article Inside Wilderness Trace Football (10-20-13)

[thegeneral]

A weekly notebook focusing on Boyle County, Danville and Mercer County, with additional info on other nearby teams:

 

LOOKING BACK

Middlesboro 42, Danville 17

Danville (4-4, 1-1 District 2A-7) turned the ball over four times in the second half and five times in all and lost to Middlesboro (7-1, 2-0) in a battle for first place.

The Admirals were within 14-10 before the barrage of second-half turnovers, which included two interceptions and a fumble at the Middlesboro 1-yard line. The Yellow Jackets recovered one of their own fumbles in the end zone late in the third quarter to start a run of 21 straight points that put the game out of Danville’s reach.

Danville had less than half as many offensive yards as Middlesboro, 257 to 522. Jawan Grey rushed for 96 yards — 60 of them on a fourth-quarter touchdown run — and Zack Dampier threw for 69 yards on 2-of-10 passing.

 

Boyle County 50, Taylor County 7

Boyle (8-0, 3-0 4A-5) gave up a touchdown on the first drive of the game, then scored on its first five possessions to throttle Marion (3-5, 1-2) for the third straight year.

Quarterback Josiah Robbins accounted for more than three-fourths of the Rebels’ offensive yardage, completing 12 of 19 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns and rushing eight times for 131 yards and three TDs. Six different Boyle players caught passes in the first half, led by Joe Shewmaker with four catches for 83 yards.

Marion drove 80 yards for the opening touchdown, but the Knights were outgained 466 yards to 202.

 

Mercer County 44, Taylor County 7

Mercer (5-3, 2-1 4A-5) may not have scored 77 points as it did last year against Taylor (3-5, 0-4), but the Titans’ won easily behind their defense.

The seven points scored by Taylor was the lowest total allowed by Mercer in its last 12 games.

 

Lincoln County 21, Southwestern 20

Marvin Robinson scored a game-tying touchdown on a 2-yard run as time expired and Boone Baird kicked the extra point to win it for Lincoln (5-4, 2-2 5A-7), which rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Southwestern (1-8, 1-3) and effectively clinch a playoff berth.

Dalton Godbey threw for 177 yards on 15-of-28 passing for the Patriots.

 

Garrard County 8, Western Hills 7

Garrard (4-4, 3-1 3A-5) managed only a second-quarter touchdown, but that was enough to edge Western Hills (1-7, 0-4), which scored on its first series.

Jacob Smith caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from first-time starting quarterback Jacob Foley for the Golden Lions’ only score, and Smith intercepted a fourth-quarter pass for one of three turnovers forced by the Garrard defense.

 

Metcalfe County 29, Casey County 6

Casey (1-7) was shut out until the fourth quarter in a non-district game despite outgaining Metcalfe (4-4) 212 yards to 207.

Luke Patterson threw for a career-high 117 yards on 8-of-15 passing for the Rebels.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

(All games Friday)

Boyle County (8-0, 3-0 District 4A-5) at Mercer County (5-3, 2-1), 7:30 p.m.

Mercer takes its best shot in several years at Boyle in a game that will decided a district championship. The undefeated Rebels would take the title outright with a victory; a win by the Titans would likely create a three-way tie.

To pull the upset, Mercer’s defense will have to put the clamps on a Boyle offense that has been rounding into form recently, because the Rebels have allowed fewer points (93, or 11.6 per game) than any team in Class 4A. Boyle averages 35.8 points per game, while Mercer averages 31.0 points and allows 27.3 per game.

Boyle has won the last five annual meetings between these neighbors separated by only 11 miles, and none of those games has been closer than 24 points. The Rebels won 59-19 last year and have outscored the Titans 233-36 in those five wins.

Mercer’s last win was a 34-17 victory in 2007.

 

Danville (4-4, 1-1 2A-7) at Lexington Chrstian (1-7, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.

There is much at stake for Danville against LCA even after its loss to Middlesboro last week. The Admirals will finish second in their district if both they and Middlesboro win; they will be in a three-way for first if they win and Somerset knocks off Middlesboro.

LCA, which has lost six straight games, has struggled mightily to score points this season. The Eagles are averaging only 12.8 points per game and haven’t scored more than eight in any of their last four games (Nelson County, Frankfort, Middlesboro, Somerset).

The Admirals beat the Eagles 38-21 last year; LCA beat Danville 14-13 in 2011.

 

Garrard County (4-4, 3-1 3A-5) at Estill County (4-4, 3-1 3A-5), 7:30 p.m.

Two teams with identical records will fight it out for second place in their district and the opportunity to host a first-round playoff game.

Injury-riddled Garrard has won three of its last four games, as has Estill. Both teams lost to Bourbon County during that stretch.

The Golden Lions whipped the Engineers 59-6 last year.

 

Madison Southern (7-1, 3-1 5A-7) at Lincoln County (5-4, 2-2), 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln faces Madison Southern and star running back Damien Harris in its regular-season finale. A win would give the Patriots their first winning season since 2008.

Harris rushed for 214 yards and five touchdowns last year in the Eagles’ 47-19 win over the Patriots.

 

Casey County (1-7, 1-2 3A-4) at Corbin (6-2, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.

Casey faces Corbin and its high-octane offense, which was averaging 43.0 points per game before being shut out by Bell County last week.

The Rebels are averaging only 8.1 points in their seven losses.

 

RATING THE TRACE

1. Boyle County

2. Mercer County

3. Danville

4. Lincoln County

5. Garrard County

6. Casey County

Edited October 21, 2013 by Ram

[Mr.Network]

Nice Article, General.