The Old Rivalry! 

It's just not High School Football without it!

Manual (#2 in BGP last 6A poll) has had a great season thus far with the only blemish being a 21-10 setback at 6A #1 St Xavier.

Manual is led by a stout defense and a super running back ZahRon Washington, who is an electric runner.

But he didn't play vs Butler last week and I'm not certain of his status for Friday.  So that is a serious question.

 

For the Bulldogs (#4 in BGP last 6A poll) this has been somewhat of a rebuilding year from losing a bunch of talented senior off last year's State Championship runner up bid.  Add 2 key players lost in the offseason and key WR Max Gainey going down to injury early in the year and it's been trying for Male this year especially when you think they lost to Ballard for the first time in a long time and add Bullitt East to that list too.  BUT the Bulldogs did show their grit in upending Trinity at Trinity earlier in the season.  Male has a good defense, but I'm not sure it's as good as in recent years past.  Is Gainey back?  They need him.

 

This is the first time Manual is likely the favorite in some time.  But the game's at Male.  So this should be a Classic in the Old Rivalry.

Who wins and why?

Gainey played against Bullitt East so he is back. The question is if Swinney will play since he's missed last few games. I think it will be tough for Manual to win if Washburn doesn't play. This should competitive low scoring game. I know Manual wants this one bad and probably their best chance to win since their last win in 2013.

If Manual is to win, Washburn has to play on offense and the Manual front 4 have to stop the run and put pressure on the QB on defense.

I'm going with Male to bounce back and beat Manual.  I think this will be low scoring overall, but I'll take the Bulldogs to win by a score of 17-7.  I know Manual is also missing one of their best OL who is out for the year so that doesn't help at all.

This is the 140th edition of The Old Rivalry. Male leads the series 89-45-6. If the Bulldogs win this week, then they officially have twice the number of wins that the Crimsons have in the series.

GLICOD will be providing an audio broadcast of the game: HERE. Old Goat Radio will also be broadcasting, as usual: HERE. Old Goat Radio's broadcast is video, but they only show video of the scoreboard the entire time while they announce the game as a radio broadcast.

I'll go with Manual 17-14. 

My maternal grandmother went to Male and maternal grandfather went to Manual in 40’s.  Rest In Peace!

 

I believe it’s Manual’s year - they played Owensboro straight up in scrimmage and have had a great year!

 

Manual 28-14

Pic from 1937 game. Packed house at Manual stadium. Gotta like the live goat. Lol.

If Male runs as many empty sets as they did last week, against BE, I think they'll be in some serious trouble. Manual will be able to get pressure off the edges and make it a long night for the Male QB. If Swinney plays this week the Male offense will become much more balanced and difficult to defend for Manual. 

Male 27

Manual 21

Manual vs. Male football: What to know about before Old Rivalry kicks off for 140th time (msn.com)

 

The above link is to a good article in the Courier Journal.  It says Manual rested ZahRon Washburn last week vs Butler on purpose and that he should be better prepared for this game.

For Male, Max Gainey should be closer to getting 100% back after playing last week for the first time since injury and leading the team with 7 receptions.

It also said RB Sweeney is "questionable" to play after being out the last 4 games.  

I think Sweeney plays, but how effective is he?  That's a big question.

Both teams appear to be more one-dimentional than they would like to be.  Can Male get production from their rushing attack?  Can Manual play-action their way into some big plays?

Should be a great game!

This is my youngest daughters last Male v Manual game so I'm likely to be at this one Friday night!  Looking forward to it!

When I saw the heading "Male Getting Healthy" I immediately put my hand to my forehead. 

The new TP94 Power Ratings have it:

Manual 98.13 Male 96.61

With Washburn in play, I like Manual here. This is shaping up as the year to get your shots in on Male. Should be a battle, but I'm taking the old goats to pull this one out.

I feel like a lot of people are writing Male off.  That's a mistake.  They do have a good win over Trinity this year and let's not forget, the record of their four opponents they lost to this year is a combined 34-5.  I think this will be a good one, but I'm sticking with the Bulldogs to bounce back.