The Monroe County Falcons travel to Somerset for their first ever meeting with the Briar Jumpers.  Both teams come in undefeated in District 3. A win by Somerset would give the Jumpers the District Championship, and a number one seed in the playoffs. A win by the Falcons would set up a game with Green County next week that could give them the championship, or leave a 3 way tie for first.  Getting the number one seed is huge this year, as it means staying away from a likely trip to Lexington Christian Academy in round 2 of the playoffs. 

Monroe County enters the game with a 5-2 record, with their only losses coming to undefeated Glasgow (14-3), and 1A number 4 Campbellsville (48-42).  The Falcons are led by Senior Quarterback Branson Williams.  On the season Williams has thrown for 878 yards and 9 touchdowns against only 1 interception, while rushing for 355 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Last week in their shootout with Campbellsville, Williams exploded for 346 yards passing and 4 touchdowns, while adding 51 yards on the ground and another touchdown.  Fellow senior Braydon Baxter leads the Falcons in rushing with 535 yards on 79 attempts (6.8 per carry) with 7 touchdowns. Baxter also has 12 catches for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Monroe's leading receiver for the year is another senior Brison Nuckols, who has hauled in 20 catches for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns.  

Somerset, who is coming off of a bye week, has a 6-1 record on the season.  After losing their starting quarterback for the season, and dropping their opener to South Laurel, the Briar Jumpers have reeled off 6 wins in a row in blowout fashion.  During the 6 game with streak Somerset has put a running clock on all of their opponents except Southwestern, who they defeated 35-7.   The Jumpers offense is keyed by senior Kris Hughes. After moving from running back to quarterback when starter Shannon Lofton went down with an ACL injury in the opener, Hughes seems to have gotten more comfortable each week. He has thrown for 638 yards and 5 touchdowns with one interception while completing 63 percent of his passes. On the ground, however, is where he has done the most damage.  Hughes has rushed for 906 yards on 88 carries (10.3 yards per carry) and 19 touchdowns.  Junior Corban Cimala is the team's second leading rusher with 333 yards on 47 carries (7.1 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns. Somerset's receiving corps is led by a pair of freshmen. Alex Decker and Xavier Wooldridge have combined for 28 catches, 456 yards and 3 touchdowns.  

This should be an interesting matchup.  Somerset has had a stingy defense this season. Since allowing 33 points in the opener, the Jumpers have allowed only 7 total touchdowns, with only 2 of those coming against the starters.  The Briar Jumpers have a very young secondary, and teams have found some success through the air against them. And Monroe County is coming off a huge passing game against Campbellsville, so you would except the Falcons to see if they can attack Somerset's secondary.  The Jumpers will likely be without cornerback Xavier Wooldridge, who missed the last game after a knee injury against Metcalfe County. Wooldridge is expected back before the playoffs, but it might not be this week.  The only problem with trying to air it out against Somerset is trying to give your quarterback enough time to find his receivers.  The Jumpers come into this game with 26.5 sacks on the season, with senior Jacob Bartley leading the way with 9.  Monroe County meanwhile, just surrendered 415 yards in the ground to a very good Campbellsville team, and will have to find a way to slow down the Jumpers on the ground.  If this game turns into a shootout, it probably favors the Falcons, but can they put enough points on the board to get it to that point? Then there is the question of how last week effects both teams. Does the close loss to Campbellsville show that the Falcons have found something in they passing game? Or did it expose a hole in their rush defense?  Did the bye week allow Somerset time to heal up and come in more prepared? Or, since school was out for fall break, does the interruption of the routine have them out if synch? 

 

 

Give me the Falcons close.

Did somerset take the whole week off last week like Monroe Co did ? If so they have a shot! Kinda wondering what Monroe co was thinking  because this game will be for the district Championship.

6 minutes ago, Jayman33 said:

Did somerset take the whole week off last week like Monroe Co did ? If so they have a shot! Kinda wondering what Monroe co was thinking  because this game will be for the district Championship.

Biggest game of the year for them and they didn’t use the extra week to help them get ready? They must think they have this one in the bag I guess. 

4 minutes ago, AppalachianTactician said:

Biggest game of the year for them and they didn’t use the extra week to help them get ready? They must think they have this one in the bag I guess. 

I think Somerset always has a reduced practice schedule during fall break. I'm sure the coaches were using the extra week to get a game plan together.  

2 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

I think Somerset always has a reduced practice schedule during fall break. I'm sure the coaches were using the extra week to get a game plan together.  

This was directed towards Monroe, they apparently took the entire week off. 

If Somerset practiced at all I have to give the nod to them , I sure hope  Ole Coach Petett has something up his sleeve in this one.

2 hours ago, Jayman33 said:

If Somerset practiced at all I have to give the nod to them , I sure hope  Ole Coach Petett has something up his sleeve in this one.

Should be well rested then. 

Somerset 28-21.

Somerset 35-21

This could be a high scoring affair. I can’t wait  to hear the updates for this one.

I never understand why coaches gives kids the whole fall break off from practice. Those are the teams that get bounced early in the playoffs. 

2 hours ago, Bac2369 said:

This could be a high scoring affair. I can’t wait  to hear the updates for this one.

I'm not too sure about that.  Except for the wild Campbellsville game, Monroe hasn't given up more than 14 points in a game all season.  And since the opener Somerset has only given up 2 touchdowns before the opposition had a running clock on them. 

10 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

I'm not too sure about that.  Except for the wild Campbellsville game, Monroe hasn't given up more than 14 points in a game all season.  And since the opener Somerset has only given up 2 touchdowns before the opposition had a running clock on them. 

I agree that both these teams haven’t given up much points except in one occasion,but this will be probably be toughest game Somerset has played since the first game of the season. The good thing for the Falcons they played a really tough Campbellsville team recently. 

3 hours ago, Bac2369 said:

This could be a high scoring affair. I can’t wait  to hear the updates for this one.

Somerset 49 Monroe 48