KHSAA Football Awards Banquet

We're late holding the banquet this year, as December was an unusually busy month.  But just to close the loop on Eric's great coverage, here are your 2013 State Champs (private schools in italics):

Class 1A:  Mayfield 42 - 0 Williamsburg
Class 2A:  Lou. DeSales 34 - 26 Newport Central Catholic
Class 3A:  Wayne Co. 0 - 3 Belfry
Class 4A:  Shelbyville Collins 37 - 34 Ft. Thomas Highlands
Class 5A:  Bowling Green 49 - 14 Pulaski Co.
Class 6A:  Meade Co. 14 - 21 Scott Co.

Usually, at the end of the high school football season, we complain about seeing the same teams every year.  And certainly Mayfield and Bowling Green are familiar faces.  But Highlands was finally beaten, and no team from Louisville made it to the 6A finals.  We also had unusual drama throughout the playoffs -- even BGHS almost lost to John Hardin.  So our complaints are somewhat muted this year -- although we still urge the KHSAA to return to having only four classes instead of six.

Meanwhile, we will give out our own awards that do not depend on the vagaries of class.  As you will see, we had some tough decisions to make:

Best Team in the Commonwealth:
Bowling Green.  This is a brutally difficult choice.  Scott County went 15-0 in 6A; Bowling Green went 14-0 in 5A.  Bowling Green almost lost to John Hardin in the state semi-finals, while Scott County beat Lexington Henry Clay only 37-34 in the state quarter-finals.  It's a real shame that the Purples and the Cardinals didn't play each other.  But this BGHS team has won 44 games in a row, including three straight wins over Louisville St. Xavier, which is something we may never see again from a public school outside of Jefferson County.  So I'm giving the edge to the Purples.

Coach Rodney Bushong Trophy (for the Best Team in the Jackson Purchase):
Mayfield.  One of the most heartbreaking experiences in my life as a fan was watching some very great Heath teams in the late 1970's and early 1980's miss the playoffs because they could not get past Mayfield, and this has undoubtedly affected my view of the Cardinals ever since.  But what an amazing program they have down there.

Al Baker Trophy (for the Best Team between Louisville and the Purchase):
Bowling Green.  Honorable Mention here should go to Caldwell County, which went 12-1 and had a spectacular 48-41 victory over Mayfield in one of the best games ever played in western Kentucky.  I still don't know how the Tigers lost to Murray.

Paul Hornung Trophy (for the Best Team in Jefferson Co.):
Louisville DeSales.  Louisville Male went further than any other Jefferson County school in 6A, losing to Scott County in the state semi-finals.  But Male only beat Christian Academy-Louisville, a 2A school, by 6-0 on November 1.  Three weeks later, DeSales destroyed Christian Academy-Louisville, beating them 34-0.  (It is true that Christian Academy-Louisville beat DeSales 27-24 in the regular season, but the Colts got the job done when it counted).

Jim Bunning Trophy (for the Best Team in Northern Kentucky):
Ft. Thomas Highlands

Coach Blanton Collier Trophy (for the Best Team in the Bluegrass):
Scott Co.

Tim Couch Trophy (for the Best Team in the Mountains):
Belfry

And finally, we have two winners of the Certificate for Team that Should Be Forced to Move Up to a Higher Level of Competition:  Mayfield and Bowling Green.

Now, on to basketball!