DevilMayCare

The man's name commands attention and the utmost respect from anyone that followed high school football around these parts in the 90s and 00s. The six class generation of younger coaches, athletes, and fans may never fully appreciate Yeagle's work. I hope I'm wrong. I hope his legacy transcends generations. Purely from a football perspective, everything I've ever read about Mike Yeagle paints the portrait of a master motivator, tactician, and coach who understood the details and nuances required to excel at not only his job, but everyone else's too. He struck me as someone who could coach every position on the team with equal proficiency. A football coach in its purest form. His name carries the same weight in Kentucky high school football that Saban and Rockne do in the college ranks, or Belichik and Lombardi in the NFL. Residents of Fort Mitchell already know this, as does everyone who coached or played against his Beechwood teams. I pulled this from a dynasty piece I wrote a few years ago: 'Beechwood football was already an established small school power when Yeagle took the reins from Bernie Barre in 1991, but the Tigers engulfed the 1A landscape like a monsoon under its new boss, claiming a state title in each of Yeagle's first four seasons. Despite being 1A for all those years, the Tigers routinely played up in class and won way more than they lost, even scoring several wins over 3A power Covington Catholic. One of the high points during the Yeagle dynasty was a stretch of 38 wins in a row from 1996-1998. Beechwood was Kentucky's team of the decade for the 1990s, winning seven championships in nine years from 1991-1999.' Mike Yeagle is a name I've always held with extreme reverence. His likeness belongs on Kentucky's Mount Rushmore of coaches, in my opinion.

If any other 3A school scheduled like that, it would be noteworthy. This is business as usual for the Jackets. The late, great Ty Scroggins laid the blueprint for Central's dominance from in the late 00s and early 10s. I admire the fearless attitude toward scheduling they've maintained. If they could lure Trinity into a home and home, I'm sure the Rocks would be on the schedule.

2024 Schedule Aug 23 vs. Manual Aug 30 at Saint Xavier Sep 6 at Butler Sep 13 at LaSalle (OH) Sep 20 vs. Bullitt East Sep 27 vs. Central Hardin Oct 4 vs. Elizabethtown* Oct 11 - BYE Oct 18 vs. Christian Academy of Louisville* Oct 25 at LaRue County* Nov 1 vs. WEB DuBois *District With the return of the bulk of their starters - namely Mr. Football hopeful Cortez Stone - the Jackets will take aim at a seventh state championship. Central is always at or near the top of the contender conversation, but they'll begin this season in pursuit of back-to-back 3A champions and district mate CAL.

2024 Schedule Aug 23 vs. Butler County Aug 30 at Rossview (TN) Sep 6 vs. Russellville Sep 13 at Greenwood Sep 20 at Allen County-Scottsville* Sep 27 at Calloway County* Oct 4 vs. Paducah Tilghman* Oct 11 - BYE Oct 18 vs. Hopkinsville* Oct 25 at Warren East* Nov 1 vs. South Warren *District With what they lost from last season, the question isn't "can the Cougars challenge Tilghman for the district?", but rather "can they fend off WE and ACS to repeat last year's second place finish?". The offense should revolve around the arm of quarterback Ridge Holman, who threw for 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns as a sophomore.

2024 Schedule Aug 9 vs. Madison Southern** Aug 16 vs. Nelson County** Aug 24 vs. Woodford County Aug 30 at Bardstown Sep 6 at Elizabethtown Sep 13 vs. LaRue County Sep 20 at Boyle County* Sep 27 vs. Wayne County* Oct 4 at Russell County* Oct 11 - BYE Oct 18 at North Laurel Oct 25 vs. Lincoln County* Nov 1 - BYE *District ** Scrimmage With Peyton Smith's (RB) transfer to Frederick Douglass and graduation losses like Hayes Johnson (OL/UK commit), Kaden Smith (LB/WR/EKU commit), and leading tackler Taylor Hansford (LB), what can we expect from the Cardinals this season?

Sounds like a classic. The fine details of baseball seem magnified 10× compared to other sports. The series of events following the pop-up in the bottom of the 10th - Washington base runners blanking on the infield fly rule and LaRue's quick thinking and execution to secure the outs at home and third - are a perfect example.

East has been raking all year, but the story here is the zero in the run column by Boyd County. Andrew Tomolonis was dealing from the mound, as he's done all season for the Raiders. @16thBBall Fan, your guys had Boyd's number this year. This team might surprise some people in Lexington.

The Knights (🛡, 26-11, PBR #15) get a complete game shutout from ace Brody Rogers to ground the Flyers (🦅, 18-20) and repeat as R11 champions.

The Hawks (🇳🇮, 19-17) survive a 15 inning marathon with the Commanders (🇹🇰, 14-15) to repeat as champs of R5. Any details on this one @5thregionbasketball? I can't imagine anyone had this as the 5th Region final. The co-favorites (Taylor County and Central Hardin) went down in flames in the semis.

Trace Stringer went the distance on the mound and scored three runs of his own against the Raiders (🇺🇦, 24-15) to help propel Russell County (⚓, 30-10) to the school's second region title in three years.

The Panthers (🐾, 25-9) sweep the season series 3-0 against Prestonsburg (🇦🇱, 16-21) to end the Blackcats' cinderella bid. Pikeville claimed the program's 11th region title in style, plating five runs in the B6 to trigger the mercy rule.

Muhlenberg (🐎, 28-8, PBR #18) opened O-Cath's season with a loss in their only regular season meeting, but the Aces (♠️, 29-7, PBR #11) close the Mustangs' year to claim their third region crown in four years.

The fourth time was the charm for Hoptown (🐯, 22-9). After losing the first three encounters with UH (25-12) this season, the Tigers get the last laugh in the R2 final. This is Hopkinsville's first region title since 2019.

The Mustangs (🐎, 31-9, PBR #3) exact revenge on the Blue Tornado (🌀, 25-14) after Tilghman downed the WKY juggernaut eight days ago for the district title. McCracken has won every R1 baseball championship since the school's inaugural season in 2014.

Players To Watch Blake Hall (East Carter) - State leader in RBIs (51) and slugging percentage (1.130%). Led the region in batting average (.493) and home runs (10). JK McKnight (Boyd County) - Led the Lions in batting average (.467) and the region in hits (49). Peyton Jackson, Ryan Brown, and Grant Slater (Boyd County) - All three pitchers sport sub 1.00 ERAs, allowing a combined 11 earned runs in 121 innings pitched. Hayden Mains (Rowan County) - Vikings leader in batting average (.449) and RBIs (44). Brayden Webb (Raceland) - Rams leader in home runs (8) and RBIs (39). Pitched a team high 54.1 innings with a 1.93 ERA.