St. Matthews Boy

The Rocks get state championship number 29!! Down 14-0 and Trinity was able to do as they have all year, dig in and find the will to win. What a performance from that squad. Congrats to Ryle on a great season. No doubt in my mind that what we watched Saturday night at Kroger Field was a battle between the two best in 6A.

Was very much the sentiment from many last night and going into the game. Johnson and Horneck's return will be very big for the Rocks.

Trinity had a seven-point lead at halftime and it was close through most of the third quarter. Bulldogs got hot from behind the arc late and that, plus their size advantage, helped them pull out the big win. Congrats to the Bulldogs. The better team on the floor tonight in what absolutely was a top-tier seventh region battle. Hope we see these two meet again later in the season.

According to this preview article that I'll link below it says he will be back in January. https://www.pmg-ky1.com/oldham_era/sports/boys-basketball-oldham-county-looks-to-build-off-young-talent-in-renners-first-year/article_66445b19-0d44-5920-b1d9-c05ba26ae89b.html

Yes. One of multiple injuries Oldham County has early in the year.

A good one in Taylorsville as the Spencer County Bears defend their home court vs the Oldham County Colonels to move to 2-0 on the young season. Spencer County came out of the gate strong and led the whole way in this one. It was a 20-7 game at the end of the first quarter before Oldham made it a five-point game (26-21) at half. The Bears had the size advantage vs the Colonels for sure and out rebounded them 29-22.

Final from a great battle at Jim Reuther Gym. Very tight battle and the Mustangs had some chances late but the Bruins were able to pull out the victory on their home court.

Eastern is either the largest or second largest high school in JCPS along with Moore (around 2,030ish). Ballard, Male, and Manual sit behind them with similar numbers (close to 2k). Haven't had a winning season since 2012 (11-3). Went 10-3 in 2011. A very tough job to be sure. Especially with the big dogs of Trinity, Male, Manual, and St. Xavier taking uo most of the oxygen as far as 6A in Louisville is concerned. Ballard and Fern Creek also competitive and had really good years as of late. Same is true of those within arms reach across county lines in Bullitt East and Oldham County.

Wow. Pretty dang big job opening. The Red Devils are pretty much always competitive. I see them as a top 10 program traditionally in 5A. And as mentioned, some serious talent in the program right now.

Yes. Thomas Hornek also out. Been in a boot for multiple weeks now.

The Trinity Shamrocks (1-0) host the Male Bulldogs (1-0) in a big time, early season seventh region clash on Friday night at Steinhauser Gymnasium. Trinity opened their season with a 71-38 win over DeSales on Tuesday night while Male got things underway with a 75-63 win vs Eastern on Monday night. Cole Edelen led Male with 34 points in the victory on Monday, leading the way for a Bulldogs squad that put its size, speed, and depth on display. Freshman Jordan Mitchell had 18 points. Trinity played a lot of guys in the blowout win versus DeSales and was still without star Jayden Johnson who is sidelined with a lower-body injury. Sophomore Garrison Gilvin led Trinity with 16 off the bench. Senior PF/C Julius Edmonds had 14 and looked to be the best player on the court for Trinity most of the night. Friday night will be an interesting one between these two and could very well be the first of multiple meetings between the Shamrocks and Bulldogs this season. In terms of series history, Male has won four of the last five. The Bulldogs beat the Shamrocks 62-55 last season at Glenn Gym.

I remember Trinity and Ryle scrimmaging a few years back (maybe multiple years). Nonetheless, would love to see the Rocks get another tough in-state team such as Ryle on the schedule in future years. Fredrick Douglass and Bryan Station have been good, competitive non-Louisville opponents as of late.

Had to check multiple places including the NFHS stream to make sure this was accurate. It is. WOW. And word was that DeSales did look to have some good pieces in their scrimmage vs Oldham County about a week ago. Not the ideal or expected start to the Derek Ferch era on Kenwood Drive. The Colts match up against Trinity tomorrow night then have Waggener on Thursday and Bishop Brossart on Friday. Maybe we'll get a better read on this Colts team by the end of the week.

Caught a bit of this one. Male did what was expected. The Bulldogs are big, athletic, and deep with Edelen leading the charge. Gonna be a tough team night in and night out this season. Was impressed with Eastern being able to keep it a bit closer than expected. But once Male shook off the rust and was able to play their pace, it was their game to lose.

Will have my eyes on this scoreline tomorrow night for sure. Both teams could possibly make some noise in what looks to be a pretty open sixth region. Both also have new head coaches. Could see this one go either way and while I think Fern Creek might have a talent edge, I'll go with Coach Liberman and the Holy Cross Cougars.

Basketball season is upon us and here in the seventh region there are a few big matchups that should tell us a lot about how the region's top teams look as the season begins. Here's a look at some of the early season matchups that could be intriguing this week: Monday, Dec. 2nd Male vs Eastern (at Southern HS) - GLICOD Stream Central at Fairdale Tuesday, Dec. 3rd Trinity vs DeSales Manual vs Jeffersontown Seneca vs Spencer County Ballard vs Central Thursday, Dec. 5th Ballard vs North Oldham Christian Academy (Lou.) at Fern Creek Friday, Dec. 6th Trinity vs Male Seneca vs Fern Creek Saturday, Dec. 7 St. Xavier vs Spencer County

As a Trinity man, I must roll with the Shamrocks. But should be a close and fun game between these two programs. I think the battle to watch is in the trenches as Trinity's D-line has been strong all year and dominated vs Fredrick Douglass in the semifinals. If the Rocks can win that matchup I think they have a good chance at winning the game. Trinity is 7-0 versus Ryle with the last meeting coming in the 2021 semifinals which were played in Union. These two also met in 2010 semifinals and the 2006 4A title game. Trinity is 49-2 versus NKY teams. Only Highlands and Dixie Heights have wins over the Rocks.

Defense showed up big for Trinity tonight, once again. And just like the regular season meeting, the Rocks were able to capitalize off FD turnovers and mistakes. Congrats to FD on another good season.

Trinity's school motto is Maximo Animi Ardore which is Latin for "With Maximum Effort of The Soul." About X saying "unequal tradition" it depends on context and what they are talking about. Multiple traditions, football and otherwise, that match it around the state. But X is the oldest boys Catholic HS and one of the oldest overall in the state. So they do have that.

DeSales topped Oldham County 66-62 in a scrimmage tonight (8 min quarters). The Colts led 26-9 with a little over five minutes to go in the second quarter before OC got into a good rhythm.

Expected outcome, at least for myself. Expect a strong season from both the Shamrocks and the Warhawks. Both have some high-profile early season games next week with GC traveling to Ashland Blazer on Monday December while Trinity host Male on Friday. Trinity is banged up right now. Missing Johnson is a big loss. For GC, reports show Moreno left with an arm injury. Will see what happens with that.

Steaming via Hudl: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ky/georgetown/organization/117863/great-crossing-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0MTY3NDcxOA==

Been a rough going for the Cougars since that nine-win season in 2021 that saw them reach the 5A quarterfinals. That was Kuehn's last season. Since then, they have been the bottom of the barrel in Bullitt County, going 1-5 versus their peers of Bullitt East and North Bullitt in that time. They are 0-4 vs their rivals in the last two seasons. Last Bullitt Cup victory for the Cougars came in 2018. The Cougars have gone 3-17 over the last two seasons. Garrard County (23, 24) and J-Town (24) are their only wins in that stretch. Bullitt East looks like they may maintain as the power in the county right now and North Bullitt, who I believe had an interim most of the year, had an improved season. Will be interesting to see where they go with this search. Certainly talent and athletes to compete already there in Shepherdsville.

Johnson was injured a few weeks ago in practice, as I understand. Not sure how long he will be out. Trinity scrimmages Great Crossing on Tuesday before getting the season underway next week vs DeSales (Dec. 3) and Male (Dec. 6). We shall see if he is back for those.