The new Kentucky high-school football season gets rolling in earnest tonight. Let's re-acquaint ourselves.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association divides the state's teams into six classes--from the tiny As to the big 6As--and, within each class, there are eight districts--from the western 1s to the eastern 8s. A team advances to the playoffs, which are scheduled to begin Nov. 4, by finishing in the top four of its district. That means 192 teams (pretty much all of them) compete in the six playoff tournaments, which are planned to conclude Dec. 2 and 3 at Western Kentucky University's L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.
The 2010 champs were Mayfield (Class A), Newport Central Catholic (2A), Louisville Central (3A), Boyle County (4A), Fort Thomas Highlands (5A) and Louisville Trinity (6A), and those teams are all expected to be awfully good again this fall. The state's "Mr. Football" honoree was Boyle County's Lamar Dawson, a linebacker who I learned today hails from Junction City. He is now a freshman at the University of Southern California. The two players getting the most attention in the preseason this year are Highlands' Patrick Towles and Edgewood Dixie Heights' Zeke Pike, who have committed to Kentucky and Auburn, respectively.
Now, those are the competitive basics. Of course, we all know that Kentucky is not thought of as an especially strong state for high-school football. And some folks find that spreading the shallow pool of teams and talent across so wide of a system of divisions and tournaments results in a snoozer of a season.
Well, to this I say pish-posh. When I went to high school, at Heath in the mid 1980s, the fun of football season was at least as much about getting out of Friday-afternoon classes for the pep rallies, hanging out with friends at home games and riding buses to and from the away dates as it was the football itself. And if the competition and individual talent level wasn't up to Georgia/Alabama/Texas/Ohio/Pennsylvania snuff, they were at least compelling enough to trick me into believing that this year was going to be the year that Heath finally upset Mayfield or that the Pirates' 1983 quarterback, Mike "The Rifleman" Colson, would eventually be starring in the NFL.
Things haven't changed a great deal in the 25 years since (Class of '86, represent!). I'm thrilled about the start of the new season. I'm ecstatic to think about where and what I might get to eat when I do actually go to games and to imagine the routes I would take to the games that I don't. And by the end of the season, I will have become tricked into believing that some team or some player whom I've been reading about all autumn is really fantastic and ready to rock the CW's world.
It's going to be great, and it gets started tonight. Here are some of the weekend's matchups that intoxicate me:
-- Mayfield at Bowling Green Greenwood (Fruit of the Loom Bowl)
-- Nicholasville West Jessamine vs. Somerset (Visitnich.com Bowl at East Jessamine)
-- Fort Thomas Highlands at Boyle County
-- Louisville Trinity at Brentwood Academy (Tenn.)
-- Caldwell County at Calloway County
-- Lexington Christian at Louisville Christian Academy
-- Owensboro at Daviess County
-- Newport Central Catholic at Edgewood Dixie Heights
-- Louisville Central at Louisville DuPont Manual
-- McLean County at Edmonson County
-- Henderson County at Evansville F.J. Reitz (Ind.)
-- Clarksville (Tenn.) at Fort Campbell
-- Christian County at Madisonville-North Hopkins
-- Franklin-Simpson at Monroe County
-- Owensboro Apollo at Owensboro Catholic
-- Lone Oak at Paducah Tilghman
-- Fulton County at Reidland
-- Buechel Fern Creek at Louisville Saint Xavier
-- Russellville at Trigg County
-- Pulaski County vs. Hopkinsville (Saturday, Don Franklin Bowl in Columbia)
-- Warren East vs. South Warren and Bowling Green vs. Allen County-Scottsville (Saturday, Rafferty's Bowl in Bowling Green)
-- Heath at Paintsville Johnson Central (Saturday)
LOHS@PTHS is a hot ticket.
ReplyDeleteGood jobs news from Mayfield! WYMC listeners (1430 on your AM dial or via Firefox on your Apple) who haven't yet left Mayfield for tonight's game in Bowling Green just learned on the Friday-afternoon swap shop that somebody is trying to hire somebody else to repair their porch.
ReplyDeleteOh, for Pete's sake, WYMC has switched to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.
ReplyDeleteOn to Oldies1480.com out of Cadiz ... there's a scroll across their site saying that Broadbent B&B Foods has won the country-ham competition at the state fair.
ReplyDeleteBooze at Lake Barkley.
ReplyDelete"Friday Night Football returns to WHVO 96.5FM/1480AM and online at www.oldies1480.com as the Fort Campbell Falcons open the season at home from Fryar Stadium against Clarksville High School. We'll have it tonight starting at 6 with the Toyota of Hopkinsville Friday Night Blitz. Brent Dougherty, Donny Caver and Kyle Allen are all back for another season of Falcon Football. Hear every game, home and away on WHVO, 96.5FM and online at oldies1480.com."
ReplyDelete"Trigg County High School opens up their season tonight hosting Russellville at Perdue Field. Coverage starts at 6P with the 'TOYOTA TAILGATE SHOW' brought to you by Toyota of Hopkinsville. The WKDZ sports crew will have a surprise voice on the broadcast. Remember you can listen to the game online at www.wkdzradio.com or through a free app for your IPHONE or DROID."
ReplyDeleteSurprise voice, eh? Al Baker, perhaps?
"Midnight Blue" ... who did this? It's not Rita Cooolidge. Is this Melissa Manchester?
ReplyDeleteI think we can make it
ReplyDeleteone more time
if we try
one more time for all the old times ...
Jackie DeShannon, "When You Walk in the Room" ... excellent. With this song firing up all the boys in the Trigg County Wildcats locker room this afternoon, this could be a long night for the Panthers on the bus from Russellville.
ReplyDeleteYes, Melissa Manchester.
ReplyDeleteUntil about midway through the second quarter, Lone Oak looked bigger and better, and it felt like the Purple Flash should've led by about 14-0 instead of 3-0. Then Tilghman scored on a pass to J.D. Harmon streaking down the home sideline with 6:50 to play before halftime and on defense discovered it could simply overpower Lone Oak's line and sack the quarterback on seemingly every down.
ReplyDelete"Who won?" some folks called to GoHeath, SmartWife and me on our three-block march back to the van along with a lot of the other fans in the third quarter of the game at Tilghman's McRight Field.
"Tilghman's winning. It's not over."
"What's the score?"
"39-3."
"Who are they playing?"
At this point, we speculated that the next questions were going to be "what sport?" and "what's a football?"
Anyway, it ended up Blue Tornado 46, Purple Flash 3.
Though it was a blowout, a good time was had by all--of the three of us at least. I got away from Madisonville at 5, picked up the rest of The Heath Post's reporting team in Marion at 6, and we got to Paducah by 7. We arrived to a tremendous crowd, filled parking lots and a lot of harried, sweating school officials madly trying to direct folks to go to this gate (not that gate and to have fun but not trash talk. Still, we got settled by kickoff--standing in a bit of a thin spot in the crowd on the track behind the end zone of Tilghman's field that is nearer to the old Mr. J's where Missy Leatherman used to work. When Harmon does his back flip after scoring to make it 6-3 in Channel 6's video, we're standing pretty much behind the camera operator.
ReplyDeleteIt turned out to be a terrific place to stand, as we were next to three Tilghman fans--former Blue Tornado football players, it seemed--who rose and fell with each play. Their history-laced, familiar commentary (they constantly referred to Tilghman's Coach Wyatt as "Randy," who they recalled was the team's quarterback in the late '80s) reminded me of my Fern Creek-fan friends, and their nervous pacing along the end-zone track reminded me of the older cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking Heath followers.
ReplyDeleteJust being part of the big crowd was a charge. The concrete stands on Tilghman's side were packed. The aluminum bleachers on Lone Oak's side were packed. The track encircling the field was packed. There were even a couple of guys watching the game while standing on cars parked along the stadium property. GoHeath slugged his fist against my shoulder about midway through the first quarter and gleefully announced, "There's just a lot going on."
He was right. At one point, a woman police officer dashed across the field behind our end zone while a male partner swept behind the crowd on the track. They converged to cuff a young guy on the Lone Oak side. None of us could see what he had done, but we all seemed to enjoy the spectacle of justice being meted out. Later, there was some kind of commotion below the Tilghman stands, and fans both lined the fence on high and formed a semicircle on the ground to gawk.
So, Tilghman dominated. And other than hitting at opossum between the George Rogers Clark and Lucy Jefferson Lewis memorial bridges over the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers on the way back east, I had a great trip. I kept seeing signs for communities that I've never visited--Bayou, Birdsville and Carrsville--in the thin strip of western Kentucky between U.S. 60 and the Ohio River between Paducah and Marion. I thought seriously about whipping back around after dropping off the GoHeaths in Marion and before heading home to Madisonville.
ReplyDeleteBut it was already about 10:30 by the time I left out my friends in Marion. And by the time I finished a fantasy-football conversation with the drive-through dude at McDonald's (he's looking for a big year from Jamaal Charles), it was past 11. And so, instead, I kept mostly to the straight and narrow.
Except when I got to my turn off by Sullivan, I got a little distracted. There's a bowling alley there and an old motel. Sullivan wasn't big enough to register with the U.S. 60 route-writer for Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State. I wonder what prompted the surge in development at some point after 1939.
And though it was now about 11:30, I couldn't help but just continue east on U.S. 60 up to Sturgis, "home of the West Kentucky Coal Corporation and center of the bituminous-coal industry of Union County" as of '39, per the WPA guide. As the little towns between Henderson and Paducah along U.S. 60 go, Sturgis is hopping. In fact, a downtown donut bakery nearly lured me in with its come-hither, neon "OPEN" sign.
But, hey, I've got a wife and baby at home. I'm 43 years old, and I've got an evangelism-committee meeting to lead Sunday afternoon. I can't be playing around with scandalous pastries in coal-mining towns after midnight. I turned tail and busted it back through Sullivan, Diamond, Wheatcroft, Clay, Providence, Nebo and Manitou. I got in to find the baby asleep but my wife still awake in our bed under the warm, blue glow of Guy Fieri.
Anonymous Wife had a KHSAA-football report of her home, it turned out. She had been at a dinner party at her folks' house. Attendees included one current and three former Hopkins County Schools teachers, and their cell phones had lit up after dinner with texts of the goings-on at Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Maroons' football game with Christian County had been declared final in the third quarter, and it wasn't because of the application of softball's skunk rule after the visiting Colonels opened a 20-0 lead. It had turned into a simply dreadful night at North, as documented on Twitter by Madisonville Messenger sportswriter Zach Greenwell:
ReplyDelete"MessengerOnline The Messenger
by heathpostdotcom
North trails Christian County, 20-0, at halftime. Follow the second half here: fb.me/PhItZOwb
15 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
North lineman Austin Crook down on the field with a leg injury, looks really bad. He's leaving on stretcher, could be a break.
14 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
This game is a nightmare. Two people down in the stands, doctors trying to revive both of them. Game is a last thought.
14 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom@
@mcompton428 Don't want to speculate, but one right in front of me might be a heart attack. Using shocks on him. Terrifying.
14 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
Ignoring Twitter for now. Completely frazzled and trying to gather thoughts for a story.
13 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
To clarify earlier — North player had bad break in leg, gruesome. Two men needed medical attention in stands, one carted off. Told he's OK.
12 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
North coach Will Weaver: "The Devil was definitely at work tonight. That's all I can say. I can't even think about football right now."
12 hours ago
zach_greenwell Zach Greenwell
by heathpostdotcom
The other guy was up drinking fluids minutes later. Game was called around 9 p.m., declared a 20-0 win for Christian County.
12 hours ago Favorite Undo Retweet Reply"
Other Friday-night scores of note:
ReplyDeleteMayfield 20 at Bowling Green Greenwood 6
Somerset 40 vs. Nicholasville West Jessamine 19
Caldwell County 80 at Calloway County 62
Louisville Christian Academy 27 vs. Lexington Christian 25
Clarksville (Tenn.) 34 at Fort Campbell 20
Louisville DuPont Manual 23 vs. Louisville Central 20
Edmonson County 56 vs. McLean County 0
Evansville F.J. Reitz (Ind.) 21 vs. Henderson County 20 (overtime)
Franklin-Simpson 33 at Monroe County 15
Fort Thomas Highlands 35 at Boyle County 14
Murray 12 at Lake County (Tenn.) 7
Newport Central Catholic 42 at Edgewood Dixie Heights 13
Owensboro 51 at Daviess County 19
Owensboro Catholic 34 vs. Apollo 20
Reidland 42 vs. Fulton County 6
Louisville Saint Xavier 70 vs. Louisville Fern Creek 0
Trigg County 34 vs. Russellville 12
Louisville Trinity 45 at Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) 7
Today, of course, the commonwealth extended turns its collective attention to Paintsville, where those traditional, cross-state rivals, Heath and Johnson Central, will be throwing down in "The Nest." Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central, and iHigh.com is slated to have a live broadcast.
ReplyDeleteThe Courier-Journal breaks out a Crystal Gayle mention in a look at Johnson Central runner J.J. Jude.
ReplyDeleteThe C-J's Jason Frakes, that is.
ReplyDeleteThe Golden Eagles, who are also black and gold, came to be in 1968 with the consolidation of Flat Gap, Meade Memorial, Oil Springs and Van Lear high schools.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the first four graduates of Meade Memorial High School in Williamsport were Packs. Todd Pack, a former College Heights Herald chum, hails from Paintsville.
ReplyDeleteVan Lear in photos and music.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you what. You really can't do better than sitting down and watching Coal Miner's Daughter.
ReplyDeleteIt appears we could listen to tonight's game here, too.
ReplyDeleteLove Sissy Spacek. Love her.
ReplyDeleteLive call-in show is on the air on Paintsville's 98.9 FM, WSIP.
ReplyDeleteJohnson Central was 10-3 last season.
According to the WSIP folks, Johnson Central has had the state's leading rusher in three different seasons. And two years ago it had the nation's leading team-rushing total.
ReplyDeletePer WSIP, J.J. Jude wants to play football for Marshall University. They say that he has some offers to play football for colleges and some offers to wrestle.
ReplyDeleteThe WSIP callers and hosts seem to be united in their belief that Johnson Central doesn't get enough respect as a football power.
ReplyDelete"Four years ago, Newport Catholic Central came down here calling us, 'the folks from Johnsonville.' Well, they went home knowing we were Johnson Central. They knew who we were."
"One of these days we're going to kick the door down."
ReplyDelete"This is a Heath team that has a new coach and a new look."
ReplyDeleteHeath's new head coach was Christian County's offensive coordinator last season.
The Pirates have switched to the I formation with the new coach.
ReplyDeleteThe new coach is John Adams. He had been on County's staff since 2001.
ReplyDeleteI think he sounds like a terrific hire in a time of great uncertainty.
Of Johnson Central, WSIP says, "I can't think of any season that's ever been as anticipated by people around here than this one."
ReplyDeleteDairy Queen of Paintsville keeps on advertising the featured Nutter Butter Blizzard on WSIP, and I don't know if I'm going to make it through tonight without going out to get one.
ReplyDeleteWell, at about 6:28 Central, I'm getting the baby girl out of a bath, and the teams are standing around on the field waiting for kickoff time. So I hustle the girl out to get a diaper on her and hustle back to grab my laptop. My computer clock reads 6:30, and Johnson Central is kicking for an extra point.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the time I clicked away from the iHigh.com browser to type that paragraph, Johnson Central has scored again. The Golden Eagles have had the ball for 21 seconds, and they lead, 14-0.
Heath fumble, and Johnson Central takes over at the Pirate 35 with 5:05 to play in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteHeath appears to have about 25 players and about half that many folks in the stands. Coach Adams has called a timeout after the turnover, and all of the Pirates are kneeling around him at the sideline.
ReplyDeleteThe WSIP guys can be heard through the commercial breaks on the iHigh broadcast. "Go ahead and write down another 35 yards for him," one of them says. (Jude has scored on both plays that he touched the ball, and Johnson Central is getting ready to start its possession at the Heath 35.)
THE PIRATES FORCE A FUMBLE!
ReplyDeleteBut Johnson Central recovers at the 20 ... third-and-3 coming.
Jude touchdown. Three carries on the night for Jude, 120 yards and three touchdowns.
ReplyDelete6:02 to go in the half, and Johnson Central leads, 27-0 ... Heath calls timeout with a fourth-and-goal from the Golden Eagle 21 upcoming ... sacked.
ReplyDeleteJude touchdown. He has 247 yards rushing, and there remains more than three minutes in the first half.
ReplyDeleteFinal: 48-7.
ReplyDeleteHey, Paris won: 36-29, at Jackson County.