REH5

kallie Sheron was the "X" factor for Southwestern down the stretch, once she got healthy it gave Coach Butcher another weapon both scoring and rebounding. She has played great during their tournament run.

Emma King was the player named from the 12th Region in the final listing and her credentials are excellent. However is any player in the state playing better at this time than Ivy Turner at Danville? Maaliya Owens, Savannah Wheeler, Emma King, Lauren Schwartz, Nila Blackford,etc. have all had excellent campaigns and the decision will be extremely difficult this year.

I have read the comments with great interest over the last few days and I have had the pleasure of seeing both these ladies play several games during their careers. Both are excellent players and more important excellent role models. On the boys side, three players were chosen Michael Moreno (Scott County), Kyle Rode (LCA), and Isaiah Cozart (Madison Central) in the 11th Region. Too bad that did not happen here with both Hayley and Madison named to the consideration for the award.

CAL also has Jaya MCClure a talented freshman who I believe came over from Whitfield Academy and evidently McDonald is healthy this year which could make them a very solid team.

I intend to enjoy the exploits of D. Allen and Kyle Rode (LCA)this season. Both these young men had opportunities to transfer to prep schools where they could have supposedly got more attention. However they chose to graduate with their teammates and will forever be remembered by their schools and communities. They both signed with the schools they wanted to go with and I for one will enjoy the opportunities to see them play their senior years.

I was not at the game so I am just going on what I read here but was Meredith and Harrison both ejected and will they have to set out two games? Mya Meredith is a talent but I wondered a little about chemistry at least early in the season. Meredith needs the ball in her hands and Summer Secrist is a proven veteran who got her points last season even with a star teammate like Anna Clephane on the team. Scott will be a threat if the chemistry is there. Hayley Harrison is as good as billed and I can't see her getting ejected and going from the reports here some viewers seem to think neither girl should have been ejected. Tough call.

I believe this was the first game back for Glenn Covington for Scott County after football. Scott County is very good this season but this was a rivalry game and you have to toss out the rankings for rivalry games. It is a long season and a veteran coach like Billy Hicks does not want his teams to peak in December. The 11th Region is interesting this year with some surprises both good and bad. Chris O'Bryan got a big win with Frankfort over Henry Clay and Woodford County is playing well. Some of the traditional powers are struggling but it is a long season.

I like Male and the winner of the Frederick Douglass vs. Scott County game. However the proverbial "elephant in the room" St. Xavier and trinity still loom especially if they can get somewhat healthy. This would be the best opportunity for a public school to step up this year.

Congratulations to Anderson County who continues to roll even after losing one of their key performers on both sides of the ball Zach Labhart with an injury. Wishing for a speedy and complete recovery to this young man.

The upcoming battle with Scott County should be interesting as most teams have a difficult time with the Cardinals potent ground attack. However Frederick Douglass appears to be loaded this season and their passing attack should give Scott County trouble so this should be a classic battle between two excellent teams with contrasting styles.

Highlands totally dominated in the second half outscoring LexCath 27-0 in the second half until the Knights finally got on the board on a Beau Allen run with 50 seconds remaining in the game. The Bluebirds definitely played "big boy football" tonight and their blitzing in the second half was timed perfectly on the snap count and totally disrupted LexCath's offense. Highland played extremely hard and challenged the receivers on every play and if you did make the catch you were going to get hit hard. It was mentioned that LexCath ran 87 plays but they only averaged 4.8 yards per play while Highland averaged 7.1 yards per play. The Highland receivers made a lot of big plays, their defense was relentless, and the kicker is a major weapon. LexCath's QB Beau Allen is the real deal but the Knights needed this game as the road doesn't get any easier with DeSales and Boyle County looming on the horizon. Good luck to Highland the rest of the way and their QB was very impressive tonight and they have several difference makers on both side of the ball.

Scott County coach Jim McKee has done the same thing for years and what they do they do well. They continue running the ball down your throat until you prove you can stop it. Frederick Douglass has the athletes and passing attack to challenge but they have to get some key stops on defense to at least slow down the Cardinals ground game.

Frederick Douglass appears to be loaded this year. I believe they have an October 5th date at home with as they refer to Scott County as "that team up North" to settle some bragging rights in Central Kentucky and perhaps establish themselves as a serious 6A contender. Trinity may have started the season at 0-2 but the Shamrocks are not going to go away.

Casey McGinness had another excellent performance, he impressed me with his patience. He was denied the end zone on a couple of times in the first half due to the speed and pursuit of Henry Clay speedsters Langston Jackson and Ramond Jackson. He works hard and like all CovCath players appears to be extremely well coached. The match up nightmare tonight was Michael Mayer as the Blue Devils had absolutely no answer for his size and speed.

Does anyone know if Kyle England Ryle RB is ok? He was having an excellent first half but left the game before halftime with an apparent injury and I don't believe he returned.

Congratulations Jacob

Is the date for this event Saturday November 25th ?

Congratulations to both coaches for great seasons. I always felt Butler was the "elephant in the room" and if they got beat it would be wide open. Coach Souder has been at this for years and had a special mix of young ladies this season and while Robins, the two Lakes, Houston, Davis, etc got a lot of much deserved credit to me the "X" factor this year was the continued development of Emmy Souder. Coach Souder did a great job with his talent and scheduling and was finally rewarded with the big prize, congratulations.

Congratulations to both teams, class teams and programs. I have had my website for almost 20 years and these coaches were always great to me. It has always amazed me how gracious they were even after a difficult loss. Totally agree with all the comments about Turley, a true gamer.

My name is Ron Harrison and I posted a blog on my website about this tournament. Unfortunately I could only attend Sunday and I was at the KBA all day so I missed the game at the other venues. I apologize for any misspellings of names as I was trying to decipher names on the scoresheets that were available. Some of the games above were very entertaining and there were some impressive players in all three divisions. Wish I could have seen more of the games.

I would have to go with Erin Boley for this award. I have followed girls basketball for years and she has excellent skills and is one of the best I have seen in this state. What Whitney Creech has done has made her a legend. I would love to see her nominated and win The Lexington Herald Leader's Sportsperson of the Year award. We are privileged to have both of them in the state and from my interactions with them they are even better people than basketball players.

One of my major complaints over the years. Years ago during their glory days Lexington Catholic had a player named Sarah Schell sp? that would routinely have stat lines of 11 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, six steals, three blocks and hold her defensive assignment to 5-6 points but the only stat that would show up in the news would be the points. Also, I am interested in impact points, not "padding" the stats when the game is basically over. I remember one player told her coach " I scored 23 points tonight" and he responded "You gave up 28 on defense." It can be frustrating for the girls since so many awards are given on inflated offensive numbers and some of the stats that lead to the team wins are ignored.

Blair Green has the pedigree, daughter of Elgie Green and Debbie Green (Hoskins). Debbie played at Kentucky back in the day and could definitely play but transferred to Lincoln Memorial where she earned national honors. Blair, with all the other young ladies mentioned here should have bright futures.

Purplepride tell me a little about White, how good compared to the other top players in the region and how tall?

Thanks for the schedule, I see some games I may have to lumber out of the cave to attend.