9th Region Championship Preview: Covington Catholic vs Dixie

[The Double Deuce]

When:  Saturday, October 16, at 4:00 PM

Where:  Boone County High School

Records:  CovCath (10-8-5) & Dixie (15-3-2)

Head-to-Head:  Dixie 1-0 on September 30th, at Dixie Heights

Cool Stat:  from a Kings' mom, Suli Kayed, coach of the #1 in KY Notre Dame Pandas on the girls side, also coaches 7 participants of this game on his 2005 KHA Black team (that used to be the NKSA Pro team, with some additions from KHA Gray during the merger).  

As I mentioned in another thread, while Dixie won the head-to-head game at Dixie, I still think the tops of each roster and the depth on each roster favor CovCath.  I also think, while Braden Blackburn is very solid and clearly an emotional team leader for the Red Colonels, that Carter Eilers is currently the better keeper, so the Blue Colonels get a slight nod in the pipes as well.  I have said all year that Dixie, to this outsider, seems like a VERY close team with great team chemistry, a coach they rally around and love playing for, and those things can't be over-looked in a game of this magnitude.  

As much as the pitch at St. Henry has been ripped to shreds, deservedly so, I think Dixie would prefer to have been playing this game back in Erlanger back on the Cru's home surface.  I'm of the opinion that CovCath benefits from the faster surface and bigger surface at Boone, but again, on turf at Dixie the Red Colonels out-played CovCath and got the result, so that can't be over-looked.

Any other thoughts, predictions, or comments around this game that NO ONE would have expected with Ryle (especially), plus Highlands and Cooper, in the mix at the beginning of the 9th Region Tourney?

Have fun boys, it is going to be dank and chilly, avoid injury and enjoy a large and passionate crowd to play in front of.