Russell County 52, Warren East 20

Down only 7-6 early in the second quarter, Warren East attempted an onside kick which Russell County recovered. On the next play, the Lakers Nick Britt broke a 58 yard touchdown run to make the score 14-6 in favor of Russell County. From that point on it turned out to be doomsday for the Warren East Raiders.

The Rest of the Second Quarter Scoring
- Russell County quarterback Martin Cross scores on a 7 yard touchdown run, 21-6 Lakers.
- Taylor Hutchinson with a 23 yard touchdown reception, 28-6 Russell County.
- Jeron Hammond scores on a 35 yard run, 35-6 Lakers.
- Warren East answers with a long drive that ended with a Nick Campbell 19 yard touchdown reception, 35-12.
- A good return on the kickoff sets up a Taylor Hutchinson 36 yard touchdown reception as time expired in the first half, 42-12 Lakers.

The second quarter domination by the Lakers was the story of the game and they were able to take advantage of six Warren East turnovers. The Laker defense focused on run defense, holding Adarius Barnett to just 20 yards rushing on the night.

Russell County's Jeron Hammond had a huge night with 3 interceptions and contributed 115 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Nick Britt added 161 yards on the ground for the Lakers for two touchdowns as well.

On a positive note for Warren East, head coach Ben Bruni exhibited great hat tossing skills in frustration with his team's play and some officiating calls.

Kentucky's Corey Robinson Shines On National Television

If you happened to catch the Sun Belt Conference showdown between the Troy Trojans and the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on ESPN2, you saw Troy's quarterback Corey Robinson go 26-of-37 for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns.

That is impressive for a red shirt freshman, it is even more impressive when he does it on the one year anniversary of his mother's death. Dawn Boyd passed on October 5th, 2009 due to multiple sclerosis.

Robinson was Kentucky's Mr. Football in 2007 after throwing for 5,872 yards and setting a national record with 91 touchdown passes with only 4 interceptions. Pretty amazing stats from a kid that showed poise in a hostile environment, on a national stage, and with a heavy heart.

Les Miles...Genius or Misunderstood?

LSU video: Les Miles press conference, 10-04-10

Warren East vs. Russell County Preview

This Friday night will take me to Warren East where the Raiders will take on District 2, Class 4A foe, the Russell County Lakers. The Lakers come in with a record of 3-3 (1-1, district) and coming off a district victory in beating Logan Co. last week by a score of 50-21. Warren East enters the contest with a record of 2-5 (1-1, district) after getting handled by Allen County-Scottsville 56-13.

The Breakdown:

- Russell County has a very balanced offensive attack with Running Back #28 Nick Britt leading the way on the ground with 627 yards and 8 touchdowns.

- The passing attack is lead by Quarterback #8 Martin Cross who has passed for 599 yards including 5 touchdowns. Cross has thrown 6 interceptions on the season so I will look for the Raiders defense to focus on stopping the Lakers running game to force more passes and create turnovers.

- Defensively look for Russell County's OLB #23 Jeron Hammond and the rest of the Lakers to put pressure on the Raiders running back duo of #21 Adarius Barnett and #38 Steven Golden.

- As I mentioned the Warren East offense will be focused on the legs of Running Backs Adarius Barnett and Steven Golden. With a nonexistent passing game, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders running game can break through.

- My prediction is Russell County 27, Warren East 14.

*Notes: Stats according to KHSAA for Russell County does not include last week's Logan Co. game. Warren East has not reported any stats so far this year.*

Bourbon County Player Airlifted After Concussion

Bourbon County football player Jarrod Hilander airlifted to UK Medical Center after on field collision. He was moving his extremities before being airlifted and thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Just an example of how physical a game football can be and the toll it will take on your body. Below is a link on the incident:

http://www.trischoolsports.com/10Football/helicopter.html

The South Central Top Ten

Yes, we are in the last month of the regular season for high school football but much like the BCS (Bull Crap System) I have a good idea of the top ten teams in the area covering Warren, Simpson, Logan, Allen, and Barren counties. Here is The South Central Top Ten Rankings:

1. Bowling Green (6-1) coming off a close victory against Grayson Co. 41-27.
2. Allen County Scottsville (6-0) easy victory over Warren East, 56-13.
3. Warren Central (5-2) much improved as the season goes on, close losses to Christian Co. and Nelson Co.
4. Glasgow (5-1) squeaker win over E-town 48-47, only loss is to ACS.
5. Greenwood (5-2) coming off a tough loss to Nelson Co. in a game they should have won.
6. Russellville (4-3) win over Edmonson Co. 30-22. Have won three straight games.
7. Franklin-Simpson (3-3) coming off a huge win over previously unbeaten Monroe Co. 49-35. Also holds a victory over Russellville.
8. Edmonson Co. (5-2) loss to Russellville 30-22. Wins over bad teams like Muhlenberg Co., Butler Co., Adair, and Breckinridge.
9. Warren East (2-5) loss to ACS 56-13. Holds a victory over Russellville and are rebuilding this year.
10. Barren Co. (1-5) coming off loss to Warren Central 39-6. Take your pick at this spot, you also have Logan Co. with only one win.

Cardinals Late Surge Defeats Gators 28-24

photo by Joe Imel/Daily News

The Greenwood Gators established a 17-6 halftime lead as the offense showed their ability to move the ball. Greenwood also took advantage of a mistake, recovering a Nelson County fumble on a kickoff return where the Gators recovered inside the 10 yard line. The Gator offense took advantage of the good field position as Joe Combs scored from 2 yards out.

With over ten minutes to go in the third quarter Greenwood QB Jeff Witthuhn connected with Tanner Spangler on a 41 yard TD pass to give the Gators a commanding 24-6 lead.

One would think all the momentum is on Greenwood's side to this point, right? Well, this is football where momentum can shift swiftly in the blink of an eye. As my eyes blinked, Nelson County's John Harrison picked up a fumble on the ensuing kickoff for a 70 yard touchdown return. Greenwood 24, Nelson Co. 13.

On Nelson County's next possession, running back Quentin Brooks took a handoff and found the sideline where he outran Greenwood's secondary for a 64 yard touchdown run. The two point attempt failed. Greenwood 24, Nelson County 19.

Nelson County quarterback/punter/kicker Daniel Mudd added a field goal with ten minutes to play in the fourth quarter to cut Greenwood's lead to 24-22.

On the Gators ensuing possession they were forced to punt but that kick never came as Travis Casebeer mishandled the punt and fell to the ground giving the Cardinals offense great field position.

Nelson County gives the ball to their leathal weapon Quentin Brooks and he scores on a 17 yard touchdown run. Two point conversion failed. Nelson County 28, Greenwood 24.

Greenwood answers in desperation as Witthuhn connects with Tanner Spangler on a 36 yard pass down the middle of the field and the Gators are on Nelson County's 2 yard line. Going in for the score, Tanner Thompson takes the handoff and fumbles at the goal line and Nelson County recovers in the end zone for a touch back.

There was a lot of questions surrounding the fumble, was Thompson down before the ball came out? Or was it an actual fumble? From my view point I thought he was down by contact but you can't fault the referee's call in that situation, especially without instant replay options.

Nelson County's Daniel Mudd sealed the deal with 19 yard run and the clock expired on this comeback thriller. If these two teams played ten times they would probably win five games a piece, they were that closely matched in talent.

Gameday Knowledge

Nelson County's whole offensive scheme ran through quarterback Daniel Mudd rolling out looking for a pass then tucking the ball and running down field. The Cardinals were able to pick up huge chunks of yards with this type of play calling.

Running back Quentin Brooks ran wild over the Gator defense the whole night accounting for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is an effortless runner that makes his cuts, fakes, and spins look as easy as if he were strutting down the street.

Nelson County has 19 seniors on their roster and they showed no panic when they were down 24-6 early in the third quarter. Experienced teams have been there and done that, they simply know how to win.

I have a feeling that these two teams will meet again come playoff time.