Franklin County comes into this one still undefeated. After losing Christian Moore on the season you would have expected to see a drop in the offense, but that never happened as they ran up 52 on Spencer County after the previous 40 scored earlier in the season. The flyers are playing great football and continue to keep things rolling. 

Bardstown comes into this one off a 42-7 clock runner over Allen County Scottsville. ACS had played pretty good football this season, and the game was probably expected to be close but Bardstown put together one of their best games this season. They are now winners of six straight and have a lot of momentum coming into this one.

Can the Tigers pull off the upset? Or do they Flyers continue their undefeated season and find themselves in the semifinals again? 

I may be the only person who casts my vote for Bardstown here.  I may be labled a "homer" and I'm fine with that.  I was mildly surprised at the number of people whom favored Allen County-Scottsville in the 2nd round, as Bardstown had beaten ACS 43-0 last year and both teams' personnel were essentially the same.  My conclusion is that my various frustrations and rantings on thisw site over the course of this season about my favorite team (I'm really one of the only people on here who posts about Bardstown) has perhaps coerced others into believing that the Tigers were down this season from last year.  I take full responsibility for that.

The Tigers are NOT down from last year when you consider their product as a whole. Last year they lost to Cooper, Ashland, Taylor County, and Meade County and beat everybody else soundly until the 3rd round.  This year they were one better, losing to Cooper, Taylor and Meade (still think that game was an anomaly).  Last year they beat Logan County and ACS in the playoffs before losing to Franklin County at Franklin.  This year they beat Logan County and ACS in the playoffs and will travel to Franklin County again.  Last year they relied heavily upon one star player and had a different head coach and offensive coordinator.

But the TEAM is better.  Last year, we really could not pass the ball.  This year, once we made the full switch to Carson Riley at QB, teams were unable to put 8 in the box. That same move also put our best and fastest player, Amonti Marshall, running the ball where his skills are most useful.  But there are other runners, namely Kenyin Calhoun and Sevyn Hamilton, who keep a defense honest, and we now have a fullback, Kaden Stone, who is an effective runner, whereas last year we did not. We have two receivers who are threats, Riley Hatfield and Tykeem Taul-Williams, and Taul-Williams is 6'6" and the state high jump champion and he simply high-ends the ball and takes it from you.  Last year, the only receiver was Hatfield.  Finally, the offensive line, in my opinion the best unit on the team, has become quite aggressive and significantly improved, including pass blocking.

Similarly on defense, last year the Tigers simply could not defend the pass.  It is what killed us in the first half against Franklin County last season.  There are still lapses, but overall we are much more competetive against the pass, with the emergence of newcomers Jaden Lamkin and Javen Montgomery covering out of the backfield and Tylan Spalding at safety, we at least for the most part keep receivers in front of us and make the tackle.  Additionally, Marshall could not play defense last year due to playing QB, but this season with the midseason switch at QB he is back to playing his best spot at OLB, where he has small-college level ability.  Finally, we graduated the entire very talented DL from last season, which was a liability in the early games against Cooper and Ashland.  Those guys (Tristan Taylor, Tyler Harmon, and Chad Hughes) played the best I have ever seen them play the last two games, which restores the already talented linebacking corps with Stone and Caden Farrell to a very good run defense.

Last season, everyone predicted a running clock and runaway Franklin County victory, and for a half it looked like they might be right (they led 30-6 at halftime). But in the second half the Tigers totally dominated, and had the ball driving to score as time expired, losing 37-29.  Post-op, everyone said the Flyers simply "lost focus," but I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong.  On HUDL the Flyers look very strong again, and they should be favored.  Bardstown was 2-3 on the road this year away from the friendly confines of Garnis Martin Field, and they still commit too many downfield holding penalties and make other nagging mistakes.  But this is a group of 15 seniors who saw a lot of time in that 2022 state championship game run, and they've got a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

Bump.

Franklin County wins a competitive game. 

1 hour ago, TheDeuce said:

Franklin County wins a competitive game. 

I look for something like 31-17. 

Franklin Co. 35-21.

Bardstown 35

Franklin County 31

Bump.

NFHS Video:

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/franklin-county-high-school-frankfort-ky/gam33e36fd509

I thought Corbin was bad, Franklin County already has their game against Tilghman listed and this week the video says they are playing the Bardstown Lady Tigers.

4 hours ago, theguru said:

NFHS Video:

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/franklin-county-high-school-frankfort-ky/gam33e36fd509

Game should be on Frankfort Plant Board cable channel 10 on YouTube as well. 

1 minute ago, WOFOJP61 said:

Game should be on Frankfort Plant Board cable channel 10 on YouTube as well. 

Thank you.  When you see that appear on Youtube would you please copy and paste it into this thread?

22 hours ago, theguru said:

I thought Corbin was bad, Franklin County already has their game against Tilghman listed and this week the video says they are playing the Bardstown Lady Tigers.

I’m bringing that to the Tiger Feed tonight. That’s awesome.

21 hours ago, theguru said:

Thank you.  When you see that appear on Youtube would you please copy and paste it into this thread?

 

I like teams that play great defense this time of year, and the Flyers are one of the state's best on that side of the ball. 

This could get interesting if Bardstown can match its level from last week, in particular on the ground. They ran all over AC-S, setting up an important battle within the war against a Franklin County defense that's stout in the box. 

I'll take the Flyers in what should be their closest game - by far - since LCA in Week 2.