The Week That Was 8/22-8/26

The oppressive heat and high school football dominated the area this past week. The Raceland Rams broke through with their first win over Ashland since 2008. Nathan Davidson continued his great play and the interior lines dominated on both sides of the ball. The Tomcats, led by QB Braxton Ratliff, hung around most of the game and actually had a chance to tie the game twice in the final minutes. The Ram defense was too much and Ram Nation got the Fire Truck win they had been waiting for. If the Rams start consistently finishing drives, Coach Mike Salmons will be smiling frequently this season.

The Backyard Brawl was deja vu all over again. The Musketeers, led by a stubborn defense, capitalized on a special teams’ mistake by the Devils and took a 6-0 lead late in the third quarter. PV predicted that the quarterback who made the most plays in the game could provide his team with the win. Junior quarterback Austin Smith converted a crucial 4th down and six to keep the Devils’ winning drive alive. On the next play, Smith connected with senior Landon Brewer on a 23-yard strike to tie the game and placekicker Sam Ewing booted his first career extra point to give the Devils their first lead of the game with 5:39 to play. Senior Drey Boehm picked off a Greenup County pass in the late minute to secure the victory. It was the fourth straight year the Devils have scored late to break the Musketeers’ hearts. The Musketeers mettle will be tested this week as high flying Fleming County invades Lloyd. The Devils look for a rare two-game win streak over perennial Ohio power Ironton Friday night at Henry R. Evans Stadium. A couple scores that probably raised the eyebrows of the Ram Nation and the Red Devil Nation were Paintsville’s easy win over Frankfort and Fleming County’s shutout win over Mason County. These two teams will most likely be the teams that both teams must be defeat to win district crowns.

The Fed Ex Cup playoffs began this weekend on the PGA Tour. Patrick Reed won The Barclays at the tough Bethpage Black layout and secured his spot on the Ryder Cup team. Rickie Fowler stumbled down the stretch enabling Zach Johnson to secure the 8th spot on the team. Now captain Davis Love III must choose his final four players for the team. Love, the 2012 captain of the Medinah Meltdown squad, can go straight by the points and not go wrong. The 9-12 spots belong to Bubba Watson, Kentuckian J.B. Holmes, Fowler, and bronze medalist Matt Kuchar. He could go outside the box and maybe choose a veteran like Mr. 58 Jim Furyk. Some young options could be Bill Haas or Justin Thomas. I think he should and will go with the top 12. Despite Fowler’s collapse today, he did birdie the last four holes to halve his only Ryder Cup singles match in 2010. I know, like all American golf fans, it is frustrating to lose to the Euros in the Ryder Cup. DLIII got them in position to win in 2012 let’s hope the boys in Red, White, and Blue can finish the job at Hazeltine later this month.

College football actually kicked off in Australia Friday night as Cal whipped up on Hawaii 51-31. My favorite college sport to watch begins in earnest this weekend. The Kentucky Wildcats, once again seem poised to make a run at a bowl game. Mark Stoops has had a monumental job taking over from Joker Phillips. The talent had fallen so badly during the Joker Era that it has taken time to replenish the talent pool. The Cats have been close, the past two years, to breaking through only to fall short. The home opener is HUGE in their bid for a bowl. I will take a closer look at my two favorite college football teams in my next blog. Yes you can root for two teams…….

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