TCR

Johnson Central came in from the opening play as McCoart ran one to the end zone on second back through out of the wishbone. The big difference in JC between this year and last year, I feel, is with McCoart back they have the player they're looking for that can take it for a long touchdown on any play. They also have a lot of depth in that backfield. JC's poise and maturity was impressive and when Boyd County would make a great play, it did not phase them and they would respond with one of their own. It may not look like it from the score, but IMO this is a huge win for Johnson Central. Coming into the game Boyd was a touchdown away (lost 36-31 at Bell County) from being 4-0 and with two more wins this season, will have has many wins between 2020 and now as they did in all of the 2010's. That shows how far they have come as a program. Last year Boyd, on the road, came in and had Johnson Central trailing 14-0 in the playoffs and this year responded with a touchdown drive of their own after that long run by McCoart. However, that didn't phase JC coming into a tough environment on the road. Boyd County has made significant strides since hiring Evan Ferguson in 2019, winning a district championship in 2022 and the following season giving both Ashland and Johnson Central good runs. Johnson Central always amazes me. Having been a part of a team that competed against them my senior year and also having been to many of their games since, they're easy to scout for the most part because you know everything they're going to do. Normally you can pick up on the tendencies teams will have, and that's especially the case here. They'll throw in a little wrinkle every now and then, but for the most part they do not hide anything and you know where they're going to attack in almost every yardage situation. Stopping their attack, however, is another story.

Congratulations to St. X and best wishes to both teams on their seasons. This rivalry has some bizarre turns - I recall one year, it was 05 or 06, St. X would defeat Trinity something like 48-14 in the regular season yet Trinity would respond with a 14-6 victory in the state championship game. You never know what will happen when these two programs collide and they're always so much fun to watch. Not to mention, they do an incredible job playing out of state teams with how they represent Kentucky football against some powerful programs.

Link to game on My Town TV.

Here is the website the game can be found: https://www.mytowntv.com/ There is also the YouTube link I will post as soon as it becomes available.

Johnson Central vs. Boyd County (At Boyd County) has been postponed to 6:00 PM Saturday.

Fleming County at Russell has been moved to Saturday at noon.

Peyton Powell plays middle blocker for the Greenup County Lady Musketeers and is a member of the Class of '26. Several colleges have expressed interest in Peyton for her overall playmaking. So far in her career she has shown the ability to hit with over 700 kills and is a talented player across the board. In addition to volleyball Peyton has also earned the opportunity to compete in the state events in track and field. In this interview Peyton talks about her volleyball career along with some of her academic accomplishments!

UPDATE: Start time for this game has been moved back to 8:00PM. @theguru @MorrowManiac

That is correct! The game will be on My Town TV and will be free to anybody who watches. Something to discuss that could be a potential game changer, the weather. Right now we're expecting a muddy game at The Farm on Friday with a steady rain. Hopefully no lightning.

Many of the PA announcers at the schools where I have called games emphasize, prior to the event, that taunting, throwing objects, and any poor behavior directed toward athletes, coaches, or officials will result in removal from the premises. Some schools also promote good sportsmanship online, similar to what Mustang described. While sportsmanship rules towards officials are mentioned at nearly every game I have attended, I have only seen them emphasized in advance on one occasion. This particular game involved a situation that inflamed an already heated local rivalry, where both schools made social media posts encouraging good sportsmanship and prohibited signs at the game. Over the past five years, I have seen athletic directors approach spectators once or twice to address inappropriate remarks directed at officials, and I have seen a handful of ejections during this time. The most concerning behavior I encountered was at my first PA announcing event back in 2016, which was a little league softball tournament in West Virginia. That is the only time I have ever been involved with a full little league event and I saw as many altercations at that event in five days as I have in five years of broadcasting high school sports. Although high school officials were not utilized at this event, I would imagine with the official shortage that there are some handling the games at the younger levels. The idea of involving high school students as officials is intriguing. I have observed this practice in volleyball, where students often serve as line judges during freshman and junior varsity games. Volleyball has experienced significant growth in the EKY area in recent years, and in addition to the high school players working as line judges many local players have returned to officiate. This involvement has positively impacted the crowds, as many spectators recognize the recent players stepping into these roles. Whether this initiative would successfully be applicable to all sports remains to be seen.

Time to get back at it. Since June I have ballooned back up to nearly 350 lbs.

The decline in officials is often viewed as a standalone issue, but I believe it is a symptom of a larger societal problem. In contemporary culture, we have elevated sports to a "golden calf" status, placing immense pressure on officials, coaches, players, and even volunteers, such as those on the chain gang or running concession stands. As an announcer, I will be the first to say that I regret being critical of what I perceived to be bad calls early in my career. Building relationships with officials changed my perspective and highlighted the heart, dedication, and training they invest in their roles. We often forget the broader life skills learned through athletics. Many of us have personal stories about how sports impacted our lives. For me, trying out for the basketball team in sixth grade transformed my social skills and pulled me out of my comfort zone, providing valuable lessons that extended beyond the court. While athletes should strive to maximize their talents, it's essential to recognize their overall development. Only about seven percent of high school athletes advance to play at the collegiate level, and many do not continue after a year or two. I empathize with the KHSAA's challenges and understand they are stretched thin from a staffing perspective. However, my experiences in sports media have shown that their processes can sometimes be less than user-friendly. While I won’t go into specifics, I sense that the constant influx of complaints from parents regarding various issues contributes to this frustration. However, I still think a more collaborative approach from them could foster better relationships and encourage greater participation from both officials and volunteers. To echo @se7ens, the comment section can indeed be brutal and it's something that happens every game. These aren't 16 to 18 year old kids, these are 50 and 60 year old adults bashing officials, coaches, announcers, schools, and even sometimes an athlete. As a society, we need to view high school sports for what they truly are—extracurricular activities. They should be fun and enjoyable, whether attending to watch a relative play or simply to relax and appreciate a fun game. We need to get back to that.

It should be a great matchup. These two schools often used to meet up in the playoffs. Raceland won handily last year but graduated a lot and are still looking to hit their stride while NCC has dropped two in a row, but both to 5A and 6A opponents. These two schools often used to meet in the playoffs. It derailed Raceland especially for several years in the 2000's because they would often be forced to meet up with Beechwood or NCC early in the playoffs due to alignment and most of the time Beechwood or NCC would defeat Raceland on the way to winning the state championship. What impresses me about NCC this year isn't just that they have a good passing attack, but also how they spread the ball around to many different receivers. Raceland is still working their offensive personnel out, but they have a couple of hard hitting backs and defensively they are stout. I think this one comes down to whichever team establishes their tempo whether that's NCC establishing their balanced game, keeping Raceland guessing defensively or Raceland establishing a strong running game and a clock control offense. Should be a great matchup!

Belfry begins district play with some momentum after they end a five game losing streak to Pikeville this week, defeating them 35-21 with a big part of that being a long punt return that set up a short touchdown run and a fumble recovery. Belfry looks to come into district play and pick up a win against Magoffin County. This is a different Belfry team that can certainly utilize the run like past teams, but also has a tendency to sling it around through the air. As I mentioned in the prior thread, Belfry completed more passes in their first four games than they did in 41 games in 2019, 2020, and 2021 combined. Magoffin County comes in with a record of 1-4, coming off of a 28-22 loss to Martin County. Magoffin County is coached by John Derossett, who had success at Prestonsburg including multiple trips to the state semifinals with a trip to the finals in 2001. They look to have a strong running core with Blake Wiremen and Braxton Montgomery, and I anticipate they will be looking to control the clock in this one to keep Belfry's offense off the field. It should be an interesting matchup and one where Belfry attempts to continue their momentum while Magoffin County tries to achieve something that would be historic for their program. An interesting tie in this game is that while I mentioned John Derossett's background coaching at Prestonsburg, that is also where Philip Haywood coached from 1975 - 1983 prior to continue his career at Belfry. Derossett was an assistant at Belfry at one time and coached Prestonsburg from 1996 to 2017, while also snagging some collegiate experience coaching linebackers at the University of Pikeville. 3A District 8 features Belfry, Estill County, Magoffin County, Lawrence County, and Powell County. What are your thoughts on this game?

Ashland travels to Greenup to play the 5-0 Musketeers and it what will be a big district game. Ashland is coming off a 48-7 win against Russell in which they had little trouble, racking up a total of 411 yards on offense and shutting down Russell defensively while also allowing QB LaBryant Strader time to throw as he went 10 for 12 with 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sam Lyons had his second game this season with over 100 yards receiving while Cam Davis scored twice on the ground and once on the receiving end. A big part of this was that the line looked improved and were in a good position to make blocks. Greenup County is 5-0, averaging 46.0 points per game offensively which has placed them at #4 in 4A in scoring. A big part of that is Tyson Sammons, who gets it done both through the air and on the ground. He has thrown for 766 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Sammons is ranked #4 in 4A in yards per carry averaging 13.3. Sammons also leads the team in tackling defensively. Waylon Perkins has been a strong runner and Sammons has a good receiving core led by Jasper Davis, Drew Boggs, and Tyler Johnson. On a side note regarding Tyson Sammons, his impact goes way beyond what the statistics show. To show the maturity and leadership this young man brings, he will play a football game on Friday night and then preach at Church on Sunday. This starts district play in 4A District 6 which features Ashland, Boyd County, Greenup County, Johnson Central, and Rowan County. While these five teams shared a district in the 2010's, it always came down to Ashland and Johnson Central. However, the other three programs have made significant strides since that time, earning accomplishments that had not been made in a number of years. The last time Greenup County defeated Ashland was 1999. Many would say that this is possibly the best chance for Greenup to win since that time. What are your thoughts on the game?

Congratulations to Highlands on a good win. Coming from the EKY area, trust me when I say that I have seen Raceland be a trap game for many teams and that's not just football, but across the board. I don't know all the details at this point but from the thread, it seems like in a way both teams, despite the score, have something good to build on. It sure doesn't look like Highlands came in looking ahead to Cooper, making the plays they needed to make. And despite the score, it looks like Raceland has some positives to build on, hanging around with Highlands for a while. All the best to both teams!

Thank you for the stats. That is WILD that the series is knotted up after all those meetings!

This is a Raceland team that relies heavily on the power running game that has been primarily anchored by sophomore Landen Stiltner and junior Parker Ison. The defense is improving but it is always a challenge trying to integrate several sophomore players, especially early in the season. Raceland lost possibly the most talented senior class to ever come through the school last year but you can expect they will still have plenty of talent on the field. I do think, as you mentioned @FrankNicodemus, Raceland fans are feeling good after this Pikeville loss. I personally think Raceland figured out more in the passing game and made substantial growth in that area against the defending 1A state champion. As talented as they are, this will be a big challenge for the Rams. Even with the senior class that reached two consecutive state finals, Highlands was still able to travel to Raceland and pick up a 40-0 win last year. One thing to understand about Raceland and I can say this from experience many times. This is a community that thrives on being the underdog and this is across all sports. In fact this week I called a volleyball game Raceland played on the road against Greenup County, who some have ranked as the top team in the 16th region. A 5-9 Raceland team that returned few players from last season came in and scrapped to pull a major upset against Greenup County in five sets. I expect we will see this same gritty mentality from their football team. A historical reference from Highlands' 2008 season will illustrate how I feel about this one. In 2008 Highlands had a dominating 14-1 team that won the state title but had teams with two completely different mentalities on the field in the first two games of the playoffs. The first, came in against a 5-5 Lexington Bryan Station that was prepared and expecting to win. Highlands happened to be caught off guard with Bryan Station nearly pulling out what would have been a massive upset, but Highlands came through in the final seconds with a touchdown to win. The next round against Ashland, they came in heavily focused determined not to be caught off guard again and won 53-6. I say this because it connects to this game in a way. Highlands has Cooper coming up and I'm sure will be eager to get revenge on the team that ended their season in the state semifinals. With Raceland not being a big rival, this is the type of game that could be a trap for them. Mentioning the 2008 Highlands team's mentality, we could possibly see the team that came in against Bryan Station that could potentially overlook Raceland or we could see Highlands make some nice adjustments after that loss to Ryle this week and come in with the mentality that the 2008 had in their win against Ashland. All this being said, this Highlands team has lofty expectations and I am sure will be looking to take out their frustrations from the Ryle game on Raceland. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Bob Sphire has accomplished from his time at Lexington Catholic, to his years at North Gwinnett in Georgia. Now he has Highlands trying to bust the doors down and win the state championship for the first time since 2014. It will be a great experience for both teams as they look to improve and make a deep playoff run in their respective classes.

Russell comes into this game having won two in a row against South Point by a score 35-13 and Magoffin County by a score of 38-0 after losing to Mason County and Greenup County, both teams which combine for records of 7-1. Replacing quite a few names from last year, Russell has relied on an assortment of players offensively to shoulder the load and are still in the mode of figuring out the right recipe for success, but have been figuring that out. Ashland starts 3-1, with wins against a young but talented Raceland team along with West Jessamine and Bardstown. The Tomcats have a great QB in LaBryant Strader and several athletes like Braxton Jennings and Cam Davis around him that have explosive ability. However, Ashland has made some changes to try to shore up their offensive and defensive lines, both of which have struggled at times this season. The offensive line improved against Bardstown, picking up several blitzes and for the first time this season LaBryant Strader had time in the pocket. This matchup can be broken down analytically all day - but numbers are thrown out the door in what is one of the best sports rivalries in Kentucky. Ashland won 47-10 last year, but it was a 10-7 game deep into the second quarter and late in 2022 a 2-9 Russell team had the ball on Ashland's 20 with a chance to score late and lost 20-14. Ashland would make the state semifinals that season. What are your thoughts on this one?

Belfry coming in at 2-2 winning their first game against Breathitt County 56-26 and then this week 47-26 over Southwestern. In between those two victories heir two losses are both by one score games, 43-35 against George Rogers Clark and 48-41 against Johnson Central. While Belfry historically has relied on the power running game, this year they have a tendency to throw it around a lot more. Belfry has completed a total of 44 passes, but to put it in perspective that is eight more than their 2019, 2020, and 2021 teams combined. Belfry's wins have come against teams with a combined record of 1-5, and a win against Pikeville (Although they're 1-3, it's more due to strength schedule) would be signature for them. Belfry's last win against Pikeville comes in 2018. Pikeville started the season once again being favored to win the state championship in 1A. They are 1-3, having opened with losses to 4A powers Corbin and Johnson Central and then to a tough 2A opponent in Lexington Christian 40-26 when they were one yard away from potentially taking a double-digit lead early in the game. This week they picked up their first win 16-13 in a hard fought rematch of last year's state championship game. Raceland lost possibly their best senior class in history last season, but the young Rams still are more than capable as they showed this week against Pikeville. Should be a great atmosphere for football! Who will win?

Actually has happened, once I can think of. 2006 between Rockcastle and Corbin to open up the season. 2-0 final with Rockcastle winning. From what I have been informed of at this point, both teams moved the ball pretty solid and got deep into the other's territory. Penalties and turnovers hurt their chances for conversion.

It will be interesting! Prior to my post, I first off want to say Bardstown has a top notch, class program all the way around. My first experience with Bardstown came in 2021, calling a basketball game where I had the opportunity to meet Coach Brewer beforehand. He was first class, a great representative for the organization just like Coach Grundy is for the football team. Amonti Marshall is such an impressive athlete and was a huge part of Bardstown's playoff run last season, a run where if just a couple of plays changed the team would have had the opportunity to see the state semifinal. Bardstown is only a couple of years removed from a state finals appearance when they were in 3A and will be a tough out. Ashland showed some flashes against Harvest Prep, but I anticipate we will see some retooling with the offensive line and some of the schemes. In all three games, even the big win against West Jessamine, Ashland has struggled moving the ball up the middle. Defensively, they have struggled up front. A similar scenario happened two seasons ago and I anticipate that just like then, Coach Tackett will find a way to strategize and gather some momentum on that end. Athletically, Ashland is talented and if they can get their athletes some room then I like their chances in most games.

Belfry starts the year 1-2 with a win over Breathitt County followed by a loss to George Rogers Clark in which they were up two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter before they would be stopped at the end of the game after a GRC comeback and GRC would win 43-35. This week they lost a 48-41 thriller against Johnson Central in which both teams had a great offensive showing, but defensively struggled. This week the problem Belfry had was wrap up tackling and I anticipate that this will be a major focus for them this coming week. However, the passing game was outstanding, going for over 300 yards. Southwestern, who made the regional final in 5A last season, starts the year 0-2 with a 14-0 loss to North Hardin and a 38-6 loss to South Warren. The offense struggled against South Warren and the defense gave up 29 points in the second quarter after the first quarter was a back and forth battle. This will be an opportunity for Southwestern to make some adjustments in how they come out against Belfry. It will be interesting to see how they defend Belfry’s passing attack. What are your thoughts on the game?

A much anticipated rematch of the past two 1A state championship games, Pikeville having been victorious in both. Pikeville returns as the favorite this season while Raceland is seeking to replace possibly the most talented graduating class to ever come through the school. Raceland opened up losing 28-7 to 4A rival Ashland and while they struggled to move the ball consistently, their power running game has given them a lot of reasons to be optimistic, especially if they can shore up a passing game to compliment that. In week two Raceland would defeat Letcher County Central 21-14 and their open week was this week. Pikeville opened up the season projected as the favorite. So far they are 0-3, but it’s extremely difficult to be critical of that when the three losses come to the likes of Corbin, Johnson Central, and Lexington Christian Academy. One area that I’m sure they will be focus on over the coming weeks will be turnovers. Pikeville had the ball on the 1 yard line against LCA leading 12-7. If they convert, that changes the ball game entirely but turning the ball over hurt them in that situation as LCA would respond with an 18-0 run to go up 25-12. I feel like Pikeville made some good improvements, however, with the offensive adjustments they made against LCA and they will continue to improve. Two great programs going at it! What are your thoughts on this one?

Ashland opens the season up with a 28-7 win against on the road against rival Raceland, while also collecting a second win against 5A West Jessamine last night 42-6 in a game that was delayed due to lightning. So far, the athleticism for Ashland has looked outstanding but up front is where they have been suspect. Some detailed information on Harvest Prep for those of you who may not be familiar due to them being an Ohio team. Last year Harvest Prep went 12-2, losing to Perry in the state semis 22-8. Other than Liberty Center in the state finals, Harvest Prep is the only team that came within two touchdowns of the 16-0 powerhouse Perry. Harvest Prep is coached by Milan Smith. The school has four state semifinal appearances in 16, 19, 21 and 23. Harvest Prep opened the season defeating Pickerington Central 24-21. Last season Pickerington Central, who is an Ohio Division I team (Think of that as 6A in Kentucky) went 8-4 and lost a tight one in the second round of the playoffs. In week two they defeated Purcell Marian, who went 10-3 last season, losing by nine points in the playoffs. However, they have started 0-2 so far this year. Purcell Marian is Division VI, the second smallest class. Harvest Prep is Division V which is the third smallest class. The size would be about a 2A school. Key returning players are Jamarcus "Juice" Jones, at corner, has several NCAA Division I offers including Eastern Michigan, South Florida, Miami of Ohio, and others. Dez Porter, at linebacker, has picked up an offer from Kent State and has interest from Ohio University amongst others. I could go on. Long story short, this team is highly talented. Having actually called one of their games in 2020, although the players are different they still like to go out of the shotgun formation while utilizing misdirection and physical play up front. This will be a real test for Ashland as the key to victory will be how they play up front compared to previous games in which the offensive line has struggled. It should be a great game! What are your thoughts?