KHSAA Update

Here are the results of last week's KHSAA football semi-finals (home teams listed first):

Class 6A:

S. Warren 36 - 20 Ryle

Lou. St. Xavier 7 - 50 Lou. Trinity

Class 5A:

Pulaski Co. 17 - 0 Lou. Atherton

Owensboro 49 - 6 Woodford Co.

Class 4A:

Boyle Co. 34 - 33 Corbin

Franklin Co. 21 - 14 Pad. Tilghman

There was a terrible call by the officials in the Boyle County game -- a late fumble that appeared to give the ball to Corbin was awarded to Boyle County instead.

Class 3A:

Christian Academy-Louisville 56 - 20 Bell Co.

Erlanger Lloyd 20 - 27 Murray

Class 2A:

Owensboro Catholic 41 - 40 Beechwood

Lex. Christian 34 - 29 Belfry

Beechwood tried a two-point conversion to win late, but didn't make it.

Class 1A:

Raceland 17 - 10 Pikeville

Kentucky Country Day 31 - 13 Campbellsville

Here are the finals, with MaxPreps rankings in parentheses (all times CST) (all games at Kroger Field in Lexington) (top 20 teams in bold):

Friday, December 5:

11 A.M.:  (27) Raceland (12-1) v. (30) Kentucky Country Day (12-1) (1A Championship)

3 P.M.:  (16) Owensboro Catholic (13-1) v. (20) Lex. Christian (11-3) (2A Championship)

7 P.M.:  (2) Boyle Co. (13-1) v. (12) Franklin Co. (14-0) (4A Championship)

Saturday, December 6:

11 A.M.:  (3) Christian Academy-Louisville (14-0) v. (23) Murray (14-0) (3A Championship)

3 P.M.:  (9) Pulaski Co. (12-2) v. (6) Owensboro (12-2) (5A Championship)

7 P.M.:  (5) S. Warren (13-0) v. (1) Lou. Trinity (12-2) (6A Championship)

U of L Gets It Done

Yesterday, the University of Louisville crushed the University of Kentucky in a football game by the score of 41 to 0.  A few hours later, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio called for the replacement of UK football coach Mark Stoops.  Jones also called for UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart to resign at the end of the school year.  As I've said before, to the folks in Lexington, losing to U of L is just on a different level than losing to anyone else.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 45-24 to finish with a record of 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference.  2025 is the first season in which Vanderbilt won ten football games, and it's also the first season in which Vandy won six SEC games.  Vandy won't make the playoff, but Coach Clark Lea and quarterback Diego Pavia should win every possible award.

Ken Pom Top 20

As it stands after wins by Vandy and UConn this afternoon:

1.  Michigan:  7-0

2.  Purdue:  7-0

3.  Duke:  8-0

4.  Iowa St:  7-0

5.  Gonzaga:  7-1

6.  Connecticut:  6-1

7.  Houston:  7-1

8.  Louisville:  7-0

9.  Brigham Young:  5-1

10.  Arizona:  6-0

11.  Vanderbilt:  8-0

12.  Kentucky:  5-2

13.  Alabama:  5-2

14.  Tennessee:  7-1

15.  Michigan St:  7-0

16.  Florida:  4-2

17.  Illinois:  6-2

18.  St. John's:  4-3

19.  Kansas:  6-2

20.  Wisconsin:  5-1

Others of Interest:

21.  Indiana:  6-0

24.  Auburn:  6-2

28.  N. Carolina St:  5-2

31.  N. Carolina:  6-1

33.  U.C.L.A.:  5-2

35.  Arkansas:  5-2

61.  George Washington:  6-2

64.  George Mason:  7-0

67.  Memphis:  2-4

71.  Cincinnati:  5-2

83.  Georgetown:  5-1

118.  Murray St:  5-3

136.  W. Kentucky:  4-2

138.  William & Mary:  6-2

161.  Washington St:  3-5

194.  Idaho:  4-2

206.  No. Kentucky:  5-2

266.  E. Kentucky:  1-5

295.  Mount St. Mary's:  1-6

302.  Morehead St:  3-4

325.  Tennessee Tech:  3-4

W. Kentucky 78 - 83 Vanderbilt (Final) (Nassau, Bahamas)

There is a type of college basketball game that is relatively common in the South, although I don't see it in much of the rest of the country.  The game lasts at least 2 1/2 hours, features at least 50 free throws, and a lot of time waiting for the referees to complete monitor reviews.

Today, down in the Bahamas, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky played exactly this type of game.  Both teams were undefeated.  Western's wins were over Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, and Bethel.  Vandy had beaten Lipscomb, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Texas Southern.  So this was a good test for both squads.

In the end, Vandy won 83-78, but it took a long time to get there.  There were 70 free throws in the game (37 for Vandy and 33 for Western).  Each team had 17 turnovers.  Western had 42 rebounds to 37 for Vandy.  And there were a bunch of monitor reviews.  Western was led by Teagan Moore, a 6' 5" redshirt sophomore who played at Owen Country H.S.  He finished with 24 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, and led a furious charge that saw the Hilltoppers score 35 points in the last 10 minutes of the game.  But Vandy responded with 28 points from Duke Miles, a 6' 2" graduate student who attended Robert E. Lee H.S. in Montgomery, Ala.  The Commodores also led by double-digits for much of the second half, and thus had enough of a margin to hold off the Hilltopper rally.

Western was ranked at Number 202 on Ken Pom when the season began, but they are now up to 137.  Vandy fell to Number 18.  Both teams have two more games in the Bahamas over the next two days.  Based on what I saw today, both of these ancient and passionate fanbases have reason for optimism -- but they will need the patience to deal with all those free throws.

NFL Update

Now that we're past the World Series, we've got college basketball underway, and we are about to wrap up the regular season for college football, it's time to catch up with the National Football League.  For most of the last two months, NFL teams have been enjoying bye weeks and going to Europe.  After 12 weeks of play, with six weeks to go, the ESPN Top Ten looks like this:

1.  Los Angeles:  9-2

2.  New England:  10-2

3.  Denver:  9-2

4.  Philadelphia:  8-3

5.  Seattle:  8-3

6.  Indianapolis:  8-3

7.  Green Bay:  7-3-1

8.  Detroit:  7-4

9.  San Francisco:  8-4

10.  Buffalo:  7-4

They're back!  The Patriots, Broncos, and Colts -- franchises that dominated the AFC through the first two decades of the century -- have displaced the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills at the top of the conference.  Meanwhile, the NFC looks like a battle between the Eagles and the NFC West.

The Game of the Week is on Thanksgiving Day at noon Central, as the Number-8 Lions host the Number-7 Packers.  No traditionalist could ask more.  You may want to re-read Run to Daylight to get yourself in the right frame of mind.  That's the only Top Ten game this weekend, but of course there will be lots of other sports going on.