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Inside South-Central Kentucky Football During each week of the year, Inside South-Central Kentucky Football will look at some of the teams from the greater Bowling Green area, and will include the following teams: Allen County-Scottsville, Barren County, Bowling Green, Franklin-Simpson, Glasgow, Greenwood, South Warren, Warren Central, and Warren East. The area will provide a healthy mix of teams with high expectations following successful years last year and teams looking to rebound from down seasons. And in one lonely case, a team that continues to struggle to gain a handle on winning. The belle of the ball is obviously Bowling Green. The Purples return 15 starters, all of them one-way players in the two platoon system. They have the longest current win streak in the state at 30, with an eye on taking down the state record of 50 wins next season. They are the dominant favorite in 5A, and may well cause the top spot in the South-Central Kentucky rankings I will release each week to be a mere formality. The loss of five coaches from an always great staff is the only possible concern. Warren Central does not have nearly the amount of returning starters that Bowling Green has, but what they do return should keep them in the mix at the top of 5A. They will have to deal with an all-new offensive line and having to move their best wide receiver into a quarterback, but still return several weapons that will give them the leg up on almost every team they play. The Dragons will more closely resemble their 2009 team which featured more quarterback runs to take advantage of senior QB Chris Porter-Bunton’s athleticism. After those two we find two teams that will immediately tell us which one is better, as they will line up against each other in the opening game. Warren East will be fairly hard to recognize from the team that was a game away from the state title game in 2012. They replace 22 seniors, their head coach, and their previous QB to a transfer. Veteran coach Steve Long will take the reins of the Raiders, and he’ll have arguably the premier player in the area as his ace on the field, junior Vanderbilt commit RB/LB Eli Brown. They’ll visit South Warren to open the 2013 campaign. Last year the Spartans gave Warren East all they could handle in a close 14-10 decision in that season’s opener, and this year’s edition will be the first chance for our rankings to get shaken up. The Spartans have been building to this year since the inception of the program, and like Warren East, they have an ace on the field in every game. That’s large and in charge senior DL Adrian Middleton, a monster on the field and Kentucky commit. The Spartans are a sleeper to make some significant noise on a statewide scale in 3A. Glasgow is two years removed from a state runner-up finish, and they return the type of team that will threaten to go back. With 31 upperclassmen, 17 seniors, and 15 returning starters, the Scotties are locked and loaded as the favorites in their district and region. At this point, Scottie fans are forgiven for peeking westward at what may be their greater challenge in the larger scheme of things, 2A favorite Caldwell County, a potential state semifinal opponent. Following those five, we have a potentially unknown quantity at this point. Greenwood has a new coach, one of the departed Bowling Green staff Chris Seabolt. Seabolt will have the services of senior QB Josh Dyer, a 2300 yard passer a year ago. But with some new wrinkles in the offense and a new defensive scheme, we may not have a read on the Gators until they get a few games under their belt. They do enter the season off of a 2012 campaign that featured their most regular season wins ever. Two teams that are looking to regain the glory of just a few years ago are Franklin-Simpson and Allen County-Scottsville. Franklin-Simpson played for the 4A state championship in 2011, but struggled in 2012 following the loss of most of their weapons from the 2011 edition and their head coach. New HC Doug Preston’s Wildcats limped to a 3-8 record that saw them win only two games against Kentucky competition. That year’s pain was this year’s gain as they return 17 starters in their attempt to climb back into competition. Allen County-Scottsville has experienced similar hardship, rolling to the 2010 4A state finals where they dropped a close 21-14 decision to Boyle County, but turning in only 4 and 3 wins in the last two years en route to a pair of first round losses. The Patriots will look to 13 seniors and 10 returning starters to take them back to the promised land. Which brings us to Barren County. The Trojans began the 2012 season with a 28-0 shutout win against Metcalfe County, but would drop their next 9 games by an average of nearly 30 points per game, only coming within a TD a single time – a 21-20 loss to Logan County that ended their playoff hopes. That ended a run of five straight playoff appearances for the Trojans. They will have a shot at returning to the playoffs, but they will be hard pressed to add their first playoff win since 1992, or their first winning record since 2000. South-Central Kentucky Rankings 1) Bowling Green 2) Warren Central 3) Warren East 4) South Warren 5) Glasgow 6) Greenwood 7) Franklin-Simpson 8) Allen County-Scottsville 9) Barren County

Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (8-25-13) Week 1 in the area saw a mix of expected results and head turners. -Bowling Green (1-0) was up to their usual dominance in a 48-21 shellacking of highly regarded 4A #4 Lexington Catholic. The Purples gained 461 yards offense and the Hayes to Fant connection accounted for 4 TDs. The Purples look every bit the favorite they are. -Meanwhile Warren Central (0-1) stubbed their toe in their season opener against 4A #7 Madisonville-North Hopkins in a 27-13 loss. The Dragons were undone by 4 turnovers and a pair of blocked punts, with the Maroons scoring 21 points off of those turnovers. -South Warren (1-0) made a statement in a 35-0 victory over Warren East (0-1), the first victory over a Warren County team for the Spartans. All 35 points came in the first half as South Warren took advantage of two bad snaps on punt attempts and absolutely shut down the Warren East offense in the first half. The news for the Raiders got worse from there as their QB Austin Pagel was knocked from the game and may have a broken collarbone. -Glasgow (1-0) won easily 48-0 over Hart County, which was no surprise. Running backs Marquez Trigg and Quentel Bradley combined for 218 yards on just 21 carries as they ran all over the hapless Raiders. -Franklin-Simpson (0-1) had a decent showing in a 25-7 loss to Danville at Campbellsville University. The Wildcats trailed just 13-7 and had possession midway through the 4th Quarter, but a fumble at midfield was returned for the TD to put the game out of reach. -A key interception was the undoing for Allen County-Scottsville (0-1) in their loss to Mercer County in the Rafferty’s Bowl at WKU. Trailing 21-14 just before halftime, Colton Oakes threw an INT that was returned 73 yards for a backbreaking TD. Instead of potentially tying the game, the Patriots were down two TDs and never recovered. -Greenwood (0-1) turned in what may have been the most shocking result of the first week in the area when they were crushed 35-6 by Hopkinsville. It was the largest win for the Tigers since 2009 and least points allowed since 2006. The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first quarter and the Gators led 6-0 in the second quarter, but very little went right from that point on. Greenwood was outgained 308-48 in the second half. -Barren County (1-0) looked to be on their way to a laugher against Metcalfe County as they had a 19-0 halftime lead, but some Trojan turnovers began to make things tough immediately in the third quarter as the Hornets closed the gap to 19-13. Barren County bore down in the fourth, surviving a last ditch drive by Metcalfe County that reached the Barren 26 in the closing seconds. An INT sealed the game. South-Central Kentucky Rankings (8-25-13) 1) Bowling Green vs. 6A Bryan Station at Lexington Catholic (8/24) 2) Warren Central at 4A #5 Boyle County 3) South Warren at 5A Logan County 4) Warren East vs. 5A Barren County 5) Glasgow vs. 3A Garrard County at Danville 6) Franklin-Simpson at 5A #9 Graves County 7) Allen County-Scottsville vs. 5A Greenwood 8) Greenwood at 4A Allen County-Scottsville 9) Barren County at 4A Warren East

South-Central Kentucky Football - Top 5 Running Backs So Far A quick look at where we stand for the best runners in the South-Central Kentucky Area. 1) Blue Tisdale, Sr., Bowling Green – 30 Rushes, 222 Yards (7.4 YPC), 1 Touchdown. 5 Receptions, 111 Yards, 1 Touchdown. – The most talented back in the area running behind the most talented line. It’s really not fair to the teams he squares off against. Tisdale lost a chance to boost his stats when Bowling Green’s second scheduled game against Bryan Station was rained out, but is still averaging north of 100 yards per game and boasts a strong YPC. What sets him apart from most of the other backs in the area is he is a huge receiving threat as well. In Bowling Green’s 39-25 win over St. X, he had an 82 yard TD reception while lined up in the slot. 2) Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Sr., South Warren – 16 Rushes, 73 Yards (4.6 YPC), 4 Touchdowns. 2 Receptions, 38 Yards, 1 Touchdown. – Tisdale’s line is a little under because of a lost game. Iyiegbuniwe’s line is a little under because the Spartans quite frankly haven’t needed him to rack up the stats. Thanks to a strong defense, Iggy hasn’t had to face many long fields, so when he breaks his runs he hasn’t had to go too far. What’s most impressive is that he is averaging a touchdown every four carries or every 3.6 touches when you factor in the receptions. Joel has been South Warren’s most impressive player all-around in the young season. 3) Marquez Trigg, Jr., Glasgow – 24 Rushes, 263 Yards (11.0 YPC), 5 Touchdowns. 2 Receptions, 45 Yards. – What a luxury Coach Wood has in Trigg. It’s not every day you have a running back that when you hand him the ball averages gaining a first down. It’s no wonder that he is averaging a touchdown every 4.8 carries. He essentially compiled his stats in the first two games of the year, leaving with a minor injury after only three carries for 18 yards against Barren County, netting a touchdown and “only” 6 yards per carry. 4) Eli Brown, Jr., Warren East – 49 Rushes, 378 Yards (7.7 YPC), 2 Touchdowns. 1 Reception, 8 Yards. – You knew the Raiders were going to have to lean on their bell cow, but possibly they’ve had to do so even more than they thought they would after losing their starting QB in the very first game of the year. He is already almost halfway to his total carries from the 2012 season, in which Warren East played 14 games. Brown has continued to excel in all facets of the game, knocking down opponents from the defensive side as well as running them over on the offensive side. His numbers include a mammoth 202 yard effort against Barren County. 5) Charlie Trapp, Sr., Allen County-Scottsville – 66 Rushes, 410 Yards (6.2 YPC), 5 Touchdowns. 4 Receptions, 23 Yards. – If you go see a Patriot game this year, chances are you are going to see Trapp carry the ball A LOT. He’s currently seeing a carry on roughly 40% of the offensive plays AC/S runs, and still averages an incredibly strong 6.2 yards per carry. Trapp accounts for 45% of all offensive yardage for the Pats right now. The next opponent to hold him under 100 yards rushing on the game, will be the first one. Honorable Mention (Listed Alphabetically) Quentel Bradley, Sr., Glasgow – 50 Rushes, 327 Yards, 3 Touchdowns. 5 Receptions, 86 Yards. – Bradley is the thunder to Trigg’s lightning for Glasgow. Rondell Green, Sr., Warren Central – 26 Rushes, 141 Yards, 3 Touchdowns. 5 Receptions, 130 Yards, 1 Touchdown. – Central has had a rough start, but continue to get reliable play out of their best back. Blake Pillow, Sr., Bowling Green – 13 Rushes, 99 Yards, 3 Touchdowns. 5 Receptions, 82 Yards, 1 Touchdown. – Pillow may actually be the most dynamic weapon the Purples have. If you don’t tackle him before he hits the jets, you won’t. DeMarcus Potter, Sr., Greenwood – Stats Unavailable – Potter has been something of a surprise for the Gators. He transferred from South Warren and has given the Gators a strong presence in the backfield. South Warren is the only team to hold him down so far.

Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (10-21-13) -Friday night provided confirmation of something that everyone knew already, that Bowling Green (7-0) is far and away the best team in the area, truly without peers. Warren Central (4-4) managed to stay in touch with the Purples through 1.5 quarters by matching them score for score. It was 14 all at the 9 minute mark of the second quarter, and just 20-14 BG heading under 5 minutes in the half. But the Purples' powerful offense was stopped only once on the night and very rarely slowed, a clip that the Dragons just could not hope to match. In all, Bowling Green racked up a 467-247 offensive yardage advantage, including a Bowling Green single game record 374 yards passing by QB Devin Hayes. The win wrapped up the 5A District 2 crown for the Purples, and they will face the winner of Friday's Ohio County/Apollo game in the first round. It appears that Warren Central will host Hopkinsville in the first round of the playoffs in three weeks. -South Warren (8-1) let loose the frustration of two years of losses to Monroe County out in a flurry of activity at the end of the second quarter of their 53-8 victory over Monroe County. The first quarter was fairly even with the Spartans up just 7-0, and just 14-0 heading under the 4 minute mark of the second. They would score 20 points via two TD runs and a blocked punt TD on defense in just under 3 minutes of gametime to seize control of the game and take a 34-0 halftime lead. The win clinched the first district title in South Warren history, and gives them homefield for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Spartans were fueled by QB Jay Eblen who ran for five TDs and 149 yards as South Warren held a 346-111 advantage in offensive yardage. Monroe County had won the first three meetings in the series by a combined 83 points. -Glasgow (7-1) clinched a district title of their own, going on the road to take a 48-13 victory over Green County. The Scotties led just 13-6 after one, but would score the next 35 points in the game to put Green County down. Marquez Trigg and Quentel Bradley combined for 307 yards on the ground on just 36 carries, while QB Ryan Hinkley threw for three TDs. The effort put Marquez Trigg right at 1,000 yards rushing on the year. In all, the Scotties were the picture of dominance with over 550 yards of offense. -Franklin-Simpson (4-4) continued their late year push with their fourth win in six games, the latest a 50-7 blowout victory over Breckinridge County. The win puts them just one more district win away from their second district title in three years. The first quarter belonged to Chris Holman, as he ran for scores of 23, 20, and 17 yards on the way to a 28-0 first quarter lead for the Wildcats. Holman accounted for 115 yards on just seven carries as part of a night that saw Franklin-Simpson rush for 414 yards. -Before the bye, Warren East (4-4) were the receivers of a surprising 37-7 beatdown by Franklin-Simpson to lose control of their own destiny in the district. They kept themselves in the hunt for the #1 seed by knocking off visiting Allen County-Scottsville (4-4) 28-14 in a close affair at Jim Ross Field. The Raiders seized control early on a pair of Raymond Green TDs The first was a 46 yard strike from QB Antwan Gilbert, the second a 22 yard sweep. The Patriots rallied in the second quarter to tie it at 14 all in the half, and Charlie Trapp's 77 yard TD rush ultimately accounted for nearly 75% of Allen County-Scottsville's 105 yards of offense on the night. RB Antonio Shields put Warren East up for good late in the third quarter on a 14 yard run, then put the nail in the coffin with another TD run with less than two minutes left in the game for the final margin. The Raiders now have to become Patriot fans, hoping that Allen County-Scottsville can knock off Franklin-Simpson next week to create a three way tie atop the district. -Barren County (3-5) clinched the 3 seed in the district - their highest since 2007 in the first year of 5A - with a 53-13 win over Logan County. The win gave Barren County multiple district wins on the year for the first time since 2001, and sets them up for a likely trip to Christian County when the playoffs begin. Chad Eaton was Mr. Everything for Barren County, scoring two TD receptions in addition to throwing for another. Cole Payne also had a pick six against the winless Cougars. -Greenwood (3-5) got just the opponent they needed in Apollo to snap a two game losing streak in a 24-13 victory. Apollo entered the game with just a single win over the year - that over a winless opponent. The Eagles did make Greenwood work for the win, taking a 7-0 first quarter lead and maintaining a 13-10 advantage at the half. But the defense bore down in the second half, holding Apollo to just 33 yards of offense and turning a fumble into a 23 yard TD return for the final score of the game. THIS WEEK -The game with the most postseason implications will be Allen County-Scottsville at Franklin-Simpson. If Franklin-Simpson wins, they will take the district outright. A Patriot win coupled with an all but certain victory by Warren East over Breckinridge County will send it to a three way tiebreaker. The three teams are very close in potential tiebreaker scenarios currently. -Two weeks after being the only team in the area to play, South Warren will be the only one to sit this one out as they prepare for a date with Russellville in the season closer. -There will be a lot of familiar faces when Greenwood meets Bowling Green on Friday. Several coaches on the Greenwood staff were at Bowling Green last year, including HC Chris Seabolt. They'll get a chance to learn how the other half lives in that series, one in which Bowling Green has won all 21 meetings and most have not been close. The Purples have won the last seven meetings by an average of over 46 PPG, dating back to the last time Greenwood came within a single score, a 31-24 loss in 2004. South-Central Kentucky Rankings (10-21-13) 1) Bowling Green at Greenwood 2) Warren Central vs. Logan County 3) South Warren - OPEN 4) Glasgow vs. Metcalfe County 5) Franklin-Simpson vs. Allen County-Scottsville 6) Warren East at Breckinridge County 7) Allen County-Scottsville at Franklin-Simpson 8) Barren County at 4A Taylor County 9) Greenwood vs. Bowling Green

South Warren - Is It Fair? We’re just over halfway through the regular season, and in the South-Central Kentucky area, there are two teams that are considered legitimate state title contenders. One of course, is Bowling Green, the preeminent favorites in 5A. The other is South Warren in 3A. The Spartans began the year on the fringe of the contenders. After a surprising showing last year when they were 9-4 and finished as region runner-ups, they were accorded top 10 status this season, but still trailed fellow Region 1 teams Paducah Tilghman and Fort Campbell. But now we are in the sixth game and South Warren sits at a sparkling 6-0 and has grinded their opponents into dust to the tune of 240 points scored and a lone field goal in the waning seconds allowed. This has vaulted them to #3 in this week’s BGP rankings. But while they are experiencing this storybook season, two criticisms persist. One, is that they play a soft schedule. True enough, their opponents are 15-21 on the year, or an even 15-15 if you don’t count the losses they took to South Warren. Only one opponent they’ve beaten has a winning record – Elizabethtown – and in turn Elizabethtown counts only a single one of their five wins against a team with a winning record. I would argue that most of the non-believers have not seen the Spartans in person as well as that even with beating bad teams, you have to be impressed with just how dominant South Warren has been in victory. My personal take is that the contender status is more than warranted. But the major topic for this article is the second criticism – that being that South Warren enjoys an unfair advantage by being a much larger school playing in a small class. When the school opened in 2010, they had a male enrollment of 413 boys, placing them as one of the largest in 3A for the 2011 alignment, which we are now in the third year of. Some growth was expected, but perhaps not the growth they have. By last year, they had already jumped by almost 23% to 525 males. That enrollment level would make them a high 4A team, and makes them larger than other teams in the county like Warren East (4A) and Warren Central (5A). This year is expected to be even larger than that, pushing them most likely to be a 5A school in the next alignment in 2015. And therein lies the rub. South Warren is a 5A sized school competing against schools in 3A. This despite a provision in the KHSAA alignment calling for a team to be adjusted up or down in classes with a 12% or higher change in average enrollment that would place them above or below their current class after the midpoint of the alignment. This is not a situation that is new to the state. The most notable example was the 2006 Mercer County Titans. Mercer County had recently absorbed Harrodsburg to form a consolidated Mercer County school. The Titans had been playing in AA, and with a single year left in the alignment they were allowed to stay, despite an enrollment that would ultimately place them in 5A the following year. Had the six class system existed at the time, it would be roughly equivalent to them being a 5A school in 3A. Mercer County rolled to a 15-0 record that season with a state title. Boyle County (27-14) and state runner-up Russell (15-12) were the only opponents to come within two touchdowns of the Titans. In the playoffs, they won by an average of more than 34 points per game. They have not advanced past the second round or won more than six games since. Of course, a key difference between the situations is that Mercer County was already an established school, merely becoming larger by absorbing another established school that had been playing football of its own. And while Harrodsburg was not a great team in their last year of existence at 3-8, they were a team that had made the playoffs and provided additional players with experience and depth to a Mercer County squad that had gone 10-2 the year before. South Warren was formed as a new school carved from a previous one. They had no seniors in 2010 when they played only a JV schedule. They weren’t like Collins (from Shelby County) that received the lion’s share of the athletes straight out of the gate. And they didn’t have immediate, wild success like Mercer County, so not as many cared. But now they are having the success, and slowly but surely, the complaints have started. Most of the increase in South Warren’s numbers have come from the larger classes that have moved in since growth began. The junior and senior classes have as many players combined as the sophomore class alone (25). On offense, most of the starters are seniors that began the program, including 3 linemen, their QB, primary two rushers, and top two leaders in receiving yards. On defense, three of their front four (including UK commit Adrian Middleton) are seniors. Two of their three linebackers are seniors. Their QB Jay Eblen plays in the secondary, and several of the other players are two way players. That begs the question, just how much an advantage are they gaining?

Non-Friday Games This coming Friday is always my least favorite week of the football season. Beginning in 2011, almost every school in the area began to take the exact same bye week – NFHS Week 07 – which corresponds to the fall break of most of the schools. It’s not that I don’t understand the appeal of not having the game, it’s just frustrating that every single school takes off during that time meaning you have very little options as to what to watch. South Warren pretty much stands alone in throwing a bone to the area, scheduling a game during that week in each of their three years of existence. What I miss about the staggered bye weeks is that when your team was off, you could pick another game to watch, picking from several to figure out the best. It’s no fun if you’re pigeon-holed into the only one available. I suppose it works out if the team you follow is South Warren – they have tons of options available to them since almost every other team is playing during their bye week (whenever that might be). But tangentially the frustration of that makes me think about something else I wish there were more of around here – games on nights other than just Friday. Last Thursday Bowling Green visited Logan County, and that provided an opportunity for someone like me to at least listen to the game instead of focusing on what I’m normally doing while Warren Central plays. I remember in 2009 Greenwood and Warren Central moved their game up from a Friday to a Thursday due to weather, and the atmosphere was as good as any non-Bowling Green game I can remember for Central. Some people just enjoy watching football and especially love the opportunity to watch or follow more than one game in a single week. The first two weeks of the season with the bowls are a blast for that with the grouping of games on both Friday and Saturdays. I look at the schedule each week and there are a modest number of games that take place on Thursday night or Saturday mornings. So why don’t more schedule on an “off”-night? Are coaches trying to prevent another school from coming to scout them? Is it a desire not to fight with other events that might be taking place? A desire to not have a game before a school day – something almost every sport does? Not wanting to face a short week on one side or the other? By that token, why not change up the scheduling heading into a bye week as Bowling Green did? It just seems a shame that in the small amount of weeks we have to enjoy football that we can’t fit in even more than we already do. Am I alone on this island?

A Not So Brief History of the Bowling Green-Warren Central Rivalry Friday’s game against Warren Central will mark the 999th football game in Bowling Green High history, and the 100th game against a Warren County opponent. (Side note: Mother nature denied some incredible symmetry in the event when the Bryan Station game got rained out earlier this year. Friday would have been the 1000th game coinciding with a home game against their chief rival.) Once upon a time, there were no teams within Warren County that even existed to play the Bowling Green Purples. Most of the small community schools didn’t field a football team or play 11 man football. Those that did, did not play the Purples. So the Purples reached outside the borders for their rivals. From 1944-2010 Bowling Green played Franklin-Simpson every year but one. They played Glasgow 74 times between 1922 and 1992. The Purples forged rivalries with Western Kentucky Conference foes like Hopkinsville, Owensboro Senior, Paducah Tilghman, and Murray. It was not until 1974 that Warren Central and Warren East, in their 7th and 6th seasons respectively, squared off with the Purple and Gold on the gridiron. Greenwood rather unwillingly joined the fray in 1991 when they moved into their district, and South Warren has still yet to compete against Bowling Green, though that is likely coming. The series against the county schools has been decidedly one-sided, with the Purples winning 86 of the 99 meetings so far. But among the county schools, Warren Central has consistently provided the best challenge to the Purples and as the other schools Bowling Green played have fallen away and stopped playing them over the years has become their chief rival. It’s a rivalry that is generally marked less by hatred or dislike, but the type of respect that you’d see from a big brother (Bowling Green) to a little brother (Warren Central). There are often relatives on each sideline and there are most certainly friends that have grown up and often played together. Each team wants to win and there are almost always postseason implications when they play, but increasingly in later years you’re not likely to see a brawl for all break out. As previously mentioned, the two teams first met in 1974. Neither school was yet what they are today. The Purples were coming off two straight losing seasons and hadn’t had a winning season since 1967. At the time, they’d never even had a season of more than eight wins. The Dragons had four winning seasons prior but were en route to one of the worst seasons in school history, entering the game 0-5-2 and having just tied Hancock County 0-0. After a scoreless first half, the Purples set the tone for the early years by obliterating them in the second half 41-0. RB David Moore entered his name into the rivalry pantheon that day with 205 yards on 28 carries, nearly doubling Warren Central’s total output of 113 yards. In those first four meetings the Purples won by an average of 30.75 points. The opening salvo for the Dragons came in 1978. Warren Central entered needing a victory for a shot at a district title (they needed Franklin-Simpson to lose – they didn’t). Multi-purpose athlete Rusty Dyer scored every point for the Dragons in a 17-14 win. He ran for TDs of 1 & 2 yards, kicked the PATs, and kicked a 37 yard field goal in his final game as a Warren Central Dragon. Bowling Green would go on to win 10 of the first 12 games in the series before the pinnacle of the series began from 1986-1993. Warren Central at the time was one of the largest schools in the state prior to the 1990 opening of Greenwood, and had their best player in school history, Mr. Football Damon Hood. During those eight years the teams would meet 10 times including twice in the playoffs. The Dragons would win six of those ten games and the two teams split their playoff meetings. In 1991, Bowling Green upset #1 ranked Warren Central 14-10 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs, sealing the game when Leman Boyd picked off a Sean Isable pass with just over 3 minutes remaining. In 1993, Warren Central won 7-0 in the Class 3A Region 1 finals behind an Andre Metcalfe 24 yard run despite being outgained, giving up more first downs, and losing the turnover battle. It is to date the only time the Dragons have ever beaten Bowling Green when scoring less than 17 points, and they’ve only won once since when scoring 7 or less. That time period brought the series to Bowling Green with 14 wins and Warren Central with 8 wins. No one knew it at the time, but it was the end of the era where the teams were on even ground. After 1993 through the present the Purples have won 19 of 23 games against the Dragons. This included a record 8 straight wins from 1994-2000, followed by 7 straight from 2003-2008 and now 4 straight wins in the last two years. Every time Warren Central makes a push back towards equality as they did with two straight wins in each of the gaps in the previously mentioned streaks, Bowling Green slams the door shut. This season, the Dragons have rebounded from a rough start to regain a top 10 ranking and are currently above .500 at 4-3, but few outside the program expect a truly competitive game on Friday when Bowling Green hosts them with their 36 game win streak behind them. As Warren Central continues to struggle to maintain numbers in their program and school, the prospects of the rivalry equalizing again are on increasingly shaky ground. In two years, the teams will likely be in different classes as the Warren Central enrollment will most likely drop them to 4A, marking the first time they compete in a lower class than Bowling Green since that landmark win in 1978 so long ago. And at that time, a decision will have to be made as to whether the rivalry will continue. No team anywhere near here plays Bowling Green unless they are forced to by districting or playoffs. All of those old rivalries have faded away with (in some cases) brief reprises – it would be a shame if this one did too.

A Rivalry Game Years in the Making Fans stood on the sidelines loudly yelling their support for their respective teams. On the field there were several hard hits as each team looked to gain an edge and impose their will. Both sides wanted it, that much was certain. The scene was from the 7 on 7 event at South Warren High School when Greenwood and South Warren squared off against one another. Typically at the event Kentucky teams played Tennessee squads exclusively, but a shortage of teams from Tennessee led South Warren to play on that side, setting up a special rivalry preview of their regular season matchup. Things got a little…. heated. Greenwood won handily, but South Warren held back their starters, perhaps preferring to give as little as possible away. But you could still sense the intensity, a rivalry that has been building to the first matchup between these two teams on the field. South Warren was formed primarily from Greenwood High School in 2010 to relieve overcrowding. South Warren had the benefit of brand new facilities, many of the best teachers that had been at Greenwood, and almost every single one of their varsity coaches. That includes Mark Nelson, who had at the time been head coach at Greenwood for nine seasons, since 2001. The previous year he had led the Gators to their first (and at this time only) regional title in school history, and their only double digit win total in school history. South Warren began their first year with only a freshman and JV program, preferring to ease into varsity the following year, when they would begin in 3A. Because of the 4 year alignment cycle, it was almost certain that by the end of the alignment South Warren would have a significant enrollment advantage over the rest of their 3A brethren. These were all advantages the Spartans enjoyed out of the gate, helping propel them to four victories in their first season and a spot in the regional finals their second year. They were advantages that had not been afforded Greenwood when they started. For while South Warren did not play varsity right away, Greenwood was heavily pressured to do so. They had few or no seniors on their first team and very little with experience, as those players elected to remain at Warren Central. Virgil Livers, an assistant at Warren Central did make the trip over, but they weren’t starting with an established head coach the way South Warren did. And within a year Greenwood was in a district with the likes of Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Warren Central. It took Greenwood ten seasons to get their first winning campaign, a feat that South Warren achieved in year two. South Warren won nine games last year alone. Greenwood won their ninth game in program history in their 60th game played – in their sixth varsity season. The only time they’ve won nine games in a season was the aforementioned regional title year in 2009. These comparisons have been made the past two years – loudly. Big brother was surpassed by little brother very quickly, but big brother feels that little brother was given much, much more while he had to scrap for everything. These two schools have already mixed it up in intense fashion in all the other sports. And Friday, the two brothers will butt heads for the first time on the gridiron. It is not to be missed.

Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (9-2-13) -Bowling Green (1-0) ran into the only thing capable of stopping their powerful offense – Mother Nature. Their Saturday game against Bryan Station at Lexington Catholic was delayed and then canceled due to rain and lightning. Attempts to reschedule for the following day were unsuccessful. This means the Purples will have two weeks between their season opener and their game against the toughest team on their schedule, St. X. -Another game, another shutout for South Warren (2-0). The Spartans have opened the season on an 85-0 tear after knocking off 5A Logan County 50-0. The Cougars managed only 31 yards of offense against the ferocious South Warren D. Joel Iyiegbuniwe was the standout for South Warren with a pick 6 plus a pair of TD runs. -Warren Central (0-2) looked much improved in their 26-16 loss to Boyle County, but it was a loss nonetheless. The Dragons took their first lead of the year 8-7 towards the end of the first half, and were tied midway through the 4th Quarter at 16 apiece before Boyle pulled it out. Of more importance, the Dragons had several injuries during the game that could potentially give them problems if they turn out to be long term. Depth is not a luxury Warren Central enjoys. -Glasgow (2-0) survived a scare before finally waking up to defeat 3A Garrard County 46-22 in a bowl game at Danville. With just under 4 minutes left in the third, Garrard County led 22-12. That was before a 53 yard Milas Norris TD reception that opened the floodgates. In all, Glasgow scored 34 unanswered in a span of 12 minutes. Quarterback Ryan Hinkley was named the offensive MVP for Glasgow. -It took longer to pull away than Warren East (1-1) might have hoped for, but they ultimately got back in the winning column against Barren County (1-1) in a 32-14 home victory. It was the first victory at home over Barren County for the Raiders since 1996, having lost five consecutive to the Trojans there. But the game was just 14-0 with less than 4 minutes left in the game. That’s when Eli Brown ran it in from 13 yards out for the game clinching score, starting offensive fireworks that saw four touchdowns in a 2 minute span. Eli Brown ran for 190 yards on just 15 carries to lead his team to the victory. He was also key in holding the Trojans to just 72 yards offense and forcing 4 first half turnovers. The win was the first at Warren East for new HC Steve Long, and his first as head coach anywhere since a 36-32 victory over Warren Central on October 19th, 2001. -Franklin-Simpson (0-2) battled for a half against 5A #6 Graves County, as Franklin-Simpson briefly enjoyed a 7-6 lead and were tied at 14 all going into the break. That’s when the other shoe dropped and Graves County rattled off 28 unanswered en route to a 42-14 victory. None of the Graves County scores were shorter than 29 yards, and two of them were 50+ yards. -In a battle of teams trying to pick themselves up after ugly losses in Week 1, it was Greenwood (1-1) that dusted themselves off first with a 17-6 win over homestanding Allen County-Scottsville (0-2). The game was a hard fought battle, with a scoreless first quarter and the difference a single Gator TD from the second quarter by the 6 minute mark of the fourth quarter. The second quarter TD was set up via a bad snap on a Patriot punt, the type of miscue the Gators themselves had suffered the previous week. Greenwood put it away with a 53 yard touchdown run by DeMarcus Potter following a turnover on downs by Allen County-Scottsville. Potter was the star of the night with a 210 yard game with two touchdowns. THIS WEEK This week is highlighted by a pair of rivalry games and one of the most anticipated matchups of the year for the entire state. -Bowling Green puts their 31 game winning streak on the line when they travel to state powerhouse St. X. The Purples have knocked off the Tigers the past two years, yet somehow again find themselves the underdogs in many circles. -South Warren hosts Greenwood in the first matchup between the two schools. South Warren was formed mostly out of Greenwood and has quickly found success that eluded the Gators for many, many years. They squared off against each other in a 7 on 7 this summer that quickly became a more physical affair. If you can’t make it to Louisville for the BG game, I highly recommend this one for the area. -Barren County hasn’t beaten Glasgow since 2008 and hasn’t even really been close since, but it’s always a great rivalry game to watch when these two match up. -One of the great sleeper matchups for the state this week might be DeSales at Warren Central. The Dragons are reeling from two straight losses to open up the season, while DeSales announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with when they knocked off 5A power (and higher ranked than Warren Central) John Hardin this past week 25-20. South-Central Kentucky Rankings (9-2-13) 1) Bowling Green at 6A #2 St. Xavier 2) South Warren vs. 5A Greenwood 3) Warren Central vs. 2A DeSales 4) Glasgow at 5A Barren County 5) Warren East at 3A #9 Monroe County 6) Franklin-Simpson at 5A Logan County 7) Greenwood at 3A #7 South Warren 8) Allen County-Scottsville at 6A Marshall County 9) Barren County vs. 2A #3 Glasgow

Inside South-Central Kentucky Football (11-11-13) -Ho-hum, just the usual first round running clock for Bowling Green (10-0) as they began their march to a third straight state title with a 49-7 victory over Apollo. The win was their 40th consecutive and clinched their 22nd double digit win season in the last 26 years. Bowling Green opened the throttle early to gain the necessary 36-0 lead before the end of the first quarter, then used most of the remainder of the game to play reserves and stay healthy moving forward. It was also senior night for Bowling Green, which honored 27 seniors. They’ll have at least one more home game, and may have up to three. -Warren Central (6-5) received a little more fight from their first opponent, but likewise put the running clock on Hopkinsville in a 48-10 victory. The Dragon offense was rarely stopped, gaining 347 yards, but did have some trouble slowing Hopkinsville’s rushing attack at times. The Tigers actually held a brief 7-6 lead near the end of the first quarter and had a couple of red zone possessions where they came up empty due to turnovers. The game’s turning point came on a pair of turnovers on downs in their own territory late in the second quarter, both of which set up short fields for Dragon touchdown drives. -Continuing the running clock theme, South Warren (10-1) received little challenge from Webster County in a 49-7 win that secured the first 10 win season in the short three year history of the Spartans. QB Jay Eblen ran for three scores and threw for two others, all in the first half, and South Warren gained the running clock by going up 42-0 with 9:11 left in the second quarter. On the negative side, the Spartans did give up 64 rushing yards, by far the most on the year they’ve allowed, though most came against the reserves. That raises their average to 9.64 YPG allowed on the ground. Pick it up guys, you’re slacking. -Glasgow (10-1) picked up a milestone win for the program with their 43-0 shutout. It was their 600th in program history, becoming the 15th school in the state to accomplish this feat. They rank 42nd nationally as well with the honor. As for the game itself, the Scotties went up 36-0 with three minutes left in the first half to start the running clock, and cruised to the shutout victory. Marquez Trigg continued to pull away in his role as lead back for Glasgow with 21 carries for 167 yards, accounting for just under 50% of Glasgow’s total offensive output. -What’s that? Another running clock? The first round of the playoffs are great. Franklin-Simpson (6-4) sent Hopkins County Central to their 26th consecutive loss in a 50-0 decision in Franklin. Hopkins County Central made the playoffs due to the contraction of their district from five teams to four with the loss of Lone Oak. The Wildcats totally dominated the Storm, beginning the scoring with a safety and holding them to only 20 yards of offense. It’s irrelevant and coincidental, but next week will be the third straight week Franklin-Simpson plays a team with Hopkins in its name (Hopkinsville, Hopkins County Central, Madisonville-North Hopkins). The first two were wins of 34 or more – they’ll hope for the same then. -The theme was survive and advance for Warren East (7-4), which was playing without stud RB/LB Eli Brown during their ugly 21-0 victory over Calloway County. The game featured three fumbles and a missed field goal in the red zone for the Raiders as they allowed the Lakers to hang around. It was just 7-0 with under 3 minutes left in the third quarter, but a pair of TDs from returning QB Austin Pagel within a 4 minute span put the game away. Pagel broke his collarbone in the first game of the year and was initially though lost for the entirety of the season, but stepped up with a TD through the air and one on the ground to win the day for East. It isn’t known for certain whether Eli Brown will return this week or at all this year for the Raiders. Nothing official has been released regarding his MRI last week. -Three years, three first round matchups with Madisonville-North Hopkins, three losses for Allen County-Scottsville (4-7), which saw its season end in a 52-28 loss to the Maroons. It was a disappointing end for the Patriots, dropping their last four games by an average of 21.25 PPG. AC/S could not slow the Maroon rushing attack which netted 272 yards on the ground, most of it from Ryan Bowman (10/117) who also had 73 yards receiving. The highlight for the Pats as always was senior Charlie Trapp, who rushed for two scores and hauled in a 45 yard TD reception in his final game in the red, white, and blue. The Patriots improved on last year’s record by a game, but will enter next season still looking for their first winning season since 2010. -It’s baby steps for Barren County (4-7), but a move forward nonetheless for the Trojans as the Trojans closed their season with a 26-12 loss at Christian County. The Trojans won their most district games in 12 years and gained their most competitive playoff result since 21-14 at Scott County in 1994. After falling behind 12-0 after one, the Trojans pulled within 12-6 during the second, but the Colonels scored again to move up 19-6 at halftime and hit a 90 yard bomb to go up 26-6 during the third quarter. A mid-4th Quarter TD by Wininger gave the final margin. -Graves County coach Lance Gregory said Greenwood (3-8) was not a typical 4 seed, and they sure didn’t play like one for most of the night Friday in a season-ending 56-42 loss. The Gators took to the air to remain competitive, with outgoing senior QB Josh Dyer throwing for 200 yards and 4 TDs to keep them in it. Greenwood kept it a game throughout the first half, trailing just 21-14 after a Dyer to Bibb TD with 29 seconds left in the half. But the first backbreaker came then, an 85 yard kickoff return by Marshall. That momentum carried over with Graves getting out to leads of 42-14 and 49-21 before Greenwood attempted an unlikely late comeback that saw them draw as close as 49-35 with the ball and less than 3 minutes left in the game. The 42 points for Greenwood is their most ever in postseason play, topping the 40 they posted against Muhlenberg County in 2009. THIS WEEK -The marquee game would seem to be #7 Glasgow hosting #3 DeSales. It represents what the Scotties hope will be the beginning of a brutal march that would likely require them to beat the top 3 teams to reach the state finals. The first two would at least be in Glasgow. -It’s another year where Warren Central will take the long journey west to take on the district champion Graves County Eagles, the former stomping grounds of Dragon HC Mike Rogers. Last year Graves gave Warren Central all they could handle in a 21-14 win, and the Eagles will be looking to advance to the region finals for the first time ever while Central is looking to make it for the fourth straight year. -South Warren got the better of Fort Campbell in the playoffs last year, and will host the Falcons for the first time ever this week. This is the third straight year the two teams have met in the playoffs, splitting the two meetings at Fort Campbell. -Bowling Green will square off against the last team that has beaten them, hosting Christian County. The Colonels completed an unlikely comeback from 10-0 down late in the game to win 14-10 back in 2010. But Christian County has lost their last 6 at El Donaldson Stadium, and haven’t won there since 1977. South-Central Kentucky Rankings (11-11-13) 1) Bowling Green vs. Christian County 2) Warren Central at Graves County 3) South Warren vs. Fort Campbell 4) Glasgow vs. #3 DeSales 5) Franklin-Simpson vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins 6) Warren East at #8 Owensboro 7) Allen County-Scottsville (4-7) 8) Barren County (4-7) 9) Greenwood (3-8)