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I was curious myself, so I Googled it. wy·vern /ˈwīvərn/ noun a winged two-legged dragon with a barbed tail.

Central had all its players. Their coach told me before the game that the teams had been nearly tied at half-time of both regular season games...and that Dawson's guards could shoot the lights out. It seemed the Panthers could do no wrong, and Hopkins County Central could just not get untracked. Interestingly, the Storm's head coach...Lee James...played high school ball at Dawson Springs. The last time Dawson Springs won a game in the district tournament was, indeed, twenty years ago when they beat Madisonville on a last second shot...and were winners in (what was) a three-team district. Now they will play the Maroons again for the title.

During that time period: District titles: Taylor County 18 Campbellsville 13 Adair County 8 Marion County 7 5th Region titles: Taylor County 6 Adair County 3 Marion County 3 Campbellsville 1

Just came across an interesting side note: I believe the 20th is the longest current running district without a change in make-up. In 1970-71 Marion County was formed...to join Campbellsville, Taylor County and Adair County. One would think that should make for some great rivalries.

Long live the blind draw indeed!

That surprises me. I had never heard that Livingston was a wealthy county.

It is awfully difficult to start a football program. Small schools face so many obstacles in that regard...not the least of which is money.

(Poster "15th Region" above has a whole more info than I was able to add here.)

I would disagree with the statement that the only game(s) that count are in the post-season. High school sports offers so many learning opportunities that span an entire season...including the pre-season and even the off-season. Life lessons are learned...from following authority (of coaches, teachers, referees, etc.,) to learning your particular sport, to teamwork, to "keeping your head on straight" whether your team is doing particularly well or "particularly not," to learning your physical skills and limitations, to dealing with the physical and mental maturation process in general. And that's just for the athlete who is participating. How about the community needed to take tickets, man the concession stands, play in the pep band, clean the gym, broadcast the games, work at the scorer's table, schedule the games (and make-up games,) etc. It's a season-long series of events that are at least as important as what happens in the tournament. Or at least, so says this old codger.

For the poster who said, "Look out for the ones who want to keep it like it is...." here I am. I love tradition and history. As some of you get older, you will too. I like to be able to track a district's and a region's history...scrolling back year-by-year, seeing how long coaches were in one place, who upset whom, what schools make up each consolidation, etc. And being from a small school (read that "tiny" school) I love the blind draw. Give the little guy at least a small chance of advancing to the district final and the region. In football it frustrates me a bit to try to follow a school's playoff history...when the districts, the number of teams which make the playoffs, and the numbers of classes change as often as they have.

This isn't the first time the 15th has tried to do something different. Here is what was tried not too long ago. 2010 (at Belfry) Phelps 55, Pike Co. Central 48 Pike Central (8 - 17) Coach: Johnny Martin--1 Belfry 67, Phelps 56 - Phelps (13 - 9) Coach: Clay Campbell--7/ Belfry (16 - 9) Coach: Randy Casey--6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 (no 60th District tournament) There were 15 teams in the region...all lumped into Districts 57-59. It was decided that the semi-final losers in Districts 57 and 59 would play for the final two spots in the region. Not sure how they chose those teams, the sequence of games, nor which would advance, but here's what happened: Feb. 27 at Sheldon Clark Sheldon Clark 67, Magoffin County 60 Feb. 27 at Sheldon Clark Phelps 77, Pike County Central 68 (Pike Central lost…but advanced to play the next night along with Sheldon Clark) Feb. 28 at Pike Central Pike Co. Central 90, Sheldon Clark 82 (then… Phelps & Pike Central were selected to go to the region) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 (at Phelps) Belfry 91, Piarist School 47 (1 - 24) Coach: Greg Friend--3 Phelps 61, Pike County Central 50 (13-16) Coach: Mark Thompson--1 Phelps 72, Belfry 69 (15-15) Coach: Randy Casey--4 (20 - 7) Coach: Clay Campbell--5/

Yes. The official is "part of the floor."

Just mentioned that the video is on the web, and before I could get it posted, Just Jim shows it. Thanks! The last 2:40 of the radio play-by-play (from the Western Kentucky station) is also on the web. That was before my days of broadcasting the state tournament, but surely would have liked to be there.

I feel awfully foolish posting this...but did I miss it?

I first met Ed when he was helping Larry Clisby broadcast Paducah Community College Indians basketball and I was at Three Rivers C.C. in Poplar Bluff, MO. Both of our teams made the national tournament that year (1973.) Later our paths crossed many times on the high school circuit when Paducah Tilghman would play Madisonville...and at the state tournaments. Always friendly. Always with a smile on his face. Always interested in how you were doing. It was good to know you, Ed. As a post-script, Larry Clisby has been broadcasting Purdue basketball for the last 34 years.

By Googling his name, Hopkinsville, and Alabama...found out he was a letterman in 1968 & 1969 for the Crimson Tide.

Coach, you may have remembered Herb Covington (Class of '63) and Pete Moore (Class of '64), incredible running backs who were all-staters their Senior year at Hopkinsville. Been scratching my head since your post...trying to remember more individual names. Came up with those two, but that's about it. Had to check my files to find exactly what years they played.

Hopkinsville was rated the #1 team in the state...almost unanimously in 1965. Second only to AAA champion Louisville Manual in '66. Courier-Journal all-staters in 1965 were running back Pete Moore center Kenny Lee offensive end Tony Ricks & Fleming Thornton was Coach of the Year. C-J all-state in 1966 running back John Fuqua center Lawrence Brame offensive end Ricky Deason

I don't have details on individuals, though I remember hearing stories about many of them. The following are Fleming Thornton-coached teams (an excellent coach and a wonderful gentleman) 1962 10-1 1963 7-3 1964 9-2 lost playoff game to Owensboro 1965 14-0 playoffs beat Henderson City 39-6, beat Harrison County 40-7, beat Middlesboro 24-6 for STATE TITLE 1966 13-0 playoffs beat Henderson County 27-6 beat Lexington Henry Clay 35-0 beat Ft. Thomas Highlands 27-6 for STATE TITLE 1971 9-2-1 lost opening playoff game to Madisonville 1972 9-3 lost opening playoff game to Union County Coach Thornton was 109-52-7 in 15 years at TigerTown (1962-1976.) Craig Clayton had an awfully good 19-year run going 149-86...which included an "official" 0-15 (instead of 13-2) record in 1997 when Artose Pinner was a Senior. Pinner was found to be too old, and Hoptown had to forfeit those wins. They had gotten to the 3-A championship game before losing to Covington Catholic. Hopkinsville was also runner-up in 1996...and made it to the semi-finals five of Clayton's last six years there: 1999-2004.

O.K., got a correction. The guy just told me he got it from "PeeWee's Big Adventure." Sorry 'bout that.

Have a sportswriter friend who took a picture of this road sign on his way to a game in far Western Kentucky last night.

"In 1932 and 1933, District and Region tournaments both had "A" and "B" brackets...divided by school size. Then the 16 over-all Region champions advanced to the state tournament." "From 1928-1931, there were just 8 Regions, but 16 teams at the state tournament. Each Region winner and Region runner-up (an "A" and a "B") advanced to state...where they were segregated by size through the semi-finals. Then an overall-all state champion was crowned Saturday night." "In 1927 there were just 6 regions...and 12 teams at the state tourney." The above comes from my records and differs a bit from the articles in the Herald-Leader. Having said that, I'm always pleased to see articles about the history of the state tournament. Experiencing the tourney from broadcast row from 1974-1991 and doing high school basketball research for the last 40 years have been very enjoyable experiences.

Thanks!

Updating my records and the KHSAA website doesn't have a coaching name for the Lions. Thanks!

Wayland: blue & white Carr Creek: blue & white Info from Jeff Bridgeman's "Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia"...has all that stuff. Fantastic book...available from Amazon.