TheBallCoach

Would love to see Barber win it, but I think my pick would have to be Pittman. The schedule sets up very well for another season of some remarkable numbers.

Junior, class of 2027.

A seasoned veteran no doubt, but we’re also human. Likewise I have the same sort of respect for Coach and what he’s accomplished, but that statement can’t be echoed by everyone in the Bowling Green community and he knows that. Which is why I had to pose the question.

Owensboro will come out swinging and may hit a couple of explosive plays that turn into scores, but I expect the Tigers to wear them down as the night goes on. It’s a strong season opener either way, and both teams face tough follow up games after. The question I have is whether or not this could be a look ahead spot for Coach Wallace. With this being his “last ride” and a trip down I-65 on the horizon to the place where he won multiple state titles, I believe that could be a real possibility and one that could open up an opportunity for Owensboro. Tigers 34 Red Devils 21

Only 41-16 last year which if I remember correctly it was a running clock at half 41-0 and McCracken scored a couple in the 2H. A lot of new guys on the field for this Tilghman bunch, I’m sure Coach Thompson will want them to get as many reps as possible to build some cohesion as an overall team, and with that the gap widens a bit. Blue Tornado 56 Mustangs 7

This will be the 5th year of the J. Allen Builders Bowl, the Raiders are 3-1 in their home bowl game. The Highlanders from Floyd Knobs, IN will be making their debut on the Smurf turf, they invited the Tigers of St X across the border last season and got boat raced 63-14, however they finished the season 6-3 and brought back some pretty talented players. Similar to KY our neighboring state also has 6 classes as well, Floyd Central is a 5A program and I’m sure they believe they have a chance to come in and spoil the party Friday evening. Decided to do a little dive in on this Floyd Central team and a couple players stood out to me. The Highlanders are led by their SR Quarterback Jack Mull, 6’2 frame, can sling the ball all over the field, threw for 23 TD’s last season and is expected to have another jump in production this year thanks to some talented athletes around him. Like his teammate Mull, Matthew Polk a SR TE/LB holds some small ball college offers as well, very athletic and talented on both sides of the ball and will be a key contributor if they plan to come out of Bowling Green with a win. The Raiders, it’s a new day, they are led by transfer SO QB Xavier Isable, it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in his debut. Coach Hall had some words in the BGDN the other day, (link is here https://bgdailynews.com/2025/08/15/sports_prepfootball081325-2/) what stood out to me is the openness about how his QB isn’t looking to run the ball. With a 6’2 200lb frame I have a hard time believing that and I hope that is just Coach speak, in my personal opinion if you are running out of the shotgun 100% of the time your QB has to be a threat to run the football or you’ll be outnumbered 9/10. With that being said Isable will have some guys to toss the ball too, SR WR Brayden Lightfoot is phenomenal had 10 receiving TD’s last year and I expect more of the same this season, SR WR Logan Boyer is a crafty young man as well accumulating over 500+ yards last season with four scores. What has me worried is we won’t be seeing the Raiders star of their Defense who is one of the few returning starters DL Damontre Barnett, in their first scrimmage against Campbellsville it was said that a DL went down for Warren East and Coach Hall called the game. This past week the Raiders traveled to Edmonton to scrimmage Metcalfe County and I didn’t see #90 on the field, hope it’s just something minor and that he’ll have a speedy recovery and be able to enjoy his SR year but this game shows mercy to no one and it can happen to anyone. Preseason I had the Raiders getting this game with no problem, I was wrong in that prediction and believe this will actually be a very competitive game. I feel good about the Raiders OL, the WR’s are solid, and they got what seems to be a competent QB. Their run game is what makes me ask the question of what they can be offensively this season, you have to be able to run the football at any level across this sport so it’ll be interesting to see how they decide to go about that. I see this Highlanders offense lighting up the Warren East defense unfortunately and the scoreboard has the potential to catch on fire if the Raiders offense has it rolling as well. If you’re up at 8:30pm cst and wondering what to watch just head on over to our friends at Sporting Times for a firework show! https://stfanclub.com Highlanders 48 Raiders 34

Campbellsville Murray South Oldham Raceland Ryle Tiebreaker- 48

Tough opener for the Cougars, was very impressed with Jake Crump on the offensive side of the ball against Monroe County in their scrimmage Friday night. The Raiders will get downhill and I’d say that sets up well for Logan County but I don’t know if they’ll be able to match their physicality for 4 quarters. Raiders 35 Cougars 7

I’m unsure what Station is bringing in the opener, South Warren will be tough defensively per usual, very good size up front with some immovable bodies plugging the middle. Surely the Spartans won’t attempt to run a two Quarterback system this year and have made their decision, my best guess is they’ll roll with the JR Camden Page. Spartans 38 Defenders 14

Wonderful write up per usual @Purple88, it’s that time of year again and another job very well done as expected, a great afternoon read indeed. My first thoughts yesterday evening were not about the Purples lack of ability to move the ball down the field, I think a few hiccups early was expected transitioning to a new QB that is taking the reigns from a D1 QB who has ran the show for many years. Their defensive penalties were hard to watch though and add onto the fact they are still developing a new guy into the system on the other side of the ball the Purples can’t afford to extend drives the way they were. On the flip side of things they showed a lot of aggressiveness, and while they lacked some discipline, I’d put that front 7 up against anybody in the state. That’s where I see the Aces falling into some trouble, if the pocket is clean Carothers is definitely capable of lighting the Rafferty’s bowl on fire, unfortunately for Catholic I don’t see that being the case. I want to see the Purples run the ball more efficiently, it’s hard to get a consistent run game out of shotgun though if the QB isn’t a threat. With it being a scrimmage it’s hard to dictate whether or not he will be able to make those plays in order to keep the defense honest, and that’ll be my biggest question come Saturday. Keep it simple, get your playmakers the ball in space and I see no issues on why this won’t be another explosive year, the OL looked respectable, as I have to expect the Catholic DL won’t be near as dangerous as the one they saw last night. I like the Purples to win by a few scores, the defense will stifle the Aces and the offense will do enough to get a win thanks to some advantageous field position the defense creates. As far as the kicking game goes though the Purples can’t punt let alone get a clean snap back to the punter, that’ll be something to watch for as well and could create a some problems. Purples 35 Aces 7

A quick look over at KHSAA and you’ll see the 1A Panthers have 12 more players on the roster than the 6A Panthers. That doesn’t sound correct considering you’d expect the 6A program to carry 30-40 more kids than the 1A team, wild discrepancy if true.

Thanks @TilghmanPride, sounds like it’ll be another exciting season in Paducah

Easily over 100+ yards of penalties for the Purples in a half of football, all on the defensive side of the ball, can’t win football games against good competition with that sort of aggressiveness.

@gchs_uk9 I saw that as well, looks as though he only played 16 games. He avg 14/8 his sophomore year and 11/7 as a freshman at Washington County. I like that Plona is adding some length to the roster, the Tops were handcuffed last year due to their lack of size 1-5, but especially on the wings and in the paint.

@TimeWillTell Catholic is well coached so I wouldn’t call it a complete wash of a day for Tilghman in the aspect of getting better, hell I said I could be convinced this will be their best competition until the 3rd week of November which is a slight to the schedule sure, but the Aces aren’t a bad program. I just don’t see it as being a stretch to say the Catholic will get dominated at the LOS. If you did an average of size of the big guys up front Tilghman would clear by a few inches in height and 30 or more lbs across the board.

I don’t believe the Aces will be able to get any sort of beneficial work as they’ll get dominated at the LOS this evening, I’m very high on the Blue Tornado again this year. I’m not sure about Catholic, Carothers is a ball player and they’ll be competitive in 2A no doubt, but opening with Bowling Green is tough, however they’re breaking in a new QB as well so that’s the best time to try and catch them. One could argue that this scrimmage will be PT’s toughest competition on the field until the 3rd week of November, and I’d have a hard time disagreeing with that. Best of luck to both schools tonight and going forward this Fall!

Former Washington County Commander Power Forward who transferred to Montverde (FL) last season who is now at La Lumiere (IN) just committed to WKU yesterday afternoon. Big get for the Tops, a 6’7 3 star wing with offers from the likes of Indiana, Cincinnati, Clemson and Illinois, hopefully the young man has transferred enough in his time in High School that he finds a forever home here in the great place of Bowling Green. Another KY kid to the Hill, 2nd of the 2026 class (Cole Edelen) and when you add them to the six already on the roster (Boone, Edelen, Moore, Rice, Stinnett, Unseld) you’ve got yourself a majority of homegrown talent, only Stinnett will be graduating and he will be a reserve for the 2025 season. As a fan of the program and a proud Kentuckian there is nothing more admirable than getting talent within our State, have to give Coach Hank Plona some praise.

Other than a strange first drive where the Red Devils marched down the field I thought the Spartans defense looked about how I assumed they would. The offense, I’m not so sure. Which I should’ve known a team who is undecided with what Quarterback to play a week before their first game would be anything other than shaky. After a few drives a piece I thought both of them looked underwhelming, though when you’re splitting reps that tends to happen. They better hurry up and pick one or the other or they’ll start off their 6A journey rough, I’d go with Page personally, looked to be more comfortable and showed better command of the offense at the LOS.

I always go back to a story I heard an older gentleman tell me when he mentioned how when he was in High School if you got your butt whoop maybe 10-15 people saw it, whoever was around. By the next day the story may of altered that you held your own, wasn’t anyone with a video camera to tell otherwise. What I took from this was we’re seeing a generation who cannot stand to lose because of the embarrassment and comparison to others who may seem as though they have it made on the internet. It’s a blessing and a curse to have technology at our fingertips because some people aren’t utilizing it for the best of one’s interest, it’s all about engagement and hoping to be the next famous influencer. Like @Calico Jack mentioned the numbers across the board for this game are extremely low, and really every competitive sport if you choose to look at in whole. It’s disappointing but when you look at it through a perspective you may not of thought of it does make quite a bit of sense. Though the blessing in it all is that it does show the true power of coaches who obtain the sort of leadership that cultivates great young men, no longer all about the X’s and the O’s or even the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s. It’s the great equalizer that has always been the measuring stick of what makes a coach great, the relationships you build with your student athletes and the belief they have in you to put them in positions to be successful. Great leaders are needed now more than ever, from the head coach to the film guy there is no better role model than a coach, have to take pride in that.

The generation that has been created isn’t soft in my opinion, it’s a sheltered one by individuals who could careless about the sport but continue to put their hands on something to feel as if they’re making an impact for the better. Fights in football especially glorified practices (scrimmages) have been going on for as long as the sport has been played, especially when you’ve been beating one another up all year long and get some fresh blood. This is nothing new, and the one’s who have been in the sport know it’s just one of those things you want to have under control, but let’s be honest with ourselves, it’s hot, everyone is competing and it’s teenage boys, they’re bound to be more aggressive by nature and when you’re playing a physical sport, tempers can flare, who really cares? If you don’t like it do not participate, I’m not condoning a brawl every possession, but I’m also not wanting to watch flag football and if a kid gets popped on the field I like to see some emotion and excitement, and like many spectators I don’t want to see a kid go punch the other for getting excited. Even in that hypothetical scenario, back in the 60s, 90s, you would have bad apples do that rather than strap it back up and make a play on the next snap, we just live in a time where cameras capture all and now everybody has an opinion. A silly move by the KHSAA, just shows how out of touch they are with the game of football.

Did you catch a number of the DL for Warren East that went down?

Nowhere

I believe the better question would be what Middle Schools have their own field in general, let alone turf. Must be a common thing in the North, down here in the WKY/SOKY area of the state I can’t think of any schools that don’t play at the High School field.

1st with ease, but who is finishing 2nd? Daviess I feel would be the consensus pick for last place, Central Hardin made a nice run in the playoffs last year and Meade has lacked consistency, interesting district.

This is the one, from a players perspective, I definitely remember seeing our coaches put in the work on our field to make it decent, it was sentimental, and gave them an extra notch of respect throughout the locker room. Very appreciative, especially when you would travel to other schools and see how unfortunate others had it even when you didn’t have much either.