article Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (11-11-13)

Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (11-11-13)

-Ho-hum, just the usual first round running clock for Bowling Green (10-0) as they began their march to a third straight state title with a 49-7 victory over Apollo. The win was their 40th consecutive and clinched their 22nd double digit win season in the last 26 years. Bowling Green opened the throttle early to gain the necessary 36-0 lead before the end of the first quarter, then used most of the remainder of the game to play reserves and stay healthy moving forward. It was also senior night for Bowling Green, which honored 27 seniors. They’ll have at least one more home game, and may have up to three.

-Warren Central (6-5) received a little more fight from their first opponent, but likewise put the running clock on Hopkinsville in a 48-10 victory. The Dragon offense was rarely stopped, gaining 347 yards, but did have some trouble slowing Hopkinsville’s rushing attack at times. The Tigers actually held a brief 7-6 lead near the end of the first quarter and had a couple of red zone possessions where they came up empty due to turnovers. The game’s turning point came on a pair of turnovers on downs in their own territory late in the second quarter, both of which set up short fields for Dragon touchdown drives.

-Continuing the running clock theme, South Warren (10-1) received little challenge from Webster County in a 49-7 win that secured the first 10 win season in the short three year history of the Spartans. QB Jay Eblen ran for three scores and threw for two others, all in the first half, and South Warren gained the running clock by going up 42-0 with 9:11 left in the second quarter. On the negative side, the Spartans did give up 64 rushing yards, by far the most on the year they’ve allowed, though most came against the reserves. That raises their average to 9.64 YPG allowed on the ground. Pick it up guys, you’re slacking.

-Glasgow (10-1) picked up a milestone win for the program with their 43-0 shutout. It was their 600th in program history, becoming the 15th school in the state to accomplish this feat. They rank 42nd nationally as well with the honor. As for the game itself, the Scotties went up 36-0 with three minutes left in the first half to start the running clock, and cruised to the shutout victory. Marquez Trigg continued to pull away in his role as lead back for Glasgow with 21 carries for 167 yards, accounting for just under 50% of Glasgow’s total offensive output.

-What’s that? Another running clock? The first round of the playoffs are great. Franklin-Simpson (6-4) sent Hopkins County Central to their 26th consecutive loss in a 50-0 decision in Franklin. Hopkins County Central made the playoffs due to the contraction of their district from five teams to four with the loss of Lone Oak. The Wildcats totally dominated the Storm, beginning the scoring with a safety and holding them to only 20 yards of offense. It’s irrelevant and coincidental, but next week will be the third straight week Franklin-Simpson plays a team with Hopkins in its name (Hopkinsville, Hopkins County Central, Madisonville-North Hopkins). The first two were wins of 34 or more – they’ll hope for the same then.

-The theme was survive and advance for Warren East (7-4), which was playing without stud RB/LB Eli Brown during their ugly 21-0 victory over Calloway County. The game featured three fumbles and a missed field goal in the red zone for the Raiders as they allowed the Lakers to hang around. It was just 7-0 with under 3 minutes left in the third quarter, but a pair of TDs from returning QB Austin Pagel within a 4 minute span put the game away. Pagel broke his collarbone in the first game of the year and was initially though lost for the entirety of the season, but stepped up with a TD through the air and one on the ground to win the day for East. It isn’t known for certain whether Eli Brown will return this week or at all this year for the Raiders. Nothing official has been released regarding his MRI last week.

-Three years, three first round matchups with Madisonville-North Hopkins, three losses for Allen County-Scottsville (4-7), which saw its season end in a 52-28 loss to the Maroons. It was a disappointing end for the Patriots, dropping their last four games by an average of 21.25 PPG. AC/S could not slow the Maroon rushing attack which netted 272 yards on the ground, most of it from Ryan Bowman (10/117) who also had 73 yards receiving. The highlight for the Pats as always was senior Charlie Trapp, who rushed for two scores and hauled in a 45 yard TD reception in his final game in the red, white, and blue. The Patriots improved on last year’s record by a game, but will enter next season still looking for their first winning season since 2010.

-It’s baby steps for Barren County (4-7), but a move forward nonetheless for the Trojans as the Trojans closed their season with a 26-12 loss at Christian County. The Trojans won their most district games in 12 years and gained their most competitive playoff result since 21-14 at Scott County in 1994. After falling behind 12-0 after one, the Trojans pulled within 12-6 during the second, but the Colonels scored again to move up 19-6 at halftime and hit a 90 yard bomb to go up 26-6 during the third quarter. A mid-4th Quarter TD by Wininger gave the final margin.

-Graves County coach Lance Gregory said Greenwood (3-8) was not a typical 4 seed, and they sure didn’t play like one for most of the night Friday in a season-ending 56-42 loss. The Gators took to the air to remain competitive, with outgoing senior QB Josh Dyer throwing for 200 yards and 4 TDs to keep them in it. Greenwood kept it a game throughout the first half, trailing just 21-14 after a Dyer to Bibb TD with 29 seconds left in the half. But the first backbreaker came then, an 85 yard kickoff return by Marshall. That momentum carried over with Graves getting out to leads of 42-14 and 49-21 before Greenwood attempted an unlikely late comeback that saw them draw as close as 49-35 with the ball and less than 3 minutes left in the game. The 42 points for Greenwood is their most ever in postseason play, topping the 40 they posted against Muhlenberg County in 2009.

THIS WEEK

-The marquee game would seem to be #7 Glasgow hosting #3 DeSales. It represents what the Scotties hope will be the beginning of a brutal march that would likely require them to beat the top 3 teams to reach the state finals. The first two would at least be in Glasgow.

-It’s another year where Warren Central will take the long journey west to take on the district champion Graves County Eagles, the former stomping grounds of Dragon HC Mike Rogers. Last year Graves gave Warren Central all they could handle in a 21-14 win, and the Eagles will be looking to advance to the region finals for the first time ever while Central is looking to make it for the fourth straight year.

-South Warren got the better of Fort Campbell in the playoffs last year, and will host the Falcons for the first time ever this week. This is the third straight year the two teams have met in the playoffs, splitting the two meetings at Fort Campbell.

-Bowling Green will square off against the last team that has beaten them, hosting Christian County. The Colonels completed an unlikely comeback from 10-0 down late in the game to win 14-10 back in 2010. But Christian County has lost their last 6 at El Donaldson Stadium, and haven’t won there since 1977.

South-Central Kentucky Rankings (11-11-13)

1) Bowling Green vs. Christian County

2) Warren Central at Graves County

3) South Warren vs. Fort Campbell

4) Glasgow vs. #3 DeSales

5) Franklin-Simpson vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins

6) Warren East at #8 Owensboro

7) Allen County-Scottsville (4-7)

8) Barren County (4-7)

9) Greenwood (3-8)

Great job with the write-up, as usual. One small correction about Glasgow: if they beat DeSales, then they would host CAL/Bardstown winner the following week. They would only go on the road for the semi-finals.

Great job with the write-up, as usual. One small correction about Glasgow: if they beat DeSales, then they would host CAL/Bardstown winner the following week. They would only go on the road for the semi-finals.

Thanks for the correction. I have edited it in.