Lady Suns spoil Central Senior Night

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

MORTONS GAP – For three members of the Hopkins County Central girls’ soccer team (3-11-2), Monday evening’s Senior Night will forever be a memory, but unfortunately it will not be a winning one, as Central lost 5-1 to Muhlenberg South (12-1-0).

The Lady Suns scored twice in the first 10 minutes of play and took a 4-1 lead into halftime to sour the last home game for Lady Storm players Amber Coakley, Kaitlyn Jones and Tavia Young.

“We played relatively well,” Jones said. “It’s kind of like, it’s our Senior Night and it’s our night and we wanted to win it, but I think we played fairly well, especially the second half.”

Although there are two regular season games left, as well as district play, Central coach Susan Phelps knows the trio’s leadership will be missed next season.

“We recruited them as eighth-graders I think,” she said. “They had never really played soccer before. They are just – they’re die-hard workers. They’re just tough.

“We’re going to miss them on the field. We’re going to have some big shoes to fill. They’re going to leave some big holes.”

Lady Suns players Kacey Farley and Kelly McDonald scored in the first 10 minutes to give Muhlenberg South early momentum, but Central’s Autumn Jarvis scored at the 23:54 mark.

Jarvis converted off a rebound from the far right side and sent a shot past the diving Muhlenberg South goalie to cut the deficit in half.

The goal was just the second allowed by Muhlenberg South in its last seven games.

Coakley, a co-captain, said the goal helped give the team some lift.

“It gave us the momentum,” she said. “We just stepped up and just went harder.”

Young, the team’s other captain, said the Lady Storm gained focus with the goal.

“It put us back in,” she said. “It got us back mentally.

Despite the boost, Muhlenberg South’s Catherine Schmidt scored two goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half.

Lady Storm forward Ellen French had a penalty kick in the final seconds of the half, but was stopped on her attempt.

Central’s defense held Muhlenberg South to just one second-half goal, another to Schmidt, but the offense could not make up the deficit.

While Lady Storm goalkeeper Kacey Long may have allowed five shots, Long made numerous quality saves to keep the game within reasonable distance for Central to make a comeback attempt.

Long denied Schmidt twice in a two-minute span midway through the second half.

“Kacey has had some incredible saves since she came back in after the Ft. Campbell game,” Phelps said.

“She’s definitely an all-district player this year and her improvement from last year to this year is just incredible. I think she’s been very focused and she’s read the ball and she’s reading the game well.”

As for Schmidt, the Lady Sun forward was a thorn in Central’s side.

Jones, a defender, said she took pride in being able to neutralize Schmidt at one particular point, but her quickness overcame the Lady Storm.

“I knocked her down,” Jones said as she laughed a bit. “It was speed, but you have to play aggressive against any one like that.”

While Central may have not pulled it out on Senior Night, Young said she’s still proud of her teammates for what they have had to overcome this season.

“It was fun, it was definitely fun,” she said. “I’ve been here for five years and knowing it was the last one ever is kind of depressing.”

Considering the set backs of the season in general where we’ve had two or three or four people out for injuries that are indefinite injuries and they’re not coming back.”

With two games to play, Phelps has plenty for the girls to work on.

“We’re still working on covering the runners in the box and when the ball gets up over our head, making good decisions and taking care of the ball,” she said.

“We have to do that better and when we have our chances in the box, we’re not finishing.”

In junior varsity action Muhlenberg South downed Central 2-0.

Maroons looking to derail Colonels

Friday, September 26, 2008

One week after allowing 231 yards rushing to Hopkinsville, the Madisonville-North Hopkins football team knows its defensive weakness, and it’s no secret Henderson County will bring a strong running attack into today’s 7:30 p.m. matchup.

Thus far, Henderson has rushed for nearly 1,100 yards in three games, but North coach Will Weaver has a plan to disrupt the Colonels’ offensive scheme.

“We’re going to make them throw it to beat us,” he said. “They’re going to run the football probably 90-95 percent of the time, but the times they do pass they want to be home run balls because they try to lull you to sleep with all the run stuff and then hit you with a big pass.”

Almondo Theus leads the Colonels’ running corps with 582 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In Henderson’s week three 36-33 overtime loss to Daviess County, Theus collected 44 carries for 351 yards and two touchdowns.

Maroons’ senior safety Jesse Donahue said Theus’ success and speed begins with his dedication away from football.

“Off-season, because Almondo Theus does a pretty good job in the weightlifting room,” he said. “He does track sometimes. That’s what makes him pretty hard to take down.”

In addition to Theus, Henderson will employ backs Kolby Odaniel and Javaris Lewis, both of which rushed for more than 100 yards in the overtime loss as well while the Colonels amassed 639 yards of rushing offense.

Despite the slew of running options, Donahue said the Maroons understand how to be successful against such an offense.

“We’ve just been working on keeping the outside contained,

making their running back cut it back to the linebackers in order so that every one from the backside can get to the pursuit angles,” he said.

North also knows Henderson’s offense will be quite one-dimensional because Colonel quarterback Jeremiah Coursey has completed just 8-of-25 passes for 111 net yards and one touchdown on the season.

Therefore, the Maroons will load the box with eight men, but the defense must also be wary of the occasional pass.

“We just have to keep those corners (back), that’s the only thing that scares me,” Weaver said. “We do fly to the football pretty well and I know they’re going to come with some counters and they’re going to come with some play-action pass.

“They’re as a good an offensive line as we’ve faced all year. What we got to do is we got to get them in third down-and-long situations to where they have to throw the football, which is what they don’t want to do.”

Offensively, the Maroons will look to avoid those same long third-downs. North experienced success in that department last week by focusing on short passes and getting each first down as it came.

“We moved the chains,” Weaver said. “This week, (Wednesday), we did situations where we would do coming out from the 2-yard line. We had a goal line session, we had a third-and-long session to where if we didn’t get it, we bring the punt team out to punt and just let the kids know it’s a reality. If we don’t convert third downs, we’re going to punt.”

Weaver continued to say that North will employ a mix of run and pass plays, but will favor the throwing game, led by senior quarterback Matt Levin.

“That’s one of the things we do best,” he said. “Our lineman are pass blocking better than they have in a long time and our receivers are running good routes and Matt’s making good reads and decisions, so we’re going to continue airing it out.”

Through four games, Levin has completed 63 percent of his passes, 81-of-128, for 829 yards.

Levin will look to exploit Henderson’s vulnerability to the passing attack; the Colonels have allowed 1,000 yards through the air, including 486 to Daviess County.

“Their corners play pretty deep, but they play with two safeties, so we can get them all with our short stuff, let our receivers catch it and run with it,” Levin said. “We’ll set them up with some up with some short passes and go over the top every once in a while.”

Accompanying the offense this week will be running back Chris Scisney, who missed last week’s game due to injury.

Scisney embodies the Maroons’ leading rusher and best opportunity at maintaining a balanced offense.

“He’s about 95 percent,” Weaver said. “He will be back this week. He’s had a great week of practice.

“Chris wants the football. The one thing he said the other day is, ‘Coach, when I come back, feed me the football.’

Both North (3-1) and Henderson (2-1) enter tonight’s game just a few votes shy of cracking the Associated Press Kentucky Class 6A Top 10 Poll. Henderson ranks 13th while North sits at 17th.

Tonight’s district game with Henderson represents an important step for North if it expects to contend for this season’s title.

“If we plan on finishing first or second in district, this is definitely one we have to have,” Weaver said. “We want to win the district championship, and if we’re going to get that done, we can’t afford to have another loss in the district.”

North claims Hopkins County title

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Madisonville-North Hopkins’ boys golf team captured the Hopkins County team title Thursday evening at Madisonville Golf and Country Club, but two individuals made claims on the individual medalist honors.

North’s Cliff Carter and Hopkins County Central golfer Heath Williams both shot 37, the only sub-40 scores on the day, but the Maroons as a team did not have a single golfer over 41 and defeated both the Storm and Dawson Springs Panthers.

The Maroons combined to finish with a team score of 158 to Central’s 177 and Dawson Springs at 218.

North coach Dan Herrmann said he’s pleased with his team’s progress from last season.

“Last year, if we shot in the 160s we were really happy,” he said. “They’ve come up a level this year. The Ryder Cup and the county match that we play this time of the year is important to us. If we have a sub-par year as long as we do well this week, we’re really pretty happy about it.”

This season, North won both the Ryder Cup against Central and the Hopkins County match after losing both events in 2007.

Many of North’s players admitted having difficulty with their putting skills on Thursday, but evidence was hard to find in their score cards.

“They struggled with putting today from what I saw, but I can’t complain about a 158,” Herrmann said.

One player who did not have any problems on the green was the Maroons’ Carter.

“I was hitting putts pretty much from everywhere,” he said. “The cup looked like it was huge. I just read the greens pretty well. I was getting some lucky bounces and hitting them.”

For North and Central, Thursday’s match marked the third time in four days the teams faced each other. With many golfers at each school growing up together and in close contact, bragging rights often play a big role when matching up at the course.

North’s Ben Gatlin requested to face a former youth baseball teammate in Central’s Williams.

“He said he was going to wax me on the first tee box, I didn’t really say anything,” Williams said.

Although Gatlin shot an impressive 41, Williams got the best of him and ended the days four strokes better.

“It’s a pretty good rivalry, but it’s a friendly rivalry,” Herrmann said.

As for Dawson Springs, Panther golfer Dylan Frost turned in the team’s best performance with a 41.

Arguably Frost’s best shot of the day came on the par-three seventh when he nailed a nearly 30-foot putt.

The putt, which began at the fringe of the green, slowly trickled downhill toward the cup and went in to save par.

“I thought it was going to stop,” Frost said. “I just got up there and just hit and it kept going. I thought it was going to stop, then it went in. I felt real good.”

Also contributing for Dawson Springs was Aaron Labrado (49), Justin Bullock (62), Grant McCuiston (66) and Dillon Shelton (72).

For Central, behind Williams was Collin Farmer. Despite shooting a 10 on the sixth hole, Farmer collected six pars – three to start and three to finish – and ended the day with a 43.

Storm golfer Blake Nelson turned in a 47 while Landon Griffith and Andrew Schniepp turned in a pair of even 50s.

Thursday’s match marked the end of the regular season, and Central coach Daniel Kukahiko said his team must maintain its focus now.

“It is do or die next week,” he said. “This is our last match, we’ll practice a couple days. We’ll have a practice round. We’ve seen the course before, but we’re going to see it one last time, make our preparations and try to go play the best golf we can on Tuesday.”

North’s Patrick Hibbs and Daniel Stewart each completed their days with 40 while David Rose shot 41.

As for Herrmann, he said he’s proud of his boys mental approach after being down about their poor putting.

“I like the fact that they don’t feel they played well when they really played pretty good,” he said. “When they feel like they don’t play well, they always come back and play better the next time, so our next time is regional. Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time.”

Carter also thinks Tuesday’s regional could become a special memory.

“I think we’re playing pretty well,” he said. “We have a chance to win it, a great chance to win it.”

All three Hopkins County teams will practice as they await region. First tee-off will be 8 a.m. Tuesday at Ben Hawes State Park.

Lady Maroons, Howerton win

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The girls golf teams from Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins squared off one last time on Wednesday evening at Madisonville Golf and Country Club before Monday’s regional tournament. Although the Lady Maroons took the team title, Central’s Ashleigh Howerton claimed the medalist honor.

Howerton fended off North’s No. 1 Lauren Mashburn to finish with a score of 40, but as a team Central fell by 13 strokes, 190-203.

After the match Howerton described the friendly competition she has with Mashburn and the Lady Maroons.

“We have our rivalry and now we’ll have to rival it out at regional and see who’s going to win,” Howerton said. “She beat me once and I got her twice, so it kind of boosts my ego a little bit.”

Mashburn finished just one stroke behind Howerton, but Mashburn, a co-captain, admitted she did not have her best stuff and

would have like to have a better ending to her regular season senior campaign.

“It’s the last golf match and I guess I’m kind of disappointed,” she said. “I worked really hard this season to be the best and to prove that I was as good as I could be.”

I have to work on my short game. I’m familiar with the course, so I can’t quite blame it on that, but we all have our bad days and I guess mine was just today.”

North’s Mikayla McKenzie, also a senior co-captain, shot a 55 said she shared similar thoughts after playing stronger early in the year.

After the girls finished up on their final hole, North coach Sam Westfall congratulated them.

“Sam came up on the last hole and had tears in his eyes and was saying he’s really happy that he got to work with me and everything and so that kind of made me want to cry,” McKenzie said.

Westfall admitted he was a bit sentimental having coached Mashburn for six years and McKenzie for four, but said the pair are ready for Monday’s regional, which is at the same course.

“You couldn’t have two better seniors on your team,” he said. “I kind of got choked up when they came off the green because I’ve had them so long, but they’re ready.”

As for the rest of the Lady Maroons, freshman Tori Eddings finished with a 46 to follow Mashburn.

“Tori’s really starting to turn it on,” Westfall said. “She’s really turned it around.”

Rose Rippa (48) also broke 50 and Sydney Frederick and Ashley Mashburn each shot 57 for North.

Although the Lady Maroons came away with the victory, Westfall said he’s more concerned with what his girls can pick up about the course.

“It’s not about scores,” he said. “It’s about learning the course and see how hard the course is going to be and see how hard you have to focus on Monday.”

Westfall jokingly added, “I’ve dragged them all year, hopefully I can drag them one more time.”

For Central, Taylor Howerton finished second-best on the team with a 50 and Lauren Lacy followed with a 53.

“Taylor has been playing phenomenal golf lately,” Central coach Mike Zimmer said. “I think that’s good motivation for Ashleigh and Lauren too.”

Lacy turned in what might have been the shot of the day on her tee shot on the par-three 17th hole.

Instead of her using her typical five-iron, Lacy listened to the advice of her coach and chose the four-iron and stuck her tee shot within 15 feet of the pin.

“I’ve been hitting by clubs hard and they’ve been going every which way because I’m trying to kill it,” Lacy said. “He told me just to take a bigger club and relax and not hit it so hard.”

Others contributing to the Lady Storm’s effort were Kendall Bryant (60), Kaitlin Moore (63) and Hannah Tow (64).

Wednesday marked the third day in row Central had a match at Madisonville in preparation for Monday.

During the past three days Zimmer told his girls one important piece of advice.

“I just told them to keep getting better and to always beat the competition you’re playing with,” he said. “That’s your goal. If you’re playing bad golf, then play better golf than your opponent because you’re guaranteed to beat them.”

North and Central will meet again 8 a.m. Monday when the Lady Storm host regionals at Madisonville.

Teams aren't scoring on Arndt

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Centre College goalkeeper Aaron Arndt propelled the Colonels to back-to-back victories to open up Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play last week.

Arndt, who graduated from Madisonville-North Hopkins, made three saves as Centre downed Oglethorpe University (Ga.) 1-0 on Sept. 19. Two days later Arndt made three more saves as the Colonels defeated Sewanee-University of the South (Tenn.) 3-1 to improve to a 7-2 record overall.

Following the team’s strong conference opening, Centre was listed as No. 24 in the country in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Division III national rankings, which were released Tuesday.

Men’s cross country

Former North runner Tim Hall took seventh place overall for Austin Peay State University in the Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial Invitational, hosted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday.

Hall paced the Governors with at time of 26:45.50 in the 8K event, just ahead of teammate Ryne Sexton (8th, 26:46.00). As a team Austin Peay claimed third place.

Thus far on the season, Hall has finished with the Governors’ best time in each of the team’s four races.

On Sept. 9, Hall was named Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Week. On the same day he was named APSU Athlete of the Week, selected each Tuesday by the APSU sports information staff.

Hall and the Govs will enjoy a bit of rest before taking part in its next race, the Tiger Invitational, 10:15 a.m. Oct. 4 at Auburn (Ala.).

Football

Blake Boyd corralled the third of four first-half interceptions in Western Kentucky University’s 50-9 home-opening victory over Murray State on Saturday.

Boyd, who formerly starred at North, made the pick with 7:42 left in the second quarter and returned it 25 yards for the score to give Western a 27-6 lead.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers limited the Racers to just 11 yards rushing on the day. In addition to his interception, Boyd accumulated five tackles.

With the win, Western improves its record to 2-2 and next plays the University of Kentucky 6 p.m. Saturday in the first ever meeting between the football teams.

Women’s soccer

Kentucky Wesleyan’s Laura Nance started in two home soccer games last week for the Lady Panthers.

Nance, a former North soccer star, played in Wesleyan’s 4-0 loss to Drury University (Mo.) on Friday and 7-1 loss to Rockhurst University (Mo.) on Sunday. Nance also played as a substitute in the team’s 4-1 win against Brescia University on Tuesday.

The Lady Panthers’ record stands at 3-4-1. Wesleyan next plays at 5 p.m. Friday at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Women’s tennis

Former North tennis player Brittany Deese, now at Kentucky Wesleyan, earned a win in doubles competition on Sept. 19 against Brescia.

Deese and partner Katie Cecil defeated Brescia’s Miranda Pendly and Kayla White 9-8 in doubles play as the Lady Panthers swept Brescia as a team.

Wesleyan is now 2-1 on the year and its next match is Friday at Oakland City University (Ind.).

Volleyball

Julia Ridley, a former North volleyball product, continued her strong play last week for Barry University (Fla.), although the Lady Bucaneers dropped two matches.

Barry opened up Sunshine State Conference play with a five-set loss to Rollins College on Sept. 19 and lost the next day to the Florida Tech Panthers in four sets.

Ridley played well despite the losses, collecting a total of 24 kills and five blocks.

The Lady Bucaneers began the season 3-0, but have since lost three straight matches and stand 0-2 in the conference. Barry will look to bounce back 7 p.m. Friday at Eckerd College (Fla.).

North bounces back, beats Storm

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

MORTONS GAP – One night after suffering a loss to Caldwell County, the Madisonville-North Hopkins volleyball team looked for a rebound Tuesday evening against Hopkins County Central and it showed in the force of their shots.

The Lady Maroons kept Central (2-18) on its toes as North (10-10) fired the ball across the net and eventually won in two sets, 25-12 and 25-15.

North coach Jon Parker said his team was highly motivated coming off Monday night’s loss.

Lady Maroon outside hitter Sara Lloyd did her part to keep Central off-balance while she accumulated eight aces.

Lloyd said the team’s power has been one of their greatest strengths this season.

“I think it shocks them a little bit,” she said, “so when we do fire it at them they’re like, ‘Whoa, what do we do?’”

Central fell behind quickly 11-4 and then Lloyd stepped up to serve.

North amassed six straight points with Lloyd serving and held a commanding 20-4 advantage.

The Lady Storm made a 7-4 run, but North closed out the game before any further damage could be done.

Despite the first-game loss, Central rebounded quite well in the second game and took advantage of some North mistakes.

Tied 2-2, North served the ball into the net and sent two straight hits long as Central climbed out to a 5-2 lead.

Later in the game, down 14-8, Central made another run, collecting three straight points, the last of which came after a long exchange of volleys.

“I think it brought our spirits up, being able to not let the ball hit down,” Central coach Mary Catherine Adamson said.

“Even though we got the point and lost the next one, it helped the team say, ‘Hey, OK, we can do it, we can get back into the game and score some points.’”

Neither team asserted itself down the stretch, but by already trailing North and simply exchanging point for point, Central lost 25-15.

Although Central came up short, Adamson said her girls did a good job of seeing the holes and aiming to areas where North could not cover.

After the match, Lloyd said her team made a few errors in the second game, but showed its composure as the game progressed.

“I think we all come together as a team when we know we make mistakes, so that helps out a lot,” she said.

Lloyd spearheaded the attack with her forceful touches, but Parker said she was still not at the top of her power hitting ability.

“Her serves tonight were about half as hard as she normally hits, so she pounds the ball,” he said. “I don’t even want to get in front of it at practice. In fact, I don’t want any part of it.”

While many players may try to use anger as motivation while hitting the ball, Lloyd said she thinks of teams she respects and tries to emulate their playing style.

Parker also said he was impressed by North’s “incredible passing.”

Facing hard hitters like North’s Lloyd and Lauren Purdy presents many challenges, Adamson said.

“You’re not sure if it’s going to go long or if it’s going to go short,” she said, “so it’s kind of hard to sometimes judge where you need to be when the hit is coming over.”

Parker said Purdy had a well-balanced game as she collected six kills, three aces and two blocks.

Lady Maroon sophomore Cydni Carney led the team with 15 assists and Taylor McCabe contributed with five kills.

As for Central, Adamson has chosen to focus on the positives during the team’s difficult season and keep track not just simple stats, but “good stats.”

Lady Storm setter Cassandra Haley collected nine good sets and junior Kara Willis had eight good passes on the night. Others with “quality plays” included ReAnna Hart with five good hits and one kill and Lauren Griffith with seven serves and one block.

While Hopkins County Central may not be having the successful season it hoped for, Parker said the Lady Storm played well, and it’s hard to hold the Lady Maroons down after a defeat.

“I’m a big fan of Central’s team,” Parker said. “They did a good job. They served well and did it as hard, just sometimes when you’re coming off a loss, it’s just hard for us not to want to win.”

Hopkins County Central next plays at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Hopkinsville High School, before hosting the Hopkins County Central Tournament this weekend. North plays at 5 p.m. on Thursday at home against McLean County.

Volunteers involved, see action up close

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

While most golf fans hunkered down in their favorite chair to watch the 2008 Ryder Cup on TV this weekend, four local residents gathered among the crowds at Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Course, taking in one of golf’s premier events in person.

Locals Jeff Howerton, Jim Kerlick, Jimmy Riddle and Mike Thomas, each members of the Kentucky Golf Association-Professional Golf Association, took an opportunity to volunteer to work the event in exchange for Ryder Cup tickets during free time.

Thomas, who acted as a marshall for Valhalla’s first hole, said the atmosphere was electric.

“Better than I ever thought it would,” he said. “Just a huge amount of people. Pro-Kentucky crowd big time. Pro J.B. Holmes, pro Kenny Perry, and pro Boo Weekley and Anthony Kim. Probably the funniest thing you see is how the crowd booed when Boo Weekley was around. It was pretty neat.”

Although Thomas did not work the first hole while any golfers played through, Howerton did have an up close and personal encounter with a couple members of the European team.

Howerton drove one of the players’ shuttled after first round matches on Friday and among his passengers were golfers Ian Polter and Justin Rose as well as their caddies and a rules official.

The players were a bit quiet after their rounds, but Howerton said he did “chit chat” with one of the caddies.

“I talked mainly with Polter’s caddy and he was talking about how nice the facility was and everything, which it is incredible,” he said.

Howerton, owner and golf pro at Madisonville Golf and Country Club, also taught for three hours in the PGA learning center. While there, Howerton said he split his time among the putting and pitching areas, giving free five-minute lessons to those who signed up.

On Saturday, Howerton had another encounter with a member of Team Europe, Miguel Angel Jimenez.

As players pitched onto the green, Howerton cleared golf balls for three hours at the chipping practice area, but Jimenez was not so grateful.

“He kind of got on me for picking his balls up,” Howerton said.

When the volunteers were not working, they fought among the thousands of fans attending to get a view of the action.

The group chose a spot along the fairway on the fifth hole where golfers were expected to make second shots.

“Most of the time it was just a birdie barrage,” Howerton said.

For Thomas, among the notable memories was the play of Kentuckian J.B. Holmes.

“Of course the length of J.B. Holmes, how far he can hit a ball where he just makes a golf course look obsolete,” Thomas said.

While many Kentuckians cheered for Holmes, Howerton has actually seen Holmes win the 2004 Eli Barron Tournament at his own course.

“With him being there and knowing him and watching him play and then seeing him make that birdy and close out his player on 17, that was just great to be a Kentucky boy,” Howerton said. “That was really neat where you kind of feel a little bit like you actually know a player.”

In addition to the play, Howerton and Thomas noted the crowd’s energy as highlights.

“They were chanting, the Europeans were chanting back and forth, they were calling out the players,” Howerton said. “It was kind of rowdy at times.”

Thomas said the tournament ranked among the best sports atmospheres he’s encountered.

“I’ve been to Indy 500 and I’ve been to the Masters and been to big-time college football games, never saw anything compared to it,” he said. “It was what you saw on TV. Great crowds, just fun.”

North leads Ryder Cup-style event

uesday, September 23, 2008

With a week to go before the annual Kentucky high school regional golf tournaments begin, the boys’ teams from Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins met Monday evening at Lakeshore Country Club to engage in the first of a two-day friendly rivalry, Ryder Cup-style event.

The teams played two-man best ball and North finished the day with three points to Central’s zero. Central did not come away with any points Monday, but six points will be up for grabs today when the two teams face-off in individual match play at Central’s home course, Madisonville Golf and Country Club.

Although the regional tournament looms on the horizon, presenting a reason for the boys to stress, the two-day tournament gives both teams an opportunity to let loose.

“It’s gives them a chance just to relax and have fun,” North coach Dan Herrmann said. “Everybody wants to win, but we’re cutting up and having fun. We’ve done this for at least four years that I know of. They all just get to enjoy it. It’s not a high-pressure situation.”

The relaxed atmosphere was abundantly evident as a crowd gathered to watch the final pairs, North’s Christian Dukes and Ben Gatlin against Central’s Landon Griffith and Andrew Schniepp, and joked back and forth the entire way to the pin.

The ribbing began when Dukes’ final drive found a puddle in the middle of the fairway. The puddle constituted “casual water” and a free drop, but not completely sure of the rules, Dukes consulted the crowd for advice.

Most were quick to explain the ruling, but a few responses came back, “play it as it lies.”

Then, Dukes asked for help on how to make an appropriate drop. As the gathering attempted to explain the procedure Dukes explained his situation and bantered with those watching before North’s Patrick Hibbs finally abandoned his golf cart to show Dukes where to make the drop.

On the right side of the hole, off the fairway, Gatlin found himself behind a row of large trees. Gatlin was forced to punch out into the fairway, fighting the urge to test his club’s loft against the trees.

Gatlin successfully made his way into the fairway, but when Herrmann caught up to him the pair joked about trying to lift the trees and Gatlin said, “I had a shot,” with a smile.

By the time the group made its way to the ninth green, the jokes were flying.

Once at the green, Schniepp, holding the pin far away from the hole, asked the North golfers, “You want me to tend it?” with both golfers within manageable putting distance.

Both teams gave each other a hard time about “gimme putts,” led by Schniepp.

When Gatlin had a short putt, less than five feet, he said “You’re not going to give me that?” to the Central pair.

Gatlin sized it up, jokingly saying it was a “tough putt,” but “I need to two-putt to win.”

Without a pause, Herrmann laughed and said, “Every putt you have is a tough putt.”

Gatlin approached the ball and tapped toward the cup, but missed and as he did the crowd laughed at his previous remark about the shot.

With his next putt, Gatlin found the bottom of the cup, however, and gave North its third point of the day.

After the round and all jokes were put aside, Central coach Daniel Kukahiko said it’s nice to relax with before the pressures of a regional tournament

“It’s serious golf, but it’s also a lot of fun too,” he said. “You play match play where as in the season you play stroke play. Match play gives them a chance to do something a little bit different.

“Of course out here everybody knows everybody, so it makes it that much more exciting like there on the last green where they were giving each other a hard time and it makes it real exciting. It’s a good way to wrap up your season before the regional tournament.”

The two schools will wrap up their Ryder Cup event beginning 4 p.m. today at Madisonville Golf and Country Club.

Monday’s results

Patrick Hibbs, Daniel Stewart def. Collin Farmer, Heath Williams 2-1

Cliff Carter, David Rose def. Blake Nelson, Joey Watkins 4-3

Christian Dukes, Ben Gatlin def. Landon Griffith, Andrew Schniepp 1 up

Storm's Ipock betters his own mark at home course

Sunday, September 21, 2008

MORTONS GAP — Hopkins County Central cross country runner Wesley Ipock broke his own course record Saturday morning in the Thunder and Lightning Invitational to claim first place individually in the boys race.

Ipock finished with a time of 17:40, seven seconds better than his time last year, while the rest of the team followed as the Storm took fourth place, just ahead of Madisonville-North Hopkins in the six-team field.

“About the two-mile mark, Union County started passing me and I decided I was just going to draft off him and push it until the end,” Ipock said.

Ipock led nearly the entire race and coming down the stretch he held an approximate 20-foot advantage against Union’s Aaron Carr.

Ipock said he was aware of the closeness and it propelled him to dig deeper.

“It’s blood-pumping,” he said. “My blood was boiling and it just felt like, ‘senior year, I have to go as fast as I can. I don’t care if he’s a foot behind me or 20 feet behind me, I have to go as fast as I can.’ ”

Lady Maroons runner Taylor Partlow (eighth, 24:28) had the best finish among the two rival schools in the girls’ race. North finished third as a team and Central finished two points behind Hopkinsville for fifth place.

Five seconds behind Partlow, teammate Bonnie Burden (24:33) finished in ninth place for North.

“Another good day, they ran together, pretty much finished close together,” North coach Kris Wallace said. “We run county here so it’s good that they see the course.”

North’s Emily Gallegos (26:44) took 11th place overall before Central’s first female runners crossed the line.

Lady Storm runners Mattie Russell (27:14) and Crystal White (27:19) finished one-two for Central, taking 13th and 14th overall.

“I thought Mattie and Crystal really ran an exceptional race, one of the better ones they’ve ran all year, in a tough competition,” Central girls’ coach Kent Akin said.

Central junior Sara Fleischmann (31:23), a first-year runner, fended off a late charge from a Webster County runner in the final 60 yards to take 28th overall.

“I thought (Sara) really showed a lot of courage there at the end and I was very proud of her finish,” Akin said.

Behind Fleischmann, Kendall Bryant (33rd, 32:52), Eliza Watts (36th, 33:02) and Kaitlin Moore (40th, 42:00) rounded out the Central girls finishers.

On the boys’ side, Ipock watched his teammates after his first-place finish.

Ipock said he was happy to see Corey Eakins set a good pace.

“He took out hard and did what he said he was going to do, he was going to take off hard and finish as hard as he could,” Ipock said.

Eakins broke 20 minutes at 19:45 and finished in 12th place overall.

Central boys’ coach Jerry Womack said he was pleased at Cody Heady’s first run of the season after participating in soccer most of the fall. Heady took 33rd place with a time of 25:10.

Finishing ahead of Heady on the Central side was Nick Ritchey (16th, 20:24) and Connor Moore (30th, 24:06)

After the race, Womack said he was proud of the boys’ effort, but worried about possible injuries.

“This is a hard course and it’s just baked as hard as bricks because we haven’t had any rain so I’m sure they’re going to be having some sore legs and ankles tomorrow,” he said.

As for the North boys, Maroon runner

Micah Adams paced the squad, finishing sixth overall at 19:09. Gary Bozeman followed not far behind at 20:18 in 15th place. Brad Frederick (22nd, 21:47) finished third for the Maroons.

Wallace said she was proud of each of her runners, but particularly middle-schooler Aaron Poe, who stepped up to perform at the varsity level.

“Aaron Poe, I asked him if he would run varsity, he said he would,” she said. “He’s just got endurance, he did well.”

Poe finished the course 27th overall with a time of 23:24.

Coming in just behind Poe, Austen Schuknecht (23:34) finished 28th. Rounding out the North runners was Anthony Phelps (43rd, 29:10).

While neither the Central boys or girls took the title at their host invitational, Womack said he wanted to thank the parents for making the event possible.

“Our parents showed up big for us and they’ve really helped out a lot,” he said. “We couldn’t do this without them.”

Other runners competing for Central and North included the following:

Central boys: Trey McBride (35th, 25:50), Donovan Dillingham (37th, 26:29), Ben Hutz (41st, 28:21), Brandon Holeman (46th, 31:22)

North girls: Mary Young (18th, 27:50), Rachel Dorris (19th, 27:56), Haley Barfield (21st, 28:21), Nikki Johnson (22nd, 29:24), Sasha Ndlovu (23rd, 29:39), Margaret Soder (25th, 29:56), Karah Gill (26th, 30:22), Hilary Fisher (30th, 31:46), Kaylie Shelton (35th, 33:01), Mariah White (39th, 34:10), Justice Staggs (41st, 42:33)

Team standings

BOYS

Webster County, 45

Muhlenberg, 55

Union County, 66

Central, 81

North, 88

Hopkinsville, 130

GIRLS

Union County, 28

Webster County, 52

North, 61

Hopkinsville, 91

Central, 93

North's prowess on third down one key to win

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Leading up to Madisonville-North Hopkins’ football game Friday night against Hopksinville, Maroons head coach Will Weaver emphasized moving the chains rather than going for the big play and judging by the team’s 22-21 win, it certainly paid off.

Instead of being tempted by the end zone, the Maroons tried to advance with small gains and focused on achieving each first down at a time.

“We actually brought the chains out to practice and we told the receivers (to act like it was) third-and-eight or third-and-five,” Weaver said. “A lot of times they have to adjust their routes and what we’re doing based on where the chains are.”

North finished the game 8-of-14 on third downs, which propelled the team to victory.

Making the Maroons’ victory even more impressive was the fact the Tigers held a 2-to-1 advantage for time of possession in the first half.

Despite the time advantage, Weaver credited his defense for keeping the game close.

“The whole first quarter (Hopkinsville) had the ball, the entire first quarter almost,” he said. “They did put a few drives together to score, but it took them 12, 15 plays.”

Down 14-7 with Hopkinsville threatening to score again with time winding down in the first half, North defender Iven Jessup tied the game on a 75-yard interception return and turned the tide.

“That play that Iven made and ran it back for the touchdown, it really gave us the momentum that we needed,” Weaver said.

Weaver called Jessup his “defensive player of the game” as he finished with 21 tackles. Also flying to the ball was Jacquez Samuel, who ended the day with 17 tackles.

Although Samuel trailed Jessup for the game, Samuel leads the team in tackles by one.

Weaver said he motivates the defense by keeping track of each players’ tackles every week with a running tally.

“When the kids come in, they go to the tackle chart,” he said. “They see how many they had and how many they have for the year.”

As for offensive player of the game, Weaver gave the honor to wide receiver Carl Hatchett.

Hatchett finished the game with six grabs for 61 yards and a touchdown.

“He made some tremendous catches,” Weaver said. “He really sucked it up and there for a little bit really carried the team on his back by making some incredible grabs.”

No single catch was bigger than Hatchett’s 26-yard touchdown reception with 10:45 left in the game. Quarterback Matt Levin dropped it over Hatchett’s shoulder and he was gone for the endzone, setting up the go-ahead, two-point conversion.

Instead of tying the game with an extra-point, Weaver chose to go for the score and put the pressure on his defense.

“I really wanted to put the ball in the defense’s hands, that’s why we went for two,” he said. “It was still a little bit early to where I felt if we didn’t get the two we could get it back offensively and go down, kick a field goal or go down and do something to win.

“I really felt if we went up 22-21, and we put it on our defense they were going to step up and finish it.”

As if he could not predict the game any better, that’s just what North did. The Maroons converted on the two-point and North’s defense came away with two fourth-quarter take aways to cement the victory.

Notes

n After scoring just one touchdown in the past two games, the North offense came to life Friday, led by Levin.

The senior completed his first seven passes of the game and entered the lockeroom at halftime with 12-of-16 passing.

Weaver lauded not only Levin’s play, but the lineman up front as well.

“He played very well last night and made some good decisions,” Weaver said. “Our offensive line improved tremendously. They keep getting better and better as we come along.”

n The Maroons continue to improve with fewer penalties. North had just three accepted penalties for a total 25 yards.

“That’s one area where we try to continuously improve,” Weaver said. “We don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Only one North penalty exceeded five yards, and the team did not make more than one penalty in any single quarter.

North wins pair; HCC splits matches

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The 2008 Lady Donley Invitational had a little something for everyone — blowouts, bouncebacks and two games that came down to penalty kicks to decide a winner.

In the end, Madisonville-North Hopkins emerged with two victories, while Hopkins County Central split their two contests on the night.

The Lady Maroons defeated Christian County 10-0 in their first contest, with Heidi Clayton notching five goals — including her 100th career score — and needed penalties to take out Calloway County, 2-1.

The Lady Storm allowed two second half goals to Calloway County in their opening game, falling 2-1, but rebounded to defeat Christian County in penalty kicks in the final game of the invitational, 2-1.

Most of the excitement came in the final two games of the night, where both local schools needed penalty kicks to seal their victories. A goal from Laura Rao staked the Lady Maroons to a 1-0 halftime lead over the Lady Lakers despite a lackluster performance as a whole, but North allowed Calloway’s Shauna Wicker to notch an equalizing goal early in the second half.

The two teams then went to penalty kicks, with Clayton, Rao, Ellen Whittington and McKinsey Durham converting their opportunities. Keeper Troyana Hardy allowed just one goal on three attempts to help lead North to victory.

In the final contest, Hannah Murphy scored for Central late in the first half, but the Lady Colonels’ Martessia Williams was able to tie the game less than two minutes into the second half.

Ellen French, Ellen Cox and Autum Jarvis converted their opportunities in the penalty kick session, but the Lady Colonels also notched scores on

three of their first five attempts.

Keeper Kacey Long stopped Emily Pool’s attempt to start the second set, then hammered home her shot to seal victory for the Lady Storm.

“It was very nerve-wracking,” Long said. “I’m just glad I came through.”

Long noted being a keeper herself helped her mentally when approaching the possible game-winning kick.

“I know exactly what (the goalkeeper’s) thinking and what she’s wanting,” she said.

Central coach Susan Phelps was very pleased with the way her team responded under pressure late in the contest.

“They hung in there,” she said. “We hadn’t practiced enough (penalty kicks), so it’s nerve wracking because they don’t do it during the season anymore.

“I was real proud of them.”

The Lady Maroons got off to a hot start in their opening contest, defeating Christian County 10-0 in a game notable for Clayton’s career achievement.

After the game, North coach Steve Shepard said the most important thing is the team won, but applauded Clayton’s accomplishment nonetheless.

“It’s not all about that, but if you can get 100 goals in a career, that’s impressive,” he said. “You have to work hard and be a good finisher and she is.”

Clayton said she knew she was close to the century mark entering the game and it feels good to accomplish the goal, but it wouldn’t be possible without her talented teammates.

“Without them giving me the passes to lead me to the goal, I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

After the special goal, Clayton’s achievement was announced to the crowd, who cheered in approval.

When asked if Clayton was embarrassed by the announcement she responded, “A little bit, I didn’t expect them to announce it.”

As the season continues, Clayton will be chasing North’s all-time goals leader, Laura Nance, at 116.

In addition to her five goals, Clayton had two assists.

Rao added three goals, as well, and Whittington and Christine Jungblom each had goals in the victory.

Rao and Whittington each had an assist to go along with their goals, and Durham chipped in with an assist late in the first half as North went ahead 9-0.

“When we’re on, it takes a good team to slow us down,” Shepard said.

It took the Lady Maroons just over two minutes in the second half to put the game away when Rao tallied her final goal at the 37:38 mark.

During the Lady Storm’s first game of the day, Central found itself locked in a tight defensive battle with Calloway County as both teams entered the second half tied 0-0.

Neither team scored until Lady Lakers’ senior forward Katlyn Barrow scored twice in a three-minute period midway though the second half to give Calloway a 2-0 lead.

Scoring opportunities were few for Central, but sophomore Brooke Daugherty erased the shutout with 13:25 left in the game when she scored on a breakaway goal.

The Lady Storm could not find the net again, however, as Central lost 2-1.

Clayton, Rao, Megan Hutchens and Lyndi Tedder made the All-Tournament Team for North, while Kacey Long and Amber Coakley were the representatives from Central.

The Lady Storm and Lady Maroons will meet up for their annual rivalry battle at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Donley Field.

North knocks out Hoptown

Saturday, September 20, 2008

HOPKINSVILLE — During a season in which defense has defined the Madisonville-North Hopkins football team thus far, two fourth quarter fumble recoveries cemented the Maroons 22-21 victory Friday night over the Hopkinsville Tigers at the Stadium of Champions.

Down 21-14 entering the final quarter, the Maroon offense stepped up and reeled off an 11-play touchdown drive, capped by a successful two-point conversion as the North defenders kept Hopkinsville off the board in the fourth.

Just inside the fourth quarter with the Maroons driving, on third-and-one from the Tigers’ 26-yard line North quarterback Matt Levin tossed a perfect pass over the shoulder of receiver Carl Hatchett in single coverage for a touchdown.

Instead of tying the game with an extra point, North coach Will Weaver opted to make an attempt at the lead. Levin rolled to his left and found Ryan Robinson between a sea of players for the conversion and the 22-21 lead, which would eventually hold up thanks to the Maroon defense.

J.C. Wade made the first big fumble recovery on Hopkinsville’s next drive, ending the series near midfield.

Then again on the Tigers’ next possession, with 4:23 left in the game, J. Michael Collins collected a fumble right at midfield to end any thoughts of a Hopkinsville comeback.

North successfully converted on two third-down plays in the final minutes to successfully run the clock out and seal the victory.

Although North dominated the second half of play it was Hopkinsville, who came out and showed its confidence early by marching down the field and scoring on its first possession of the game.

The Maroon defense prevented the big play, but The Tigers methodically moved their way down the field on a 10-play, 60-yard drive, which ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from John Cessna to Kirk Thomas.

Cessna used the play-action to the right side then rolled to his left and found Thomas who ran to the corner for the score and a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers made a bold move when the Hopkinsville attempted and recovered an on-sides kickoff on the ensuing play. Hopkinsville reached the North 20-yard line and tried a 37-yard field goal, but a bad snap and difficult hold led to a tackle by Joe Kington at the 31-yard line and a change in possession.

North could not do anything, however, with the opportunity and punted away after a three-and-out.

Once again, Hopkinsville showed its grit and determination to put North away early when the Tigers opted to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 44-yard line in the first quarter. Cessna converted on the keeper and kept the drive alive.

The big play of the series came on second-and-10 from the North 41-yard line though. Tiger running back Joe Harris took a hand-off and ran to his right before seeing a see of Maroon and reversed his field to pick up 18-yards.

Five plays later, Cessna found Victor Moulden for an 11-yard touchdown reception and a 14-0.

Just when things looked like it could not get any bleaker for the Maroons, it did. On North’s next offensive play Levin connected for a 7-yard gainer, but the ball popped out and Hopkinsville recovered at midfield.

Despite the turnover, the tired North defense buckled down and did not allow a first down.

Levin and the Maroon offense regrouped on their next possession and shook off their two-game regulation touchdown drought.

Starting at their own 13-yard line, North put together a 15-play drive in less than five minutes, using the no-huddle offense to keep Hopkinsville uneasy.

Levin connected on his first seven pass of the night and the drive’s biggest gainer came when he passed to Kington down to the Tiger 10-yard line for a 15-yard completion.

Ryan Robinson handled it from there. Robinson collected the next 10 yards on two carries, including a 5-yard touchdown in which he ran untouched through a whole in the left side.

North’s offense had thoughts of tying the game when the team received the ball with just over two minutes left, but Levin was intercepted when he tried to find L.J. Gregory deep down field at the opposing 7-yard line.

Hopkinsville appeared to succeed in scoring in the first half’s final minutes where North could not by moving to the Maroon 31-yard line in just two plays.

Ivan Jessup turned the tide, however, and made the play of the first half when he intercepted a Cessna pass on third-and-one. Jessup stepped in front of the Tiger intended receiver and made reservations for six as he went 75 yards for the touchdown with just 18 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Rush Dugger added the extra point and North and Hopkinsville went into the lockeroom tied at 14 all.

Although North entered halftime with the momentum, Hopkinsville struck first in the second half.

With 1:57 left in the third quarter, Cessna found Thomas once again for a 9-yard touchdown reception and 21-14 advantage.

North (3-1)

Passing: Matt Levin– 20-29, 174 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Matt Levin 4-10 Ryan Robinson– 9-26, 1 TD Isiah White– 8-15 Rashad Combs– 1-12

Receiving: Carl Hatchett– 6-61, 1 TD Joe Kington– 4-30 Ryan Quinn– 1-12 Ryan Robinson– 2-13 L.J. Gregory– 4-42 Brandon Utley– 1-6 Isiah White– 1-3

INT: Ivan Jessup 1-75 yards, TD

Fumble recovery: J. Michael Collins, J.C. Wade

Hopkinsville (2-2)

Passing: John Cessna– 8-17, 81 yards, 2 TD

Rushing: Joe Harris– 19-180 yards, John Cessna– 4-10 Deshawn Johnson– 14-46 Victor Moulden– 1 (-2) Ryne Hacock– 1-3

Receiving: Victor Moulden– 2-22, 1 TD Corey Thomas 3-27 Kirk Thomas 1-12, 1 TD Joe Harris 1-11

INT: Corey Thomas

MNHHS: 0 14 0 8 – 22

HHS: 7 7 7 0 – 21

1st quarter

HHS: John Cessna 12-yard pass to Kirk Thomas, XP good – 7:28 7-0

2nd quarter

HHS: Cessna 11-yard pass to Victor Moulden, XP good –10:27 14-0

MNHHS: Ryan Robinson 5-yard rush, Dugger XP good – 3:06 14-7

MNHHS: Ivan Jessup 75-yard interception return, Dugger XP good – 0:18 14-14

3rd quarter

HHS: Cessna 9-yard pass to Thomas, XP good – 1:57 21-14

4th quarter

MNHHS: Levin 26-yard pass to Hatchett, two-point conversion Levin pass to Robinson good – 10:45 22-21

Maroons look to get offense back on track

Friday, September 19, 2008

Despite the scoring slump during the Madisonville-North Hopkins football team’s past two games, Maroon head coach Will Weaver is confident as ever in his offensive playmakers.

Although the Maroon defense has been steadfast in its last two contests, the team’s offense will certainly have to rise to the occasion 7:30 p.m. today as North (2-1) visits the Hopkinsville Tigers (2-1), who average 40 points a game.

Weaver said it’s not a time to panic, it’s just a matter of time before North catches a break.

“We’ve had wide open receivers, we’ve had guys in the open field, one block away from sprinting the big one, just haven’t been able to do it,” he said. “We’re moving the football, but in the end, what’s most important is we’re not putting points on the board right now.”

Making the Maroons’ offensive attempt of a “coming out party” even more difficult will be the limited availability of leading rusher Chris Scisney. Scisney went down with a sprained MCL in last week’s 8-3 loss to Apollo and has been in therapy all week.

Weaver described Scisney’s performance level at 80-85 percent, and hopes to use the powerful back tonight, but said it would be sparingly.

With Scisney’s role diminished against the Tigers, running back Ryan Robinson will get most of the carries from the backfield.

Robinson rushed for 58 yards on nine carries in North’s season-opener, but as a team the Maroons collected just 43 yards on the ground in week two. Last week Robinson amassed just seven yards on two carries, but was used effectively in the passing game.

For the Maroons’ running attack to be successful against Hopkinsville, Weaver said North’s backs will have to pound the ball into the heart of the Tiger defense.

“One thing that we preached on this week is that you can’t go east to west, side-to-side, we have to go north and south,” Weaver said. “Last week, I think we lost 15-20 yards where we were trying to make the big play and actually went backwards instead of forward.”

Robinson said he understands the strategy as well.

“Stick it in there and run hard, run it up the gut,” he said.

Also helping Robinson in the backfield tonight will be junior Isiah White and freshman Trey Carr.

Carr, who has been used sparingly in varsity games, may be called upon even more than usual.

“(Carr’s) a gamebreaker,” Weaver said. “When he gets in the open field, he’s one of the most explosive kids we’ve got. That’s one thing we talked about last week, maybe we should have thrown him in a series or two and kind of see what he had against Apollo.”

Quarterback Matt Levin said Hopkinsville likes to play cover two defense and it will be important for North to beat defenders to the edge and sweep them.

The Tigers’ speed may actually play into the hands of North, Weaver said.

“They’re very aggressive and they do fly to the ball, which kind of opens them up to a little bit of play-action and counters,” he said. “The faster you are to the football, you’re vacating the zone. There are some things that we plan on doing that will help us be successful.”

Defensively, the Maroons have taken note of Tiger wide receiver Victor Moulden. In Hopkinsville’s season opener, a 49-21 win over Trigg County, Moulden grabbed six catches for 143 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s their go-to receiver,” Weaver said. “If we shut him down and not let their backs break the big plays, which they thrive off from, then we’ll be OK.”

Sophomore defender Rashad Combs said he expects the Tigers to use a pro-set formation, which will force North to respect the run as well.

Combs said of Moulden, “He’s a very athletic guy, so we’re going to have to play very hard on him.”

Combs said despite Moulden’s playmaking threat, North’s plan to pin down the opposing offense has remained relatively stable.

“We’ve just been going hard, giving it 110 percent in practice and just keeping it up all the time, no matter who we’re playing,” he said.

The team’s defensive effort during the past two weeks has not escaped the attention of Weaver and his staff as North has limited opposing teams to just 14 points.

“They’re running to the football and playing with a lot of heart over there,” he said.

The effort has been critical as North labors to score points, but Combs said the defense uses it as motivation to perform better.

“Sometimes we feel pressure when the offense isn’t moving the ball, so we just go out there and go harder than we did before,” he said.

Even with a limited amount of points the past couple games, Weaver pointed out his team is just one play away from being 3-0.

While the team may not be undefeated, Levin said he sees tonight’s game as an opportunity to notch victory number three.

“We just move the ball and then it just seems like one play or series we just start stuttering and we don’t get that first down that we need at the time, we’ll get that corrected this week,” he said.

North upends Eagles

Friday, September 19, 2008

On Thursday night, Madisonville-North Hopkins soccer players Rush Dugger and Miles Durham exhibited once again what outstanding communication can result from playing more than 12 years together as the duo combined to lead the Maroons 3-1 past Apollo at Donley Field.

Dugger recorded a hat trick, scoring all three goals, while Durham provided two assists while the North defense handled an overmatched Apollo squad.

“We’ve playing together for a long, long time,” Durham said of his partnership with Dugger. “It’s just kind of natural to find each other.”

It took less than two minutes for Dugger and Durham to record the game’s first goal when Apollo’s goalie Jonathan Tanner tried to the clear the ball and North won position on a header. The ball bounced to Dugger, who moved quickly past a defender and scored at the 38:11 mark.

Less than two minutes later, Apollo players held their breaths when Eagle left back Alex Hamilton went down after a collision in which players from both teams leapt into the air in a battle for the ball near the goal.

Hamilton lay prone on the ground as individuals administered to him and Apollo players huddled in a circle with arms crossed around shoulders and heads bowed in prayer.

“(Tanner) came out to clear the ball and one hand hit the ball and the other hand hit Alex in the cheek and caused him to bite the opposite side,” Apollo coach Josh Jackson said.

Nearly eight minutes after falling to the ground, Hamilton leaned forward. A few minutes passed and fans clapped as he walked off the field on his own power.

After the game Jackson said Hamilton suffered a gash in his cheek and went home, and will have the injury sown.

Play resumed and shortly thereafter Dugger and Trevor Gillespie hooked up on another Maroons goal.

Jackson said the injury to Hamilton, one of the team’s best defenders, had an adverse effect on the rest of the Eagle players.

“Certainly, any time you lose a guy like that you’re going to have a little bit of a lull,” he said. “It definitely did bring us down for the whole first half.”

Dugger and Durham connected for their second goal-assist combo of the night with 3:49 left in the game. Durham made a pass, which was a little long to Dugger, who corralled the ball, repositioned and swiftly fired one through the left side of the goal.

“I cut it back with my left foot, which is not my dominant foot, and I just put it away,” Dugger said. “I guess it was kind of lucky.”

The goal proved to by North’s final goal of the game, but ultimately was enough as the Maroon defense held Apollo to just one goal, which came late in the second half.

“I thought the chemistry was very good early on,” North coach John Tichenor said. “We kind of set the tone and dictated how the game was going to play out.”

Eagle player Courtland Burroughs, a senior striker, ended Maroon goalkeeper JD Lester’s shutout bid with 10:04 remaining in the game when he scored on a direct kick, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Despite the goal, Tichenor said he was pleased with his defense’s effort, especially the play of Corey Ashby and Maartin Adams, who where effective in controlling the middle of the field.

In addition, Tichenor pointed to the play of John Arnold.

“Arnold is providing the leadership in the back,” he said. “They’re playing hard-nosed and doing what they need to do.

Offensively, Gillespie, a senior, has earned his coach’s respect with his development in attack from the right wing position.

“So many of our attacks are coming form the right side and Miles and Rush are recognizing that and sending (Trevor) balls,” Tichenor said.

Although Apollo allowed three goals in the first half, Jackson employed a different strategy in the game’s final 40 minutes, switching from a 4-4-2 to 3-3-4 set up.

“Putting an extra forward up top made us a bit more direct,” Jackson said, “and in the same time it caused them to kind of change their game because they use their full back as marking backs.”

Although Durham and Dugger stole the limelight with their goals and assists, Durham gave plenty of praise to his team’s defense.

“They made it easy on us,” he said. “They kind of get the short end of the stick. They don’t get enough credit. They make our job a lot easier and make us look better.”

North (6-1-1) recorded 18 shots to Apollo’s (5-3-1) nine and Lester had four saves on the evening.

Memorial service for Jones is Friday

Thursday, September 18, 2008

A memorial service for athletic trainer Kevin Jones will be held at 3 p.m. Friday in the Madisonville-North Hopkins High School gymnasium.

Athletic friends and family are invited to attend the service for Jones, 31, who collapsed Tuesday at Donley Field and was pronounced dead at Regional Medical Center.

Jones was an athletic trainer at McLean, Caldwell, and Webster County high schools prior to joining the North staff.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Athletic Scholarship Program, which assists those athletes with high academic standards who are in need of assistance for their secondary education. Envelopes will be available at the memorial service.

Ex-North standout Boyd was captain for WKU

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Western Kentucky defensive standout Blake Boyd represented the Hilltoppers as one of the team’s four captains in Western’s 41-7 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

Boyd, a former Madisonville-North Hopkins football player, recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter at the Western 7-yard line, but the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide proved too much for the Hilltoppers.

In addition to the fumble recovery, Boyd ended the game with three tackles and a pass break up.

During the previous two weeks Boyd won the Hilltopper coaches’ weekly defensive award and was named the lone junior captain against Alabama for his efforts.

Western plays host to Murray State University in its home opener at 6 p.m. Saturday in the newly renovated Houchens Industries — L.T. Smith Stadium.

Men’s cross country

Austin Peay State University runner Tim Hall turned in yet another team-leading performance Saturday during the Memphis Twilight Classic as the team finished in 10th place among 29 teams.

Hall, a former North runner, has paced the Governors in each of the team’s first three races of the season.

On Saturday, Hall (26:51.32) edged teammate Ryne Sexton (26:53.89) by two seconds as the pair took 33rd and 34th place overall.

The Govs’ next race will be 9:45 a.m. Saturday at the Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial in Huntsville, Ala.

Men’s golf

Two recent local high school graduates, Mitch Faulk and Richard Moore, rank seventh and eighth on the 16-member Kentucky Wesleyan men’s golf team through three invitationals.

Moore, a 2008 Central grad, has posted an average round of 79.4 while Faulk, also a 2008 Central graduate, trails slightly behind at 79.8.

Moore turned in the best score between the pair when he shot a 75 on Sept. 5 in the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational, three strokes behind the team’s leading score. On the same day Faulk carded a 76 to help the Panthers take third place in the five-team tournament.

Kentucky Wesleyan returns to the links Saturday and Sunday in the First Midwest Regional.

Men’s soccer

Former North soccer standout Aaron Arndt played in three games, starting two during the past week for Centre College.

Arndt, a Centre goalkeeper, played the second half as a substitute in the team’s 1-0 win over Mt. St. Joseph (Ohio) on Sept. 10, but recorded a win as a starter two days later when the Colonels defeated Heidelberg College (Ohio) 2-1.

During Centre’s victory over Heidelberg, Arndt allowed one goal, but made seven saves to prevent any further damage from the Fighting Student Princes.

On Saturday, however, Arndt, who leads the team with 14 saves, could not stop the undefeated Wittenberg University (Ohio) Tigers. Arndt made five saves, but two balls eluded his grasp as Wittenberg won 2-1 and improved to 6-0 while Centre dropped to 5-2.

The Colonels will be back in action 6 p.m. Friday when the team plays host to Oglethorpe University (Ga.).

Women’s soccer

Former Lady Maroon soccer player Rachel Oakley tallied her first collegiate goal on Friday to help Oakland City University defeat Spalding University 4-0.

Oakley, a freshman, also contributed with two assists on the day to help the Lady Oaks record the team’s first victory of the season.

Oakley has started each of Oakland City’s first three games.

The Lady Oaks will be in action again 6 p.m. Friday at Marian College (Ind.).

Volleyball

After four matches this season, Barry University (Fla.) junior Julia Ridley has helped the Lady Buccaneers to a 3-1 record and ranks second on the team with 52 kills.

Ridley, a 2006 North graduate, recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs in her first match of the year, Aug. 29, against the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and added 12 kills in the team’s second game of the night against Dowling College (N.Y.) to help the Bucs to a 2-0 record in the Nova Southeastern University Shark Invitational (Fla.).

During the second day of the tournament Ridley maintained her great early-season performances, but the team split its matches on the day, defeating Alderson Broaddus College (W.Va.) and losing to California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.).

Ridley finished with 11 kills in the win over the Battlers and established a career-high 18 kills in a losing effort to the Vulcans.

Through four matches Ridley ranks second on the team in kills per set (3.06) and fourth in digs (31).

Barry returns to the court 6 p.m. CST Friday against Rollins College (Fla.) when the team opens Sunshine State Conference play.

Maroons' trainer dies following collapse

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Madisonville-North Hopkins High School athletic trainer Kevin Jones collapsed moments prior to the start of Tuesday’s boys’ soccer contest between North and visiting Henderson County.

Jones was standing in front of the concession stand when he collapsed.

Jones was administered CPR on the scene and transported to Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8 p.m.

The cause of death is being investigated by the coroner.

Jones was in his first year at Madisonville-North Hopkins, and was employed by Trover Health System. He also spent a year as trainer at Webster County and four years at McLean County.

Murphy's goals hold up as Central wins, 2-1

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

MORTONS GAP – Hopkins County Central’s Hannah Murphy scored two goals in the first eight minutes of the Lady Storm’s game against Union County on Tuesday night, which proved to be just what the team needed as Central eventually won 2-1.

Murphy scored just 37 seconds into the game and then again on a header seven minutes after to account for the entire Lady Storm offense while the Central defense held for 75 minutes before allowing its only goal of the night.

Central coach Susan Phelps said Murphy has been out a few games with an ankle sprain, and certainly gives the team a boost with her presence.

“She makes a big difference offensively,” Phelps said. “A lot of the other teams tend to mark Amber (Coakley), so it pulls all of the defense towards her and leaves Hannah open in the midfield.”

Murphy’s first goal seemed to give the feeling the game would be a high-scoring affair, but further goals proved difficult to come by.

Murphy said it was her teammate Coakley, who set her up for success.

“There were a lot of open spots and I got a pass from Amber,” Murphy said. “It was a great assist. I just weaved in and out of a couple players and shot it, hoped for the best.”

The shot founds it mark at the back of the net and gave the Lady Storm a quick shot of energy.

“That was great for us, it just kind of gave us our momentum to start the game off,” Murphy added.

Shortly thereafter Murphy gave her team a 2-0 lead on a header.

“I just aimed for the ball and closed my eyes and it flicked in, it was great, perfect,” she said.

As Murphy provided the offense for Central, the team’s defense did its job as well by keeping the Bravettes off the scoreboard until 5:32 left in the game when Katelyn Bickett cut the deficit in half.

Phelps said she was particularly impressed with the play of Kaitlyn Jones play on defense.

“Kaitlyn does real well in that wing position as far as getting up and down the field and covering her mark,” Phelps said.

Phelps continued to say that Ellen Cox also performed solidly, taking on the wing forward position for the first time.

As Central’s defense continued to stifle Union County, the Bravettes’ defense also stepped up in the second half.

“The big difference was they put more people in the box,” Phelps said. “They just sat their defense back in there and waited for us to try and go around them and it’s hard. They have six or seven people there and we have four or five in attack.”

The Lady Storm had a few chances to increase their lead in the final 15 minutes, but ultimately could not convert.

Kacey Long had a penalty kick with 13:42 remaining, but her shot went high. Murphy also sent a kick high, which was caught by Union County’s goalkeeper, when she had a direct kick opportunity with 2:40 left in the game.

With the win Central improves to 2-6-2 while Union County drops to 3-7-1. The Lady Storm return to action 7 p.m. Thursday at Lyon County.

In junior varsity action, Central defeated Union County 3-2.

Freshman Megan Cummins and sixth-grader Ainsley Bryant tallied scores for the Lady Storm. Freshman Autumn Jarvis also scored on a penalty kick.

Four local residents providing help for event

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

While the golf world turns its eyes to Louisville’s Vahalla Golf Club this week as the course hosts the 37th biennial Ryder Cup, four local golf enthusiasts will be working the event from inside the ropes.

Local residents Jeff Howerton, Jim Kerlick, Jimmy Riddle and Mike Thomas will each make the trek north to get a peek at the action as the foursome volunteers to work various aspects of the golf match between the U.S. and European teams.

Thomas and Riddle are slated to be marshals on the first hole while Kerlick will be working in a sales tent and Howerton operating with the players’ shuttle.

While golf fans across the state and country scramble for tickets to the high-profile event, the foursome paid $220 to volunteer their services.

As members of the Kentucky Golf Association-Professional Golf Association, the group received paperwork asking for interested volunteers.

For their time and money, the group will get a uniform, which includes pants, shirt, hat and jacket as well as food vouchers and free tickets to watch the tournament when they’re not working.

For Thomas, the chance to watch some of the game’s best golfers is more than enough reason to pay the money to volunteer.

“I did it mainly to make sure I got a ticket to get in,” he said. “We only work — each of us will only work 8-10 hours the whole six days so the rest of the time, we’ll be watching the golf.”

Among the golfers for the U.S. team is Kentucky’s own Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes.

Perry was born in Elizabethtown and graduated from Western Kentucky University before turning pro in 1982. Since his debut, Perry has won 12 PGA events.

The 48-year-old Perry will make his second Ryder Cup appearance after competing in 2004. Thus far on the season, Perry has taken first place in three tournaments; the Memorial Tournament, Buick Open and John Deere Classic.

Another Kentucky native, Holmes, hopes to leave his mark as well.

Holmes, born and raised in Campbellsville, attended the University of Kentucky and will be making his Ryder Cup debut after turning pro in 2005.

During his short tenure in the PGA, Holmes, 26, has already won two events, but hopes to gain his first international victory this week.

A captain’s pick, Holmes holds the PGA’s third-longest average driving distance at just over 310 yards according to rydercup.com

Thomas said it will be a thrill just to be within yards of men like Holmes.

“It’s just that big of a deal to be up close and personal with men like that,” he said. “It’s worldwide stuff.”

Although as a hole marshal, Thomas will not know his specific responsibilities until he arrives at Valhalla, he said he anticipates performing such duties as holding quiet signs and managing crowd control.

Despite paying hundreds of dollars just to volunteer, Thomas is excited to attend, and listening to him there’s no way he would miss it.

“It’s a huge, huge event,” he said. “It’s just a big deal, and a big deal for Kentucky.”

The event begins 7:30 a.m. Eastern today with the first of three days of practice rounds before the official start, 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Central defense stifled Wildcats

Sunday, September 14, 2008

A night after wracking up 25 points against a tough Trigg County football team, Hopkins County Central coach Rick Snodgrass wanted to give plenty of credit for the team’s win to the Storm defensive, which shut out the Wildcats.

Central forced five turnovers, including two on special teams, to secure the team’s second shutout in three games this season.

“Our goal was the shutout, but to shutout that explosive offense like they have (is great),” he said. “They had so many kids coming back from a solid team they had last year. We felt like we were going to be in a dog fight.”

The Storm defense induced three turnovers in the first half to gain momentum.

Trigg threatened late in the second quarter, driving near the redzone, but Wade Hendrix hauled in a deflected pass to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard.

The turnover came after two Trigg fumbles, and Snodgrass said he was aware of the Wildcats’ struggles of holding onto the ball.

“They turned the ball over in some games and we felt like if we could get some hands in there and strip the ball loose we may have an opportunity to take a few away,” he said.

A special teams take away in the third quarter provided the Storm with the game’s last points of the game.

With Trigg facing fourth-and-long and its punter standing near the goal line, Central sent the house to rush the punt.

Lucas Duncan got a piece of it and Nikee Caldwell alertly picked it up and scored for Central.

“We felt like we could block a punt when we watched film and watched them in warmups,” Snodgrass said. “We felt like their long snapper was a little slow in getting the ball back.”

With a 25-point cushion, the Storm defense kept the Wildcats in check.

Trigg running back Brandon Bridges rushed for 114 yards, but no other rusher collected more than 10 yards.

Anthony Qualls, who forced a fumble, during Trigg’s second drive of the game, recovered a fumble in the game’s final minute to shut the door on the Wildcats.

Offensively, the Storm relied on many different players to keep the Wildcat defense on its toes.

Quarterback Jake Powell and his receivers struggled to make a connection early, however, as Powell threw eight incompletions before connecting with Kevin Couch for an 11-yard gainer, setting up Central inside the redzone.

“They were playing man coverage most of the night,” Snodgrasss said. “We told our kids we know there are going to be times when things don’t go well...but it is still possible to get that big play, and that’s what happened.”

Powell found his stride with the passing attack during the team’s first drive of the second half.

On third-and-eight from the Central 34-yard line, Powell dumped a pass off to Kevin Couch for a 10-yard gain. On the next play, Powell tossed to Kelsey Bowman for a negative yardage play, but made up for it when on second down he found Bowman, midstride, for a touchdown reception.

Bowman sprinted past the Trigg secondary and caught the ball at the 35-yard line and ran untouched for the score.

While Bowman may have turned in the biggest offensive play of the night, Keith Couch kept the Wildcat defense uneasy all game.

With his first touch of the night, Keith rushed 25 yards into Trigg territory in the first quarter. Keith scored on a 12-yard reception when his number was called again in the second quarter.

When Keith took the ball for his third touch of the night, Couch ripped off a 39-yard run down to the Trigg 41-yard line. Later, on the same drive on third-and-four from the 19-yard line, Powell passed to Keith for 12 yards, setting up the team’s second touchdown.

“He’s got that big play capability,” Snodgrass said of Keith’s elusiveness. “He’s got great speed, great strength.”

By night’s end Keith rushed five times for 78 yards to accompany his lone reception.

Notes

-Powell completed just six of his passes on the night, but three came on the team’s first drive of the third quarter when Powell went three-of-four for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Bowman led the receiving corps with two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Couch also recorded two catches for 21 yards while Caldwell made one catch for 20 yards and Keith Couch caught a pass for 12 yards.

-The shutout marks the second of the season for Central and the Storm have not allowed a touchdown all year in regulation.

Madisonville-North Hopkins remains the only team to have scored a touchdown on Central. North scored in overtime on Sept. 5 and went on to defeat the Storm 13-6.

-Despite allowing 114 yards rushing to Trigg’s Bridges, Central outran the Wildcats 141 yards to 126.

While Keith Couch led the way, running back Troy Dale Rorer gained 34 yards on eight carries. Powell also rushed 11 times for 31 yards, including a touchdown.

- Kicker Carlos Diaz made his high school football debut on Friday.

During the third quarter Diaz entered to attempt a 33-yard field goal, and displayed his powerful soccer leg.

Diaz’s kick, a line drive, had plenty of distance, but missed wide left.

Snodgrass said the team’s kicking game has really improved with the addition of Diaz and Wesley Ipock.

“(Diaz has) got strong legs, but he has to work on his accuracy a bit,” Snodgrass said. “We feel like if we get to the 20-yard line or so, he can give us a chance.”

Storm third in own tournament

Sunday, September 14, 2008

After scoring just three goals in their first seven contests — all of which were defeats — the Hopkins County Central boys’ soccer team doubled that tally and came within 15 minutes of putting together back-to-back victories in this weekend’s Storm Tournament, eventually taking third place in the six-team field.

Central knocked off Dawson Springs on Friday night 1-0 on a goal by Cody Heady, and led visiting Todd County Central by one in the latter stages of their contest Saturday afternoon before allowing two late goals to lose 5-4.

“We’re disappointed,” Central co-coach Charlie Chinn said. “We looked like we were going pretty good, and I thought the game was going to go our way, but (Todd County Central) really hung in.

“We just lost momentum and they had it at the end.”

Prior to Friday’s victory over Dawson Springs, the Storm had been shut out in five of their seven contests, so Chinn was pleased to see a glut of goals come from Central’s attack.

“I think we’re coming along, I just wish it’d came sooner,” Chinn said. “We’re getting closer to where we want to be.”

Central had been in control for much of the contest, taking a 3-2 lead into the halftime break and doubling their advantage on Justin Jones’ second goal of the game just seven minutes into the second half.

The Rebels hung tough, however, and notched a pair of goals just two minutes apart late in the game, one each by Kyle Power and Armando Flores, to hand the Storm a difficult loss.

Jones scored two goals for Central on the day. In addition to his second half strike, the senior midfielder took a pass from Thomas Miller and finished it off late in the first half to put the Storm on top after 40 minutes of play.

“It took us a while to get used to playing with each other and we finally got it down,” Jones said about the team’s offensive output in the tournament. “We’re getting our passes...We finally picked it up playing against Dawson and took it into today.”

The game got off to an ominous start for the Central, as they fell behind just six minutes in after a goal by the Rebels’ Michael Rager. The Storm’s leading scorer, Carlos Diaz, had two good opportunities in the minutes following Rager’s goal, but couldn’t find the touch needed to even the match.

A foul in the box midway through the first gave Central the opportunity they were looking for, however, as Wesley Ipock slammed home the penalty kick to tie the contest, 1-1.

That penalty kick began a flurry of action, with the two squads combining for three more goals in the final 18 minutes of the half.

Less than four minutes after Ipock’s goal, Diaz finally broke through, juking the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation and scoring in the empty net to put the Storm in front.

The Rebels tied the game just three minutes following Diaz’s goal, with Kyle Power finishing up an opportunity after Central keeper Josh Riley was unable to

control the ball in the box.

Jones then put the Storm in front just before the break, and stretched the lead with another goal early in the second.

Flores scored the first of his two goals in the 55th minute to pull the visitors within one, 4-3, setting the table for his team’s late-game heroics.

As the day progressed the temperature climbed and all teams were forced into a “heat delay” as the heat index topped 105 degrees.

Another delay in action came when a Todd County Central player was lifeflighted from the field after suffering a head injury. The player was later released from the hospital with a concussion.

With temperatures too high to play on the varsity field, teams were forced to play on Central’s lower practice field, including the Storm’s second game of the day, a 6-1 loss to Muhlenberg North.

The Stars showed the heat was no factor by scoring twice in the opening eight minutes.

Central had several opportunities to get on the board in the first half, but could not quite square up the frame and Muhlenberg North led 3-0 at halftime.

Both teams took water breaks every twenty minutes, and during the halftime break Central coaches passed out water and pieces of fruit.

“The coaches cut us oranges to give us sugar and keep us hydrated,” Jones said.

Heady said that the heat didn’t play much of a factor while the team was on the field, but the delays were tiring.

“I think it wore us out because we had to wait longer and longer to play,” he said.

After the intermission, Muhlenberg North scored ten minutes into the second half for a 4-0 lead.

The Storm finally got on the board, however, when Wesley Ipock sent a long kick from near the opposite goal to Diaz who accepted the pass, blew by three Star defenders and nailed one to the back of the net.

The goal proved to be the team’s only of the game as Muhlenberg North added two more, but the score marked Central’s third consecutive game with a goal.

“We didn’t think offense would be our problem at the beginning of the season,” Chinn said. “We’ve had a ton of good shots this year. Early, none of them were going, eventually the law of average on some of those had to catch up, and I think that’s what’s happening.”

With the team’s play showing great signs of improvement, Chinn said he’s hopeful for what is left to come.

Central (1-9-0) returns to action 7:15 p.m. Thursday when the Storm play host to Trigg County.

Storm blanks Trigg, 25-0

Saturday, September 13, 2008

CADIZ – The Hopkins County Central football team struggled mightily to get much going in the passing attack Friday night against Trigg County at Perdue Field, but it took just one completion in the second half to comfortably put the Storm in position for a 25-0 victory.

Ahead just 13-0 at halftime, Central came out determined to put the game out of reach quickly in the second half, scoring twice in less than four minutes.

Central received the ball on the first possession of the second half and scored on the biggest offensive play of the game – a 58-yard pass play.

After struggling much of the first half through the air, Storm quarterback Jake Powell hooked up with Kelsey Bowman to jump ahead three scores at 19-0.

On the next possession Trigg set up to punt on 4-20, backed up close to their endzone after a holding penalty, and Central brought the house to rush the punter. Lucas Duncan blocked the punt and Nikee Caldwell collected the ball and scampered 11 yards to the endzone for the score. The extra point proved no good, but Central held at 25-0 lead with 7:43 to go in the third quarter.

The Wildcats had just four more drives to score and the Storm defense proved strong and held on for the shutout.

Although the Storm attacked quickly and forcefully in the second half, without much of a passing game to rely on in the first half, the Storm turned to its backfield to carry the offensive load while the Central defense kept Trigg off the board despite entering deep into the red zone.

During the Wildcats second possession of the game running back Shelton Burress fumbled on a second-down play, setting up the Central offense near midfield.

The Storm took over at their own 42-yard line and Keith Couch took the first snap of the series and ran 25 yards down to the Trigg 33-yard line.

Powell turned to his legs as well and broke off a 14-yard gainer on the next play, but the Storm could not net another first down on the drive.

After an off-sides penalty, on 4-12 from near the 20-yard line, Powell’s intented pass to Keith Couch, in double coverage, hit a Wildcat defender and bounced into the arms of Mitch Rodgers, ending the drive.

Both teams traded possessions without much success the rest of the quarter. Central appeared to be stalled once again just inside the second quarter when Wesley Ipock entered to punt following a three-and-out.

Ipock let the ball fly down the field from his foot and when it reached the Trigg punt receiver it was bobbled and a hit from Duncan inhibited the Wildcats to recover the ball as Central’s Kelsey Bowman jumped on top of it.

Two plays later Keith Couch rumbled into the endzone for the game’s first touchdown, a 12-yard rush.

On the ensuing kickoff, Trigg returned the ball down to the Central 24-yard line, but the Storm defense held and a missed field goal kept the score at 7-0.

The Storm took over on downs at their own 20-yard line, and Keith Couch took off once again. Couch took the drive’s first play 39 yards into Trigg territory. Later in the drive, Keith caught a pass from Powell in the flats and sprinted 12 yards down to the 7-yard line.

With first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Powell looked to pass, but thought better of it, choosing to pull down the ball and running in for the touchdown.

Ipock’s extra-point attempt was no good, but Central led 13-0 with just under four minutes left to play in the first half.

The Wildcats methodically marched down the field on their next possession led by running back Brandon Bridges, but a costly mistake kept Trigg off the board.

Quarterback Donald Push threw into coverage from the Central 28-yard line and the ball was deflected by Kevin Couch. Wade Hendrix picked the ball out of the air for the Storm and the team took a 13-0 lead into the locker room.

Trigg County Wildcats (0-3)

Rushing: Brandon Bridges 16-114 ....Antonio Grubbs 4-5...Jalik Alexander 2-(-3), Donald Bush 7-10

Passing: Donald Bush 7-18, 92 yards, 1 INT

Receiving: Dustin White 1-31 yds, Will Stagner 3-30, Mitch Rodgers 1-1...Josh Adams 1-30...Shelton Burress 1-0

Hopkins County Central (2-1)

Rushing: Troy Dale Rorer 8-34...Keith Couch 5-78...1 TD..Jake Powell 11-31...1TD...Jaylon McCoy 3- (-2)

Passing: Jake Powell 6-20, 110 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Receiving: Kevin Couch 2-21...Keith Couch 1-12...Kelsey Bowman 2-57 1TD...Nikee Caldwell 1-20

HCC

Forced fumble: Anthony Qualls

Fumble recovery: Josh Adamson, Kelsey Bowman, Anthony Qualls

Int: Wade Hendrix

Trigg

Int: Mitch Rodgers 1-28 yards

HCC: 0 13 12 0

TCH: 0 0 0 0

2nd quarter

HCC, Keith Couch 12-yard rush, 10:08, XP Ipock

HCC, Powell 7-yard rush 3:49, XP no good – 13-0

3rd quarter

HCC, Bowman 58-yard reception from Powell, 9:33, 2-point no good – 19-0

HCC, Nikee Caldwell 11-yard rush on punt block recovery, 7:43, XP no good, 25-0