This Week's Games (continued)

Expanding upon GoHeath's start, ...

Class A

Louisville Kentucky Country Day (9-2) at Mayfield (11-0). After getting their first-ever playoff victory with last Friday's visit from Fulton County, the Bearcats make the return trip to western Kentucky. If they use Ky. 70, maybe I'll hear the horns and band when they pass through Madisonville.

Russellville (6-5) at Louisville Holy Cross (10-1). The visiting Panthers lost their last two regular-season games and barely survived a visit from Bardstown Bethlehem last Friday.

Bellevue (7-4) at Frankfort (6-5).

Ludlow (3-8) at Fort Mitchell Beechwood (10-1). I was hopeful that the NKySportsBlog.com dudes would spend part of its preview of this game talking about Ludlow's 1975 Class A state champs. No suck luck, but this was still good--and they've got similar discussions of all of the games from up around there.

Harlan (6-4) at Williamsburg (8-3). Harlan is in the running for best uniforms in the state.

Campbellsville (7-4) at Hazard (8-2).

Nicholas County (7-4) at Westwood Fairview (11-0). The best photographs from what I saw of the first weekend of playoff action were these Floyd County Times shots from Nicholas County's win at Allen Central in Eastern. I love how the losing Rebels' Columbian blue, gray and dark red pop out against the dramatically lighted field slop and barren trees.

Raceland (6-5) at Pikeville (9-2).

Class 2A

Hancock County (7-4) at Murray (10-1).

Butler County (8-3) at Owensboro Catholic (11-0). The regular-season game went 50-0 in favor of Owensboro Catholic, the No. 1 team in Class 2A per the last Associated Press poll.

Bardstown (10-1) at Glasgow (11-0).

Louisville DeSales (6-5) at Louisville Christian Academy (7-4).

Covington Holy Cross (8-3) at Owen County (11-0). Fun season in Owenton.

Erlanger Lloyd Memorial (5-6) at Newport Central Catholic (10-1).

Danville (8-3) at Somerset (7-4). In the first round of the playoffs, the Admirals scored 19 unanswered in the fourth quarter to come from behind to win at Prestonsburg. The Briar Jumpers, meanwhile, started rolling with a 23-6 win over Danville back on Oct. 7. Since then, Somerset has crushed Lexington Christian, Middlesboro and Betsy Layne and lost by four at 9-2, Class 5A Perry County Central.

Lexington Christian (5-6) at Leslie County (9-2).

Class 3A

Monroe County (6-5) at Paducah Tilghman (9-2). Great, great detail from Scott Wilson in The Glasgow Daily Times: Monroe County coach John "Petett said for fans who want to travel with the team, the Falcons will be leaving school at noon on Friday with a plan to stop on the way to eat their team meal." OK! Now we're talking! Let's talk driving and eating! Now, it's a pretty long trip from Tompkinsville to Paducah, so I think all of the Falcons and their fans want to get most of the way to Tilghman before they stop to eat. My suggestion is Reidland, on Paducah's southeastern outskirts. The restaurants shouldn't be too football-crowded, given that the local Greyhounds have been eliminated from the playoffs and that none of the Tornado fans are going to decide to go out to eat in Reidland. OK, so Reidland, it is. Now, what to eat? GoHeath, Mrs. GoHeath and I traversed through Reidland en route to Tilghman early this season, and, other than the disappearance of a putt-putt golf course and the typical churn of store chains, it hadn't changed just a terrific amount in 30 years. I suggest that some of the Monroe County contingent might want to check out Chong's. I've actually never eaten at Chong's, as I didn't acquire a taste for Chinese food until I moved away from home. But my parents would occasionally go out there for dates, as the place apparently had long curtains, tablecloths, soft music, actual porcelain plates, dim lighting ... all of the intrigue that you're looking for on a date. And one couple, at least, says Chong's is worth the drive from Sikeston, Mo.! Now, having said that, I understand that the romantic mood is probably not what Coach Petett is wanting to find for his Falcons. David Feather swore by the burgers at Bob's Drive-in, which the Paducah tourism people say is the "oldest car-hop restaurant in Kentucky." My sister was a staunch advocate of the venerable Holman House Cafeteria, and here's some woman from Seattle who claims to have eaten there every day for two straight weeks! When he was at Heath, Coach Jack Haskins often wanted to feed his Pirates pancakes on the way to games; maybe the Holmans are all Reidland grads and would be happy to whip up a bunch of pancakes special for the Monroe County crowd if it would help the Falcons upset Tilghman.

Fort Campbell (7-4) at Edmonson County (11-0). Tilghman coach Randy Wyatt, as quoted by Joey Fosko in The Paducah Sun: "I think Fort Campbell has too much speed for them, but that’s a rowdy place to play and a rowdy team to play against. I don’t know that Fort Campbell has been in that kind of environment.”

Corbin (7-4) at Louisville Central (8-3).

Wayne County (9-2) at Bell County (10-1). Bell County beat Wayne County, 42-17, during the regular season, and the No. 1 Bobcats are on a big roll. But are they getting a little ahead of themselves up on Log Mountain?

Russell (7-4) at Garrard County (10-1).

Powell County (7-4) at Bourbon County (8-3).

Pike County Central (8-2) at Breathitt County (11-0).

Lawrence County (5-6) at Belfry (10-1).

Class 4A

Owensboro (5-6) at Lone Oak (9-2). 49-22, Purple Flash, in the regular season meeting in Lone Oak, but there are a lot of buts in here.

Madisonville-North Hopkins (9-2) at Franklin-Simpson (10-1).

Spencer County (5-6) at Shelbyville Martha Layne Collins (9-2).

Goshen North Oldham (9-2) at Louisville Western (6-5).

Mercer County (5-6) at Lexington Catholic (9-2).

Boyle County (8-3) at Rockcastle County (9-2).

Paintsville Johnson Central (9-2) at Fort Thomas Highlands (11-0). The Heath Post was there (sort of) for the start of J.J. Jude's record-breaking, heavily vetted campaign, so we're doing our best to be there for what could very well be the end, against the 2010 Class 5A champs and top-ranked team in 4A. But it's going to be tough. Paintsville's WSIP is all about "today's hot, new country," and I see that Oldies1480.com out of Cadiz--which will be carrying tonight's Fort Campbell-Edmonson County game--is playing Marvin Hamlisch's big 1974 hit, "The Entertainer."

Covington Catholic (9-2) at Ashland Paul Blazer (9-2).

Class 5A

Bowling Green Warren Central (10-1) at Christian County (10-1). Who is "king of the region"?

Bowling Green Greenwood (6-5) at Bowling Green (11-0).

Radcliff North Hardin (6-5) at Elizabethtown John Hardin (11-0). John beat North by 30 a month ago, and that game was up the road in Radcliff. Good stuff in The News-Enterprise from Chuck Jones on this young, hot-blooded rivalry.

Jeffersontown (9-2) at North Bullitt (10-1). I'm just guessing this will be kind of a nasty night in the suburbs. All of the J-town kids, who probably feel like they get treated like a bunch of hicks by the downtown Louisville kids, will be ready to dump on who they believe are the real hicks out in Shepherdsville.

Montgomery County (6-5) at Anderson County (9-2).

Hebron Conner (6-5) at Franklin Couunty (11-0).

Perry County Central (9-2) at Somerset Southwestern (8-3).

Lincoln County (5-6) at Harlan County (10-1). Harlan County apparently nicknamed its defense, "filthy animal." That's pretty good. First time meeting for these two teams.

Class 6A

Louisville Pleasure Ridge Park (9-2) at Henderson County (8-3).
Louisville Seneca (3-8) at Louisville Butler (9-2).
Louisville Male (4-7) at Louisville Saint Xavier (7-4).
Louisville DuPont Manual (9-2) at Louisville Trinity (10-0).
Lexington Bryan Station (7-4) at Louisville Eastern (9-2)
Louisville Ballard (5-6) at Scott County (11-0).
Lexington Lafayette (8-3) at Campbell County (4-7).