article Lexington Catholic notebook (9-9-14)

[Bluegrasscard]

One (bad) Streak Continues, Another (good) Streak Ends

 

The Lexington Catholic Knights are three weeks into Mark Perry era. As would be expected with a new head coach and new offensive coordinator there are changes and challenges. After a first week win at the Rafferty Bowl in Bowling Green the Knights lost to strong Bowling Green team that some say is now the standard in Kentucky Football. The Knights may have too focused on 'the streak'. The Knights new AD did tweet out that the streaks end here. Inciting your opponent right before a game is not a great idea. The Purples extended their streak. The Knights were hurt by 3 turnovers, over 100 yards in penalties and a 2-5 performance in the red zone.

 

This past week the Knights played the fourth game against almost-next-door-neighbor Lafayette. The Knights had won the last three outings since the school resumed playing regularly. But the Generals terminated this streak with a 34-24 victory. The Knights were down 20-11 in the middle of the 3rd quarter but rushing touchdowns by junior running back Jaylen Jones and senior quarterback Reese Ryan put the Knights on top 24-20 early in the 4th quarter. The Knights had the ball and with a score or a couple of first downs may have locked up the victory with less than 3 minutes left. But the drive stalled at mid-field and the Generals were able take advantage of a 55 yard run by Walker Wood and get the go ahead score. The Generals applied the knockout with pick-6 in the Knights final drive. Ill-timed penalties and turnovers were again a factor.

 

 

 

The Challenges

 

There is no mystery where there is room for improvement for the Knights. Penalties need to be reduced. Same with turnovers. And red-zone efficiency needs to improve. Is it the new system? New receiver corp? Or something else? The Knights have all the tools in the kit but some of the tools are still being built under the new staff and some need some sharpening. With the exception of the areas above the Knights were statistically even or better then both the Purples and Generals in most categories. The things that need immediate fixing are in the Knights control.

 

 

 

Player Notables

 

Junior running back Jaylen Jones is hitting on all cylinders. Jones combines speed and power and a knack of squeezing out yards of every run. Jones has 459 yards on 54 carries for an amazing 8.5 yards per carry in his first three games. This includes 181 yards against an excellent Bowling Green defense and 175 yards against 6A Lafayette.

 

Even with a completely new receiving corp Reese Ryan is completing 63% of his passes.

 

Junior JJ Ogbugo and senior Jordon Hatton are Ryan's favorite new receivers with 13 catches each through three games.

 

Before the season started Coach Perry said he would a big year out of senior Chase Boling who took over the MLB spot from three-time all-city linebacker Josh Mesmer. Bolin is having that big year so far. Bolin leads the team with 27 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries and one touchdown. Bolin is now tied for 9th in career fumble recoveries at Lexington Catholic with 6.

 

Other defensive leaders include junior Andy Hickey with 15 total tackles and an interception and Eric Foster and Joey Griggs who each have 12 tackles.

 

 

 

Upcoming Opponents

 

Bryan Station, Madison Central, Mercer County (district game)

[Knights]

Jones is an absolute beast this season. If he continues on this pace all season he'll be on the short list of the best backs in the state (which I think he is on already, just needs a larger body of work).

[LEX]

We have got to clean up the penalties and turnovers. The depth is not there to overcome all of that adversity. This is team can contend but they will struggle and continue to lose if they continue to turn it over and get penalized. I had no idea that the running game was averaging that much

[kypride]

You have defensive problems.

[gamebreaker]

I like the oline they are a nice physical group they get off the ball well and get after people

[Beach Bumm]

Lexington Catholic has never had a top tier defense as a group. They have won in recent years by scoring a ton of points. So to say defense is an issue... thats every year. With that said, IMO they will have a 7-3 or 6-4 season and perhaps still make it in the state semi game vs Cov Cath or FT Highlands.