2 much info

SK and Brossart will be a nice night cap for day 1. Campbell will have a good team this year - I like their matchup with CovCath.

To my understanding Collopy took a principal job at a local grade school which is why he stepped down as HC. Ron seemed to be a plug before and after Collopy. Collopy was an assistant for Ron before taking the reins. I know some in the NCC faithful rue the missed opportunity at having Pangallo but I do not think there is any ill-will toward the current coach, Luhn.

Good to know you were not implying anything. Can you expand on this statement in your original post then? "but I can see how it might have been ignited by NCC" Are you just stating NCC's defensive style leads to higher emotions or dirtier plays? If so, can you describe for me NCC's defensive style you saw Saturday since it was not basketball? I am sure there are others in the NCC faithful that agree with you on the Pangallo statement.

Are you implying Luhn/NCC's playstyle lead to Caleb being hurt? No style of play should "ignite" the undercutting of a player shooting a layup. I am a little disturbed with this take.

NCC loses a big piece in Caleb Eaglin. after a steal and breakout, a Williamsburg player speeds up and puts his body/shoulder through the air-borne Eaglin, causing him to have a very ugly landing. Eaglin did not play the rest of the game and appeared to have been seriously injured. The Williamsburg player was not ejected, but a few of NCC parents were, which boggles my mind. This was, unfortunately, the dirtiest play of basketball I have seen in the last 5+ years at the HS level. I hope the play is reviewed by KHSAA and Williamsburg HS. Caleb is a golf stud who, I imagine, has desires to play at the next level. It would be a shame if this play has any impact on his upcoming golf season.

Final on 10/22. Brice Denigan scores the games only goal to give Ryle the 1-nil win. Ryle advances to play Dunbar on 10/27 at 7:30 in Lexington (Freddy D).

Congratulations to all the players. Great honors making a team/honorable mention.

Without being there I can take a very, very, very, very good guess at which player made the eruption.

This appears to be a pretty "fair" draw. I agree with The double deuce, I would have liked to see Cov Cath play NCC as I see them as the 4 & 5 in the Region. I will play "Rock Chalk" in the first round with all district winners advancing. From there, my guess is a Dixie v Highlands final game with the Birds hoisting the Regional trophy. Now to flip a few coins to see which game I attend...

The Camels will face the Mustangs in the 37th District finals.

SK gets the result and moves on to challenge Grant County in the 32nd District Championship game. Congratulations to Walton-Verona on a great year. They had some tough fixtures on this years schedule and collected some hardware.

A decent result for BBHS. They have some momentum heading into the weaker 10th region tournament. I can really only see 3 teams, MoCo, GRC, and BBHS, competing for the title. Of the 3, I would say MoCo is the favorite.

Highlands seems to be molding at the right time. Having seen all the teams in the 9th play, they will be my favorite heading into postseason play.

The Grant County Men's Soccer program really seems to be turning a page. They are playing tougher games and competing harder than I have ever seen. A tip of the cap to head coach Dustin Smith.

The 9th region tournament this year will be a treat!

Make this a top 4 removing CovCath and I agree with you. Too many inconsistent results for them. I would throw them into Tier II with Conner and NCC. I also believe the Tier II teams have the potential to bring the top 4 teams' season to an end come Regional play. All 3 have proven they can beat/compete with the top 4. I would give the nod to Dixie's staff.

Good for Cov Cath! I noticed a few other results that would challenge my ranking: Ryle over Dixie, Cooper needing PKs to get by NCC. I believe Holmes took HC to PKs as well (Frosh/JV mix teams).

Good result for the Breds. I have not seen Brossart play this year - I expected this result but a tighter game. Good luck to NCC next week at State.

Great result for Fred Doug. Can Dixie use the loss as a fine-tuning instrument?

This is the best I saw Highlands play. I think the coaching staff fielded the correct starting XI. This was, arguably, the best technical game I have seen Highlands play as well. Passes were crisp and accurate. If the Birds play this way for the remainder of the season, it is hard not to consider them the favorites in the 9th. The student section wasn't too bad either. The NCC team that showed up Tuesday night is not a top 5 region team. They seemed a lot slower and more reactive than the previous 2 games I saw them play. Defense seemed undisciplined at all 3 levels of the pitch. I will say, even when playing poorly, the goals conceded are preventable. As dominant as Highlands was in the first half (can throw in the 2nd as well), both goals were scored on restarts. You have to credit Highlands game plan - keep the ball, spread the field, wear down the shallow-benched Thoroughbreds. The good thing for NCC, they get another chance at their rivals in a more meaningful game in October.

I agree. My "little birds" tell me both Campbell County Fish eating schools handled the Cardinals. It is important to improve, learn, and progress through the regular season. Too much weight is put on W-L-D during the season. Coaching focus should always be improving and preparing for the games that distribute trophies to the winners.

I find it easy to conclude Brannen got the best of this deal. He is currently employed by a former colleague relatively close to his home. The settlement paired with his recent hiring tells me there was no wrongdoing and both parties want to move on.

I will give it a whirl. Some teams I have seen multiple times, others I have not. I do have a few moles planted throughout the Tri-county area feeding me fixture insights. 1. Cooper 2. Dixie 3. HHS 4. NCC 5. Ryle 6. Conner 7. Cov Cath *Gap* 8. Brossart 9. Grant County (If included) 10. Simon Kenton 11. Beechwood (If Grant is excluded)

I would argue "even" game before "good" game. This was my second time seeing each team play and I believe both sides have more to give. Don't get me wrong, the intensity and focus was that of a regional match-up, but there were times both teams lacked touch and technical ability. NCC started the game in dominating fashion. For the first 20 or so minutes, they were controlling the game box-to-box but lacked the finishing product. Conner seemed to wake up after about 20 minutes in. My shot count had NCC with 4 on frame and Conner with 1 heading into halftime. As NCC was the better team in the first half, Conner seemed to be so in the second half. After NCC scored, the momentum started to flip. The next 10 minutes or so were played on Conner's attacking half. NCC seemed to make a few self-inflicted mistakes (poor clearances, lazy challenges) that lead to Conner's corner kick goal. Conner's first few corners were back post loopers but the producing one was taken quickly and driven toward the near side to an unmarked Cougar who made no mistake. Conner utilized their bench and looked to have more energy because of it in the last 30 minutes. Both teams had a number of good scoring opportunities - some that should have been finished by both sides. Both teams seemed to walk away with the remorse of missed opportunities but the final score line is a fair result. A tip of the cap to the referees. There are always missed calls here and there but the game was consistent and no calls/missed calls really jump out at me. The Cougars seemed to have the top talent on the filed (#10 and #9) but NCC seemed to have a more balanced starting XI. If I had to pick, NCC's CM (#12 I think) would be their 'best' player. Lastly, I walked onto the pitch once the game was concluded. Morscher really has come a long way. Decent grass, not *too* bumpy, and World Cup style nets. Cheers to both sides!

Are Cov Cath's struggles talent related? St. Henry has had a tough go at it as of late but find some success in Park Hills. This result gives further merit to the idea of a deep and balanced 9th.