The Scribe
11-10-2008, 07:04 PM
Bluegrasspreps.com Class 1A Football Playoff Preview
Special to BGP
Region 1
Mayfield has reached the state semifinals 27 times in the last 33 seasons, but the Cardinals aren’t the regional favorite this year.
Discipline issues and inconsistency have haunted the Cardinals all season, and they would likely have to win two games on the road (at Louisville Holy Cross and Crittenden County) to get to the final four.
The Cardinals were beaten 27-14 by Crittenden during the season but have enough speed, athletes and talent to make a run.
Crittenden survived some adversity of its own — four projected starters moved away or opted not to play — during the offseason but the supporting cast around power-speed back Rodney Robertson and quarterback J.D. Gray, who excels at the sprint-out passing game, has overachieved.
Holy Cross has taken some lumps against a rugged schedule — three of the Cougars’ four losses have come to ranked teams from higher classifications (Doss, Belfry and DeSales), and the other was to neighborhood rival Butler, a 6A program.
Quarterback Devon Brown and running back Jimmy Nauert have been the leaders for Holy Cross, which has home-field advantage through the regional finals.
Regional final: Louisville Holy Cross 20, Crittenden County 13
Region 2
Beechwood is Class A’s version of Chuck Norris, mythically powerful and omnipotent, and is again the team to beat.
Running back Neico Teipel (1,514 yards and 21 touchdowns) has been as good as advertised this year and is getting interest from several Division I programs. So is Dominic Mainello, a 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman and noseguard.
With the exception of last week’s loss to 2A power Newport Central Catholic, the Tigers have handled most everyone with ease, including several solid teams in higher classifications. If anyone knocks off Beechwood, it will be a major upset.
Within the region, Frankfort looms as the best potential challenger. Even with only seven returning starters, the Panthers have retooled with plenty of speed, led by running back Quan Weaver.
Bellevue is a potential toughie as a second-round opponent but has struggled in recent weeks.
Regional final: Beechwood 34, Frankfort 12
Region 3
Raceland and Lexington Christian staged an epic duel earlier this season, with Raceland prevailing 37-35 on its home field thanks to a last-minute interception in the end zone. That win gave the Rams home-field advantage again if the two meet in the playoffs, and that appears likely to occur.
Raceland has been a buzzsaw all season, going 10-0 and notching wins over local (and bigger) rivals Russell and Ashland.
Brett Denton (5-10, 210) has rushed for over 1,000 yards and, as a starter at linebacker, is one of the Rams’ leading tackles.
John-Scott Carver has over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving and quarterback Tyler Bowles has been solid all season on offense and a force against the run as a free safety.
The Rams’ offensive line is led by 265-pound tackle Robbie Logan, who is getting some Division I interest.
Lexington Christian’s stable of athletes caused Beechwood all sorts of problems in last year’s state championship game. Dominique Hayden has rushed for over 1,500 yards and quarterback Lucas Witt is closing in on the 2,000-yard mark.
Witt has a deep corps of receivers to work with, including Hayden and Branden Burdette.
The Eagles’ run defense has struggled at times this year, especially against the elite teams on their schedule — Raceland, Breathitt County and Corbin.
Williamsburg’s potent passing game might have something to say about what seems like the inevitable Raceland-LCA rematch, and its potential second-round game with LCA might also be a points-fest.
Quarterback Ryan Moses has thrown for over 2,200 yards and 26 touchdowns and the Tigers have scored at least 44 points in six games this season.
Regional final: Lexington Christian 35, Raceland 34
Region 4
Hazard has been the consensus regional favorite from the start of the season with a balanced, high-powered offense led by quarterback Tyler Olinger and running back Greg Adams, who has rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Olinger’s passing hasn’t always been efficient, but he’s been productive and he also provides a running threat — he has close to 2,000 multi-purpose yards.
Adams (23 receptions, 590 yards) has also been one of Olinger’s favorite receivers, as is Michael Campbell.
Hazard rolled through its district schedule, but the other half of the region was up for grabs between Pikeville, Paintsville and upstart Allen Central.
Pikeville is led by running back Daniel Harmon and quarterback Blake Branham, and the Panthers’ 5-5 record is a little deceiving since four of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 10 in their respective classes. Three of those are top-5 entries, and their fifth loss was to an Ashland club that was briefly in the Class 5A top 10 this fall.
Allen Central nearly upset Pikeville, falling 43-42 in a game in which the two teams combined for more than 900 yards in total offense, and could earn a rematch with the Panthers in the second round.
Paintsville, beaten 22-12 by Pikeville a few weeks ago, is also 5-5 with four losses to ranked teams from higher classifications. The Tigers would have to pull a second-round upset at Hazard to get to the regional finals.
Regional final: Hazard 28, Pikeville 16
Sleeper team: It seems weird to call Mayfield a sleeper team, and even weirder to see them unranked, but the Cardinals have the talent on hand to make another postseason run and earn a semifinal date with Beechwood.
Tyrese Murrell is a quality running back and quarterback Luke Guhy has a pair of talented receivers in Xavier Shelton and Javarius Richardson, but a defense led by quick tackle Jonathan Lawson has to step up and overcome the on-field finger-pointing that has characterized this season when things have gone badly.
Semifinals: Beechwood 44, Louisville Holy Cross 14;
Lexington Christian 41, Hazard 14
Championship: Beechwood 33, Lexington Christian 21
Special to BGP
Region 1
Mayfield has reached the state semifinals 27 times in the last 33 seasons, but the Cardinals aren’t the regional favorite this year.
Discipline issues and inconsistency have haunted the Cardinals all season, and they would likely have to win two games on the road (at Louisville Holy Cross and Crittenden County) to get to the final four.
The Cardinals were beaten 27-14 by Crittenden during the season but have enough speed, athletes and talent to make a run.
Crittenden survived some adversity of its own — four projected starters moved away or opted not to play — during the offseason but the supporting cast around power-speed back Rodney Robertson and quarterback J.D. Gray, who excels at the sprint-out passing game, has overachieved.
Holy Cross has taken some lumps against a rugged schedule — three of the Cougars’ four losses have come to ranked teams from higher classifications (Doss, Belfry and DeSales), and the other was to neighborhood rival Butler, a 6A program.
Quarterback Devon Brown and running back Jimmy Nauert have been the leaders for Holy Cross, which has home-field advantage through the regional finals.
Regional final: Louisville Holy Cross 20, Crittenden County 13
Region 2
Beechwood is Class A’s version of Chuck Norris, mythically powerful and omnipotent, and is again the team to beat.
Running back Neico Teipel (1,514 yards and 21 touchdowns) has been as good as advertised this year and is getting interest from several Division I programs. So is Dominic Mainello, a 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman and noseguard.
With the exception of last week’s loss to 2A power Newport Central Catholic, the Tigers have handled most everyone with ease, including several solid teams in higher classifications. If anyone knocks off Beechwood, it will be a major upset.
Within the region, Frankfort looms as the best potential challenger. Even with only seven returning starters, the Panthers have retooled with plenty of speed, led by running back Quan Weaver.
Bellevue is a potential toughie as a second-round opponent but has struggled in recent weeks.
Regional final: Beechwood 34, Frankfort 12
Region 3
Raceland and Lexington Christian staged an epic duel earlier this season, with Raceland prevailing 37-35 on its home field thanks to a last-minute interception in the end zone. That win gave the Rams home-field advantage again if the two meet in the playoffs, and that appears likely to occur.
Raceland has been a buzzsaw all season, going 10-0 and notching wins over local (and bigger) rivals Russell and Ashland.
Brett Denton (5-10, 210) has rushed for over 1,000 yards and, as a starter at linebacker, is one of the Rams’ leading tackles.
John-Scott Carver has over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving and quarterback Tyler Bowles has been solid all season on offense and a force against the run as a free safety.
The Rams’ offensive line is led by 265-pound tackle Robbie Logan, who is getting some Division I interest.
Lexington Christian’s stable of athletes caused Beechwood all sorts of problems in last year’s state championship game. Dominique Hayden has rushed for over 1,500 yards and quarterback Lucas Witt is closing in on the 2,000-yard mark.
Witt has a deep corps of receivers to work with, including Hayden and Branden Burdette.
The Eagles’ run defense has struggled at times this year, especially against the elite teams on their schedule — Raceland, Breathitt County and Corbin.
Williamsburg’s potent passing game might have something to say about what seems like the inevitable Raceland-LCA rematch, and its potential second-round game with LCA might also be a points-fest.
Quarterback Ryan Moses has thrown for over 2,200 yards and 26 touchdowns and the Tigers have scored at least 44 points in six games this season.
Regional final: Lexington Christian 35, Raceland 34
Region 4
Hazard has been the consensus regional favorite from the start of the season with a balanced, high-powered offense led by quarterback Tyler Olinger and running back Greg Adams, who has rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Olinger’s passing hasn’t always been efficient, but he’s been productive and he also provides a running threat — he has close to 2,000 multi-purpose yards.
Adams (23 receptions, 590 yards) has also been one of Olinger’s favorite receivers, as is Michael Campbell.
Hazard rolled through its district schedule, but the other half of the region was up for grabs between Pikeville, Paintsville and upstart Allen Central.
Pikeville is led by running back Daniel Harmon and quarterback Blake Branham, and the Panthers’ 5-5 record is a little deceiving since four of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 10 in their respective classes. Three of those are top-5 entries, and their fifth loss was to an Ashland club that was briefly in the Class 5A top 10 this fall.
Allen Central nearly upset Pikeville, falling 43-42 in a game in which the two teams combined for more than 900 yards in total offense, and could earn a rematch with the Panthers in the second round.
Paintsville, beaten 22-12 by Pikeville a few weeks ago, is also 5-5 with four losses to ranked teams from higher classifications. The Tigers would have to pull a second-round upset at Hazard to get to the regional finals.
Regional final: Hazard 28, Pikeville 16
Sleeper team: It seems weird to call Mayfield a sleeper team, and even weirder to see them unranked, but the Cardinals have the talent on hand to make another postseason run and earn a semifinal date with Beechwood.
Tyrese Murrell is a quality running back and quarterback Luke Guhy has a pair of talented receivers in Xavier Shelton and Javarius Richardson, but a defense led by quick tackle Jonathan Lawson has to step up and overcome the on-field finger-pointing that has characterized this season when things have gone badly.
Semifinals: Beechwood 44, Louisville Holy Cross 14;
Lexington Christian 41, Hazard 14
Championship: Beechwood 33, Lexington Christian 21