9th Region District Previews (33rd, 34th, 35th, and 36th)

[The Double Deuce]

33rd District:  the best district in NKY this year by a wide margin.  The first game tonight at Ryle will see the host Raiders play Boone County in what should be a fairly easy Raider victory.  The 2nd game tonight is one we've been referencing all year, 7:30 at Ryle, Cooper vs Conner, with the loser ending their season and the winner marching on to play Ryle in the District Championship and advancing to the 9th Region Tournament.  A shame that one of these two teams will be done tonight, as they are absolutely two of the top 4 teams in NKY, and this game would have been a worthy match-up for a 9th Region Semi-Final.  I think Cooper has more quality players, but I love the way Conner plays together, within their system, and how solid they are defensively.  Conner won the H2H match-up 1-0 in the regular season, but I think Cooper has played the tougher schedule and challenged themselves more.  With all of that said, I'm going to take the Jags to win tonight at Ryle 1-0 over the Cougars, but this one going the other way certainly wouldn't surprise me.  Ryle wins the Championship game on Thursday at 5:30.  Champion -- Ryle   Runner-up -- Cooper

34th District:  Dixie won the regular season and is the #1 seed, getting a bye to the finals and assuring themselves a trip to the Region Tournament.  St. Henry gets Villa in a semi-final, tonight at 8:00 PM at Dixie, and the Crusaders should be able to win comfortably and advance to the final (and the region tournament).  The Championship Game will be Thursday at 8:00 at Dixie, and I expect about a 3-1 win for the Colonels over the Cru.  Champion -- Dixie   Runner-Up -- St. Henry

35th District:  What is normally a very top-heavy district is a little less-so this year, as CovCath has under-acheived, and Holy Cross and Beechwood are both improved.  CovCath will play the host Holmes Bulldogs on Tuesday at 5:30 in what should be a very one-sided affair.  The 2nd game is the other district semi-final we've been talking about all year, Holy Cross and Beechwood, 7:30 on Tuesday at Holmes.  Make no mistake, I think HC is the better team, but when they met at Beechwood in the All A, the Tigers got the win 3-2, so fair play to Beechwood for earning it on the pitch.  I think this rematch will be very close, and played with an enormous amount of passion and intensity, with win or go home on the line, but I expect the Indians to win by about a 3-1 margin this time.  I just think Holy Cross is a little more explosive up top, and they are about equal defensively and within the pipes, so give me HC in a close one.  I think the Championship game, Thursday at 7:00 at Holmes, will be much closer than many believe, but I'll give the Colonels a narrow 2-1 victory and the District Championship.  Won't be pretty, but will be physical, a little chippy, probably have 3-5 yellows, and the Colonels hang on for the narrow win.  Champion -- CovCath   Runner-Up -- Holy Cross

36th District:  Highlands and NewCath, a two-team district, play for the title at 5:00 on Tuesday at NewCath.  Highlands wins easily, about 5-0, and moves on as a district winner into the 9th region tourney.  Champion:  Highlands   Runner-Up -- NewCath

Winners:  Ryle, Dixie, CovCath, Highlands

Runners-up:  Cooper, St. Henry, Holy Cross, NewCath

Good luck to all of the teams, may you all stay healthy throughout districts and beyond!!

[The Double Deuce]

With 7 of the 8 9th Region Tournament participants being set (giving CovCath the win over Holmes tonight), the last slot to be filled is the Beechwood vs Holy Cross game tonight in the 35th District semi-finals, at Holmes, at 7:30.  While not quite the talent level of Cooper vs Conner last night, every bit the passion, the intensity, and the urgency to win and advance will be in play this evening.  If you're not busy, head down to Holmes at 7:30 and watch two very solid teams play for their post-season lives.  

[The Double Deuce]

Clearly missed one of the 8 9th Region participants, as Beechwood punched their ticket last night by beating the Indians down at Holmes.  One 9th Region district champion is slotted, Highlands, as well as one runner-up for the bracket, NewCath.

The other 3 districts will settle their championships on Thursday night:  Cooper vs Ryle at Ryle, St. Henry vs Dixie at Dixie, and Beechwood vs CovCath at Holmes.  

I suppose Cooper "could" spring the upset on Ryle, but it would be highly unlikely, so I will give Beechwood the best chance to pull a shocker and beat a CovCath team that still seems disjointed to many, and have consistently struggled to score all year.  Dixie is a prohibitive favorite to win a District Title on their own pitch on Thursday night.  That said, I certainly think Ryle, CovCath, and Dixie winning is the most likely scenario we see on Thursday night across NKY.

[The Double Deuce]

It is Championship Thursday in Northern Kentucky, and it looks pretty clear that Mother Nature is NOT going to cooperate.  Pressure of a District Championship, wet and windy conditions, ya just never know what we might get tonight.  I'm sure the Beechwood boys will be motivated by the AMAZING play of their female counterparts last night vs NDA, don't be surprised if that game is all that the Blue Colonels can handle tonight.  I'm going to stop short of calling for that upset....but just saying, ya never know!!

33rd District:  5:30 at Ryle, Cooper Jaguars vs Ryle Raiders.  WILL BE the best game in the area tonight, if you don't have a dog in the fight and want to catch some soccer under an umbrella.  I can't wait!!!!

34th District:  8:00 at Dixie, St. Henry Crusaders vs Dixie Colonels.  Yes, I'm appreciative of the schedulers, this will be my 2nd game of the night, and while it will lack a lot of what the 33rd game will have, you'll still have two sides playing hard and having to deal with tough conditions.  I expect a comfortable Dixie win when all is said and done.

35th District:  7:00 at Holmes, Beechwood Tigers vs CovCath Colonels.  I said it above, I'm not all the way calling for the upset...but I'm putting CovCath on upset alert.  This one feels like it may be interesting.  Thanks in advance to the couple of dads on both sides that will keep me updated.

Have fun, stay healthy, bring your umbrellas, and enjoy 1 or 2 games that matter this evening in NKY.

[The Double Deuce]

Dixie and St. Henry in the 34th are in a delay at 19 minutes into the game and 0-0, and will resume tonight at Dixie at 7:00. 

As a result, the 9th Region boys' draw has been pushed back to Saturday, although I've heard different things in terms of timing on Saturday. 

[The Double Deuce]

9th Region Draw tomorrow afternoon, and the teams and their positions are locked in.  

Champs:  Ryle, Dixie, CovCath, and Highlands 

Runner-Ups:  Cooper, St Henry, Beechwood, and NewCath

Games start Tuesday night at the site of the district winners, then the semis on Thursday at St Henry's narrow grass field.  

[FrankNicodemus]

Out of all the places you could play semis at WHY O WHY St. Henry????!!!!!  That is the worst decision ever for the 9th Region committee to do that.  

Got to be a back story why

[The Double Deuce]

14 minutes ago, FrankNicodemus said:

Out of all the places you could play semis at WHY O WHY St. Henry????!!!!!  That is the worst decision ever for the 9th Region committee to do that.  

Got to be a back story why

Semis and finals.  I don't know what the place holds, forget the pitch for a moment, but I know last year's region final between CovCath and Ryle would be 5x more than you could wedge into St Henry.  

[FrankNicodemus]

Finals are at Boone with the girls on Saturday.  At least that’s why i have seen published.

St. Henry is just for the Semis.

[The Double Deuce]

13 hours ago, FrankNicodemus said:

Finals are at Boone with the girls on Saturday.  At least that’s why i have seen published.

St. Henry is just for the Semis.

That is different than what boys' coaches have told me, but I'd love that way more.  Hope your info is correct.  

Also, even the semis there is silly.  

[FrankNicodemus]