TheBallCoach

South Warren Bryan Station Warren East McCracken Iowa 45

Cov Cath Scott County Pikeville North Laurel Lex Cath 69

Last year the Wildcats ran for nearly 200 yards on the road in the regular season matchup. 49-14 when they made the trip later that season in November. FS graduated a lot from last season, they did bring back SR RB's in Jones and Hampton. Both have played very well. Wildcats defense doesn't stand a chance, I expect PT to be ready to go as they start district play. Blue Tornado 56-13

Huge bounce back game for Manual, QB situation makes this one interesting but they'll just have to punish Atherton inside and I believe that'll be enough to get it done.

North rolls in this one, Bruins just can't seem to get anything going unfortunately.

I like the Red Devils to win by a couple of scores. The Aces have arguably the best QB in the State but the supporting cast isn't as strong as the opposing team in this one.

Bowling Green put the Freshman QB Davis in some tough spots last year, one of those being when they stepped into enemy territory and the offense had 3 fumbles lost in a 45-14 blowout loss to their crosstown rival. It doesn't feel the same not seeing these two meetup in November but as my granny would say, "take what ya get and don't throw a fit.” The difference in this game will be won in the trenches, not sure the Purples have the talent to matchup with South. In saying that I'm still not a believer that this Spartans OL/DL is what they've been in the Brandon Smith era, though I do believe it'll be enough to move the ball at will against BG. Bowling Green in order to compete will have to be methodical and shorten this game. Davis can't be in the mindset of thinking he has to be sensational, take what South will give you and be smart with the football. Not sure how many stops the Purples defense will get so finishing drives will be key for BG offensively. I'll go with the Spartans 42-21 but I sure do hope that we get another classic from these two programs.

Warren East had a nine game winning streak against the crosstown Dragons up until last season. Warren Central won a 58-45 shootout at home and hope to turn this series back to its old ways. Two totally different teams in terms of leadership as Coach Davidson and Coach Foley are in their 1st year at these schools. Warren Central opened their four game road stretch with a tough 21-13 loss to Allen County last week falling to 0-3 on the season. Warren East is sitting at 2-1 with shutout wins over Ohio County and Central Hardin. Their lone loss was to Greenwood 15-14, a safety being the 2 points needed to lift the Gators over the Raiders. A couple of big time players for the Dragons in SR QB Dunn and SR WR North. North went for 12 catches, 124 yards and 2 TD's against WE last season. Dunn finished that game 21/29 with 274 yards and 4 TD's. The Raiders have a good weapon in JR WR Douglass, he's been quiet offensively the last couple of game and they'll hope he has a few explosives tomorrow night. Unlike the 103 total points last year, this will be a low scoring game. I like this Warren East defense, they play fast and have guys who like to get to the football. As long as they're able to contain the Dunn to North connection they'll win this game in good fashion. Warren East 21-6.

A late home opener entering week 4 of the regular season as the 1-2 Greenwood Gators host the 2-1 Cougars from Logan County Friday night. This was a great game last year and LC was able to sneak away with a 22-21 win at home. The SR QB Helle for Logan County has stepped into the role and played it very well, removed from RB last season the SR has thrown for 510 yards in 3 games with 6 TD's, 2 INT's and a healthy 66% completion percentage. When Adler arrived to this program it wasn't long before they became known for their misdirection and a multitude of guys touching the football in the run game. It's no different this year as SO RB Lane Bush leads the charge with 294 yards on 29 carries with 4 TD's. Logan County as a team averages 8.8 ypc and have racked up 14 rushing TD's to this point, very impressive numbers. A large task is ahead for a Greenwood defense that is allowing 35 ppg. The one positive for the defense has been the 8 sacks collectively, however they'll have to stop the Cougars rushing attack in order to have a good outing in this one. The Gators offense has averaged 153 yards through 3 weeks of football. Very underwhelming performance last week against South Warren and the week prior when they traveled to Warren East and scored 15 points. On the other hand the Logan County defense played McCracken County and allowed 52 points. Their other two opponents, Daviess County was stifled to 13 and Russellville got shutout. You have to imagine Greenwood will be ready to go in their opener, especially considering it's week 4 and the home crowd has yet to see the team. I'll be interested in the matchup between Gators O/Cougars D, I believe that's where this game will be won. Logan County can put points on the board, it'll be whether or not Greenwood can answer when that happens. Cougars 35-21

Former TCC Head Coach Robins that is.

Boyle Johnson Central Baylor Corbin Owensboro 52

Running clock early in this one, doesn't matter who is out for the Red Devils. Owensboro 52-7.

Gators were down 14-2 at halftime on the road against Warren East last week and found a way to win 15-14. Hard to argue they'll compete with the 6A runner ups from last season after that performance. On the other hand to say this one is a running clock at halftime is a bit of a stretch. The Spartans may of played a good Manual football team but they were dominated up front. Very uncommon for South, regardless of competition. I think you'll get two fired up teams, the Gators are coming into this game 2-12 all time against their crosstown foe and as I stated last year before this matchup, "what do they have to lose.” If the Spartans don't put a lid on this one early they'll find themselves in a similar position as last year. It all depends on how well the Gators can perform in the trenches, especially offensively. Won't be surprised at all if this one turns into a ballgame, but I'll ride with the history in this one. Spartans 31-14.

P88 listed three great spots, can never go wrong with Rafferty's. I'll add in Smokey Pig if you're in the mood for some damn good BBQ, not too far from the BGHS.

Tilghman Manual Belfry Raceland Ludlow 72

Warren East blew a 14-2 lead at the half against the Gators last week as well as being held under 100 yards in the game. The Raiders SO RB Chu Chu Cofer (Great football name) is pretty good as well as their SR WR Douglass. Warren East has to figure some things out offensively. However, their defense played well and were fast to the football. Upset to see that Central Hardin is still trying to figure things out themselves. If they can play some defense this Friday night they'll be in the game but the way @Hardin County Preps described the Bruins offense this one may not be too competitive. Warren East gets back on track with a 28-7 win.

Tough one here for the Purples and you host the crosstown rival Spartans at home next week. Emongo is the best player on the field. He caused a lot of problems for BG in last year's matchup with 225+ yards on offense and 3 scores. The offensive woes for BG will take time but luckily the young faces take on the bulk of the load so the reps are coming in abundance and it should work itself out as the season progresses just not at the beginning of September. Scott County 35-21

Kudos to the Scotties, glad the community gets a feel good moment!

Alarming score for the State, wow!

A lot of talent on the field in this game. Hope for a battle but I think CAL may be a top 3 school in the State. Best of luck to both teams, love to see matchups like this one.

Manual CAL X Madison Central Indian Hill (OH) 49

The 0-1 Gators travel up I-65 north to face off against the 1-0 Raiders. In the last 10 meetings dating back to 2007, it's been a 5-5 split between these two Warren County schools. Warren East coach Foley earned his first victory in the blue and gold this past Friday in a 35-0 shutout victory over Ohio County. While the numbers are up for the Eagles, not much experience was on the field and it was noticeable. The Raiders have quite a few guys who have played meaningful football for this program, they'll be expected to play a lot of snaps and hope to find a few explosive plays tomorrow night. Coach Tony Adams will be in search of his first win, the Gators lost 50-21 last week against a very talented Station Camp team out of Gallatin, TN. The SR QB for the Bison tossed for 5 TD's and completed over 60% of his passes. Too many turnovers for this Greenwood offense in their opener, 2 INT's and 2 fumbles. It'll be interesting to see if the Gators can get it rolling this week, they showed flashes but were inconsistent throughout four quarters. Hard to assess this game in my opinion, two totally different levels of competition in their openers. Know both teams want to give the other a crosstown loss, I'll be excited for this one. Greenwood gets their first win of the year 28-14.

Even in the best years of Purples football the Tigers would give them all they wanted. I believe both programs aren't where they want to be at the moment. How good is Bullitt East? I'm not really sure but outside of a redzone blunder BG moved the ball down the field, have some quick backs and some talented WR's as well. The concern coming into the season was whether or not the Purples OL could give the SO Quarterback a clean pocket, there was a lot of scrambling around and taking unnecessary punishment last Saturday. Nonetheless, Davis is a good QB and has the capability to do so, against a strong X defensive front in not sure how many plays will be made. Could be an old fashioned rock fight up in Louisville Friday evening but X should iron out some things offensively and get their first win of the season at home in this one. Tigers 28-10

Not sure if the Bombers looked good or if TCC was just that bad. Turnovers on both sides, sloppy football and a prolonged 1H. Regardless a win is a win and I know Ballard has to be excited about that, first one in nearly 2 years.

Running clock in Elkton. Bombers up 36-0 2Q, 4 minutes remaining until half.