Hearsay

Don’t know, but senior QB Carson Riley has transferred from Bardstown to Nelson County, so there are doubts.

Awesome! I bought a bunch before my oldest son’s wedding June 20 and he, his brothers and groomsmen, and the bride, joined him for a celebratory smoke.

We are big wrestling family as well. Union is the flagship program in the state; however, unfortunately we lower half as a state nationally. Payne Carr was an undefeated 4 time state champ at Union, went to the Naval Academy, was third string in his weight class, and later dropped off the team as a sophomore.

Should be a good ballgame. Overall I think the teams out West were stronger this year than the teams in Central Ky, and I think E-Town is a year away. Could come down to some special teams plays, field positioning, untimely turnovers, etc., but I think the advantage is Logan County, also a very well-coached team.

CAL wins, but for some reason I just think my old teammate Mike Jackson will find a way to keep this in the 3 TD range, and not a running clock.

I'm going to pick the Fighting Marksburys in what I guess would be considered a mild upset.

I think that's about right. Slink has been correctly getting scores for years.

You may well be right about that.

Two teams with a season full of peaks and valleys square off Friday night at Ty Scroggins Stadium in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. Bardstown (7-3), the #3 seed from District 4, started the season hot with wins over 4A foes E-Town, Fern Creek, John Hardin, and Nelson County. The Tigers then got blitzkrieged (and suffered an injury to top rusher Sevyn Hamilton) in a mid-season loss to Owensboro Catholic, and began a slide of 3 losses in 5 games, including an explicable overtime loss at Garrard County and a hard-to-stomach shutout at the hands of Lexington Catholic and former head coach David Clark, before getting well Friday night in a lopsided victory over Washington County. The tools are there for the Tigers, with Hamilton back and having run for 750 yards, junior quarterback Carson Riley throwing for over 1,500 yards on the season, and sophomore wideout Chi Poynter setting a single-season school record with 51 receptions on the year. But the defense is very suspect at times, exposed against better competition from the two Catholic schools. Louisville Central (4-6), the #2 seed from District 3, is harder to read. They have played their traditional murderer's row of a schedule and gotten pummeled by state powers like Manual, Belfry, CovCath, CAL, and Mayfield, while beating the teams they are supposed to beat and earning the first round home game. Central has had difficulty scoring and relies heavily on the run paced by Brian Marshall and Damontre Cherry, although this year QB Rashad Baker has thrown it about 13 times per game. The Yellowjackets suffered an unfortunate setback week before last, losing head coach Marvin Dantzler to a dispute with the school's administration. It remains to be seen how that will affect the overall program going forward. However it plays out, Central has played the more dominant schedule and should be the favorite, together with the best band and fish sandwiches in Kentucky High School ball, and either way, the winner will have the joyful privilege of traveling to Christian Academy in Week 2.

I agree with posters who opine that there is likely something else at play here. I am a huge admirer of the entire Central High School environment. They are the pulse and lifeblood of that downtown community. If Coach Dantzler exploded and was abusive to the band, that is highly inappropriate, but on its own I can’t see it being a dismissal-level offense for an administration that manages the types of day-in, day-out challenges that Central deals with. The band (and their dance team) is the best I have seen in the State of Kentucky, and it’s not close. True Grambling/Southern U. style performances. On game nights, they line up at the school and march down Chestnut to the field six blocks away, their music reverberating throughout the entire downtown. Very intimidating. Worth a touchdown home field advantage at least. And the fried fish sammiches on the visitor sidelines are elite. I wasn’t going to go to the first round playoff game against Bardstown, but now I am. Park at the awesome little church behind the field that opens up their lot for a love offering, fish Sammie’s x2, and listen to that drumbeat the whole game.

One of the most highly-anticipated 3A matchups of the season may not quite have the luster it once did, but it still marks the return of Lexington Catholic head coach David Clark to his long-time stomping grounds at Bardstown. Clark came to Bardstown in 1997 and was offensive coordinator for the Tigers under Joey Downs, including the glorious Bardstown state championship in 2001, when current head coach Justin Grundy was a linebacker and team captain. He took over the head coaching reins prior to the 2007 season, took the team to the state championship game in 2022, and retired following the 2023 season. Friday night, he will take the Knights (6-2) into the stadium he oversaw construction of in 2020. LexCath has energized behind a stout defense that is particularly dominant against the run, led by Junior linebacker Jack Wedding (47 tackles), junior end Mark Hosinski (39 tackles, 5 sacks), and senior safety Brady Wasik. Wasik also serves as the team’s QB (553 yards) and leading rusher (493 yards). The Knights chew clock, commit few penalties, and rarely turn the ball over, and that has resulted in an early-season victory over Boyle County and a #2 3A ranking. Two weeks ago, Lexington Catholic thrashed Garrard County 38-0. Perhaps the Tigers (6-2) were looking at that when they traveled to Lancaster Friday and laid an egg against the Golden Lions, falling 35-32 in overtime. Nothing went right for Bardstown, as they failed to slow Garrard’s run game on several long, sustained drives; failed to get receivers open in the pass game; had a tremendous amount of penalties; had a punt blocked and returned for a TD; and appeared to suffer from general Fall Break malaise and lethargy. Or perhaps the limitation on leading rusher Sevyn Hamilton from a leg injury suffered in the Owensboro Catholic debacle was to blame. Whatever the reason, Bardstown must set the inconsistency aside and find a remedy in a hurry. A loss leaves the Tigers with a disappointing third-place district finish and first round playoff at Desales or Central. A victory could still result in a District title.

No way to sugarcoat this one. Very bad loss. I think it would be conservative to estimate Bardstown had over 150 yards in penalties, including a touchdown and several long runs called back. Special teams was also a factor, blocked punt for Garrard touchdown, bad snap/hold on extra points, kick return coverage pretty mid. For whatever reason, the offense was anemic, with receivers not getting open most of the night, and the defense, particularly the linebacking corps, not shedding blocks. All of this does not bode well for Friday nights highly-anticipated matchup with LexCath. You hate to say a season really comes down to one game, but . . . Tough men will put this one in File 13, strap it back up and go to work. Let’s see what Bardstown’s got.

Maybe I’m missing something. Is the punter hurt? Only down 7 with a quarter to play? Even the metrics don’t have you going for it there??

Final.

Never take the Fighting Marksbury’s lightly.