manual
2. Louisville Iroquois
3. Elizabethtown
4. Franklin-Simpson
5. Christian Academy of Louisville
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Lexington Christian
10. Louisville Mercy
11. Lexington Catholic
12. Louisville Butler
13. Southwestern
14. Fort Thomas Highlands
15. Simon Kenton
16. Marshall County
17. Lincoln County
18. Nelson County
19. Henderson County
20. Rockcastle County
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Yankees ... again
Wow. Now the Yankees are throwing $180 million at Mark Teixiera to fill their hole at first base and make their roster a little more top-heavy with high-salaried players. Check out what some key Yankees are making next season:
Alex Rodriguez — $32 million
Mark Teixeira — $25 million, counting a signing bonus
C.C. Sabathia — $23 million, counting three "signing bonus" checks that will be paid in full by next July
Derek Jeter — $20 million
A.J. Burnett — $16.5 million
Mariano Rivera — $15 million
Jorge Posada — $13.1 million
Johnny Damon — $13 million
Hideki Matsui — $13 million
Robinson Cano — $6 million
Nick Swisher — $5.3 million
That's a total of nearly $182 million on 11 players, less than half of the 25-man roster. It is still more than every other team payroll in the major leagues and $40 million more than last season's combined opening-day payrolls for Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, the eventual World Series entries.
And this is a franchise that wanted public funding for a new Yankee Stadium and actually wanted Milwaukee, Sabathia's former team, to cough up some money for Mark Cameron's contract if the two teams had reached an agreement on a trade.
Gee, no wonder everyone hates the Yankees.
Alex Rodriguez — $32 million
Mark Teixeira — $25 million, counting a signing bonus
C.C. Sabathia — $23 million, counting three "signing bonus" checks that will be paid in full by next July
Derek Jeter — $20 million
A.J. Burnett — $16.5 million
Mariano Rivera — $15 million
Jorge Posada — $13.1 million
Johnny Damon — $13 million
Hideki Matsui — $13 million
Robinson Cano — $6 million
Nick Swisher — $5.3 million
That's a total of nearly $182 million on 11 players, less than half of the 25-man roster. It is still more than every other team payroll in the major leagues and $40 million more than last season's combined opening-day payrolls for Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, the eventual World Series entries.
And this is a franchise that wanted public funding for a new Yankee Stadium and actually wanted Milwaukee, Sabathia's former team, to cough up some money for Mark Cameron's contract if the two teams had reached an agreement on a trade.
Gee, no wonder everyone hates the Yankees.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
BluegrassPreps.com basketball rankings
BOYS TOP 20
1. Jeffersontown
2. Covington Holmes
3. Scott County
4. Lexington Bryan Station
5. Elliott County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Shelby Valley
10. Christian County
11. Hazard
12. Corbin
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Louisville Eastern
15. Louisville Trinity
16. Clark County
17. Fort Thomas Highlands
18. Pleasure Ridge Park
19. Louisville Fairdale
20. Owensboro
GIRLS TOP 20
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Ohio County
12. Lexington Christian
13. Fort Thomas Highlands
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Breathitt County
16. Johnson Central
17. Warren East
18. Marshall County
19. Nelson County
20. Lincoln County
1. Jeffersontown
2. Covington Holmes
3. Scott County
4. Lexington Bryan Station
5. Elliott County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Shelby Valley
10. Christian County
11. Hazard
12. Corbin
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Louisville Eastern
15. Louisville Trinity
16. Clark County
17. Fort Thomas Highlands
18. Pleasure Ridge Park
19. Louisville Fairdale
20. Owensboro
GIRLS TOP 20
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Ohio County
12. Lexington Christian
13. Fort Thomas Highlands
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Breathitt County
16. Johnson Central
17. Warren East
18. Marshall County
19. Nelson County
20. Lincoln County
Monday, December 15, 2008
Winter meetings musings ...
Some thoughts on Major League Baseball's winter meetings, which concluded late last week in Las Vegas:
• One of the biggest winners was the New York Mets, who made a couple of moves to bolster a woeful bullpen. They signed Francisco Rodriguez to a somewhat sensible (three years, $37 million) and acquired former Seattle closer J.J. Putz to serve as his setup man. There is still some work to be done, but the Mets shouldn't have quite as many eighth- and ninth-inning problems if K-Rod and Putz stay healthy.
• The award for chutzpah goes to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who showed some nerve in negotiations for an aborted trade that would have sent outfielder Melky Cabrera and lefty pitcher Kei Igawa to Milwaukee for center fielder Mike Cameron. Less than 48 hours after the Yanks broke the bank for ex-Brewer C.C. Sabathia (seven years, $161 million), Cashman had the audacity to ask Milwaukee management to eat some of Cameron's $10 million salary for next season.
Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin reportedly stormed out of the room. I can't say I blame him.
• With the Yankees overpaying for both Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, is Joba Chamberlain headed back to the bullpen? Assuming Chien-Ming Wang comes back from his foot injury, the Yankees would appear to have enough rotation depth to put Chamberlain back in the setup role for Mariano Rivera.
The Yanks are still trying to lure Andy Pettitte back to the fold and prospect Phil Hughes appears to be fully recovered from his rib injury — Hughes was dominant in a late-season stint in Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League.
• Cleveland acquired second baseman Luis Valbuena in a three-team trade with Seattle and the Mets, which may necessitate a shift throughout the infield. Don't be surprised if the Indians move second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera to shortstop, pushing Jhonny Peralta to third base. The moves could be a major defensive upgrade.
Signing Kerry Wood as the new closer was a solid move, solving a long-festering problem.
• St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa has made no secret that he covets lefty closer Brian Fuentes, who seems unlikely to return to Colorado. Another option could be former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito, who wasn't offered a new contract.
Don't be shocked if the Cardinals also try to make a reclamation project out of former Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera, a hard-throwing 6-7 righty that has never been able to reach his potential — Cabrera was non-tendered by the Orioles, making him a free agent.
• The Cubs struck out on their two major objectives — acquiring San Diego ace Jake Peavy and finding someone to take Jason Marquis' salary off their hands.
I'm also a little leery of the decision to let Kerry Wood go. Carlos Marmol may be fine as the closer and Jeff Samardzija could work out as the setup man, but you can just never have too much bullpen. The Cubs may also regret trading one of their best pitching prospects to Florida for retread Kevin Gregg,
I wonder if the Cubs' window of opportunity is closing. Derrek Lee is 33 and looks to be in decline, and Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez (is he really just 30 years old?) aren't getting any younger, and those three players are cornerstones of the offense.
Ryan Dempster (resigned to an expensive four-year deal) isn't likely to repeat his 2008 performance and there are major questions whether he can stay healthy as a starter. And Carlos Zambano's arm problems may not be totally solved by a winter's rest.
The Cubs' fall from the top of the NL Central may be faster than anyone imagined.
• One of the biggest winners was the New York Mets, who made a couple of moves to bolster a woeful bullpen. They signed Francisco Rodriguez to a somewhat sensible (three years, $37 million) and acquired former Seattle closer J.J. Putz to serve as his setup man. There is still some work to be done, but the Mets shouldn't have quite as many eighth- and ninth-inning problems if K-Rod and Putz stay healthy.
• The award for chutzpah goes to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who showed some nerve in negotiations for an aborted trade that would have sent outfielder Melky Cabrera and lefty pitcher Kei Igawa to Milwaukee for center fielder Mike Cameron. Less than 48 hours after the Yanks broke the bank for ex-Brewer C.C. Sabathia (seven years, $161 million), Cashman had the audacity to ask Milwaukee management to eat some of Cameron's $10 million salary for next season.
Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin reportedly stormed out of the room. I can't say I blame him.
• With the Yankees overpaying for both Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, is Joba Chamberlain headed back to the bullpen? Assuming Chien-Ming Wang comes back from his foot injury, the Yankees would appear to have enough rotation depth to put Chamberlain back in the setup role for Mariano Rivera.
The Yanks are still trying to lure Andy Pettitte back to the fold and prospect Phil Hughes appears to be fully recovered from his rib injury — Hughes was dominant in a late-season stint in Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League.
• Cleveland acquired second baseman Luis Valbuena in a three-team trade with Seattle and the Mets, which may necessitate a shift throughout the infield. Don't be surprised if the Indians move second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera to shortstop, pushing Jhonny Peralta to third base. The moves could be a major defensive upgrade.
Signing Kerry Wood as the new closer was a solid move, solving a long-festering problem.
• St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa has made no secret that he covets lefty closer Brian Fuentes, who seems unlikely to return to Colorado. Another option could be former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito, who wasn't offered a new contract.
Don't be shocked if the Cardinals also try to make a reclamation project out of former Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera, a hard-throwing 6-7 righty that has never been able to reach his potential — Cabrera was non-tendered by the Orioles, making him a free agent.
• The Cubs struck out on their two major objectives — acquiring San Diego ace Jake Peavy and finding someone to take Jason Marquis' salary off their hands.
I'm also a little leery of the decision to let Kerry Wood go. Carlos Marmol may be fine as the closer and Jeff Samardzija could work out as the setup man, but you can just never have too much bullpen. The Cubs may also regret trading one of their best pitching prospects to Florida for retread Kevin Gregg,
I wonder if the Cubs' window of opportunity is closing. Derrek Lee is 33 and looks to be in decline, and Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez (is he really just 30 years old?) aren't getting any younger, and those three players are cornerstones of the offense.
Ryan Dempster (resigned to an expensive four-year deal) isn't likely to repeat his 2008 performance and there are major questions whether he can stay healthy as a starter. And Carlos Zambano's arm problems may not be totally solved by a winter's rest.
The Cubs' fall from the top of the NL Central may be faster than anyone imagined.
Holmes, Henley notch big win ...
Kudos to Carlisle County native and Covington Holmes coach David Henley, whose team shattered the myth of invincibility surrounding Scott County's collection of move-in Division I prospects — the Bulldogs beat Scott County 70-65 at the Buckeye/Bluegrass Challenge at Northern Kentucky University on Sunday night.
Henley, who has taken Holmes to the state's final four in each of the last two seasons, is starting to get some notice as one of the state's best (and most underrated) coaches. He took Holmes to the state semifinals in 2007, losing to eventual champion Scott County, and knocked off Lexington Catholic in the semifinals last year before falling to Mason County in the championship game.
Here are some details on the game:
Holmes' spark plug was guard Jamel Riley, who went 5-for-6 from 3-point range and tossed in 21 points. Elijah Pittman, a 6-6 junior swing man who exploded at the Sweet 16 and may the best college prospect in the state, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs led by double digits for much of the game, but let Scott County close the gap with some fourth-quarter turnovers against full-court pressure.
Guard Ge'Lawn Guyn, who transferred to Scott County from Lexington Henry Clay after his freshman year, tossed in 29 points for the Cardinals, who suffered their second loss of the season — they lost to nationally-ranked Duncanville (Texas) at Marshall County's Hoop Fest.
Dakotah Euton, the Kentucky commitment who transferred in from Rose Hill Christian last spring, was 3-for-12 from the field and scored nine points. He did grab 11 rebounds.
Holmes already has one loss, too, to Lexington Bryan Station, so let's hold off on the proclamations that these are the best two teams in the state — at the moment, Jeffersontown looks deserving of some first-place votes. Still, it won't be a surprise if Holmes and Scott County end up meeting again on the final day of the Sweet 16.
Henley, who has taken Holmes to the state's final four in each of the last two seasons, is starting to get some notice as one of the state's best (and most underrated) coaches. He took Holmes to the state semifinals in 2007, losing to eventual champion Scott County, and knocked off Lexington Catholic in the semifinals last year before falling to Mason County in the championship game.
Here are some details on the game:
Holmes' spark plug was guard Jamel Riley, who went 5-for-6 from 3-point range and tossed in 21 points. Elijah Pittman, a 6-6 junior swing man who exploded at the Sweet 16 and may the best college prospect in the state, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs led by double digits for much of the game, but let Scott County close the gap with some fourth-quarter turnovers against full-court pressure.
Guard Ge'Lawn Guyn, who transferred to Scott County from Lexington Henry Clay after his freshman year, tossed in 29 points for the Cardinals, who suffered their second loss of the season — they lost to nationally-ranked Duncanville (Texas) at Marshall County's Hoop Fest.
Dakotah Euton, the Kentucky commitment who transferred in from Rose Hill Christian last spring, was 3-for-12 from the field and scored nine points. He did grab 11 rebounds.
Holmes already has one loss, too, to Lexington Bryan Station, so let's hold off on the proclamations that these are the best two teams in the state — at the moment, Jeffersontown looks deserving of some first-place votes. Still, it won't be a surprise if Holmes and Scott County end up meeting again on the final day of the Sweet 16.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
BluegrassPreps.com basketball rankings ...
BOYS
1. Scott County
2. Jeffersontown
3. Covington Holmes
4. Elliott County
5. Louisville Manual
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. Corbin
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Clark County
11. Christian County
12. Hazard
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Shelby Valley
15. Owensboro
16. Louisville Male
17. North Hardin
18. Fort Thomas Highlands
19. Pleasure Ridge Park
20. Louisville Eastern
GIRLS
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Ohio County
12. Lexington Christian
13. Fort Thomas Highlands
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Breathitt County
16. Johnson Central
17. Marshall County
18. Nelson County
19. Covington Notre Dame
20. Lincoln County
1. Scott County
2. Jeffersontown
3. Covington Holmes
4. Elliott County
5. Louisville Manual
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. Corbin
8. Louisville Ballard
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Clark County
11. Christian County
12. Hazard
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Shelby Valley
15. Owensboro
16. Louisville Male
17. North Hardin
18. Fort Thomas Highlands
19. Pleasure Ridge Park
20. Louisville Eastern
GIRLS
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Ohio County
12. Lexington Christian
13. Fort Thomas Highlands
14. Lexington Catholic
15. Breathitt County
16. Johnson Central
17. Marshall County
18. Nelson County
19. Covington Notre Dame
20. Lincoln County
Shelley and Tommy John have something in common ...
... and it's not good.
Caleb Shelley, Ballard Memorial's ace left-handed pitcher, had Tommy John surgery last week on his left elbow and won't be able to pitch for the Bombers this spring. Shelley will be able to swing the bat, so he could still be in the lineup at first base and/or designated hitter.
Shelley, a junior, emerged as one of the First Region's best pitchers last season and shut out a strong Marshall County club in the semifinals of the regional tournament. He was also one of the top pitchers for Paducah's American Legion team last summer.
Caleb Shelley, Ballard Memorial's ace left-handed pitcher, had Tommy John surgery last week on his left elbow and won't be able to pitch for the Bombers this spring. Shelley will be able to swing the bat, so he could still be in the lineup at first base and/or designated hitter.
Shelley, a junior, emerged as one of the First Region's best pitchers last season and shut out a strong Marshall County club in the semifinals of the regional tournament. He was also one of the top pitchers for Paducah's American Legion team last summer.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Playoff vs. BCS? No comparison ...
Another college football season, and another deserving team gets screwed out of a spot in the Bowl Championship Series. Remember a few years ago when an undefeated Auburn squad got left out of the title-game party, with USC and Oklahoma getting the honors?
This year, the offended include Texas, which has just one loss — on a last-second play at Texas Tech, another in a string of ranked opponents — and beat the Oklahoma team (on a neutral field, no less) that will play Florida for the national championship.
President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for an eight-team playoff, but the best solution is a 16-team tournament, just as the NCAA and NAIA provide for in their other divisions. This is how it works:
The six BCS leagues get automatic bids for their conference champions:
Big East ... Cincinnati
ACC ... Virginia Tech
SEC ... Florida
Big 10 ... Penn State
Big 12 ... Oklahoma
Pac-10 ... USC
Then there are two other bids for the two highest-rated conference champions from the smaller Division I leagues (MAC, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Mountain West, WAC) — those go to Boise State and Utah.
To round out the field, take eight at-large teams, using the BCS rankings — Texas, Alabama, Texas Tech, Ohio State, TCU, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Georgia.
Then seed the field, 1 through 16, using the BCS system:
1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Texas Tech
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
11. TCU
12. Cincinnati
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Georgia
16. Virginia Tech
Then pair them off by seed — 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc. The problem is that this gives us a couple of first-round matchups of conference teams that have already played each other (Florida vs. Georgia, Utah vs. TCU), so we're going to adjust the pairings a bit. So we end up with a bracket that looks like this:
1-16 ... Oklahoma vs. Virginia Tech
8-9 ... Penn State vs. Boise State
4-13 ... Alabama vs. Oklahoma State
5-11 ... USC vs. TCU
2-14 ... Florida vs. Georgia Tech
7-10 ... Texas Tech vs. Ohio State
3-15 ... Texas vs. Georgia
6-12 ... Utah vs. Cincinnati
The first-round games would be played this coming weekend, with the quarterfinals on the weekend of Dec. 19-21. We could take a week off between Christmas and New Year's, with the semifinals in the first full week of January and the national championship game sometime after that.
Schools are out of session, so players wouldn't be missing class time, with the possible exception of the two teams that reach the national championship game.
Best of all, the national champion would be decided on the field, which is where it should be decided.
As for the bowl games, incorporate them into the playoff. Pick the best seven bowl games and rotate them in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Use eight other bowls to host first-round games, and the rest can accommodate the teams that don't make the NCAA tournament. That way, even coaches that don't make it to the tournament can still tell recruits they played in a bowl game.
This year, the offended include Texas, which has just one loss — on a last-second play at Texas Tech, another in a string of ranked opponents — and beat the Oklahoma team (on a neutral field, no less) that will play Florida for the national championship.
President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for an eight-team playoff, but the best solution is a 16-team tournament, just as the NCAA and NAIA provide for in their other divisions. This is how it works:
The six BCS leagues get automatic bids for their conference champions:
Big East ... Cincinnati
ACC ... Virginia Tech
SEC ... Florida
Big 10 ... Penn State
Big 12 ... Oklahoma
Pac-10 ... USC
Then there are two other bids for the two highest-rated conference champions from the smaller Division I leagues (MAC, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Mountain West, WAC) — those go to Boise State and Utah.
To round out the field, take eight at-large teams, using the BCS rankings — Texas, Alabama, Texas Tech, Ohio State, TCU, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Georgia.
Then seed the field, 1 through 16, using the BCS system:
1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Texas Tech
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State
11. TCU
12. Cincinnati
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Georgia
16. Virginia Tech
Then pair them off by seed — 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc. The problem is that this gives us a couple of first-round matchups of conference teams that have already played each other (Florida vs. Georgia, Utah vs. TCU), so we're going to adjust the pairings a bit. So we end up with a bracket that looks like this:
1-16 ... Oklahoma vs. Virginia Tech
8-9 ... Penn State vs. Boise State
4-13 ... Alabama vs. Oklahoma State
5-11 ... USC vs. TCU
2-14 ... Florida vs. Georgia Tech
7-10 ... Texas Tech vs. Ohio State
3-15 ... Texas vs. Georgia
6-12 ... Utah vs. Cincinnati
The first-round games would be played this coming weekend, with the quarterfinals on the weekend of Dec. 19-21. We could take a week off between Christmas and New Year's, with the semifinals in the first full week of January and the national championship game sometime after that.
Schools are out of session, so players wouldn't be missing class time, with the possible exception of the two teams that reach the national championship game.
Best of all, the national champion would be decided on the field, which is where it should be decided.
As for the bowl games, incorporate them into the playoff. Pick the best seven bowl games and rotate them in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Use eight other bowls to host first-round games, and the rest can accommodate the teams that don't make the NCAA tournament. That way, even coaches that don't make it to the tournament can still tell recruits they played in a bowl game.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Semifinal thoughts ...
Calloway County and Bullitt East looks to be one of the most intriguing state semifinal match ups, a game that many see as too close to call.
Bullitt East's defense has been especially good over the last two months, but there is the nagging suspicion that the Chargers haven't faced an offense as diversified as Calloway's, which combines the powerful running of Tyrrell Willis and the efficient passing game keyed by quarterback Casey Brockman and three quality receivers — ever-reliable Chris Dobbins and the big-play capability of Willis and George Garner.
On the other hand, Calloway's run defense has been spotty throughout the season, although it's been better in recent weeks. I have a feeling that the Lakers will be all right if they avoid giving up the big play.
As usual, turnovers will be a key. Calloway has been largely mistake-free in recent weeks, save an ill-advised lateral by Willis that Franklin-Simpson returned for a touchdown and an interception last week that came off a deflection. The Lakers capitalized on three first-half miscues by Allen County last week and got on a roll, one that might not end until they reach the state championship game in Louisville.
The pick here is the Lakers ... something along the lines of 28-20.
• No team faces a tougher scenario than Crittenden County — a heavily-favored opponent and a state championship favorite at the end of a 300-mile road trip.
Simply put, Beechwood is in a class by itself in Class A, with a big and physical line corps that will dominate the line of scrimmage. If the outcome is still in doubt in the second half, the Rockets have accomplished something. I'm not holding my breath.
The pick here ... Beechwood 48, Crittenden 7.
• State semifinal picks:
Class 6A ... Louisville St. Xavier over Louisville Trinity, Louisville Male over Simon Kenton
Class 5A ... John Hardin over Christian County, Fort Thomas Highlands over Whitley County
Class 4A ... Calloway County over Bullitt East, Boyle County over Bell County
Class 3A ... Louisville Central over Union County, Belfry over Breathitt County
Class 2A ... Fort Campbell over Monroe County, Newport Catholic over Corbin
Class A ... Beechwood over Crittenden County, Lexington Christian over Hazard
Best set of semis ... Class 4A ... it's hard to imagine both these games not going down to the fourth quarter
Worst set of semis ... Class A ... both could be blowouts
Bullitt East's defense has been especially good over the last two months, but there is the nagging suspicion that the Chargers haven't faced an offense as diversified as Calloway's, which combines the powerful running of Tyrrell Willis and the efficient passing game keyed by quarterback Casey Brockman and three quality receivers — ever-reliable Chris Dobbins and the big-play capability of Willis and George Garner.
On the other hand, Calloway's run defense has been spotty throughout the season, although it's been better in recent weeks. I have a feeling that the Lakers will be all right if they avoid giving up the big play.
As usual, turnovers will be a key. Calloway has been largely mistake-free in recent weeks, save an ill-advised lateral by Willis that Franklin-Simpson returned for a touchdown and an interception last week that came off a deflection. The Lakers capitalized on three first-half miscues by Allen County last week and got on a roll, one that might not end until they reach the state championship game in Louisville.
The pick here is the Lakers ... something along the lines of 28-20.
• No team faces a tougher scenario than Crittenden County — a heavily-favored opponent and a state championship favorite at the end of a 300-mile road trip.
Simply put, Beechwood is in a class by itself in Class A, with a big and physical line corps that will dominate the line of scrimmage. If the outcome is still in doubt in the second half, the Rockets have accomplished something. I'm not holding my breath.
The pick here ... Beechwood 48, Crittenden 7.
• State semifinal picks:
Class 6A ... Louisville St. Xavier over Louisville Trinity, Louisville Male over Simon Kenton
Class 5A ... John Hardin over Christian County, Fort Thomas Highlands over Whitley County
Class 4A ... Calloway County over Bullitt East, Boyle County over Bell County
Class 3A ... Louisville Central over Union County, Belfry over Breathitt County
Class 2A ... Fort Campbell over Monroe County, Newport Catholic over Corbin
Class A ... Beechwood over Crittenden County, Lexington Christian over Hazard
Best set of semis ... Class 4A ... it's hard to imagine both these games not going down to the fourth quarter
Worst set of semis ... Class A ... both could be blowouts
Greene to the Cardinals ...
He's two years removed from a season in which his bat produced 27 homers, 97 RBI and a whopping 74 extra-base hits. And he's a quality defensive shortstop.
Khalil Greene isn't Derek Jeter or Ozzie Smith, but he does give the St. Louis Cardinals a nice upgrade at the most demanding position — and at a decent cost.
Greene, 29, was acquired by the Cardinals on Thursday in what looks like a low-risk trade with the Padres landing Mark Worrell, a reliever who spent most of last season at Triple-A Memphis, and a player to be determined later.
It's a classic example of a team buying low. Greene had a miserable 2008, hitting .213 and 10 homers in 105 games and missing a big chunk of the season after breaking his left hand while punching a storage chest. The Padres tried to recoup about $1.5 million in salary, causing some hard feelings on both sides.
Greene replaces Cesar Izturis, whose glove is fine but whose bat is a black hole in the batting order, and there is a decent change that a change in scenery may revive his bat. Greene lacks plate discipline, but he can still be an offensive contributor in the lower part of the batting order. He has posted decent numbers away from Petco Park, the best pitchers' park in baseball.
Next on the Cardinals' agenda? Upgrading second base ...
Khalil Greene isn't Derek Jeter or Ozzie Smith, but he does give the St. Louis Cardinals a nice upgrade at the most demanding position — and at a decent cost.
Greene, 29, was acquired by the Cardinals on Thursday in what looks like a low-risk trade with the Padres landing Mark Worrell, a reliever who spent most of last season at Triple-A Memphis, and a player to be determined later.
It's a classic example of a team buying low. Greene had a miserable 2008, hitting .213 and 10 homers in 105 games and missing a big chunk of the season after breaking his left hand while punching a storage chest. The Padres tried to recoup about $1.5 million in salary, causing some hard feelings on both sides.
Greene replaces Cesar Izturis, whose glove is fine but whose bat is a black hole in the batting order, and there is a decent change that a change in scenery may revive his bat. Greene lacks plate discipline, but he can still be an offensive contributor in the lower part of the batting order. He has posted decent numbers away from Petco Park, the best pitchers' park in baseball.
Next on the Cardinals' agenda? Upgrading second base ...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The BCS is just BS ...
The Big 12's decision to select Oklahoma over Texas and Texas Tech to play in the Big 12 championship game is simply one more argument for national college football playoff.
Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field and, like the Sooners, has just one loss this season. But unless Missouri upsets Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, the Longhorns have no chance to compete for a national championship.
Next week, after the various conference championship games, we'll take a look at what a 16-team NCAA tournament field would look like.
Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field and, like the Sooners, has just one loss this season. But unless Missouri upsets Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, the Longhorns have no chance to compete for a national championship.
Next week, after the various conference championship games, we'll take a look at what a 16-team NCAA tournament field would look like.
BluegrassPreps.com preseason hoops rankings ...
BOYS
1. Scott County
2. Covington Holmes
3. Jeffersontown
4. Elliott County
5. Louisville Ballard
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Corbin
9. Clark County
10. Hazard
11. Christian County
12. Lexington Catholic
13. Warren Central
14. Shelby Valley
15. Louisville Fairdale
16. North Hardin
17. Mason County
18. Owensboro
19. Lexington Bryan Station
20. Louisville Male
Bluegrasspreps.com Girls Basketball Poll
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Lexington Christian
12. Ohio County
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Johnson Central
15. Fort Thomas Highlands
16. Breathitt County
17. Louisville Mercy
18. Rockcastle County
19. Marshall County
20. Nelson County
1. Scott County
2. Covington Holmes
3. Jeffersontown
4. Elliott County
5. Louisville Ballard
6. Louisville Manual
7. Lexington Dunbar
8. Corbin
9. Clark County
10. Hazard
11. Christian County
12. Lexington Catholic
13. Warren Central
14. Shelby Valley
15. Louisville Fairdale
16. North Hardin
17. Mason County
18. Owensboro
19. Lexington Bryan Station
20. Louisville Male
Bluegrasspreps.com Girls Basketball Poll
1. Louisville Iroquois
2. Louisville Manual
3. Louisville Butler
4. Elizabethtown
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Lexington Dunbar
7. North Hardin
8. Montgomery County
9. Southwestern
10. Henderson County
11. Lexington Christian
12. Ohio County
13. Lexington Catholic
14. Johnson Central
15. Fort Thomas Highlands
16. Breathitt County
17. Louisville Mercy
18. Rockcastle County
19. Marshall County
20. Nelson County
Monday, December 1, 2008
Playoff tidbits ... semifinals
Crittenden County's football program won a state championship in 1985. For several years, as part of the old Class A District 2 in the old four-class system, the Rockets regularly endured long road trips to district rivals Metcalfe County and Caverna.
Friday's jaunt to Beechwood in the Class A semifinals tops them all.
According to Mapquest, 311 miles of road separates Crittenden and Beechwood, which is located in Fort Mitchell in suburban Cincinnati. It represents the longest road trip in Crittenden's 50-plus years of football.
Part of the blame goes to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's new six-class system, which has diluted the field so much that Class A's District 1 is far western Kentucky and District 2 is in the Louisville area.
This isn't the longest road trip in state playoff history. It's doubtful there have never been two longer trips than ones that involved Mayfield and Heath in 1991, a season in which the KHSAA (in another example of its infinite wisdom) used a blind draw to determine the semifinal match ups.
Heath went to Beechwood, a 323-mile trek, that year, falling 32-6 to a program that was beginning its run of seven state titles in the 1990s. Mayfield hosted Lawrence County in a Class 2A semifinal, winning 21-18 over a team that had broken its 411-mile drive to Mayfield in half, staying in Elizabethtown the previous night.
Mercifully, the blind draw format was dropped during the subsequent off-season.
• What are the Rockets facing Friday night? The clear front runner for the Class A state title, for starters.
Beechwood was ranked first in the Associated Press poll until the end of the regular season, when the Tigers were beaten 31-20 by Newport Catholic, which moved into the top spot in Class 2A that week — then-No. 1 Fort Campbell had lost to Franklin-Simpson.
The voters (not this one) ended up putting unbeaten Raceland in the top spot, the same Raceland club that was beaten at home by Lexington Christian in the quarterfinals. Still, most objective observers consider Beechwood to be at least a touchdown or two better than any other team in Class A.
Beechwood showed an indication of that on Friday night, winning 42-14 at Frankfort and drubbing a team that had beaten Danville in the regular-season finale.
The Tigers have at least a couple of Division I prospects in lineman Dominic Mainello — a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive tackle and noseguard that has committed to Central Michigan — and running back Neico Teipel (6-2, 215), who has been battling a foot injury. Beechwood dominates Class A teams at the line of scrimmage, with several big and talented linemen.
Beechwood has won nine state titles since 1991, and at least one longtime observer of the program thinks this team isn't one of the best teams in that run, but falls right in the middle.
• Calloway County visits a Bullitt East club that has shown clear improvement from the start of the season until now. The Chargers (8-5) were slow starters and were sitting at 1-3 after a 50-14 blowout loss to Henderson County in mid-September.
There were some extenuating circumstances that week — the Louisville schools were out of session and canceled all athletic events, forcing schools that were playing Louisville teams to scramble for replacement games. Bullitt East, which was originally slated to face defending Class 3A state champion Louisville Central, set up a game at mid-week with Henderson, which had lost a game with Louisville Manual.
Part of the slow start may have resulted from a coaching change — Chris Settles left for Lincoln County and was replaced by Doug Preston, who had enjoyed some success at Louisville Western.
Bullitt East has won six of its last seven games, the only loss a 24-23 double-overtime decision against Manual, a consensus top-10 team in Class 6A. The Chargers have been impressive in the post-season, hammering district rivals Marion County and North Bullitt by a combined score of 61-14 after beating both teams by three points apiece during the regular season.
The Chargers are a run-oriented club that shows a lot of different looks offensively, everything from the wishbone to the spread.
• Both the Crittenden County-Beechwood games will be played in the Eastern Time Zone and will have a 7:30 p.m. local time start, 6:30 p.m. in western Kentucky.
Friday's jaunt to Beechwood in the Class A semifinals tops them all.
According to Mapquest, 311 miles of road separates Crittenden and Beechwood, which is located in Fort Mitchell in suburban Cincinnati. It represents the longest road trip in Crittenden's 50-plus years of football.
Part of the blame goes to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's new six-class system, which has diluted the field so much that Class A's District 1 is far western Kentucky and District 2 is in the Louisville area.
This isn't the longest road trip in state playoff history. It's doubtful there have never been two longer trips than ones that involved Mayfield and Heath in 1991, a season in which the KHSAA (in another example of its infinite wisdom) used a blind draw to determine the semifinal match ups.
Heath went to Beechwood, a 323-mile trek, that year, falling 32-6 to a program that was beginning its run of seven state titles in the 1990s. Mayfield hosted Lawrence County in a Class 2A semifinal, winning 21-18 over a team that had broken its 411-mile drive to Mayfield in half, staying in Elizabethtown the previous night.
Mercifully, the blind draw format was dropped during the subsequent off-season.
• What are the Rockets facing Friday night? The clear front runner for the Class A state title, for starters.
Beechwood was ranked first in the Associated Press poll until the end of the regular season, when the Tigers were beaten 31-20 by Newport Catholic, which moved into the top spot in Class 2A that week — then-No. 1 Fort Campbell had lost to Franklin-Simpson.
The voters (not this one) ended up putting unbeaten Raceland in the top spot, the same Raceland club that was beaten at home by Lexington Christian in the quarterfinals. Still, most objective observers consider Beechwood to be at least a touchdown or two better than any other team in Class A.
Beechwood showed an indication of that on Friday night, winning 42-14 at Frankfort and drubbing a team that had beaten Danville in the regular-season finale.
The Tigers have at least a couple of Division I prospects in lineman Dominic Mainello — a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive tackle and noseguard that has committed to Central Michigan — and running back Neico Teipel (6-2, 215), who has been battling a foot injury. Beechwood dominates Class A teams at the line of scrimmage, with several big and talented linemen.
Beechwood has won nine state titles since 1991, and at least one longtime observer of the program thinks this team isn't one of the best teams in that run, but falls right in the middle.
• Calloway County visits a Bullitt East club that has shown clear improvement from the start of the season until now. The Chargers (8-5) were slow starters and were sitting at 1-3 after a 50-14 blowout loss to Henderson County in mid-September.
There were some extenuating circumstances that week — the Louisville schools were out of session and canceled all athletic events, forcing schools that were playing Louisville teams to scramble for replacement games. Bullitt East, which was originally slated to face defending Class 3A state champion Louisville Central, set up a game at mid-week with Henderson, which had lost a game with Louisville Manual.
Part of the slow start may have resulted from a coaching change — Chris Settles left for Lincoln County and was replaced by Doug Preston, who had enjoyed some success at Louisville Western.
Bullitt East has won six of its last seven games, the only loss a 24-23 double-overtime decision against Manual, a consensus top-10 team in Class 6A. The Chargers have been impressive in the post-season, hammering district rivals Marion County and North Bullitt by a combined score of 61-14 after beating both teams by three points apiece during the regular season.
The Chargers are a run-oriented club that shows a lot of different looks offensively, everything from the wishbone to the spread.
• Both the Crittenden County-Beechwood games will be played in the Eastern Time Zone and will have a 7:30 p.m. local time start, 6:30 p.m. in western Kentucky.
OVC on the rise?
VMI ... the three letters that bring a groan from every Kentucky basketball fan. The Keydets went into Rupp Arena a little over two weeks ago and blistered the Wildcats from 3-point range in a 111-105 win that left the UK faithful stunned.
The Keydets crashed hard on Saturday, falling 95-67 at Jacksonville State, which has been the Ohio Valley Conference's surprise team this season.
Actually, the OVC — at least some parts of it — was a pleasant surprise in November. Murray State hammered Western Kentucky 89-61, only to watch the Hilltoppers respond with wins over Southern Illinois and Louisville, and beat Indiana State on the road.
Austin Peay has already won at Belmont (three straight NCAA tournament appearances, including a one-point loss to Duke last year) and Georgia Southern, which owns a road win over Houston. Eastern Kentucky, which hosts the Racers on Thursday night, won a tournament at Fairliegh Dickinson over the weekend, beating a decent Akron team by 12 in the final.
The Sagarin Ratings have the OVC currently ranked 20th among the 32 Division I leagues, the best it's been in a couple of years.
The Keydets crashed hard on Saturday, falling 95-67 at Jacksonville State, which has been the Ohio Valley Conference's surprise team this season.
Actually, the OVC — at least some parts of it — was a pleasant surprise in November. Murray State hammered Western Kentucky 89-61, only to watch the Hilltoppers respond with wins over Southern Illinois and Louisville, and beat Indiana State on the road.
Austin Peay has already won at Belmont (three straight NCAA tournament appearances, including a one-point loss to Duke last year) and Georgia Southern, which owns a road win over Houston. Eastern Kentucky, which hosts the Racers on Thursday night, won a tournament at Fairliegh Dickinson over the weekend, beating a decent Akron team by 12 in the final.
The Sagarin Ratings have the OVC currently ranked 20th among the 32 Division I leagues, the best it's been in a couple of years.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Football leftovers ... playoffs, week 2
Among high school football fans, the question I was asked most often this weekend — will Calloway County beat Allen County, which thumped Lone Oak 33-14 on Friday night in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs?
My answer is "Yes, if Calloway plays well." Then again, I felt the same way about Lone Oak's chances, and the Purple Flash's performance was certainly less than stellar.
One other reason to like the Lakers to advance to the state semifinals is their power running game, something Lone Oak didn't have. Tyrrell Willis has rushed for more than 200 yards in each of Calloway's first two playoff wins, and the Lakers certainly have the passing game to complement him.
Allen County is a solid team with a good offensive line and strong running backs, as evidenced by the way guys like Brandon Boards and Hunter York were shedding tacklers and driving for extra yards. But they lack the explosiveness that Calloway has, and that favors the Lakers.
Of course, I was wrong last week, too.
• As Calloway moves up the playoff ladder, so do some of their players up the school record book. Tyrrell Willis' two playoff efforts are among the top five single-game rushing yardage totals, and he is just 59 yards shy of the school single-season mark.
Quarterback Casey Brockman long ago broke the school's passing records, and receivers George Garner and Chris Dobbins are flip-flopping as the school leader in career receiving yardage. Dobbins has the lead at the moment.
• Some are interpreting Lone Oak's loss at Allen County as another indictment of the Flash's soft non-district schedule, and the naysayers may have a point. Lone Oak simply underperformed on the road, some of which could be traced to not having a tough road game all season.
The Lone Oak schedule gets a little tougher next year. Marshall County and Graves County are on the docket, as are non-district games with Caldwell County and Ballard Memorial and the usual games with McCracken County rivals Heath and Reidland. Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins said he is still looking for one more game — the school has been contacted by Henderson County, Martin (Tenn.) Westview, Monroe County and Glasgow because they share an open date.
• One of the popular topics of conversation in Mayfield football circles is the absence of some former Mayfield Middle School players who have gone on to success at bigger schools. One of them is Marshall County star Josh Madding, who transferred to Orangeland as a freshman. Madding was a quarterback at Mayfield but as Marshall's opponents well know, he has the versatility to excel at several positions.
Also missed are two starters for the Franklin team that is in the Tennessee Class 5A semifinals. Alex Ford is the Rebels' starting running back and has 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns this season — he ran for 130 yards and scored both touchdowns as Franklin beat Brentwood 14-7 in the quarterfinals on Friday night. Hunter Nall starts at cornerback for the Rebels, who are 12-1 under former Hopkinsville coach Craig Clayton.
Both moved away four years ago, after their seventh-grade year. Nall was a quarterback and defensive back in the Mayfield system, while Ford was a running back and linebacker. They moved away the same year as Madding, which resulted in the loss of quite a chunk of talent, especially at a Class A school.
And there is former lineman John Stevens, who had a spinal cord stroke during preseason practice as a freshman and can now be seen on Friday nights in a wheelchair, cheering on his former teammates from the sidelines.
Some in Mayfield wonder just how good the Cardinals would be if those guys were wearing black and red. Chances are we would be talking up Mayfield as a legitimate state contender.
• Massac County and Crittenden County will co-host a bowl game during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Crittenden will host it next year with Massac taking the honors in 2010. The other two participating teams are Glasgow and Herrin, one of Massac's River-to-River Conference rivals.
Mayfield and Graves County are still looking to fill the Alliance Bowl. Trigg County is on board for next year, and Mayfield coach Joe Morris said that the fourth entry is likely to be either Meade County or Obion Central, Tenn.
My answer is "Yes, if Calloway plays well." Then again, I felt the same way about Lone Oak's chances, and the Purple Flash's performance was certainly less than stellar.
One other reason to like the Lakers to advance to the state semifinals is their power running game, something Lone Oak didn't have. Tyrrell Willis has rushed for more than 200 yards in each of Calloway's first two playoff wins, and the Lakers certainly have the passing game to complement him.
Allen County is a solid team with a good offensive line and strong running backs, as evidenced by the way guys like Brandon Boards and Hunter York were shedding tacklers and driving for extra yards. But they lack the explosiveness that Calloway has, and that favors the Lakers.
Of course, I was wrong last week, too.
• As Calloway moves up the playoff ladder, so do some of their players up the school record book. Tyrrell Willis' two playoff efforts are among the top five single-game rushing yardage totals, and he is just 59 yards shy of the school single-season mark.
Quarterback Casey Brockman long ago broke the school's passing records, and receivers George Garner and Chris Dobbins are flip-flopping as the school leader in career receiving yardage. Dobbins has the lead at the moment.
• Some are interpreting Lone Oak's loss at Allen County as another indictment of the Flash's soft non-district schedule, and the naysayers may have a point. Lone Oak simply underperformed on the road, some of which could be traced to not having a tough road game all season.
The Lone Oak schedule gets a little tougher next year. Marshall County and Graves County are on the docket, as are non-district games with Caldwell County and Ballard Memorial and the usual games with McCracken County rivals Heath and Reidland. Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins said he is still looking for one more game — the school has been contacted by Henderson County, Martin (Tenn.) Westview, Monroe County and Glasgow because they share an open date.
• One of the popular topics of conversation in Mayfield football circles is the absence of some former Mayfield Middle School players who have gone on to success at bigger schools. One of them is Marshall County star Josh Madding, who transferred to Orangeland as a freshman. Madding was a quarterback at Mayfield but as Marshall's opponents well know, he has the versatility to excel at several positions.
Also missed are two starters for the Franklin team that is in the Tennessee Class 5A semifinals. Alex Ford is the Rebels' starting running back and has 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns this season — he ran for 130 yards and scored both touchdowns as Franklin beat Brentwood 14-7 in the quarterfinals on Friday night. Hunter Nall starts at cornerback for the Rebels, who are 12-1 under former Hopkinsville coach Craig Clayton.
Both moved away four years ago, after their seventh-grade year. Nall was a quarterback and defensive back in the Mayfield system, while Ford was a running back and linebacker. They moved away the same year as Madding, which resulted in the loss of quite a chunk of talent, especially at a Class A school.
And there is former lineman John Stevens, who had a spinal cord stroke during preseason practice as a freshman and can now be seen on Friday nights in a wheelchair, cheering on his former teammates from the sidelines.
Some in Mayfield wonder just how good the Cardinals would be if those guys were wearing black and red. Chances are we would be talking up Mayfield as a legitimate state contender.
• Massac County and Crittenden County will co-host a bowl game during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Crittenden will host it next year with Massac taking the honors in 2010. The other two participating teams are Glasgow and Herrin, one of Massac's River-to-River Conference rivals.
Mayfield and Graves County are still looking to fill the Alliance Bowl. Trigg County is on board for next year, and Mayfield coach Joe Morris said that the fourth entry is likely to be either Meade County or Obion Central, Tenn.
Friday, November 21, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Pujols ... sure. But Howard?
Baseball's awards have been doled out, so let's take a look at the good and bad of them.
Good: Albert Pujols clearly deserved the National League's MVP award. He's the most feared hitter in the game right now and I'm heartened to see the voters weren't swayed in another direction because the Cardinals, who finished fourth in the NL Central but still had a good enough record to prevail in the NL West, didn't make the playoffs.
There is no reason to penalize Pujols (or Alex Rodriguez in the American League a couple of times earlier this decade) because the rest of his team is subpar. For all the people that feel like the Cardinals' also-ran status should somehow disqualify Pujols, ask yourself this question: What more could Pujols could possibly have done to get a team with a mediocre starting rotation, major bullpen issues and no offense in the middle infield into contention?
Bad: Ryan Howard second? Ryan Braun third? Obviously, the voters looked at little more than home runs and RBI. Howard isn't even the best player on the Phillies — second baseman Chase Utley had a better season, is a better all-around player (his defense is vastly underrated, as he showed in the postseason) and produces big numbers at a position where such production is hard to come by.
Let's see ... Utley led a divison (and World Series) winner in several offensive categories, scored and drove in over 100 runs, was in the top six in the NL in extra-base hits and plays outstanding defense. And he finished 15th?
Good: Geovany Soto was a near-unanimous pick as the NL's top rookie, with the voters acknowledging his contributions as a big-hitting, solid defensive catcher on a team with the best record in the league.
Bad: Edinson Volquez had a great year, establishing himself as Cincinnati's best pitcher. He deserved plenty of votes, except ... he wasn't eligible for the award.
Volquez made 17 starts over parts of three seasons with Texas before getting sent to the Reds in exchange for Josh Hamilton, one of the most interesting trades of the offseason. He had eclipsed the minimum number of innings to be eligible for rookie status.
You would think the voters would know that.
Good: Albert Pujols clearly deserved the National League's MVP award. He's the most feared hitter in the game right now and I'm heartened to see the voters weren't swayed in another direction because the Cardinals, who finished fourth in the NL Central but still had a good enough record to prevail in the NL West, didn't make the playoffs.
There is no reason to penalize Pujols (or Alex Rodriguez in the American League a couple of times earlier this decade) because the rest of his team is subpar. For all the people that feel like the Cardinals' also-ran status should somehow disqualify Pujols, ask yourself this question: What more could Pujols could possibly have done to get a team with a mediocre starting rotation, major bullpen issues and no offense in the middle infield into contention?
Bad: Ryan Howard second? Ryan Braun third? Obviously, the voters looked at little more than home runs and RBI. Howard isn't even the best player on the Phillies — second baseman Chase Utley had a better season, is a better all-around player (his defense is vastly underrated, as he showed in the postseason) and produces big numbers at a position where such production is hard to come by.
Let's see ... Utley led a divison (and World Series) winner in several offensive categories, scored and drove in over 100 runs, was in the top six in the NL in extra-base hits and plays outstanding defense. And he finished 15th?
Good: Geovany Soto was a near-unanimous pick as the NL's top rookie, with the voters acknowledging his contributions as a big-hitting, solid defensive catcher on a team with the best record in the league.
Bad: Edinson Volquez had a great year, establishing himself as Cincinnati's best pitcher. He deserved plenty of votes, except ... he wasn't eligible for the award.
Volquez made 17 starts over parts of three seasons with Texas before getting sent to the Reds in exchange for Josh Hamilton, one of the most interesting trades of the offseason. He had eclipsed the minimum number of innings to be eligible for rookie status.
You would think the voters would know that.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Football Friday ... playoffs, opening round
What's the best playoff race to watch in western Kentucky? In all likelihood, it's the Class 4A regional playoff picture, which looks as wide-open as any we've seen in several years. At first glance, there appear to be three solid teams in both districts, and only the Allen County-Muhlenberg North game looks like a sure blowout.
“(Hopkins Central coach Rick Snodgrass) said last week that he thinks our district is better than theirs,” Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins said. “I told him I would let him know (tonight) when all the games are over.”
The best game on the docket should be Hopkins Central’s visit to Franklin-Simpson, which is coached by Mayfield native Tim Schlosser and has a breathtaking athlete in quarterback-defensive back Courtney Dalcourt, who is being courted by several BCS programs. The Storm does have some health issues, though — linebacker Dustin Grant is out with a knee injury and quarterback Jacob Powell hasn’t played since suffering a high ankle sprain on a fourth-quarter punt return against Calloway County three weeks ago.
If the seedings hold, Franklin-Simpson would visit Calloway County in the second round, with Lone Oak heading to Allen County.
Lone Oak fans should note that this could be the Purple Flash's only home playoff game. The only scenario that favors a return to Flash Field is if it met Hopkins Central in the regional final. More likely scenarios would send Lone Oak to either Calloway or Franklin-Simpson.
The Class of A?: Crittenden County coach Al Starnes made an interesting trip to Louisville last week witho his Rockets enjoying their off-week. He took in a half of the game involving Kentucky Country Day, who the Rockets host tonight, and North Oldham, then went to watch Holy Cross — a potential third-round opponent — get squashed by Class 5A power Doss.
Starnes' assessment of Holy Cross? According to someone close to Starnes, he came away feeling that Mayfield had a decent shot to knock off Holy Cross, even on the road. That will entail a much more mistake-free performance than the Cardinals turned in last week, a six-turnover effort in a 35-7 loss to Caldwell County.
Check back next week. We'll be sure and get Starnes' take on the projected Mayfield-Holy Cross battle.
Elsewhere, Ballard Memorial is hoping for a return shot at Crittenden. The Bombers are favored to beat Caverna, which would assure them of at least a .500 record at worst and represent their first playoff win since 2002.
Tornado-less 3A: With Paducah Tilghman out of the playoff picture, the mantle of favorite probably belongs to Russellville, which is coached by former Mayfield assistant John Myers. When Myers left Monroe County for Russellville four years ago, a lot of us in western Kentucky figured he would get the Panthers back to prominence fairly soon.
He's certainly done that, even with Russellville playing up two classes for travel reasons — in the original six-class alignment, the Panthers were placed in the Class A district with Mayfield, Crittenden County, Ballard Memorial, Fulton City and Fulton County. Myers opted to play in Class 3A since their other district rivals are scattered throughout southern Kentucky.
Russellville won the district title last year and was competitive with eventual state champion Louisville Central in the quarterfinals, trailing by a single touchdown after three quarters in a 48-28 loss.
Union County could get between Russellville and a regional title, as could Butler County, which was beaten 28-21 by the Panthers in triple-overtime earlier this season.
6A sweep?: Could District 1 get swept by the schools from the east side of Louisville? Possibly.
Expect Graves County to get plastered by defending three-time state champion Trinity and few people expect Madisonville to win at Eastern. The two traveling Louisville schools face interesting games — Seneca plays at Daviess County and Ballard ventures to Henderson County. Both games look like they could easily be in doubt in the fourth quarter.
“(Hopkins Central coach Rick Snodgrass) said last week that he thinks our district is better than theirs,” Lone Oak coach Jack Haskins said. “I told him I would let him know (tonight) when all the games are over.”
The best game on the docket should be Hopkins Central’s visit to Franklin-Simpson, which is coached by Mayfield native Tim Schlosser and has a breathtaking athlete in quarterback-defensive back Courtney Dalcourt, who is being courted by several BCS programs. The Storm does have some health issues, though — linebacker Dustin Grant is out with a knee injury and quarterback Jacob Powell hasn’t played since suffering a high ankle sprain on a fourth-quarter punt return against Calloway County three weeks ago.
If the seedings hold, Franklin-Simpson would visit Calloway County in the second round, with Lone Oak heading to Allen County.
Lone Oak fans should note that this could be the Purple Flash's only home playoff game. The only scenario that favors a return to Flash Field is if it met Hopkins Central in the regional final. More likely scenarios would send Lone Oak to either Calloway or Franklin-Simpson.
The Class of A?: Crittenden County coach Al Starnes made an interesting trip to Louisville last week witho his Rockets enjoying their off-week. He took in a half of the game involving Kentucky Country Day, who the Rockets host tonight, and North Oldham, then went to watch Holy Cross — a potential third-round opponent — get squashed by Class 5A power Doss.
Starnes' assessment of Holy Cross? According to someone close to Starnes, he came away feeling that Mayfield had a decent shot to knock off Holy Cross, even on the road. That will entail a much more mistake-free performance than the Cardinals turned in last week, a six-turnover effort in a 35-7 loss to Caldwell County.
Check back next week. We'll be sure and get Starnes' take on the projected Mayfield-Holy Cross battle.
Elsewhere, Ballard Memorial is hoping for a return shot at Crittenden. The Bombers are favored to beat Caverna, which would assure them of at least a .500 record at worst and represent their first playoff win since 2002.
Tornado-less 3A: With Paducah Tilghman out of the playoff picture, the mantle of favorite probably belongs to Russellville, which is coached by former Mayfield assistant John Myers. When Myers left Monroe County for Russellville four years ago, a lot of us in western Kentucky figured he would get the Panthers back to prominence fairly soon.
He's certainly done that, even with Russellville playing up two classes for travel reasons — in the original six-class alignment, the Panthers were placed in the Class A district with Mayfield, Crittenden County, Ballard Memorial, Fulton City and Fulton County. Myers opted to play in Class 3A since their other district rivals are scattered throughout southern Kentucky.
Russellville won the district title last year and was competitive with eventual state champion Louisville Central in the quarterfinals, trailing by a single touchdown after three quarters in a 48-28 loss.
Union County could get between Russellville and a regional title, as could Butler County, which was beaten 28-21 by the Panthers in triple-overtime earlier this season.
6A sweep?: Could District 1 get swept by the schools from the east side of Louisville? Possibly.
Expect Graves County to get plastered by defending three-time state champion Trinity and few people expect Madisonville to win at Eastern. The two traveling Louisville schools face interesting games — Seneca plays at Daviess County and Ballard ventures to Henderson County. Both games look like they could easily be in doubt in the fourth quarter.
Monday, November 10, 2008
One more reason six classes stinks ...
Two words — playoff travel. Check out these first-round high school football playoff match ups and the distances involved between the two schools:
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross — 250 miles
Clinton County at Raceland — 250 miles
McCreary Central at Boyd County — 235 miles
Graves County at Louisville Trinity — 231 miles
Russell County at Calloway County — 220 miles
Ballard Memorial at Caverna — 211 miles
Bardstown Bethlehem at Mayfield — 206 miles
Campbellsville at Fairview — 201 miles
Note that five of them involve local teams. This is just one more indictment of the six-class format, adopted by the Kentucky High School Athletics Association two years ago.
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross — 250 miles
Clinton County at Raceland — 250 miles
McCreary Central at Boyd County — 235 miles
Graves County at Louisville Trinity — 231 miles
Russell County at Calloway County — 220 miles
Ballard Memorial at Caverna — 211 miles
Bardstown Bethlehem at Mayfield — 206 miles
Campbellsville at Fairview — 201 miles
Note that five of them involve local teams. This is just one more indictment of the six-class format, adopted by the Kentucky High School Athletics Association two years ago.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Football Friday ... end of regular season
The best game of the night might be Caldwell County's visit to Mayfield. Like last year, this could be an indication of what to expect from both teams of the playoffs — the Cardinals won 25-6 at Princeton last season, then avenged a regular-season loss to Fulton City to win the district title before falling at highly-ranked Frankfort in the state quarterfinals. Caldwell's subpar showing foreshadowed a first-round upset loss to Heath.
Mayfield coach Joe Morris, whose club could face a second-round playoff showdown at state-ranked Louisville Holy Cross, sees the Tigers as a comparable opponent. Caldwell is coming off a 21-7 won over the same Crittenden County club that humbled the Cardinals 27-14 at Mayfield earlier this season.
"They're a good playoff-caliber team, a solid opponent. The reason we play Marshall County and them at the end of the regular season is to get us ready for the playoffs," Morris said. "They're not real big on defense but they're quick to the ball. The way they got after (Crittenden County quarterback J.D.) Gray was the biggest difference between our game with Crittenden and theirs. They were able to contain him."
Morris is also impressed with Caldwell quarterback Will Barnes, who runs the Tigers' spread offense and constitutes a tough test for Mayfield's young defense, especially a secondary that has been victimized a few times this fall.
"He's not what you call a running quarterback, but he doesn't get sacked very often because he can move in the pocket, finds his checkdowns and finds his running backs," Morris said. "It doesn't look pretty, but a two-yard pass to the back looks better if the back can get five or six extra yards. And on screen passes, he puts the ball on the receiver's upfield shoulder and gets them going down the field.
"He's been in that system for four years and he knows how to get the ball to different people. We counted five or six receivers that caught the ball last week and their running game is the most underrated part of their team. They've got two good backs (in Brandon Sigler and Jaquan Glover)."
• Graves County has the worst playoff assignment of any area team, a first-round visit to powerful Louisville Trinity, which has won three consecutive state titles and six in the last seven years.
It's also a homecoming of sorts for Eagles coach Mike Rogers, a Louisville native who played at Fern Creek.
"I've got a lot of connections there and a lot of requests for tickets," Rogers said. "I think everybody up there realizes more than people do down here how much the deck is stacked against us."
First of all, the Eagles will try to get by Calloway County, a team it has beaten three times since the rivalry was reborn in 2005.
"Someone reminded me that we're 7-1 against Mayfield, Paducah Tilghman and Calloway the last three years," Rogers said. "That's great because those are great programs, but those aren't the teams we have to beat to win a state championship. As crazy as it sounds, I'm glad we're getting the opportunity to play Trinity because that is one of the teams we have to beat. It's a measuring-stick game for us."
• Don't be surprised if Lone Oak sports a new look (for a few plays, at least) when the Purple Flash hosts Heath. Lone Oak's coaching staff liked what it saw from backup quarterback Cameron Looper in last week's win at Fulton City and might experiment with moving incumbent Jamarielle Brown back to wide receiver, his natural position.
Brown was suspended for the Fulton City game for violating team rules, and the Purple Flash moved Looper in from receiver in his stead. Using Brown at receiver would give Lone Oak a bonafide deep threat in the passing game and give playoff opponents one more offensive set for which to prepare.
• Massac County coach Kelly Glass has noticed something about teams that run the spread offense — notably Breese Mater Dei, who is 10-0 and ranked third in Illinois Class 4A and hosts the Patriots in Saturday's second-round playoff game.
"Teams that run this offense, like us, tend to be better on offense than on defense," Glass said. "I don't know if that's because you have to devote so much practice time to it or what."
One of the knocks on the spread is that it can leave teams ill-prepared for smashmouth running teams because a defense faces the spread virtually every day in practice.
A Massac win would pit the Patriots against a familiar foe, either Herrin or Mascoutah. Herrin is a River-to-River Conference rival, while Mascoutah knocked Massac out of the playoffs a year ago.
The Patriots would have to travel to Herrin, which has been a house of horrors for them in years past. They would host Mascoutah, which went 6-3 (as did Massac) during the regular season and is seeded lower than the Patriots.
• Russell County, which travels to Calloway County for a Class 4A playoff game last week, had an emotional week. Luke Evans, a junior running back and linebacker whose father is a coach in the Lakers' program, was killed in an automobile accident last week.
Calloway coach Josh McKeel also figures that facing Graves County's Wing-T offense helps better prepare his team for Russell County, which runs a smimilar scheme.
"They do a little throwing out of the spread, too," McKeel said of Russell County. "It's a good way for us to get an extra week of practice against it, especially because we don't see it in western Kentucky except against Graves. Plus, you don't see many teams that run it as well as Graves does. We'll see it run and run well."
Mayfield coach Joe Morris, whose club could face a second-round playoff showdown at state-ranked Louisville Holy Cross, sees the Tigers as a comparable opponent. Caldwell is coming off a 21-7 won over the same Crittenden County club that humbled the Cardinals 27-14 at Mayfield earlier this season.
"They're a good playoff-caliber team, a solid opponent. The reason we play Marshall County and them at the end of the regular season is to get us ready for the playoffs," Morris said. "They're not real big on defense but they're quick to the ball. The way they got after (Crittenden County quarterback J.D.) Gray was the biggest difference between our game with Crittenden and theirs. They were able to contain him."
Morris is also impressed with Caldwell quarterback Will Barnes, who runs the Tigers' spread offense and constitutes a tough test for Mayfield's young defense, especially a secondary that has been victimized a few times this fall.
"He's not what you call a running quarterback, but he doesn't get sacked very often because he can move in the pocket, finds his checkdowns and finds his running backs," Morris said. "It doesn't look pretty, but a two-yard pass to the back looks better if the back can get five or six extra yards. And on screen passes, he puts the ball on the receiver's upfield shoulder and gets them going down the field.
"He's been in that system for four years and he knows how to get the ball to different people. We counted five or six receivers that caught the ball last week and their running game is the most underrated part of their team. They've got two good backs (in Brandon Sigler and Jaquan Glover)."
• Graves County has the worst playoff assignment of any area team, a first-round visit to powerful Louisville Trinity, which has won three consecutive state titles and six in the last seven years.
It's also a homecoming of sorts for Eagles coach Mike Rogers, a Louisville native who played at Fern Creek.
"I've got a lot of connections there and a lot of requests for tickets," Rogers said. "I think everybody up there realizes more than people do down here how much the deck is stacked against us."
First of all, the Eagles will try to get by Calloway County, a team it has beaten three times since the rivalry was reborn in 2005.
"Someone reminded me that we're 7-1 against Mayfield, Paducah Tilghman and Calloway the last three years," Rogers said. "That's great because those are great programs, but those aren't the teams we have to beat to win a state championship. As crazy as it sounds, I'm glad we're getting the opportunity to play Trinity because that is one of the teams we have to beat. It's a measuring-stick game for us."
• Don't be surprised if Lone Oak sports a new look (for a few plays, at least) when the Purple Flash hosts Heath. Lone Oak's coaching staff liked what it saw from backup quarterback Cameron Looper in last week's win at Fulton City and might experiment with moving incumbent Jamarielle Brown back to wide receiver, his natural position.
Brown was suspended for the Fulton City game for violating team rules, and the Purple Flash moved Looper in from receiver in his stead. Using Brown at receiver would give Lone Oak a bonafide deep threat in the passing game and give playoff opponents one more offensive set for which to prepare.
• Massac County coach Kelly Glass has noticed something about teams that run the spread offense — notably Breese Mater Dei, who is 10-0 and ranked third in Illinois Class 4A and hosts the Patriots in Saturday's second-round playoff game.
"Teams that run this offense, like us, tend to be better on offense than on defense," Glass said. "I don't know if that's because you have to devote so much practice time to it or what."
One of the knocks on the spread is that it can leave teams ill-prepared for smashmouth running teams because a defense faces the spread virtually every day in practice.
A Massac win would pit the Patriots against a familiar foe, either Herrin or Mascoutah. Herrin is a River-to-River Conference rival, while Mascoutah knocked Massac out of the playoffs a year ago.
The Patriots would have to travel to Herrin, which has been a house of horrors for them in years past. They would host Mascoutah, which went 6-3 (as did Massac) during the regular season and is seeded lower than the Patriots.
• Russell County, which travels to Calloway County for a Class 4A playoff game last week, had an emotional week. Luke Evans, a junior running back and linebacker whose father is a coach in the Lakers' program, was killed in an automobile accident last week.
Calloway coach Josh McKeel also figures that facing Graves County's Wing-T offense helps better prepare his team for Russell County, which runs a smimilar scheme.
"They do a little throwing out of the spread, too," McKeel said of Russell County. "It's a good way for us to get an extra week of practice against it, especially because we don't see it in western Kentucky except against Graves. Plus, you don't see many teams that run it as well as Graves does. We'll see it run and run well."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
BluegrassPreps.com rankings ...
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Frankfort
5. Hazard
6. Louisville Holy Cross
7. Williamsburg
8. Crittenden County
9. Mayfield
10. Bellevue
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Monroe County
5. Green County
6. Louisville DeSales
7. Prestonsburg
8. Danville
9. Trigg County
10. Middlesboro
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Estill County
6. Elizabethtown
7. Harlan County
8. North Oldham
9. Russell
10. Sheldon Clark
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. Franklin-Simpson
5. Calloway County
6. Lone Oak
7. Western
8. North Bullitt
9. Hopkins Central
10. Allen County
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. Bowling Green
3. Johnson Central
4. Christian County
5. Louisville Doss
6. Owensboro
7. Oldham County
8. John Hardin
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Whitley County
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Louisville Manual
4. Scott County
5. Louisville Eastern
6. Lexington Lafayette
7. Louisville Ballard
8. Madison Central
9. Louisville Fern Creek
10. Louisville Male
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Frankfort
5. Hazard
6. Louisville Holy Cross
7. Williamsburg
8. Crittenden County
9. Mayfield
10. Bellevue
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Monroe County
5. Green County
6. Louisville DeSales
7. Prestonsburg
8. Danville
9. Trigg County
10. Middlesboro
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Estill County
6. Elizabethtown
7. Harlan County
8. North Oldham
9. Russell
10. Sheldon Clark
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. Franklin-Simpson
5. Calloway County
6. Lone Oak
7. Western
8. North Bullitt
9. Hopkins Central
10. Allen County
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. Bowling Green
3. Johnson Central
4. Christian County
5. Louisville Doss
6. Owensboro
7. Oldham County
8. John Hardin
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Whitley County
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Louisville Manual
4. Scott County
5. Louisville Eastern
6. Lexington Lafayette
7. Louisville Ballard
8. Madison Central
9. Louisville Fern Creek
10. Louisville Male
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Still stewing in Heath ... and rightfully so
Heath's soccer program is still reeling from last week's 2-1 loss to Henderson County in the sectional final, with Henderson breaking a longstanding 1-1 tie with a goal in the final 30 seconds. The defeat cost the Pirates their first appearance in the state semifinals.
It isn't the loss that has the Pirates stewing — it's the way it happened. Heath midfielder Brock Jordan was assessed a red card with a little over 30 minutes remaining, ejecting him from the match and forcing the Pirates to play a man down for the rest of the night.
Given a chance to review a tape of the match, it's obvious that Jordan's ejection — officially, for throwing a punch at an opposing player — was an injustice to him and his teammates.
Here's what happened:
See video posted to You Tube ...
Henderson puts the ball into Heath territory with a free kick, and two players — Jordan and Henderson star Jordan Gregory — converge on the loose ball near midfield with Heath defender Eric Straub close by.
The rest occurred exactly as Jordan described it after the match: the two players' arms get tangled as they battle for control of the ball, when it appears that Jordan is wheeled around and forcefully thrown to the ground. No visual evidence, whatsoever, shows Jordan throwing a punch at the Henderson player, and indeed it is Jordan that ends up on the turf.
At the time, play was stopped, and I was under the impression that Heath would be awarded possession and that perhaps Gregory would receive a yellow card. Instead, Jordan — once he got up after spending a few seconds on the ground — was assessed the red card.
Heath coach Mark Madison was told by the referee that Jordan threw a punch, but Madison — like everyone else associated with the Pirates' program — remains incredulous at the decision ... not to mention, a little angry.
Officially, the Pirates have no recourse. They can't ask for the match to be replayed from the time of the incident detailed above, and the result stands — Henderson takes on Fort Thomas Highlands in Thursday night's semifinals at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown.
Madison isn't planning to let the incident drop quietly. He intends to send copies of the match to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and to the Elizabethtown-based organization that sanctions the referee and two linesmen that worked the match.
He also hopes to rescind Jordan's one-game suspension that is automatically assessed with a red-card ejection, so that he can play in next season's opener.
Unfortunately, nothing more can be done. And it won't certainly change the disappointment and the feeling that Heath didn't get much of a fair shake.
It isn't the loss that has the Pirates stewing — it's the way it happened. Heath midfielder Brock Jordan was assessed a red card with a little over 30 minutes remaining, ejecting him from the match and forcing the Pirates to play a man down for the rest of the night.
Given a chance to review a tape of the match, it's obvious that Jordan's ejection — officially, for throwing a punch at an opposing player — was an injustice to him and his teammates.
Here's what happened:
See video posted to You Tube ...
Henderson puts the ball into Heath territory with a free kick, and two players — Jordan and Henderson star Jordan Gregory — converge on the loose ball near midfield with Heath defender Eric Straub close by.
The rest occurred exactly as Jordan described it after the match: the two players' arms get tangled as they battle for control of the ball, when it appears that Jordan is wheeled around and forcefully thrown to the ground. No visual evidence, whatsoever, shows Jordan throwing a punch at the Henderson player, and indeed it is Jordan that ends up on the turf.
At the time, play was stopped, and I was under the impression that Heath would be awarded possession and that perhaps Gregory would receive a yellow card. Instead, Jordan — once he got up after spending a few seconds on the ground — was assessed the red card.
Heath coach Mark Madison was told by the referee that Jordan threw a punch, but Madison — like everyone else associated with the Pirates' program — remains incredulous at the decision ... not to mention, a little angry.
Officially, the Pirates have no recourse. They can't ask for the match to be replayed from the time of the incident detailed above, and the result stands — Henderson takes on Fort Thomas Highlands in Thursday night's semifinals at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown.
Madison isn't planning to let the incident drop quietly. He intends to send copies of the match to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and to the Elizabethtown-based organization that sanctions the referee and two linesmen that worked the match.
He also hopes to rescind Jordan's one-game suspension that is automatically assessed with a red-card ejection, so that he can play in next season's opener.
Unfortunately, nothing more can be done. And it won't certainly change the disappointment and the feeling that Heath didn't get much of a fair shake.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Seay out for season?
Marshall County's basketball program got some bad news this weekend. Denver Seay, expected to be a starter at forward, will undergo surgery to repair a separated shoulder and could miss the entire season. Seay, a starter at quarterback and defensive end on Marshall's football team, sustained the injury in an Oct. 24 loss to Henderson County.
Seay will have the surgery this week, and is expected to need five months to recover and rehab the shoulder. That would knock him out of the season altogether.
Josh Madding, who is expected to start at shooting guard, broke his right arm in the Henderson game, and it might be around Christmas before he can work his way on to the court. Madding was also slowed by an injury last year — a separated shoulder that nagged him for most of the 2007 football season may have cost him a starting spot, because by the time he had regained his health, Marshall was off to a hot start and reluctant to change the starting lineup and alter team chemistry.
Madding only started twice last season, including a performance in which he hit four 3-pointers in a 61-57 loss to Paducah Tilghman in the First Region semifinals.
Seay will have the surgery this week, and is expected to need five months to recover and rehab the shoulder. That would knock him out of the season altogether.
Josh Madding, who is expected to start at shooting guard, broke his right arm in the Henderson game, and it might be around Christmas before he can work his way on to the court. Madding was also slowed by an injury last year — a separated shoulder that nagged him for most of the 2007 football season may have cost him a starting spot, because by the time he had regained his health, Marshall was off to a hot start and reluctant to change the starting lineup and alter team chemistry.
Madding only started twice last season, including a performance in which he hit four 3-pointers in a 61-57 loss to Paducah Tilghman in the First Region semifinals.
Football leftovers ... Week 10
— If I was a betting man, I would venture to say that Paducah Tilghman will retain Randy Wyatt as its football coach after a 2-8 season that included a forfeit loss to Webster County for the use of an ineligible player and no postseason play for the first time since 1984.
Wyatt's supporters note his local ties and the need to give his coaching style more than a single year to make his mark on the program. Fair enough.
Others would question why a team that made the state semifinals and returned double-digit starters went belly-up this fall, going 3-7 on the field and losing two district games (on the field) to Union County and Muhlenberg South, neither of which is likely will post a winning record this season — Union is 5-5, including subsequent losses to Caldwell County and Crittenden County, and Muhlenberg South is 5-4 with back-to-back games against a Butler County team that is 8-1. Their regular-season finale previews their playoff game the next week.
— Notice how quiet the local schedule is for the final two weeks? No high-profile district games with playoff implications are on the schedule, as was the custom in years past.
For that, you can thank the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and its insistence on using a scheduling grid that mandates district games be played in certain weeks.
"I don't like it at all," Crittenden County coach Al Starnes said. "In the past, you always told your players about having to be ready to play your best in the last few weeks of the season, when we played our district games. Now it's Week 3 and Week 5 and it's all spread out. Then at this time of the year, you have a little (lull) and then you have to get back up for the playoffs."
The scheduling grid, which generally mandates district games on alternating weeks throughout the season, was an idea copied from Tennessee, which generally has much bigger districts (7-8 teams apiece, compared to 4-6 in Kentucky's watered-down six-class format) and teams sometimes have to squeeze to fit in all of their district games in a 10-game schedule.
The KHSAA has kept the format intact for the next two-year cycle, as well. The idea was that teams would have more flexibility in scheduling, but the opposite effect seems to be more true. Because of that, Paducah Tilghman and Mayfield will play their rivalry game in Week 2 in 2009 and 2010, much earlier than it's ever been staged, because both teams didn't have the same non-district weeks open later in the year.
— The race for second place in Class 4A's District 1 between Lone Oak and Hopkins Central still isn't settled, but it will take a series of dominoes to fall for the Storm to overtake Lone Oak's bid for second and a home first-round playoff game. As best as we can tell, this is what has to happen:
First of all, Hopkins Central has to beat Hancock County. Then the Storm hopes that Trigg County beats Fulton Countyand Ballard Memorial clips Muhlenberg North. Then it also needs a series of upsets (Webster County over Todd Central, Ohio County over Madisonville, Reidland over Fulton City and Heath over Lone Oak) to come out ahead in the three-team tiebreaker.
Neither team will have a gimme first-round game by any stretch — the No. 2 seed hosts Warren East, which lost to Lone Oak in the semifinals last year and has a University of Louisville commitment in running back-linebacker Shenard Holton. The Raiders were decimated by injuries in the early part of the season, but seems to have gotten healthier and impressed Lone Oak's coaching staff in last week's 34-16 loss to crosstown rival Bowling Green, which is ranked second in Class 5A.
The third-place team will have to travel to Franklin-Simpson, a speed-laden team led by quarterback Courtney Dalcourt, who is being recruited by a host of BCS-league schools as a defensive back/athlete.
Calloway County is already locked in for the district title and the No. 1 seed and will host Russell County. Muhlenberg North, which beat Webster County for its first win last week, goes to District 2 champ Allen County.
— Given the travel distance involved for some of the first-round playoff games, it seemed likely that one or two games might be played on Saturday. At this point, however, only the Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross game is a possibility for Saturday afternoon.
Fulton City athletic director Angie Nanney said that her school would prefer to play on Saturday but has yet to receive an answer from Holy Cross.
The rest of the three Class A games — Ballard Memorial at Caverna, Bethlehem at Mayfield and Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County — seem likely to be played on Friday. Crittenden coach Al Starnes said he prefers to play on Friday night, but hasn't yet discussed the issue with Kentucky Country Day's administration.
Calloway County coach Josh McKeel, whose team hosts Russell County, said plans are to play on Friday night. Russell County, which finished fourth in District 2, is about 30 miles west of Somerset and borders the Eastern Time Zone. Also known as the Lakers, Russell County lost to district champion Allen County 20-13 a couple of weeks ago and will have to travel 220 miles for their playoff opener.
Wyatt's supporters note his local ties and the need to give his coaching style more than a single year to make his mark on the program. Fair enough.
Others would question why a team that made the state semifinals and returned double-digit starters went belly-up this fall, going 3-7 on the field and losing two district games (on the field) to Union County and Muhlenberg South, neither of which is likely will post a winning record this season — Union is 5-5, including subsequent losses to Caldwell County and Crittenden County, and Muhlenberg South is 5-4 with back-to-back games against a Butler County team that is 8-1. Their regular-season finale previews their playoff game the next week.
— Notice how quiet the local schedule is for the final two weeks? No high-profile district games with playoff implications are on the schedule, as was the custom in years past.
For that, you can thank the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and its insistence on using a scheduling grid that mandates district games be played in certain weeks.
"I don't like it at all," Crittenden County coach Al Starnes said. "In the past, you always told your players about having to be ready to play your best in the last few weeks of the season, when we played our district games. Now it's Week 3 and Week 5 and it's all spread out. Then at this time of the year, you have a little (lull) and then you have to get back up for the playoffs."
The scheduling grid, which generally mandates district games on alternating weeks throughout the season, was an idea copied from Tennessee, which generally has much bigger districts (7-8 teams apiece, compared to 4-6 in Kentucky's watered-down six-class format) and teams sometimes have to squeeze to fit in all of their district games in a 10-game schedule.
The KHSAA has kept the format intact for the next two-year cycle, as well. The idea was that teams would have more flexibility in scheduling, but the opposite effect seems to be more true. Because of that, Paducah Tilghman and Mayfield will play their rivalry game in Week 2 in 2009 and 2010, much earlier than it's ever been staged, because both teams didn't have the same non-district weeks open later in the year.
— The race for second place in Class 4A's District 1 between Lone Oak and Hopkins Central still isn't settled, but it will take a series of dominoes to fall for the Storm to overtake Lone Oak's bid for second and a home first-round playoff game. As best as we can tell, this is what has to happen:
First of all, Hopkins Central has to beat Hancock County. Then the Storm hopes that Trigg County beats Fulton Countyand Ballard Memorial clips Muhlenberg North. Then it also needs a series of upsets (Webster County over Todd Central, Ohio County over Madisonville, Reidland over Fulton City and Heath over Lone Oak) to come out ahead in the three-team tiebreaker.
Neither team will have a gimme first-round game by any stretch — the No. 2 seed hosts Warren East, which lost to Lone Oak in the semifinals last year and has a University of Louisville commitment in running back-linebacker Shenard Holton. The Raiders were decimated by injuries in the early part of the season, but seems to have gotten healthier and impressed Lone Oak's coaching staff in last week's 34-16 loss to crosstown rival Bowling Green, which is ranked second in Class 5A.
The third-place team will have to travel to Franklin-Simpson, a speed-laden team led by quarterback Courtney Dalcourt, who is being recruited by a host of BCS-league schools as a defensive back/athlete.
Calloway County is already locked in for the district title and the No. 1 seed and will host Russell County. Muhlenberg North, which beat Webster County for its first win last week, goes to District 2 champ Allen County.
— Given the travel distance involved for some of the first-round playoff games, it seemed likely that one or two games might be played on Saturday. At this point, however, only the Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross game is a possibility for Saturday afternoon.
Fulton City athletic director Angie Nanney said that her school would prefer to play on Saturday but has yet to receive an answer from Holy Cross.
The rest of the three Class A games — Ballard Memorial at Caverna, Bethlehem at Mayfield and Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County — seem likely to be played on Friday. Crittenden coach Al Starnes said he prefers to play on Friday night, but hasn't yet discussed the issue with Kentucky Country Day's administration.
Calloway County coach Josh McKeel, whose team hosts Russell County, said plans are to play on Friday night. Russell County, which finished fourth in District 2, is about 30 miles west of Somerset and borders the Eastern Time Zone. Also known as the Lakers, Russell County lost to district champion Allen County 20-13 a couple of weeks ago and will have to travel 220 miles for their playoff opener.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Hoop Fest addition ... big-time matchup
Steve Woodward, founder of Marshall County's Hoop Fest, has put together an additional game for Thursday, Dec. 4 that will match up teams that could be Nos. 1 and 2 in some preseason national rankings.
Oak Hill Academy and Duncanville (Texas) will square off at 7 p.m., moving back already-scheduled games between Jackson (Miss.) Provine and Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict's and Memphis Briarcrest and Homewood-Flossmoor from suburban Chicago.
Oak Hill will have its usual assortment of high-profile prospects, including widebody forward Keith "Tiny" Gallon. Duncanville has four Division I commitments, including two to play for Travis Ford at Oklahoma State and one apiece at Texas and Alabama.
Both teams will also play in the Saturday night session, Duncanville against Scott County — Kentucky's preseason No. 1 team with Kentucky commitment Dakotah Euton — and Oak Hill against Chicago Simeon.
Oak Hill Academy and Duncanville (Texas) will square off at 7 p.m., moving back already-scheduled games between Jackson (Miss.) Provine and Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict's and Memphis Briarcrest and Homewood-Flossmoor from suburban Chicago.
Oak Hill will have its usual assortment of high-profile prospects, including widebody forward Keith "Tiny" Gallon. Duncanville has four Division I commitments, including two to play for Travis Ford at Oklahoma State and one apiece at Texas and Alabama.
Both teams will also play in the Saturday night session, Duncanville against Scott County — Kentucky's preseason No. 1 team with Kentucky commitment Dakotah Euton — and Oak Hill against Chicago Simeon.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Football leftovers ... Week 9
Before we move on to other subjects, a few final thoughts on the situation at Paducah Tilghman:
No program benefited more from the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's decision to go from four classes to six classes than Tilghman, which was placed in a district with a school (Union County) that had beaten the Tornado once in 24 years and three others (McLean County, Muhlenberg South and Webster County) that would have never had the stomach to schedule the Tornado.
It seemed like a breeze ... I fully expected it would be a decade or more before Tilghman lost a district game and felt that the Tornado would have a clear path to the state semifinals nearly every year.
I covered the Tornado's first game, against Christian County — one of western Kentucky's most talented teams — at the Jerry Claiborne Bowl in Hopkinsville. Tilghman made a nice second-half comeback and, with its top two running backs on the shelf with injuries, appeared to be driving for a potential game-tying touchdown when it fumbled inside the Christian 30 in the final five minutes.
Then the wheels fell off against Graves County the next week, and the program has been in downward-spiral mode ever since.
Compare the way that this year's Tilghman squad has deteriorated with the way that Perry Thomas' 2006 squad came back from an 0-5 start to win the district title and reach the second round of the playoffs.
It remains interesting that Thomas, who left to take the job at Campbellsville University last December, still has his detractors in town. He played a boring brand of football, some of them say ... well, he used about three or four different schemes in his eight-year tenure at Tilghman, going with what he felt was best suited for the talent on hand in the program.
An anti-Thomas reader e-mailed me today ripping Thomas for his coaching style. My response was this: Are you enjoying the 2-7 record Tilghman has compiled this year more than the playoff run that got the Tornado to within a play or two of the state championship game?
Like him or not, exciting brand of football or not, Thomas was a winner at Tilghman. He took over a program in near-shambles and won a district title in his first season with 19 players in the top three grades, then got the Tornado to the state semifinals twice in a span of five seasons.
One more point to make ... Thomas inherited a team at Campbellsville that was 0-10 last season, leaving a program that reached the state semifinals. Campbellsville is 2-6 this season with three games left on the schedule. Tilghman will win, at most, three games on the field this fall.
What kind of odds could we have gotten in the preseason that Campbellsville would win more games than Tilghman this year?
• Marshall County's injury woes will extend deep into basketball season, too. Josh Madding and Denver Seay, both two-way starters and perhaps the team's two most indispensable players, are out for a few weeks with injuries. Madding. a dual threat back and receiver, broke his right arm in last week's loss to Henderson County. Seay, a starter at quarterback and defensive end, was already dealing with a badly bruised wrist when he suffered a separated shoulder.
Both are expected to start on Marshall's basketball team, too. There is talk that Seay is hoping he can play with the shoulder and avoid surgery until after the conclusion of basketball season.
• It was clear last week that senior Chris Dobbins has become Calloway County's go-to receiver. Dobbins sometimes gets overshadowed by teammate George Garner, who has a little more size and speed, but Dobbins is reliable in his own right. In the come-from-behind 28-21 win over Hopkins Central, four of Dobbins' five receptions were on third-down plays for first downs, and he had a touchdown catch on fourth down.
• The playoff picture became a little clearer after last week. Here is a look at the first-round pairings (in bracket order) in far western Kentucky:
Class A
Ballard Memorial at Caverna
Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County
Bethlehem at Mayfield
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross
Class 2A
Caldwell County at Owensboro Catholic
Todd Central at Trigg County
Hancock County at Murray
Heath at Fort Campbell
Class 3A
Muhlenberg South at Butler County
Adair County at Union County
Edmonson County at McLean County
Webster County at Russellville
Class 4A
Hopkins Central at Franklin-Simpson
Russell County at Calloway County
Warren East at Lone Oak
Muhlenberg North at Allen County
Class 5A
Hopkinsville at Grayson County
Barren County at Christian County
Warren Central at Owensboro
Ohio County at Bowling Green
Class 6A
Madisonville at Louisville Eastern
Louisville Seneca at Daviess County
Louisville Ballard at Henderson County
Graves County at Louisville Trinity
No program benefited more from the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's decision to go from four classes to six classes than Tilghman, which was placed in a district with a school (Union County) that had beaten the Tornado once in 24 years and three others (McLean County, Muhlenberg South and Webster County) that would have never had the stomach to schedule the Tornado.
It seemed like a breeze ... I fully expected it would be a decade or more before Tilghman lost a district game and felt that the Tornado would have a clear path to the state semifinals nearly every year.
I covered the Tornado's first game, against Christian County — one of western Kentucky's most talented teams — at the Jerry Claiborne Bowl in Hopkinsville. Tilghman made a nice second-half comeback and, with its top two running backs on the shelf with injuries, appeared to be driving for a potential game-tying touchdown when it fumbled inside the Christian 30 in the final five minutes.
Then the wheels fell off against Graves County the next week, and the program has been in downward-spiral mode ever since.
Compare the way that this year's Tilghman squad has deteriorated with the way that Perry Thomas' 2006 squad came back from an 0-5 start to win the district title and reach the second round of the playoffs.
It remains interesting that Thomas, who left to take the job at Campbellsville University last December, still has his detractors in town. He played a boring brand of football, some of them say ... well, he used about three or four different schemes in his eight-year tenure at Tilghman, going with what he felt was best suited for the talent on hand in the program.
An anti-Thomas reader e-mailed me today ripping Thomas for his coaching style. My response was this: Are you enjoying the 2-7 record Tilghman has compiled this year more than the playoff run that got the Tornado to within a play or two of the state championship game?
Like him or not, exciting brand of football or not, Thomas was a winner at Tilghman. He took over a program in near-shambles and won a district title in his first season with 19 players in the top three grades, then got the Tornado to the state semifinals twice in a span of five seasons.
One more point to make ... Thomas inherited a team at Campbellsville that was 0-10 last season, leaving a program that reached the state semifinals. Campbellsville is 2-6 this season with three games left on the schedule. Tilghman will win, at most, three games on the field this fall.
What kind of odds could we have gotten in the preseason that Campbellsville would win more games than Tilghman this year?
• Marshall County's injury woes will extend deep into basketball season, too. Josh Madding and Denver Seay, both two-way starters and perhaps the team's two most indispensable players, are out for a few weeks with injuries. Madding. a dual threat back and receiver, broke his right arm in last week's loss to Henderson County. Seay, a starter at quarterback and defensive end, was already dealing with a badly bruised wrist when he suffered a separated shoulder.
Both are expected to start on Marshall's basketball team, too. There is talk that Seay is hoping he can play with the shoulder and avoid surgery until after the conclusion of basketball season.
• It was clear last week that senior Chris Dobbins has become Calloway County's go-to receiver. Dobbins sometimes gets overshadowed by teammate George Garner, who has a little more size and speed, but Dobbins is reliable in his own right. In the come-from-behind 28-21 win over Hopkins Central, four of Dobbins' five receptions were on third-down plays for first downs, and he had a touchdown catch on fourth down.
• The playoff picture became a little clearer after last week. Here is a look at the first-round pairings (in bracket order) in far western Kentucky:
Class A
Ballard Memorial at Caverna
Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County
Bethlehem at Mayfield
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross
Class 2A
Caldwell County at Owensboro Catholic
Todd Central at Trigg County
Hancock County at Murray
Heath at Fort Campbell
Class 3A
Muhlenberg South at Butler County
Adair County at Union County
Edmonson County at McLean County
Webster County at Russellville
Class 4A
Hopkins Central at Franklin-Simpson
Russell County at Calloway County
Warren East at Lone Oak
Muhlenberg North at Allen County
Class 5A
Hopkinsville at Grayson County
Barren County at Christian County
Warren Central at Owensboro
Ohio County at Bowling Green
Class 6A
Madisonville at Louisville Eastern
Louisville Seneca at Daviess County
Louisville Ballard at Henderson County
Graves County at Louisville Trinity
Friday, October 24, 2008
Football Friday ... Week 9
For Trigg County, it's a sign of respect. It's also a burden to bear.
As the Wildcats' program steadily improved on previous coach Curtis Higgins' watch, some of their traditional opponents dropped longstanding series. Russellville and Todd Central, once fixtures on the schedule, haven't played Trigg in several years, although the schools still meet in several other sports.
Even now, Trigg has a devil of a time getting smaller schools (Class A, 2A and 3A) to agree to a game. That makes for a rugged non-district schedule that puts the Wildcats in some tough spots.
For example, if Trigg loses to Caldwell County tonight in a critical district game, the Wildcats are virtually certain to finish third in a three-way tiebreaker for first place with two brands of Tigers, Caldwell and Murray. Their non-district slate includes losses to Hopkinsville, Calloway County, Hopkins Central and Christian County — all teams that have been ranked in Class 4A and 5A at various times this season.
And the Wildcats also meet defending state champion Fort Campbell next week, then close out with Fulton County,
How does the non-district schedule affect things? A win tonight means the difference between a district championship and a No. 3 seed, which sets up a long, hard and tough road throughout the playoffs. Emphasis on "road" since that would mean the Wildcats would be very unlikely to host a playoff game.
"We'll be in the same situation next year — we can't get A and 2A teams to play us," Trigg coach Shannon Burcham said. "We've talked to Fort Campbell, but the dates probably won't line up for us. We'd love to play Russellville, but we can't fit it in. Madisonville, Graves County and Marshall County have called us, and I don't blame them, and we will probably play Franklin-Simpson. We may end up with Mayfield in a bowl game, but that would be the only smaller school on there.
"Our kids have kept the right frame of mind about it. We've lost those games, but they made us better and it started to show when we got to playing the 2A teams (in district games). The other downside is that you can end up with a bunch of injuries."
• Projected playoff matchups: These are my best guesses on first-round playoff games (in bracket order) for all six classes in western Kentucky. Some seedings will be determined tonight and some potential tiebreakers might not be decided for two weeks.
Class A
Ballard Memorial at Caverna
Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County
Bardstown Bethlehem at Mayfield
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross
Class 2A
Caldwell County at Owensboro Catholic
Todd Central at Trigg County
Hancock County at Murray
Heath at Fort Campbell
Class 3A
McLean County at Butler County
Hart County at Union County
Edmonson County at Paducah Tilghman
Muhlenberg South at Russellville
Class 4A
Hopkins Central at Franklin-Simpson
Russell County at Calloway County
Warren East at Lone Oak
Muhlenberg North at Allen County
Class 5A
Hopkinsville at Warren Central
Barren County at Owensboro
Grayson County at Christian County
Ohio County at Bowling Green
Class 6A
Apollo at Louisville Ballard
Louisville Seneca at Daviess County
Louisville Eastern at Henderson County
Madisonville at Louisville Trinity
As the Wildcats' program steadily improved on previous coach Curtis Higgins' watch, some of their traditional opponents dropped longstanding series. Russellville and Todd Central, once fixtures on the schedule, haven't played Trigg in several years, although the schools still meet in several other sports.
Even now, Trigg has a devil of a time getting smaller schools (Class A, 2A and 3A) to agree to a game. That makes for a rugged non-district schedule that puts the Wildcats in some tough spots.
For example, if Trigg loses to Caldwell County tonight in a critical district game, the Wildcats are virtually certain to finish third in a three-way tiebreaker for first place with two brands of Tigers, Caldwell and Murray. Their non-district slate includes losses to Hopkinsville, Calloway County, Hopkins Central and Christian County — all teams that have been ranked in Class 4A and 5A at various times this season.
And the Wildcats also meet defending state champion Fort Campbell next week, then close out with Fulton County,
How does the non-district schedule affect things? A win tonight means the difference between a district championship and a No. 3 seed, which sets up a long, hard and tough road throughout the playoffs. Emphasis on "road" since that would mean the Wildcats would be very unlikely to host a playoff game.
"We'll be in the same situation next year — we can't get A and 2A teams to play us," Trigg coach Shannon Burcham said. "We've talked to Fort Campbell, but the dates probably won't line up for us. We'd love to play Russellville, but we can't fit it in. Madisonville, Graves County and Marshall County have called us, and I don't blame them, and we will probably play Franklin-Simpson. We may end up with Mayfield in a bowl game, but that would be the only smaller school on there.
"Our kids have kept the right frame of mind about it. We've lost those games, but they made us better and it started to show when we got to playing the 2A teams (in district games). The other downside is that you can end up with a bunch of injuries."
• Projected playoff matchups: These are my best guesses on first-round playoff games (in bracket order) for all six classes in western Kentucky. Some seedings will be determined tonight and some potential tiebreakers might not be decided for two weeks.
Class A
Ballard Memorial at Caverna
Kentucky Country Day at Crittenden County
Bardstown Bethlehem at Mayfield
Fulton City at Louisville Holy Cross
Class 2A
Caldwell County at Owensboro Catholic
Todd Central at Trigg County
Hancock County at Murray
Heath at Fort Campbell
Class 3A
McLean County at Butler County
Hart County at Union County
Edmonson County at Paducah Tilghman
Muhlenberg South at Russellville
Class 4A
Hopkins Central at Franklin-Simpson
Russell County at Calloway County
Warren East at Lone Oak
Muhlenberg North at Allen County
Class 5A
Hopkinsville at Warren Central
Barren County at Owensboro
Grayson County at Christian County
Ohio County at Bowling Green
Class 6A
Apollo at Louisville Ballard
Louisville Seneca at Daviess County
Louisville Eastern at Henderson County
Madisonville at Louisville Trinity
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Gunner Gillespie passes away ...
Within the last hour or so, we at The Paducah Sun got the sad and awful news that Gunner Gillespie, the 8-year-old son of Marshall County basketball coach Gus Gillespie, passed away after battling an inoperable brain tumor for nearly 11 months.
Far western Kentucky has gotten to know Gunner and his plight quite well for the last year — his love of trains became the inspiration for T-shirts that were sold to help raise money for his medical expenses, and his mother, Janna, has kept thousands of friends and well-wishers apprised of Gunner's struggles on an online journal.
Gus Gillespie talked in this forum back in the spring about how much he and his family appreciated the outpouring of love and support — emotionally, financially and otherwise — received from the Marshall community, and how it played a role in his decision not to seek an attractive coaching job at Mount Vernon, Ill., where he was once an assistant.
Please keep the Gillespies in your prayers ...
Far western Kentucky has gotten to know Gunner and his plight quite well for the last year — his love of trains became the inspiration for T-shirts that were sold to help raise money for his medical expenses, and his mother, Janna, has kept thousands of friends and well-wishers apprised of Gunner's struggles on an online journal.
Gus Gillespie talked in this forum back in the spring about how much he and his family appreciated the outpouring of love and support — emotionally, financially and otherwise — received from the Marshall community, and how it played a role in his decision not to seek an attractive coaching job at Mount Vernon, Ill., where he was once an assistant.
Please keep the Gillespies in your prayers ...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
BluegrassPreps.com rankings ...
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Frankfort
5. Hazard
6. Louisville Holy Cross
7. Bellevue
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Williamsburg
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Green County
5. Owensboro Catholic
6. Danville
7. Prestonsburg
8. Louisville DeSales
9. Monroe County
10. Trigg County
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Estill County
6. Russell
7. Harlan County
8. North Oldham
9. Sheldon Clark
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. Allen County
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Calloway County
7. Lone Oak
8. North Bullitt
9. Hopkins Central
10. Louisville Western
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Johnson Central
6. Christian County
7. Louisville Doss
8. Oldham County
9. Ashland
10. Hopkinsville
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Boone County
4. Louisville Ballard
5. Louisville Manual
6. Scott County
7. Madison Central
8. Louisville Male
9. Daviess County
10. Lexington Lafayette
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Frankfort
5. Hazard
6. Louisville Holy Cross
7. Bellevue
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Williamsburg
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Green County
5. Owensboro Catholic
6. Danville
7. Prestonsburg
8. Louisville DeSales
9. Monroe County
10. Trigg County
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Estill County
6. Russell
7. Harlan County
8. North Oldham
9. Sheldon Clark
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. Allen County
5. Franklin-Simpson
6. Calloway County
7. Lone Oak
8. North Bullitt
9. Hopkins Central
10. Louisville Western
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Johnson Central
6. Christian County
7. Louisville Doss
8. Oldham County
9. Ashland
10. Hopkinsville
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Boone County
4. Louisville Ballard
5. Louisville Manual
6. Scott County
7. Madison Central
8. Louisville Male
9. Daviess County
10. Lexington Lafayette
Monday, October 20, 2008
Football leftovers ... Week 8
Paducah Tilghman linemen began dropping like flies in the fourth quarter of the Tornado's visit to Allen County, which helps explain the home team's two late touchdowns in its 28-10 victory.
Not all of them will be back this week, either.
Kirk Sanderson, perhaps the Tornado's best offensive lineman, went down with a knee injury. The severity of it has yet to be fully determined, but the early prognosis isn't good — there are fears that Sanderson could have a torn ACL.
Two-way tackle Kalmece Wilson pulled a hamstring in pre-game warm ups. Offensive lineman Keary Turnley, who also sees some spot duty on defense, separated a shoulder, and Sam McDowell (also a linebacker) left the game after a recurring shoulder problem caused some numbness and tingling in both of his arms.
"It was like someone put a curse on us at the beginning of the fourth quarter," Tilghman coach Randy Wyatt said. "We ended with two sophomores and a freshman in those spots."
Wyatt said Turnley and McDowell are questionable for this week's district finale with Muhlenberg South, a game Tilghman must win to maintain a shot at hosting a first-round playoff game — the Tornado also needs Union County to beat McLean County.
• Good news for Marshall County quarterback Denver Seay. His wrist isn't fractured, as was first suspected, and he will try to practice this week as the Marshals prepare for Henderson County.
"It's a big kind-of contusion-looking thing, all swollen and stuff," Marshall coach Scott Shelton said. "We're going to see if he can grip the ball and if he can be ready to play."
• Let's do another potential tiebreaker update, this one in Class 6A's District 1 race. At the moment, three teams — Graves County, Marshall County and Apollo — are 1-3 in district play, and only one of them will advance to the postseason.
Graves hosts Apollo, so one of those teams will get to 2-3, and Madisonville figures to be there since its taking on district champion Daviess County.
That leaves Marshall, which faces a tough assignment in hosting a Henderson County club that is 5-2 with two close losses to state-ranked teams — the Colonels blew a big lead before falling in overtime to Christian County and were stopped on a goal-line stand in a 34-28 loss to Christian County.
A Marshall win could also create a three-way tie with Madisonville and the Graves-Apollo winner. The Marshals have lost to both Madisonville and Graves, so they need Apollo to win to maintain any shot at a playoff berth.
Madisonville, on the basis of its non-district wins over Caldwell County, Hopkins Central and Hopkinsville, would appear to have an edge in any tiebreaker. Marshall, which beat Calloway County, would have an advantage on Apollo, which figures to be a big underdog in its final two games of the season against heavyweights Lexington Catholic and Owensboro.
Not all of them will be back this week, either.
Kirk Sanderson, perhaps the Tornado's best offensive lineman, went down with a knee injury. The severity of it has yet to be fully determined, but the early prognosis isn't good — there are fears that Sanderson could have a torn ACL.
Two-way tackle Kalmece Wilson pulled a hamstring in pre-game warm ups. Offensive lineman Keary Turnley, who also sees some spot duty on defense, separated a shoulder, and Sam McDowell (also a linebacker) left the game after a recurring shoulder problem caused some numbness and tingling in both of his arms.
"It was like someone put a curse on us at the beginning of the fourth quarter," Tilghman coach Randy Wyatt said. "We ended with two sophomores and a freshman in those spots."
Wyatt said Turnley and McDowell are questionable for this week's district finale with Muhlenberg South, a game Tilghman must win to maintain a shot at hosting a first-round playoff game — the Tornado also needs Union County to beat McLean County.
• Good news for Marshall County quarterback Denver Seay. His wrist isn't fractured, as was first suspected, and he will try to practice this week as the Marshals prepare for Henderson County.
"It's a big kind-of contusion-looking thing, all swollen and stuff," Marshall coach Scott Shelton said. "We're going to see if he can grip the ball and if he can be ready to play."
• Let's do another potential tiebreaker update, this one in Class 6A's District 1 race. At the moment, three teams — Graves County, Marshall County and Apollo — are 1-3 in district play, and only one of them will advance to the postseason.
Graves hosts Apollo, so one of those teams will get to 2-3, and Madisonville figures to be there since its taking on district champion Daviess County.
That leaves Marshall, which faces a tough assignment in hosting a Henderson County club that is 5-2 with two close losses to state-ranked teams — the Colonels blew a big lead before falling in overtime to Christian County and were stopped on a goal-line stand in a 34-28 loss to Christian County.
A Marshall win could also create a three-way tie with Madisonville and the Graves-Apollo winner. The Marshals have lost to both Madisonville and Graves, so they need Apollo to win to maintain any shot at a playoff berth.
Madisonville, on the basis of its non-district wins over Caldwell County, Hopkins Central and Hopkinsville, would appear to have an edge in any tiebreaker. Marshall, which beat Calloway County, would have an advantage on Apollo, which figures to be a big underdog in its final two games of the season against heavyweights Lexington Catholic and Owensboro.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Rays and Phillies ... hallelujah!
This can't be the World Series that Fox was hoping — no, make that praying — for, can it? One figures the powers that be in Rupert Murdoch's warped world weren't hoping for Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, much preferring Boston and Los Angeles.
So, baseball fans everywhere ... rejoice. We won't be subjected to daily stories about tired subjects like Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre and speculation about how both will be received in Boston.
Instead, maybe America can become a little more familiar with Chase Utley, the most unappreciated player in baseball, and guys like Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth on the Phillies' side and the young talent in Tampa Bay that few people had heard of before this season — exciting players like B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price.
So, baseball fans everywhere ... rejoice. We won't be subjected to daily stories about tired subjects like Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre and speculation about how both will be received in Boston.
Instead, maybe America can become a little more familiar with Chase Utley, the most unappreciated player in baseball, and guys like Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth on the Phillies' side and the young talent in Tampa Bay that few people had heard of before this season — exciting players like B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Mid-Continent making a dent locally ...
There will be a clear orange hue to Shawn Yarbrough's second Mid-Continent University baseball team. Yarbrough, hired this summer to breathe some life into the Cougars' fledgling program, signed five players expected to play key roles at Marshall County next spring — catcher Brantley Barrett, third baseman-pitcher Tyler Johnson, second baseman Kody Charlton, outfielder Cameron Kimball and pitcher Kyle Courtney — for the 2010 season.
It's the first signal that Yarbrough's basic recruiting strategy — signing as many top local players as possible — is coming to fruition. And there are signs that others could be on the way, including Lone Oak left-handed pitcher Allen Haase.
"Some of these guys could have signed with (higher-level) schools," Yarbrough said, "but they're buying into the idea that they can play right away and help us get this program turned around. I've said from the time I got here that we can be competitive in our conference if we can get the good local players."
Four of the aforementioned five players started last season for Marshall, which went 27-5 and was upset by Ballard Memorial in the regional semifinals. Courtney didn't play for the Marshals last spring, but showed some potential while pitching American Legion ball last summer.
Yarbrough has also hired a coaching staff with local ties. Former Murray State outfielder Tyler Pittman will serve as Mid-Continent's pitching coach — Yarbrough and Pittman also worked together on Terry Amis' coaching staff for Paducah's American Legion team this summer. Former Community Christian coach Matt Smith will focus on defense.
There is also a possibility that Mid-Continent will play a home series at Brooks Stadium. The idea is that the mid-March weekend series between Mid-Continent and Trevecca Nazarene could be played in Paducah. Carlisle County and Post 31 alum Tim Dunn is expected to be one of Trevecca's top pitchers.
It's the first signal that Yarbrough's basic recruiting strategy — signing as many top local players as possible — is coming to fruition. And there are signs that others could be on the way, including Lone Oak left-handed pitcher Allen Haase.
"Some of these guys could have signed with (higher-level) schools," Yarbrough said, "but they're buying into the idea that they can play right away and help us get this program turned around. I've said from the time I got here that we can be competitive in our conference if we can get the good local players."
Four of the aforementioned five players started last season for Marshall, which went 27-5 and was upset by Ballard Memorial in the regional semifinals. Courtney didn't play for the Marshals last spring, but showed some potential while pitching American Legion ball last summer.
Yarbrough has also hired a coaching staff with local ties. Former Murray State outfielder Tyler Pittman will serve as Mid-Continent's pitching coach — Yarbrough and Pittman also worked together on Terry Amis' coaching staff for Paducah's American Legion team this summer. Former Community Christian coach Matt Smith will focus on defense.
There is also a possibility that Mid-Continent will play a home series at Brooks Stadium. The idea is that the mid-March weekend series between Mid-Continent and Trevecca Nazarene could be played in Paducah. Carlisle County and Post 31 alum Tim Dunn is expected to be one of Trevecca's top pitchers.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
BluegrassPreps.com rankings ...
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Williamsburg
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Green County
5. Danville
6. Owensboro Catholic
7. Prestonsburg
8. Middlesboro
9. Louisville DeSales
10. Monroe County
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Allen County
6. Franklin-Simpson
7. Louisville Western
8. Calloway County
9. Lone Oak
10. Hopkins Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Johnson Central
6. Christian County
7. Louisville Doss
8. Lexington Bryan Station
9. Hopkinsville
10. Ashland
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Louisville Manual
4. Boone County
5. Louisville Ballard
6. Scott County
7. Madison Central
8. Louisville Male
9. Daviess County
10. Lexington Lafayette
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Williamsburg
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Corbin
4. Green County
5. Danville
6. Owensboro Catholic
7. Prestonsburg
8. Middlesboro
9. Louisville DeSales
10. Monroe County
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Allen County
6. Franklin-Simpson
7. Louisville Western
8. Calloway County
9. Lone Oak
10. Hopkins Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Johnson Central
6. Christian County
7. Louisville Doss
8. Lexington Bryan Station
9. Hopkinsville
10. Ashland
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Louisville Manual
4. Boone County
5. Louisville Ballard
6. Scott County
7. Madison Central
8. Louisville Male
9. Daviess County
10. Lexington Lafayette
Tiebreaking math ... Lakers with the edge
There were smiles in the Calloway County football camp this weekend after Hopkins Central knocked off Lone Oak — not necessarily because the Purple Flash went down (that's a bonus, given the blossoming rivalry between the two), but because it gave Calloway new life in the Class 4A district race.
Calloway travels to Hopkins Central next week, and it appears the Lakers control their own destiny in their quest for a district title and the guarantee of home games for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
In the case of a three-way tie where the tied teams have split their games, the tiebreaking formula awards points for games won by a team's defeated opponents. In other words, the tougher your schedule, the more it helps you in such a scenario if you actually win some of those games.
At the moment, Calloway has the edge in the tiebreaker and could pick up several additional points by beating Mayfield this week and Graves County in the regular-season finale. At the moment, it looks like Lone Oak would finish second in the tiebreaker, with Hopkins Central third.
Stay tuned ...
Calloway travels to Hopkins Central next week, and it appears the Lakers control their own destiny in their quest for a district title and the guarantee of home games for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
In the case of a three-way tie where the tied teams have split their games, the tiebreaking formula awards points for games won by a team's defeated opponents. In other words, the tougher your schedule, the more it helps you in such a scenario if you actually win some of those games.
At the moment, Calloway has the edge in the tiebreaker and could pick up several additional points by beating Mayfield this week and Graves County in the regular-season finale. At the moment, it looks like Lone Oak would finish second in the tiebreaker, with Hopkins Central third.
Stay tuned ...
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The state's epicenter of golf?
Typically, far western Kentucky players were all over the leader board at the state boy's golf tournament.
Marshall County's team, the defending state champions, were dethroned by 17-time state champion Louisville St. Xavier, falling by a mere three shots. Defending individual champion Travis Thompson fell short of defending his crown, losing to St. Xavier's David Payne in a playoff.
Teammates Peter Meeks and Patrick Newcomb were fourth and seventh, respectively. Heath's Eric Straub posted a top-15 finish in his final state tournament appearance, and St. Mary junior Sammy Thompson can build on his top-20 finish for next season.
Emma Talley, Caldwell County's remarkable freshman, effectively lapped the field in her record-setting performance in winning the girls' state title, breaking the state record by five shots by going 10-under-par — a record set in 2002 by Leah Wigger of Louisville Assumption, who will be on the LPGA Tour next year.
All of which prompts an observation that golf has easily become far western Kentucky's best high school sport, at least on a state tournament-performance level.
Three different area schools have won the state team championship in boys' golf since 2000 — Paducah Tilghman in 2000, St. Mary in 2005 and Marshall a year ago. The area has also produced four individual champions — Tilghman's Brett Jones in 2000, St. Mary's Ryan Cochran in 2005 and 2006 and Thompson last year.
Marshall's Nick Newcomb was beaten in a playoff for the title in 2004, the same year that Heath's Rick Cochran finished third, which means that Region 1 has been this close to five consecutive state individual titles.
You have to go back to 2003 to find a year in which Region 1 didn't have a boys' team post a top-five finish, either. Marshall tied for third in 2004 and St. Mary went 1-2 in 2005-06, just as Marshall has done the last two seasons. Heath also finished fourth in 2006.
And on the girls' side, the area has produced five straight years of top-five finishes — Talley began a run of those in 2005, when she was a sixth-grader, and Murray's Angela DeBella took third in 2004.
College decisions: Marshall County's top two seniors, Patrick Newcomb and Peter Meeks, are locks to land Division I scholarships. Newcomb, who shot a 65 to win the regional tournament two weeks ago, could land at Central Florida or Florida Gulf Coast. He's also talking to Murray State, where his brother Nick plays — Nick Newcomb won the Ohio Valley Conference title last spring.
Meeks said he's looking at Louisville, in part because of family concerns — his father moved from Florida to Louisville in the last year.
Straub award: Wherever he goes, Straub will be armed with a $500 scholarship awarded to an outstanding senior playing in the state tournament by primary sponsor Leachman Buick-Pontiac-GMC. The scholarship is based on excellence in four areas — academic achievement, leadership, citizenship and sportsmanship.
Straub is also one of the area's best all-around athletes. He is a standout soccer player, a four-year anchor on the defense for a Heath club that has made the state quarterfinals each of the last two seasons, and he was a Paducah Sun All-Purchase selection in basketball.
He will play golf in college. At the moment, it appears he will make a decision between Missouri State, Arkansas State and Eastern Kentucky.
Marshall County's team, the defending state champions, were dethroned by 17-time state champion Louisville St. Xavier, falling by a mere three shots. Defending individual champion Travis Thompson fell short of defending his crown, losing to St. Xavier's David Payne in a playoff.
Teammates Peter Meeks and Patrick Newcomb were fourth and seventh, respectively. Heath's Eric Straub posted a top-15 finish in his final state tournament appearance, and St. Mary junior Sammy Thompson can build on his top-20 finish for next season.
Emma Talley, Caldwell County's remarkable freshman, effectively lapped the field in her record-setting performance in winning the girls' state title, breaking the state record by five shots by going 10-under-par — a record set in 2002 by Leah Wigger of Louisville Assumption, who will be on the LPGA Tour next year.
All of which prompts an observation that golf has easily become far western Kentucky's best high school sport, at least on a state tournament-performance level.
Three different area schools have won the state team championship in boys' golf since 2000 — Paducah Tilghman in 2000, St. Mary in 2005 and Marshall a year ago. The area has also produced four individual champions — Tilghman's Brett Jones in 2000, St. Mary's Ryan Cochran in 2005 and 2006 and Thompson last year.
Marshall's Nick Newcomb was beaten in a playoff for the title in 2004, the same year that Heath's Rick Cochran finished third, which means that Region 1 has been this close to five consecutive state individual titles.
You have to go back to 2003 to find a year in which Region 1 didn't have a boys' team post a top-five finish, either. Marshall tied for third in 2004 and St. Mary went 1-2 in 2005-06, just as Marshall has done the last two seasons. Heath also finished fourth in 2006.
And on the girls' side, the area has produced five straight years of top-five finishes — Talley began a run of those in 2005, when she was a sixth-grader, and Murray's Angela DeBella took third in 2004.
College decisions: Marshall County's top two seniors, Patrick Newcomb and Peter Meeks, are locks to land Division I scholarships. Newcomb, who shot a 65 to win the regional tournament two weeks ago, could land at Central Florida or Florida Gulf Coast. He's also talking to Murray State, where his brother Nick plays — Nick Newcomb won the Ohio Valley Conference title last spring.
Meeks said he's looking at Louisville, in part because of family concerns — his father moved from Florida to Louisville in the last year.
Straub award: Wherever he goes, Straub will be armed with a $500 scholarship awarded to an outstanding senior playing in the state tournament by primary sponsor Leachman Buick-Pontiac-GMC. The scholarship is based on excellence in four areas — academic achievement, leadership, citizenship and sportsmanship.
Straub is also one of the area's best all-around athletes. He is a standout soccer player, a four-year anchor on the defense for a Heath club that has made the state quarterfinals each of the last two seasons, and he was a Paducah Sun All-Purchase selection in basketball.
He will play golf in college. At the moment, it appears he will make a decision between Missouri State, Arkansas State and Eastern Kentucky.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Talley running away with state title
Caldwell County's Emma Talley is on course to roll to her first state golf title. Talley holds a seven-shot lead over Lydia Gumm of North Hardin at the turn in Wednesday's second round at Bowling Green Country Club, but will have to come back on Thursday morning to finish off the competition.
Rain over the last two days pushed the schedule back to the point that Talley didn't finish her first round until Wednesday afternoon. Talley shot an 65 in the opening round and held a seven-shot lead as she stepped on to the No. 1 tee box. Talley was 2-under-par on the front nine, and at the moment Gumm is the only player under par — she was 3-under on the front nine.
Talley and Gumm are playing together, which is nothing unusual for them. They've competed against each other in a slew of regional and national junior tournaments over the years — Dan Talley, Emma's father, estimates they've played more than 50 rounds together over a period of several years — and they are good friends.
This could become an annual battle at the state tournament. Talley is a freshman and Gumm, who leads in points for Kentucky's Miss Golf award, is an eighth grader.
Rain over the last two days pushed the schedule back to the point that Talley didn't finish her first round until Wednesday afternoon. Talley shot an 65 in the opening round and held a seven-shot lead as she stepped on to the No. 1 tee box. Talley was 2-under-par on the front nine, and at the moment Gumm is the only player under par — she was 3-under on the front nine.
Talley and Gumm are playing together, which is nothing unusual for them. They've competed against each other in a slew of regional and national junior tournaments over the years — Dan Talley, Emma's father, estimates they've played more than 50 rounds together over a period of several years — and they are good friends.
This could become an annual battle at the state tournament. Talley is a freshman and Gumm, who leads in points for Kentucky's Miss Golf award, is an eighth grader.
Bluegrass Preps rankings ...
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Campbellsville
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Prestonsburg
4. Corbin
5. Green County
6. Danville
7. Owensboro Catholic
8. Middlesboro
9. Monroe County
10. Louisville DeSales
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County at Fleming County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Lone Oak
6. Calloway County
7. Allen County
8. Franklin-Simpson
9. Louisville Western
10. Hopkins Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Mercer County
6. Johnson Central
7. Christian County
8. Woodford County
9. Louisville Doss
10. Lexington Bryan Station
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Madison Central
4. Louisville Manual
5. Boone County
6. Louisville Ballard
7. Scott County
8. Daviess County
9. Louisville Male
10. Lexington Lafayette
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Campbellsville
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Prestonsburg
4. Corbin
5. Green County
6. Danville
7. Owensboro Catholic
8. Middlesboro
9. Monroe County
10. Louisville DeSales
Class 3A
1. Belfry
2. Louisville Central
3. Breathitt County at Fleming County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Lone Oak
6. Calloway County
7. Allen County
8. Franklin-Simpson
9. Louisville Western
10. Hopkins Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Mercer County
6. Johnson Central
7. Christian County
8. Woodford County
9. Louisville Doss
10. Lexington Bryan Station
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
2. Louisville Trinity
3. Madison Central
4. Louisville Manual
5. Boone County
6. Louisville Ballard
7. Scott County
8. Daviess County
9. Louisville Male
10. Lexington Lafayette
Friday, October 3, 2008
Football Friday ... Week 6
Each Friday night, my cellphone serves as a clearinghouse for scores between a select group of media types and hardcore fans throughout western Kentucky. Last Friday's batch of text messages, it's safe to say, were a little jolting.
Mayfield, which had never lost to Crittenden County in nine previous meetings, was "physically whipped" according to one observer in a 27-14 loss. Paducah Tilghman, 25-1 against Union County since the two programs became district rivals in 1983, fell 41-35 to the Braves in overtime.
My first impression: two of far western Kentucky's football dynasties are crumbling.
Maybe that assessment is a bit harsh, but one has to wonder. Mayfield is 1-3 — not unprecedented in its recent history, given its traditionally tough non-district schedule — but a district loss (indeed, two in the last two seasons) has to be a little unsettling for longtime Cardinal backers that are used to regular state semifinal appearances.
Tilghman is 1-4 and will probably be 0-5 after the expected forfeit of a district win over Webster County for the use of an ineligible player. Even worse, two of the losses are in district play, which poses a serious threat to the Tornado's chances of hosting a first-round playoff game.
And the Tornado seems to have regressed after a solid showing in its season opener, a 22-15 loss to Christian County in which Tilghman fumbled on a potential game-tying scoring drive in the final minutes.
Only one of them will turn things around tonight.
What's happening?
Some Mayfield fans will tell you the problem is discipline. The view, expressed quietly by some, is that the program — faced with a dwindling student population and talent base — has cut some corners on the disciplinary front to keep its best athletes on the field, and that it could be catching up with the Cardinals.
In Paducah, some are wondering if the administration's decision to give the coaching job to former assistant Randy Wyatt, who had been out of football for three years, without conducting a full search was a wise move. Perry Thomas' last club got off to a slow start last season, but steamrolled through its district competition and made it to the state semifinals.
Mayfield coach Joe Morris admits he is at a loss to explain his team's early-season woes.
"This team has trouble focusing for four quarters, and I don't know the reason for that," Morris said. "We're just so inconsistent. We'll look good for about three series on offense, then it's three-and-out for three or four possessions. Sometimes we look good on defense, then we can't get lined up in the right spots."
Slow starts have been the springboard for some wonderful Mayfield seasons in the past. Paul Leahy's first team, in 1993, was 2-3 with losses to Fulton County (a Class A semifinalist), a 10-0 Graves County squad and a solid Tilghman team. Mayfield then won 10 in a row, including a fourth-quarter comeback that beat a superior Prestonsburg outfit 13-12 in the Class 2A title game.
In 2001, Morris had an injury-riddled squad that was 2-5, then rolled to the state semifinals and led eventual champion Danville at the end of the third quarter in a 17-10 loss in the semifinals.
"We've come out of this stuff before," Morris said, "but it bothers me that we're not playing nearly as well as we could. We're not a great team, but we're better than we've shown."
Wyatt blames turnovers for his team's woes, and admits there have been some distractions. There have been grumblings that some parents are complaining about Wyatt's style of coaching, and the coach held a meeting with parents on the issue earlier this week. Of course, those things are often overlooked when a team is winning games.
Wyatt is unapologetic for his style of coaching and fully expects a midseason turnaround.
"This could be the start of something this week — that's what we're telling the kids," Wyatt said. "We can still win 10 in a row and win a state title. We have the talent here to do it."
• The new alignment for six-class football for the 2009 and 2010 seasons is out, and there is only one change in far western Kentucky. Madisonville, which played up in Class 6A for two years, has dropped back to Class 5A to compete in a district with Hopkinsville, Christian County, Owensboro and Ohio County.
That district may be tougher than the one the Maroons left behind, which still includes Marshall County, Graves County, Daviess County, Apollo and Henderson County.
• If it seems like a slow week, it is. It's a rather light schedule with four of the 16 teams in The Paducah Sun's coverage area — Fulton City, Fulton County, Heath and Trigg County — having off-weeks. The only district game is Calloway County's tussle with outmanned Muhlenberg North, and most of the non-district slate isn't all that attractive.
The best team in western Kentucky this weekend could be an interloper — defending Class 5A state champion Fort Thomas Highlands, which meets Hopkinsville on Saturday afternoon at the Stadium of Champions.
• Marshall County coach Scott Shelton knows his team has a tough task matching up with Owensboro. Shelton said the Red Devils have "opened up their offense a little" with new quarterback Cale Prince, the son of coach (and former Mayfield and UK star) Joe Prince.
"He's a sophomore, about 6-3 and 180 pounds, runs pretty well and throws a pretty good ball," Shelton said. "They run the spread option, and it's a true option. If you key on the pitch back, he can take it himself.
"Their tailback (Yorel Shemwell) is shifty, and he has unbelievable speed. He's not very big, and he won't run over anybody, and you can hem him in for a few plays. But he squirts through there sometimes, and once he gets past the initial wave he's gone."
Mayfield, which had never lost to Crittenden County in nine previous meetings, was "physically whipped" according to one observer in a 27-14 loss. Paducah Tilghman, 25-1 against Union County since the two programs became district rivals in 1983, fell 41-35 to the Braves in overtime.
My first impression: two of far western Kentucky's football dynasties are crumbling.
Maybe that assessment is a bit harsh, but one has to wonder. Mayfield is 1-3 — not unprecedented in its recent history, given its traditionally tough non-district schedule — but a district loss (indeed, two in the last two seasons) has to be a little unsettling for longtime Cardinal backers that are used to regular state semifinal appearances.
Tilghman is 1-4 and will probably be 0-5 after the expected forfeit of a district win over Webster County for the use of an ineligible player. Even worse, two of the losses are in district play, which poses a serious threat to the Tornado's chances of hosting a first-round playoff game.
And the Tornado seems to have regressed after a solid showing in its season opener, a 22-15 loss to Christian County in which Tilghman fumbled on a potential game-tying scoring drive in the final minutes.
Only one of them will turn things around tonight.
What's happening?
Some Mayfield fans will tell you the problem is discipline. The view, expressed quietly by some, is that the program — faced with a dwindling student population and talent base — has cut some corners on the disciplinary front to keep its best athletes on the field, and that it could be catching up with the Cardinals.
In Paducah, some are wondering if the administration's decision to give the coaching job to former assistant Randy Wyatt, who had been out of football for three years, without conducting a full search was a wise move. Perry Thomas' last club got off to a slow start last season, but steamrolled through its district competition and made it to the state semifinals.
Mayfield coach Joe Morris admits he is at a loss to explain his team's early-season woes.
"This team has trouble focusing for four quarters, and I don't know the reason for that," Morris said. "We're just so inconsistent. We'll look good for about three series on offense, then it's three-and-out for three or four possessions. Sometimes we look good on defense, then we can't get lined up in the right spots."
Slow starts have been the springboard for some wonderful Mayfield seasons in the past. Paul Leahy's first team, in 1993, was 2-3 with losses to Fulton County (a Class A semifinalist), a 10-0 Graves County squad and a solid Tilghman team. Mayfield then won 10 in a row, including a fourth-quarter comeback that beat a superior Prestonsburg outfit 13-12 in the Class 2A title game.
In 2001, Morris had an injury-riddled squad that was 2-5, then rolled to the state semifinals and led eventual champion Danville at the end of the third quarter in a 17-10 loss in the semifinals.
"We've come out of this stuff before," Morris said, "but it bothers me that we're not playing nearly as well as we could. We're not a great team, but we're better than we've shown."
Wyatt blames turnovers for his team's woes, and admits there have been some distractions. There have been grumblings that some parents are complaining about Wyatt's style of coaching, and the coach held a meeting with parents on the issue earlier this week. Of course, those things are often overlooked when a team is winning games.
Wyatt is unapologetic for his style of coaching and fully expects a midseason turnaround.
"This could be the start of something this week — that's what we're telling the kids," Wyatt said. "We can still win 10 in a row and win a state title. We have the talent here to do it."
• The new alignment for six-class football for the 2009 and 2010 seasons is out, and there is only one change in far western Kentucky. Madisonville, which played up in Class 6A for two years, has dropped back to Class 5A to compete in a district with Hopkinsville, Christian County, Owensboro and Ohio County.
That district may be tougher than the one the Maroons left behind, which still includes Marshall County, Graves County, Daviess County, Apollo and Henderson County.
• If it seems like a slow week, it is. It's a rather light schedule with four of the 16 teams in The Paducah Sun's coverage area — Fulton City, Fulton County, Heath and Trigg County — having off-weeks. The only district game is Calloway County's tussle with outmanned Muhlenberg North, and most of the non-district slate isn't all that attractive.
The best team in western Kentucky this weekend could be an interloper — defending Class 5A state champion Fort Thomas Highlands, which meets Hopkinsville on Saturday afternoon at the Stadium of Champions.
• Marshall County coach Scott Shelton knows his team has a tough task matching up with Owensboro. Shelton said the Red Devils have "opened up their offense a little" with new quarterback Cale Prince, the son of coach (and former Mayfield and UK star) Joe Prince.
"He's a sophomore, about 6-3 and 180 pounds, runs pretty well and throws a pretty good ball," Shelton said. "They run the spread option, and it's a true option. If you key on the pitch back, he can take it himself.
"Their tailback (Yorel Shemwell) is shifty, and he has unbelievable speed. He's not very big, and he won't run over anybody, and you can hem him in for a few plays. But he squirts through there sometimes, and once he gets past the initial wave he's gone."
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bluegrass Preps rankings ...
You might note a couple of prominent programs missing from the new BluegrassPreps.com rankings — Mayfield and Paducah Tilghman, both of which suffered rare district losses last week. Mayfield lost to Crittenden County for the first time ever and the Tornado fell to Union County in overtime, both losses coming at home.
Crittenden replaced Mayfield in Class A's top 10. The best far western Kentucky representation is in Class 4A, where Lone Oak and Calloway County are at Nos. 5 and 6 after their epic contest, won by Lone Oak 45-42 on Jack Coorts' late field goal.
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Campbellsville
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Prestonsburg
4. Danville
5. Corbin
6. Green County
7. Owensboro Catholic
8. Monroe County
9. Middlesboro
10. Bardstown
Class 3A
1. Louisville Central
2. Belfry
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Lone Oak
6. Calloway County
7. Allen County
8. Franklin-Simpson
9. Hopkins Central
10. Knox Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Mercer County
6. Johnson Central
7. Christian County
8. Woodford County
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Louisville Doss
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
1. Louisville Trinity
3. Madison Central
4. Scott County
5. Boone County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Louisville Male
8. Daviess County
9. Henderson County
10. Louisville Ballard
Crittenden replaced Mayfield in Class A's top 10. The best far western Kentucky representation is in Class 4A, where Lone Oak and Calloway County are at Nos. 5 and 6 after their epic contest, won by Lone Oak 45-42 on Jack Coorts' late field goal.
Class A
1. Beechwood
2. Raceland
3. Lexington Christian
4. Hazard
5. Bellevue
6. Frankfort
7. Louisville Holy Cross
8. Fairview
9. Crittenden County
10. Campbellsville
Class 2A
1. Fort Campbell
2. Newport Catholic
3. Prestonsburg
4. Danville
5. Corbin
6. Green County
7. Owensboro Catholic
8. Monroe County
9. Middlesboro
10. Bardstown
Class 3A
1. Louisville Central
2. Belfry
3. Breathitt County
4. Mason County
5. Russell
6. Sheldon Clark
7. Estill County
8. Harlan County
9. North Oldham
10. Elizabethtown
Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Bell County
3. Lexington Catholic
4. North Bullitt
5. Lone Oak
6. Calloway County
7. Allen County
8. Franklin-Simpson
9. Hopkins Central
10. Knox Central
Class 5A
1. Fort Thomas Highlands
2. John Hardin
3. Bowling Green
4. Owensboro
5. Mercer County
6. Johnson Central
7. Christian County
8. Woodford County
9. Lexington Bryan Station
10. Louisville Doss
Class 6A
1. Louisville St. Xavier
1. Louisville Trinity
3. Madison Central
4. Scott County
5. Boone County
6. Louisville Manual
7. Louisville Male
8. Daviess County
9. Henderson County
10. Louisville Ballard
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