St. Matthews Boy

Announced on Thursday that Jeff Morrow would leave his post as the head man at Iroquois, where he's been since 2012-13, and take the opening at Eastern. Brings with him 29 years of coaching experience and heads back to the seventh region, where he had a ton of success with Jeffersontown including a 2006 state championship. Morrow succeed Scotty Davenport at Ballard, coaching the Bruins from 1996-1998. He served as the head coach at Whitfield Academy for a time, as well. Morrow is the last coach to lead at JCPS team to a state championship. He has 500 career wins. Had four 20-plus win seasons at Iroquois. Eastern is the last school not named Ballard or Trinity currently in the 7th region to win a state championship.

The Cougars went 6-6 last season and 1-3 in district play. Holy Cross lost to district rival KCD 27-21 in the second round of the 1A playoffs. A lot of good contest between the Cougars and Bearcats recently, however its been KCD owning the series with seven straight wins. Expect those two to be atop the district once again. KCD won the regular season meeting 33-19 last fall. Holy Cross was younger last season. Starting QB Jerek Hoover threw for 1,808 yards and 16 TDs as a sophomore. Hoover also was a running threat, rushing for 634 yards and 11 TDs. Jamari Pennebaker rushed for 1,456 yards and 19 TDs as a junior starting at RB. Only four of Holy Cross' top 10 scorers were seniors with most being sophomores. That includes kicker Luke Harris who went 35-for-41 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals. Leading tackler in MLB Aiden Dewees (121 tackles, 7 TFLs) graduates. Colton King was the team's second-leading tackler as a sophomore with 131 tackles and 10 TFLs. Michael Wortham and Keith Hadley each had a team-high 2 Ints. Both graduate. Main theme and question for Holy Cross entering 2025: how do those young stars progress?? And could that progression lead the Cougars to a deeper run in the playoffs. Deepest run for the Cougars this decade was 2022 when they fell to Raceland in the 1A semifinals. Made the semis in 2019 as well with a loss to another Eastern Kentucky power in Pikeville.

Hmmm....

Thanks. I was thinking Jackson hadn't been there that long but went with what the KHSAA site said.

The DeSales Colts enter the fifth-year of the Mike Jackson era in 2025. DeSales is coming off their second consecutive nine-win season as the Colts went 9-4 last fall. The Colts' season ended in the third round of the 4A playoffs with a loss to powerhouse Paducah Tilghman by a score of 56-14. It is the deepest run DeSales has made under Jackson. Key Graduations: Levi Riordan (RB/LB), DaVon Martin (WR/DB), Michael Ellis (LB), Desmond Richard (OG/DE) Key Returners: Cameron Bischoff (QB), Kingston Merritt (WR), Silas Jones (WR/DB), John Deitz (K) 2024 Offense: 29.9 points per game. 15th in 4A. 2024 Defense: 21.8 points allowed per game. 20th in 4A. DeSales was very much among the top half amongst 4A last fall and returns some real talent with the biggest returner being quarterback Cameron Bischoff. He threw for 2527 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior. Bischoff losses two of the biggest weapons around him in DaVon Martin who led the Colts in receiving (977 yards, 12 TDs) and Levi Riordan who was RB1 with 488 yards and 10 TDs on the ground. Riordan was one of many who played both ways for the Colts and was also the team's leading tackler (64, 10 TFLs, 1 sack). As a junior, Kingston Merritt went for 358 yards and 4TDs rushing on 51 carries. He also caught 43 balls for 686 yards and 6TDs. Look for him to be a big asset on offense alongside the likes of some younger guys like Silas Jones (WR/DB). Jones is also a potential star to watch on defense as he had two INTS and 24 tackles as a sophomore. Jones is the leading returning tackler. John Deitz showed off his strong leg as a sophomore, going 32-for-35 on PATs and 5-for-5 in field goals. Defense is where maybe the most questions lie for DeSales as the Colts lose four of their top five tackles. Expect a lot of youth and new faces to show up for the Colts all over the field with this programing graduating a class of 14 guys. How that progresses, especially along the lines of scrimmage, will be something to watch with this DeSales squad for sure. 2025 DeSales Schedule: Aug 22 - at Oldham County Aug 29 - vs. Nelson County Sep 5 - at Holy Cross Sep 12 - vs. Kentucky Country Day Sep 19 - vs. Southern Sep 26 - vs. Bishop Brossart Oct 3 - vs. Christian Academy Louisville (District) Oct 10 - vs. Western (District) Oct 17 - at Central (District) Oct 24 - BYE Oct 31 - at Anderson County

Shamrocks officially release their 2025 schedule: Is as expected.

Have also heard Rondo's name mentioned and from some very good sources. Makes me think it could be real but like anything else we shall wait and see what actually transpires.

South Oldham has been shooting very well and especially so from behind the arc. Bowling Green, on the other hand, has been very physical and able to wear teams down this week. I was really impressed with how they looked in the win this morning over Ashland. I think overall the Purples are more physical and that might not bode well for South. So give me BG.

Great Crossing is the clear-cut favorite in this one and I think that they should win. Have the size advantage and especially so in the paint with Moreno. Have been very impressed with Montgomery County not only in the Sweet 16 but throughout the postseason. The Indians can shoot and they are very dangerous when they get hot. May be able to keep things closer than some would expect. But still give me GC.

In four seasons Eric Ratliff complied an overall record of 69-41. Pike Central won their district each year he was there and was the 15th region runner up in 2022 which was his first season.

Baseball state tournament is also seeded by blind draw. While it may not always seem to go in favor of getting us the best two teams in the championship game, I do like the current system. It allows for some drama that may otherwise not be there that early in the tournament. And as we've heard many coaches say over the years, to win a championship you will have to beat the best anyway. Sometimes that may come sooner than expected but still have to go through the fire to be the final team standing at the end of the week.

Matthew Jones at KCD has been there a while and really done nice things with that program. Small school that was never really on anyone's radar football-wise and he has them competing seriously now and has for the past few years. Tood Adler at Logan County is another one that stands out. Especially considering that when he took over, the Cougar were coming off three consecutive winless seasons. While last season wasn't the best, they have been a consistent 8-10 win team for most of his tenure.

X has been the team to beat all year and ran through the seventh region. Clearly the favorite entering the Sweet 16 but I would not put it past the Charges to give the Tigers one heck of a battle or even pull of the upset. J-Town has been a different team since the return of McDaniels. Can match the style of play of X maybe as good as anyone. Series history, this will be the 19th meeting between St. Xavier and J-Town since 1997. Last meeting was in 2023 and yielded a 95-75 X win.

He played in the dying minutes of the 7th region title game. Not sure how healthy he is to go full bore in the Sweet 16.

Was expected to win but still maybe the most complete game the Rocks have played all year along. Best since the Manual LIT win for sure. Expect a battle between the Shamrocks and Crimson on Friday at Valley.

Male-Manual in the first round is tough. Trinity and St. Xavier being on both sides sets up a potential big time 7th region final if both can advance. Trinity beat CAL 68-56 back on February 4th.

Trinity 66, Seneca 55 Atherton 56, Waggener 45 Sets up a district title game of Trinity vs Atherton at 7:30 on Thursday at Seneca. Back on December 13th, Atherton took the Shamrocks to OT in a game Trinity won 83-75. Trinity is 15-1 vs the 27th district over the past three seasons, which includes last year's region title win vs Seneca. Since the realignment ahead of 2011-12, Trinity is has made the district title game each year and is 11-2 in those showings. The two losses: 2022 (71-63 vs Seneca) and 2019 (58-47 vs Waggener). That 2019 squad went on to win it all at Rupp. Wild. Atherton makes their second district title game appearance in three seasons, having made it in 2023 as well. Their last showing before that was 2005.

The Shamrocks end the regular season with a win on the road in Mt. Sterling. Trinity ends regular season play with a 13-14 record. Will be No. 1 seed in 27th district tournament, which begins Tuesday. Rocks play Seneca in QF.

Big win for the Mustangs! Sixth region currently sees Butler and PRP on top with JTown also in the mix. Should Moore's name be in there as well? The Mustangs got stomped by Butler early in the year and after dates with JTown and PRP in the coming weeks.

Murray moves to 3A in 2025. Will be in district one along with Hopkins County Central, Union County, and Webster County.

After Ballard took the LIT meeting between these two seventh region powers, the Bulldogs got payback on Friday night with a home win versus the Bruins. Was a wild game where after Male took a 41-25 lead at the half, Ballard was able to comeback and things were tied multiple times in the fourth quarter. A technical foul on the Male bench with 14 seconds left sent Ballard to the line with it being a 75-72 game. The Bruins only sunk one and then on the ensuing possession dribbled it out of bounds on the baseline. Was a big game for Jaymes Clark and Jayson Gasaway for Male. Both had 19 points.

This should be the complete schedule: 8/22 vs PRP 8/29 vs Fredrick Douglass 9/5 at Moeller (Ohio) 9/12 vs Carmel (Ind.) 9/19 at Male 9/26 vs St. Xavier (at Cardinal Stadium) 10/3 at St. Xavier (Ohio) 10/10 at Ballard 10/17 vs Eastern 10/24 vs Oldham County 10/31 Bye Week

The Rocks get the win in overtime. A big one as well, fighting back against a good Cov Cath team that shot very well all night. Johnson and Edmonds came up HUGE for Trinity. Now an even bigger battle awaits the Rocks on Sunday vs St. Xavier at Bellarmine.

RIP to an absolute legend.

Trinity knocks off the Chargers in the first round of the LIT. Ends a six-game losing streak for the Shamrocks.