Sir!

Beechwood goes to 2-1 and gets a leg up on Holy Cross in the district. Moses Bawiblikian with 2 goals and an assist. I think that brings his tally for the week to 5 goals and 3 assists.

HHS wasn't playing delay tactics. The GK held the ball for more than 6 seconds. Refs can give a warning or not before making the call... it's totally in their discretion. It's really not worth the ink it's gotten on here. I'm sorry I mentioned it.

Two very good defenses. I'm guessing there is only one goal in this game. I'll give it to Highlands 1-0.

Delay call technically correct. The GK - who'd just come into the game - adjusted both of his socks. I'm just used to seeing higher level referees give a warning. Highlands needs to maintain more composure closing out a game with a lead over a quality opponent. Hopefully they get more practice soon.

Blake Shuley scored early for Highlands. Both teams had their share of good chances throughout. Best chance for St Henry was in second half when Nico Ross had a wide open look 10 yards out and fired into Highlands GK hands. Difference in game was probably Highlands back line play -- they were strong/physical and did a good job holding out St Henry... Sanders and Manahan in particular. Interesting call late in second half when Center awarded indirect free kick for delay on Highlands GK without any warning, showing count, asking GK to put ball in play, etc. I know there is no requirement to give a warning, but it is pretty common practice to give at least some sign. Could have been a big moment in the game, but ultimately wasn't an issue. Highlands got all their players in the game for significant minutes and St Henry subbed a lot of players as well. Nice to see coaches giving kids a chance make their case.

Colton Schneider is a nice player with great composure on the ball. I'm also a big Grant Perkins fan... he's "all in" and is very much a team player. Good job Camels pushing CCH hard. It helps raise the level of play for all involved.

Final from Tower Park.

I only saw the first half of the game, but from what I saw I'm certain both teams can play at a much higher level. I know, I know -- its early, lots of players getting minutes, plenty of time to raise the bar. On the positive, lots of players stepping up for CCH looked solid/comfortable. Deimling's technical ability was impressive, Blom did a nice job in midfield, and I thought #2 (Russo?) looked good at outside back. I'm sure CCH defending made it difficult, but St Henry didn't look very connected in the first half, particularly between the midfield and Sanders, who stayed fairly high. St Henry looked like they got plenty of players in the game first half. Did they shorten the bench second half?

The HHS student section struck up a chant for Adam Snow several times. Not a lot else to cheer about. Highlands played unispired with no urgency, no rhythm, no flair and no finishing. Cooper organized and defended well and their GK had a couple nice saves -- gotta be encouraging for them.

2013 NDA won state title... 2014 Maher preseason NDA #1. 2014 NDA lost in semis (final 4)... 2015 Maher preseason NDA #3. 2015 NDA lost in quarterfinals (final 8)... 2016 Maher preseason NDA #7. Maher preseason rankings are based on last year's team and reflect how last year's team team was playing at the end of last year. It'll take a bit before enough games are played for the rankings to reflect how this year's team is playing this year. Maybe the linearization adjustment will help that sort out a little quicker.

Trinity reloads every year... my upset pick is based on Highlands being much improved not Trinity being "down."

I missed calling Hull over Leicester City, but I'll go out on a limb with a couple of Maher "upset" predictions with goal scorers to boot... St Henry over CCH 2-1... Lamb with a singleton; Sanders with a brace. May well be the top two teams in Region 9. Beechwood over HC 2-0... goals by Moses B. and Bogden S. An early statement of intent for Beechwood. Highlands over Trinity 1-0... Trinity lost a lot of offense to graduation (Murr; Fischer; Hoddinot; Goetz) but returns a nearly intact defense. Highlands defends well and Farris nets a wiinner (or maybe Gish).

Congrats to Adam. I'm sure he'll do great.

SO is young (8 sophomores and 1 frosh on Varsity). I'm sure they'll improve as the season progresses - particularly in their back line.

Kettle korn? Cause if there wasn't even kettle korn then it's a total farce.

LOL... the college coaches at a $450 "low level college showcase" would be as easy to find as the shirts at this year's BGSG!

No shirts!??

For BGSG $450 per team for 3 games doesn't seem like such a price gouge. Is that up substantially from last year?

Often "non-calls" are simply the product of the referee appropriately letting the game be played... "de minimus non curat lex". That concept should apply equally inside and outside the penalty area, but I'm sure we'll continue to see calls not made in the box that are being made at midfield; or fouls spotted just outside the 18 that we're pretty sure were initiated inside the 18. The good news is that it diesn't happen that often and if we're honest we recognize that it tends to even out over time.

Who looked good for SK and West Jess? Scores lines don't tell the story with coaches going with stronger lineups at different points in the game, but it's always fun to see the players early. Who stood out for both teams?

Conner graduated 16 seniors from last year. They had 4 juniors and one frosh on their year-end roster, so no surprise Conner is young. Starting out with a strong St Henry team the outcome is not unexpected, but I'd think they do better as they get their feet under them and adjust to playing Varsity sized teams.

OK... I can't help myself. Tey were young and a little overpowered against CCH seniors last year, but I liked Colby Rose and Ethan MacGillivray (sp?) For Henry Clay. Donovan Gregory is back between the pipes? Who else features for HC this fall? If anyone from Region 11 feels like saying.

Not to be a stickler for accuracy, but... last 10 years, I think: Region 7 (5... all St X) Region 4 (2... both Bowling Green) Region 11 (2... PLD and HC) Region 9 (1... CovCath) Teams win titles but in high school soccer there are frequently stand-out players who are both fun to watch and who frequently are what put the "team" over the top. So who are the top teams and players in Region 11? If a Region 11 fan doesn't want to talk them up you can't really expect some northern KY fans to fill in the details. Right?

The best refs also work hard to stay on top of changes in LOTG, points of emphasis, and physical fitness... I regularly see a number of our area refs hitting the track pre-season and appreciate their commitment.

How did the Saturday games go?