Ballard 20 Boone County 12

Ballard will play SK next.

Congrats Ballard.

Way to hang tough Rebels.

Congrats Ballard.

 

Way to hang tough Rebels.

Rebels have a good football player in Vasetine. I went to school with his father he was a good athlete. They will be a good team next year. I believe he started tonight for the Rebels.

Ballard has a lot of speed but lack precision.

Ballard has a lot of speed but lack precision.

Next week will be a good game to watch.

Ballard by 10 next week over SK...You heard it first right here

Ballard by 10 next week over SK...You heard it first right here

Nope!

Ballard by 10 next week over SK...You heard it first right here

Based on what?

Ballard by 10 next week over SK...You heard it first right here

Based on what?

My thoughts exactly. An eight point win over a pretty poor Boone County team doesn't make me think they're capable of going to Simon Kenton and winning.

Ballard won't beat SK. SK will put up a lot of points.

This was an even closer game than the score indicates and Ballard only won this game against Boone because the Rebels failed to convert a two-point conversion. We had a back and forth game in the first half that ended in a 0-0 tie. Boone stopped Ballard on 3 and out on their first possession. Boone was able to move the ball down the field. FF74 is correct, the Rebels started a freshman RB. He did pretty well. Our line played pretty well and the freshman TB followed the FB into the hole on a lot of runs. He looked like he was having some fun. And Boone was moving the chains. I don't think it was the the new RB as much as it was the new offensive set. Boone ran a power I last night instead of the Wing T. This is probably the set Boone should have run all season.

Boone had two opportunities to score in the first half. The first opportunity had Boone down inside the Ballard 10 yard line. The Rebel Qb dropped back to pass and had to roll to his right and throw back across to the center of the field where the lone receiver was crossing the other direction in the end zone. Because the QB had to run a little bit more than designed the throw was late and the Ballard DB stepped in front of Boone's WR and picked it off.

The other opportunity came as Boone again ran the ball in short bursts down the field. In scoring position they committed a couple of illegal procedure penalties and moved put them in 3rd and long and then 4th and long. They gave the ball up on downs instead of punching it in when they had the opportunity. Ballard also had a chance to score when they reached the Boone 15 yrd line just before the end of the half. A penalty on the first play (a completed pass for 8 yards) set them back and they gave the ball up on downs. Boone then ran at the clock with their FB churning up the clock on runs of 10, and 6 yards. Then QB Grau took a knee.

So the first half ended in a scoreless tie.

Boone struck first in the 2nd half. They came out fired up and ran the ball. Ballard also had some fire and on third down it appeared they held, but the Bruins committed a penalty and Boone got the first down. Ballard loaded the box and stopped two runs for short gains. On third down Boone pulled the trigger on a pass from Grau to RJ Summers in the middle of the field. Summers hauled in the pass over his shoulder and a Ballard defender tried to pull him down. Summers is a big strong kid and would not go down. A second defender caught him from behind and tried to knock the ball out. Summers did a complete 360 and continued forward into the end zone with the ball firmly in his grasp and on his feet. The score after the xtra point try was Boone 6 Ballard 0.

Ballard didn't waste much time in getting their own score. As has been noted, they are a throw first team. At the 50 yrd line, the Ballard QB threw to an open receiver on a crossing route in the middle. #18 caught the ball and cut to the outside where he went into the end zone untouched. After the attempt it was tied 6-6.

Boone got the ball and with Ballard loading the box could not generate much on 1st and 2nd down. 3rd and long produced a nice run by Dillon Ward but it was short of the marker and brought up a punt.

Ballard took over on their own 48 yrd line. On second and 2 the QB found #18 over the middle crossing behind the Rebel defense. It was a quick score and they converted the xtra point.

Ballard 13-6

The Boone kick returner pick the ball up off the turf and ran up field. He got through a seam in the middle and nearly broke it. A shoe string stab tripped him up and Chris Miller stumbled to the 50 yard line where the Boone offense took over. A QB scramble netted a yard and Vastine picked up a couple more. A 5 yard pass out to the FB brought Boone up short and the punt unit came on. They short-hiked it to an up man who ran toward the LOS when he suddenly stopped, jumped up and lobbed a pass to Chris Miller who caught it for 12 yards and a first down.

The third quarter ended with Ballard in the lead 13-6.

Three run plays and Boone has another 1st down at the Ballard 22 yrd line. The Rebels kept running the ball and got a first down at the 11 yrd line. On 3rd down at the 8 yrd line the O-line moved. On 4th and long at the 13 yrd line, Ballard gets a sack and takes over on downs at their own 20 yrd line.

Ballard is forced to punt and Boone takes over with good field position at Ballard's 43 yrd line. After a two or three yrd run there is a penalty by Boone that moves the ball back 5 yards. On 2nd and 12, Grau throws over the middle to RJ Summers who advances the ball to the 6 yrd line. A short run and its at the 4 where Vastine gets the carry and crosses the goal line for his first varsity TD. The score is Ballard 13, Boone 12. Boone lines up for a 2 pt conversion. Boone lines up with 6 guys split to the left (5 lineman). Three guys are lined up in the middle plus the Qb and one guy is split out wide right. One of the guys from the left starts in motion towards the qb. Ballard has 5 defenders in the middle of the field and one covering the guy split right. Another defender tracks with the man in motion. Looking at the film, Ballard has five defenders in the vicinity of where the guy in motion will get the ball. Boone has 3 blockers, the QB who hands the ball off and the ball carrier. Ballard has numbers here. It doesn't matter. The hand-off isn't clean, the ball tumbles to the turf, takes a gratuitous bounce back into the Boone player's hands but he is immediately tackled. This is a costly turn of events.

Ballard 13, Boone 12 and time is running down in the 4th quarter.

The onside kick rolls through Ballards front row and there is no middle row. The ball is bouncing free as the Boone kick team is running to the ball. The Ballard return man and a Boone player arrive at the ball at nearly the same time, however, the Ballard player dove and had the low position so he covered the ball. Another missed opportunity.

Ballard has the ball at their own 36 and it seems obvious they are going to run the ball to eat up time. Six yard gain on first down, then #25 rips off a 14 yarder into Boone territory and a 1st down. Time is running out and if Ballard keeps moving the ball they will eat up the clock. The Rebels have no timeouts remaining. The Boone coaching staff makes a decision. They decide to let Ballard score so Boone can get the ball back with time to mount a scoring drive of their own. # hands off to #25 who goes off tackle and cuts outside as the Boone defense just stands and watches him score. The extra point kick is good.

Ballard 20, Boone 12 with maybe 2 minutes remaining.

The ball takes a high bounce on the kick-off and Boone's returner can't get started for a return so Boone has the ball on their 25 yrd line. They have to go 75 yards with little time and no timeouts.

A short completion loses a yard. An incomplete pass down the left sideline. A five yard pass and a run on the end in which Wingo gets out of bounds produces a 1st down. Grau throws incomplete on first down. On second down he has to run and scrambles for a long gain across the 50 yard line and gets out of bounds. Boone is still alive and looking to score. Ballard comes up with a sack and now in his own territory and with time running low, Grau spikes the ball to stop the clock. On 3rd and 20 and from his own 49 yrd line, Grau lofts a pass to about the Ballard 30 where it is picked off but multiple flags fly through the air. It's against Ballard and Boone gets another chance. Repeat third down and Grau throws incomplete from the Ballard 40. 4th down and he has to throw again. They have to get to the 30 for a first down but realistically, Boone has to score because time is about out. Grau drops back to throw and first look he can't fond an open receiver so he scrambles to his right to buy more time but is met by 3 Ballard defenders and is tackled. The time runs out.

Ballard 20, Boone 12 is the final score.

Of course everyone from Boone is disappointed with the loss. This was a game that we clearly could have won. We match up very well with Ballard. This is the best the Rebels have looked all year. They looked organized and capable. They were executing better than in most of their games with maybe the exception of against Holmes, our lone victory. Boone's secondary played their best game of this season. They had two miscues that resulted in TDs for Ballard. The rest of the game they did their job. I liked the power I formation. We ran better out of that than we have anything else all season. It did create a few problems for the skill guys as they had to consult on many plays to be sure everyone was lined up right. This cost them at least one penalty and may account for several other calls on the offense during the game. A shout out to the seniors on the team who played well and with heart.

Ballard was glad to get out of this game with the win. As a parent, I was proud of the effort that our boys gave on the field. They didn't have anything to hang their heads about.

@oldgrappler i love your write ups!

Ballard over SK? what a joke

Coming from a Central Hardin fan