Nathaniel Bryan

Bell County (Log Mountain). Watched LaRue play Bell in the playoffs a few years ago. Never seen a football game at Bethlehem (Lally Field), but have seen plenty of soccer. Jim isn't lying. They are right on top of you. Manual Stadium has a nice, historic feel to it. Plus, the end zone is NOT flat on the side closest to where you enter. It has a hill. Louisville Central's home side is built INTO a building. Also cool to watch the Jackets march in and out (after a win especially). Fort Knox is cool when the soldiers are there. But I've only ever seen one game when that's happened. Meade County's Hamilton Field (Death Valley) is eery in the fall. The cemetery overlooking the visitors' side can be daunting. Elizabethtown is NOT unique, but it is quite nice. Field Turf plus new bleachers plus killer scoreboard/videoboard.

First Round is NOT over yet. Team Standings: Leaderboard for Leachman Auto / KHSAA Boys State Championship: Team Championship Individual Standings: Leaderboard for Leachman Auto / KHSAA Boys State Championship: Individual

ROAD Team In KHSAA State Football Semifinals SIX CLASSES (12 GAMES) 2014: 6-6 2013: 7-5 2012: 5-7 (Hazard lost to Fairview in reality, given forfeit win later) 2011: 5-7 2010: 9-3 2009: 2-10 2008: 6-5 (Trinity vs. X played at PJCS, so no true road team) 2007: 5-7 FOUR CLASSES (8 GAMES) 2006: 5-3 2005: 1-7 2004: 3-5 (Highlands later forfeited road win at Bell, so 2-6 I guess) 2003: 5-3 2002: 3-5 2001: 6-2 2000: 6-2 1999: 1-7 1998: 4-4

Air horns are illegal, per KHSAA. The vuvuzelas (usually in soccer, but have seen them at some football games) need to go, too. And if you're going to bring an umbrella and use it, do NOT sit/stand in the last/top row of the stands. While I know it will absolutely kill you if even one precious raindrop falls on you, there's a pretty good chance you're blocking the view of several people (public address, spotter, stats, newspaper, radio, even coaches) in the press box. That being said, I have a soft spot in my heart for (Louisville) Western's drum line. They're awesome. They can stay. And no, I'm not from Louisville.

The neutral-site idea is tempting, but no one is even on the same page when it comes to how it should be done: Should one site host all classes over two days (there are six West semis and six East semis)? Should site wait and be picked until you know who the semifinalists are (therefore trying to wait to find a neutral site to split the driving difference)? Do we want to consider high schools (Elizabethtown is a good location to split Louisville vs. WKY, but what if E'town is in the 3-A west semi in a given year)? Do we consider teams playing in their same town neutral (Taylor or Cville playing at Campbellsville U, Adair playing at Lindsey Wilson, any of the Daviess/Boro schools playing at KWC, Frankfort/Franklin County playing at K-State, etc.)? A good idea in THEORY, but an absolute ton of logistics to work out in REALITY.

That has to be one of the most balanced districts in the state in any class. Not necessarily the best overall teams, but not a lot of difference 1-5.

Junior has never won it -- because only seniors COULD win it. HOWEVER, it was recently changed in the last 3 years or so. Riley Hall was a finalist last year and he's obviously playing this season.

Pretty sure all Lexington public schools - Bryan Station, Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Dunbar, Tates Creek -- each have turf.

I don't think area fans would be that enamored to watch Central or John crush E'town, North crush Knox or Meade beat LaRue (an old rivalry). Meade brought back its rivalry with Breck (rivals in most sports) and it has yet to do anything for either program.

Jslim, The E'town-Central Hardin game would be a huge gate. Sure. I won't argue that. But E'town will likely be a heavy underdog (even toward the end of the last series, CH was dominating and CH was NOT the program it is now). And taking injuries in a rather meaningless game against a much-bigger opponent (even though it is for area bragging rights) is NOT always the smartest thing in the bigger picture. Daviess County was supposed to be on the rise this year ... dismantled by area rival Owensboro. Danville was supposed to be decent ... boatraced by area rival Boyle. Should those teams play each other? I guess. Were they good games? No. Did it help out both teams in the rivalry? Not so sure. Central Hardin needs E'town on its schedule more than E'town needs to play Central Hardin.

You're absolutely correct. Forgot about that. Good call. Fort Knox petitioned correctly. That school is shrinking. Because of the changes made at the base, a different type of soldier (younger) is on base than before. Therefore meaning not really old enough to have teens of their own. Fort Knox may be a mid-size 1-A school in the next 5-10 years.

Part of Elizabethtown's problem was its district. You lose Louisville Central (always really really good) and you not only DON'T replace it with any formidable team, you add another so-so program. However, Elizabethtown's district, at least record wise, has been good. Outside of LaRue (new coach, new system, still in rebuilding mode), two programs (Adair and Hart) are having their best years in a while. So E'town can't be faulted for that. And Edmonson has a good record (and who really expects Edmonson to play a world-beater schedule?). North Hardin was supposed to be improved this year. Some folks thought E'town wouldn't beat North Hardin. North Oldham was supposed to be good, and started off as such. The week E'town played North Oldham, E'town was a heavy underdog. Bardstown was talked about as a dangerous darkhorse in a loaded district. Major injury to a major piece of the Tigers' puzzle changed that game. A 7-3 or 8-2 record AT BEST was projected for Elizabethtown this year. I don't think many folks in summer ball, especially with QB Hunter Sullivan projected to miss the whole season (Tommy John), cohesion (transfers of Jake Walker, the Becherer brothers; plus returns of Tyson Brown and Chase Bridges from injuries) and what looked like an OK schedule in front of the Panthers. E'town's O line was supposed to be atrocious this year, based on depth, size and experience. It hasn't been. E'town's special teams weren't supposed to be that great. They've been solid. Could E'town have played Bullitt Central again? Sure, but wouldn't have toughened up the schedule that much. Could E'town have played South Warren again? Sure, but since SW has dismantled all four Hardin County teams in the past two years all by more than 20 points, what would that prove? E'town could play John, but since E'town couldn't beat John when E'town had three D-I SEC players, I'm not holding out hope. E'town could return to the Central Hardin rivalry, but it wouldn't do anything for either school. CH would win -- probably handily -- and there is still bad blood from a certain situation a few years ago. CH has as much incentive to play E'town as North Hardin does of playing Fort Knox (a rivalry OLDER than CH-E). That all being said, is E'town a contender? Not for the state title. But John Hardin was supposed to be a contender for the 4-A title (Bulldogs haven't looked like it) and Central Hardin was talked about making noise in 6-A (tougher schedule this year for the Bruins; but Central Hardin struggled early in both wins against Tilghman and one of the worst Bullitt East teams in a decade). So projections aren't everything. And Meade County, coming off two fantastic playoff runs, should have toned DOWN the schedule. Did not (and the Green Wave are paying dearly for it). E'town's having a good year, and it's been a while since they've had one (CH, JH and MC are area rivals which have all had success recently). It's OK to let them enjoy it. Sure E'town's season might come crashing down, but folks aren't ripping Central Hardin for their perfect regular season last year (albeit against a schedule that does not compare AT ALL to the slate the Bruins have played this year) only to get manhandled in the rematch by a team they had already beaten (Meade). If the same thing happens to E'town that happened to CH last year, what's the huge problem, exactly?

The Class of 18 is looking pretty decent.

Floyd Central can go 3A-D7 or 3A-D8 relatively easily. However, some 2-A team will drop to 1-A to get it back to 32 teams (currently 32, losing South Floyd would drop it to 31).

Yup. It's not like another mountain-area school -- North Laurel -- already has dibs on Jaguars. And not that they'll likely play (Louisville) Mercy, but they're the Jags, too. Miners would have been awesome. As would have Mountain Cats or Mountain Hawks or Mountain Lions or some such. Heck, go with Hilltoppers (although WKU and the Presentation Toppers might not like that).

Hardin County is dry. Radcliff and Elizabethtown are wet. Alcohol is the reason Elizabethtown's downtown is having a renaissance. Bourbon Barrel Tavern and the Wicked-Eye Woman Public House are both on the way, while Boundary Oak -- which owns the trademark/copyright to "Kentucky Moonshine" -- is rumored to have something big planned downtown, too. The Historic State Theater is now turning a profit now that it can sell beer at shows (Comedy Caravan, music acts) and serve beer/wine at weddings (which it was forbidden to do before). The dry-ists can say what they want, but downtown was pretty much dead and buried before alcohol intervened. No one wants to go downtown when all it is was lawyer's office, accountants, government offices, etc. Now that the government offices are in one nice state-of-the-art building on Ring Road and the lawyers/accountants are moving to other places on Ring Road (which offer newer, bigger buildings) ... downtown is kicking it into high gear. When Elizabethtown/Radcliff went wet, DUIs in Hardin County drastically dropped. The tax base went UP, because money that was being spent nearby (see Meade, Bullitt and Nelson) was now being spent inside Hardin County. That all being said, I'm Catholic. So I'm more "loose with the rules" than some others in the Christian faith. But I'm also diabetic (have been so since I was 20 years, 8 months old) and have not had one sip of alcohol for the past 14 years OTHER than a toast of champagne at my wedding 3 years ago.

Schedule strength according to CalPreps: 01. Covington Catholic, 38.4 02. Highlands, 37.3 03. Trinity, 36.7 04. St. Xavier, 31.2 05. Bowling Green, 30.1 TIED AT 06. Central Hardin and Tates Creek, both at 29.8 That being said, CH's overall schedule strength will DROP -- hard. CalPreps includes only games played and not future games. So by playing Collins, North Hardin, Meade and Woodford, CH's schedule strength will start dropping. And since it is paired with District 1 (WKY), CH's schedule strength might fall out of the top 10 by the time the region finals (state quarterfinals) roll around.

Because Trinity tends to fair better in rematches and Male still has NOT shown it can beat somebody when it matters in the post-Redman era? Last two years Male had stout teams, too. Or that it's hard to beat an elite team back-to-back, let alone the score of Game 1?

In my area: Central Hardin: East Hardin AND West Hardin are feeders. Elizabethtown: T.K. Stone. Fort Knox: Scott. John Hardin: Bluegrass. LaRue County: LaRue Middle. Meade County: Stuart Pepper. North Hardin: J.T. Alton AND North Middle. HOWEVER, you also have St. James (K-8) which has no direct high school (no Catholic high school in Hardin County; St. James kids routinely go to Central Hardin, John Hardin and Elizabethtown). Wouldn't change Central Hardin one iota. However, could bump John Hardin back to 5-A or 6-A (definitely move JH track and CC programs back to 3-A) and could knock Elizabethtown to 4-A. But I don't see something like this happening in Kentucky. There are also Hardin County kids who end up in schools in Nelson County (Bethlehem), LaRue County (Sonora/Upton) and Jefferson County (want to attend a parochial). Also wouldn't change anything for X, T and SHA (who all compete in the biggest class possible). Might hurt the KCDs, CALs, DeSaleses of the world, though.

PASSING - Bryan Station's Andre Davis passed for four touchdowns in a 54-21 win against Tates Creek. - Christian County's Kolby Langhi was 9-of-10 for 160 yards -- surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season -- in a 46-7 win against Marshall County. - Fairview's Alex Roy was 21-of-31 for 343 yards and five touchdowns in a 50-34 win against Lexington Christian. - Franklin County's Barrett Sanderson was 17-of-29 for 237 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28 win against Shelby County. - Lexington Christian's Brayden Miller was 31-of-43 for 380 yards and four touchdowns in a 50-34 loss to Fairview. - Male's Hayden Shelton was 12-of-16 for 236 yards and four touchdowns in a 57-0 win against Butler (Louisville). - Owensboro Catholic's Ray Zuberer was 18-of-22 for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 53-14 win against Butler County. - Glasgow's Dessi Austin 28-of-51 for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-12 loss against Greenwood. RUSHING - Ashland Blazer's Quinton Baker carried the ball 18 times for 168 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-21 win against Rowan County. - Ballard's David Daniels ran for two touchdowns (44 yards, nine yards) in just the first five minutes in a 48-25 win against Eastern. - Franklin County's Denzell Vance carried the ball 23 times for 200 yards and one touchdown in a 31-28 win against Shelby County. - Greenwood's duo of Noah Pillow (120 yards, one touchdown) and Jackson Adams (20 carries, 147 yards, two touchdowns) combined for 267 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-12 win against Glasgow. - Lafayette's trio of Walker Wood (21 carries, 238 yards, three touchdowns), Mason Alstatt (20 carries, 230 yards, two touchdowns) and Matt Silvestri (16 carries, 128 yards, two touchdowns) combined for 57 carries for 596 yards and seven touchdowns in a 48-34 win against Henry Clay. - Including his 98-yard touchdown run, Madison Central's Johan Williams carried the ball 14 times for 204 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-0 win against Woodford County. - North Bullitt's Logan James carried the ball 15 times for 231 yards and five touchdowns -- for the second straight week -- in a 47-44 win against Bullitt Central. - Paintsville's duo of Luke Trimple (143 yards, three touchdowns) and Kash Daniel (seven carries, 83 yards, three touchdowns) combined for 226 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-27 win against Bourbon County. - Paris' James Clark set the school's career touchdown mark with his second-straight four-touchdown performance in a 59-7 win against Berea. - Scott County's trio of Noah Hughes (19 carries, 194 yards, one touchdown), Kendrick Hamilton (eight carries, 92 yards, three touchdowns) and Keith Guy (11 carries, 51 yards, three touchdowns) combined for 38 carries for 337 yards and seven touchdowns in a 55-21 win against George Rogers Clark. - Simon Kenton's Dillon Powell carried the ball 22 times for 189 yards (breaking the 1,000-yard mark for the season) and four touchdowns in a 42-3 win against Highlands. - South Warren's Kayron Namvong carried the ball 20 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-0 win against Franklin-Simpson. - Spencer County's duo of Branden Leff (248 yards, one touchdown) and Logan Holbrook (154 yards, two touchdowns) combined for 402 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-14 win against Collins. - In just the first quarter, Trinity's Jailen Reed had 61 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries in a 51-0 win against Jeffersontown. DAS BOOT - Franklin County's Seiver Tandy made a 38-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in a 31-28 win against Shelby County. - Johnson Central's Tyler Pack was 8-of-8 on extra points, 1-of-1 on field goals (43 yards) and 8-of-9 on touchback kickoffs -- all in a steady rain. - South Oldham's Drew Koch kicked five field goals (27, 28, 29, 36 and career-best 43) in a 35-8 win against Oldham County. MULTIPLE THREATS - Belfry's Xondre Willis had 216 offensive yards (158 rushing yards, 58 receiving yards) and scored two touchdowns in a 38-14 win against Knoxville (Tennessee) Catholic. - Bullitt Central's Cameron Dukes had three rushing touchdowns (on 28 carries for 235 yards) and two passing touchdowns (on 15-of-35 passing for 206 yards) in a 47-44 loss to North Bullitt. - Christian County's Keyron Catlett scored four ways -- 10-yard run, 50-yard reception, 75-yard punt return and a 97-yard kickoff return -- in a 46-7 win against Marshall County. He finished with five receptions for 113 receiving yards. Catlett, who had 127 career receptions for 2,281 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns, became the school's career receiving yards leader last week and is now two catches shy of setting the school's career receptions record. - Cooper's Dante Hendrix had 168 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns and two interceptions in a 28-0 win against Lexington Catholic. - McCracken County's Zyaire Hughes had 189 offensive yards (10 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown; one reception for a 49-yard touchdown) in a 50-22 win against Daviess County. - North Hardin's Taven Graves had 267 offensive yards (32 carries for 246 rushing yards, three receptions for 21 receiving yards) in a 26-18 win at Monroe County. - Pikeville's Clay Slone had a 53-yard punt return touchdown, a 31-yard receiving touchdown and a 29-yard receiving touchdown in a 68-14 win against South Floyd. DANDY DEFENSE - Bryan Station's Devon Key officially returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown -- it was unofficially 108 yards, but unlike the NFL, high school (NFHS/KHSAA) does not surpass 100 yards -- in a 54-21 win against Tates Creek. - Campbellsville (6-0), off to its best start since 1999, held Fort Knox to 0 yards of offense in a 51-0 win. - John Hardin recorded six sacks and earned its first shutout since 2013 in a 37-0 win against Meade County. Meade County crossed midfield in just three drives. - North Hardin's Brandon Leak had an interception on Monroe County's final possession to help North Hardin hold on for a 26-18 win at Monroe County. - Paintsville's tandem of Luke Trimple (five tackles plus two interceptions, one which he returned 25 yards for a touchdown) and Kash Daniel (13 tackles) were wrecking machines in a 56-27 win against Bourbon County. - Simon Kenton came up with six interceptions in a 42-3 win against Highlands. - Spencer County's Kadin Smith had two interceptions -- one of which he returned 46 yards for a touchdown to give his team the lead -- in a 35-14 win against Collins. "DOWN" BUT NOT OUT - Down 20 points in the second half, North Bullitt rallied for a 47-44 win against Bullitt Central. - Down 28-0 in the second half, Southern rallied past Iroquois, 29-28. Southern scored its final touchdown in the final two minutes and got the two-point conversion to take its only lead of the game. - Down 14-13 in the second half, Spencer County scored three touchdowns in just 87 seconds in a 35-14 win against Collins. "SINCE" YOU ASKED - Campbellsville (6-0) is off to its best start SINCE 1999. - Simon Kenton beat Highlands for just the second time in 27 tries and the first time SINCE 1974. - Spencer County is 6-0 for the first time SINCE the varsity football program was founded in 2004.

Bumping.

Please help me out by posting highlights/notes/stats/records from tonight's games here for my weekly "Best In The Bluegrass" roundup (which I'll write Saturday while the wife is at work). Thank you kindly, Nate

Allen Eagle is the one that just got shut down due to faulty construction. Fun fact: McCracken County boys' soccer coach Mike Wiersema was the soccer coach at Allen when the stadium idea came about: Fun Fact 2: Stadium Bowl in Tacoma is the same one used in 10 Things I hate about you (Heath Ledger, Larisa Oleynik, Joseph Gordon Levitt, etc.).

Or only playing 5 starters - four on the back line plus keeper. I know they're different sports, but no 17th District team ever throws its ace in baseball or softball against Fort Knox. Usually throw a freshman or a JV pitcher. And in basketball, as good as she is, Elizabethtown's Erin Boley has NEVER had a pad-statting game against Fort Knox (which has lost like 100 straight district contests). But a 15-plus goal win in BOYS' soccer (blowouts more prevalent in girls' soccer) ... which means you played just one half, that's absurd. Who cares about single-game scoring records (team or individual) against overmatched opponents.

Individual rankings CLASS-ONLY wise, LexCath/Bardstown have hard roads. Perhaps the toughest. Four top-five teams for LexCath or Bardstown. That's brutal. In terms of overall rankings statewide composite, any 6-A team in District 3 or District 4 would have a tougher overall road (using computer rankings by CalPreps, MaxPreps, CJ's Lit or LHL's Cantrall). However, Bardstown isn't that great in the big scheme of things. Elizabethtown dominated Bardstown defensively and E'town's barely a top-25 team overall in any computer ranking (CalPreps has E'town 28, but Bardstown 94th overall in the state). Using the CalPreps computer, Eastern would have 04-Manual, 01-Male, 02-Trinity, 15-McCracken, 03-Simon Kenton (all four of the top four overall teams in the state).