Cartwright closes fall ball with a bang

Thursday, October 30, 2008

As Major League Baseball’s World Series winds to a close, former Hopkins County Central slugger Will Cartwright participated in his own World Series – Murray State University’s annual Navy-Gold World Series.

Cartwright and the Racer baseball team played a three-game series during the weekend with the Storm graduate siding with the Navy squad.

Although the Navy team lost the series 2-1, Cartwright turned in a solid performance at the plate, including a multi-hit day in Sunday’s finale.

For Cartwright, the highlight of the weekend came on Sunday when he blasted a solo home run to left center field, which hit the scoreboard.

“It was about 395, almost 400 feet, so it was a pretty good shot,” Cartwright said.

The blast gave Navy a 5-1 advantage as the team went on to win 7-1.

Cartwright said the hit came on a first-pitch fastball from a left-handed pitcher and he couldn’t think of a better way to end fall practice.

“It felt pretty good because I redshirted last year and I wanted to really prove myself this fall,” he said. “To come out on the last day and hit one out, I hope it’s a good mentality for the coaches to keep me in mind for the spring.”

Along with the homer, Cartwright recorded a single to left field and three walks.

In the field, Cartwright started at third base each of the three games.

On Saturday, the sophomore collected his lone hit on a two-strike double to right centerfield.

“I was just battling and trying to go the other way,” he said. “I got a fastball on the outer part of the plate and hit it the other way.”

While the conclusion of the Navy-Gold series marks the end of fall practice, the workload will not stop for Cartwright.

“I got weights at 4 p.m. and we started a long-toss program (Wednesday),” he said. “We go back to four-on-ones, like individual workouts, skills, training with our coaches to improve even more. We’ll do that until finals time in December, so it doesn’t stop.

“As soon as we come home from Christmas break, that’s pretty much when our season starts because we start playing games in February.”

Women’s cross country

Kentucky Wesleyan cross country runner Morgan Whitney competed in the Great Lakes Valley Championship on Saturday in Rolla, Mo.

Whitney, a former Central runner, finished in 75th place with time of 27:39.48 and placed third of five Wesleyan participants.

Football

Former Madisonville-North Hopkins football player Tim Maypray helped the Virginia Military Institute Keydets to an impressive second-half performance against Gardner-Webb University on Saturday, but ultimately fell short 34-27.

VMI (3-4) trailed 24-6 at halftime to the Big South Conference foe Bulldogs, but scored on the team’s first possession of the second half, capped by a 46-yard pass from Maypray to receiver Michael Rainey-Wiles.

The touchdown was the team’s first completed pass of the day; Maypray finished two-for-four passing with 53 yards.

In addition to his aerial feats, Maypray rushed 25 times for 145 yards, including a long of 42 yards. It was his fifth 100-yard game of the season.

Men’s soccer

Centre College goalkeeper Aaron Arndt made four saves en route to recording another shutout as the Colonels’ soccer team defeated DePauw University 1-0 on Saturday.

Arndt graduated from North in 2006 and with the shutout helped Centre to improve to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

The Colonels’ next game is a non-conference match-up 4 p.m. Sunday at home against Maryville College (Tenn).

Women’s soccer

Former North soccer standout Laura Nance notched both a goal and an assist for the Kentucky Wesleyan Lady Panthers on Tuesday in the team’s 2-1 win over Hanover College (Ind.).

The game marked the final of the season for Wesleyan and Nance made sure to leave her mark, contributing on both scoring plays for the Lady Panthers.

Nance’s assist to teammate Stephanie Butler gave the team a 1-0 lead at the 25:41 mark, her first assist of year.

As the half winded down, Nance took the ball herself and scored unassisted to increase Wesleyan’s advantage to 2-0 in the 39th minute.

The goal marked her fourth of the year and Nance ended the season tied for fourth-best on the team.

Nance finished the game with four shots, three of which were on goal, and with her effort helped to boost the team’s final record to 7-13-1.

Men’s swimming

Centre College swimmer Zach Ford continued his freshman season on Friday in a dual meet against The University of the Cumberlands.

Ford, who starred last year at Central, competed in three races, but the Colonels eventually lost the meet, 168-94.

Swimming in just his third collegiate meet, Ford participated in the 200-yard medley relay, 100-yard breast stroke (1:13.09) and 200-yard breast stroke (2:40.57).

Women’s swimming

Emile Ewing, a 2005 North graduate, was one of 21 Auburn swimmers and divers selected as Academic All-Americans by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America last week.

Ewing posted a 3.72 grade-point average last year to help the women’s team claim All-Academic Team status.

The Tigers will take on Southeastern Conference foe University of Georgia at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 in the team’s first dual meet of the year.

Volleyball

Barry University volleyball player Julia Ridley has averaged 10 kills per contest during the past week, but the Buccaneers, as a team, have not enjoyed the same level of success.

After losing 3-2 to Nova Southeastern (Fla.) on Oct. 21, Barry bounced back with a 3-1 win over Rollins College (Fla.) on Friday, but dropped its next two matches to Florida Tech and Lynn University (Fla.).

During the Bucs’ first two games of the week, Ridley, who graduated from North, posted identical stats of 10 kills and three blocks.

Ridley’s most impressive day statistically came in her team’s 3-2 loss to Florida Tech when she recorded 14 kills and once ace.

Hawaii Bound

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Next summer, while many high school athletes enjoy their time away from sports and leave the area on family vacations, Madisonville-North Hopkins High School volleyball player Sara Lloyd will be in Hawaii, but she won’t be doing much relaxing.

Lloyd recently received a letter from Elite Sports, requesting her participation in the program’s 10th Annual “King Kamehameha Volleyball Classic” from July 7-14.

When Lloyd opened the invitation she had to call her coach, Jon Parker, to confirm its validity.

“My dad brought it to my mom and my mom was like, ‘This just came for you,’” Lloyd said. “I opened it and read it. I didn’t believe it.

“I called Jon and said, ‘Are they kidding around with me or is this serious?’ because I get volleyball stuff in the mail all the time, but I didn’t really take it seriously and he said, ‘No, this is for real,’ and I said, ‘Oh, God.’ ”

Each year Elite Sports chooses 300 girls nationally between ages 15-19; Lloyd will play at the 17U level.

“We’ll either play the different age groups or teams from different states as well,” Lloyd said.

The Lady Maroon standout added her Elite Sports team has not practiced together yet, but anticipates the workouts. As the team awaits getting on the court, the girls meet at Georgetown College for various organizational meetings and to discuss their itinerary.

A college coach directs each Elite Sports team and Georgetown College coach Jeff Hulsmeyer and his staff will lead Lloyd’s team.

Although the reality has begun to set in, Lloyd still doesn’t know quite why she was selected, but said she was told she was selected for her performance during a Lexington tournament.

“Jon doesn’t really tell us when they’re looking at us because it makes us nervous, so I don’t really know what they said,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd, a junior, and her teammates endured a difficult fall season, posting an 11-19 record, but Lloyd earned recognition as a hard-working, hard-hitting server.

“I’ve worked on my serving ever since eighth grade and I’m kind of getting a harder hit every so often,” she said.

Despite an underachieving 2008 season, Lloyd said next year the Lady Maroons will have six seniors to lead the squad.

“We have a lot of seniors next year and I think each one of us is going to put a certain something towards the team and I think we’ll do a lot better,” she said.

In the mean time, Lloyd will be focusing on her involvement with Elite Sports and the Audubon Volleyball Association, which is her off-season club.

Playing with a group of girls selected from various corners of the state may intimidate some athletes, but not Lloyd.

“I like meeting all my new teammates,” she said. “I play AVA in Owensboro and I’ve made so many friends from that and I just want to meet a lot of new people and have the experience of playing in Hawaii. I think that will be pretty cool.”

Lloyd said she does know a player selected from Owensboro Catholic, but will not join the team because of the associated costs.

One familiar face will be joining Lloyd though — her mother.

“She said she has to supervise,” Lloyd said. “I think she just wants to go to Hawaii.”

Her mother’s addition may be welcomed once Lloyd boards the plane for the ride west.

“I’ve never flown either so I’m kind of scared,” she said.

Once in Hawaii, Lloyd will try to focus on the wisdom of her high school coach’s words.

“He said to just keep trying my hardest and I always do,” she said.

With the trip still several months away, Lloyd’s excitement is obvious.

“I’m just ready to bring the Hawaiian experience and what I learned from there and bring it to North and just make us even that much better,” she said.

Club cooks up support

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Local residents hungry for a good meal and anxious to watch high school football now have a pre-game option on the south side of town.

That’s because each Friday evening, Anita Summers and the rest of the Hopkins County Central booster club, along with Integra Bank, have been hosting tailgate parties before home and away games this season.

Bank president David Gamble, who runs the branch at 1910 S. Main St., approached Summers, hoping to help build support for the Storm.

“Me and him started talking, and he said he wanted to do something with the Central football program and he asked me if I could come up with something,” Summer said. “I told him we would like to tailgate here, and he said (to) come down.”

Gamble and the bank have helped by providing a space for the event, in addition to tables and accessories to set up, as well as conduct giveaways for items such as stadium blankets to provide warmth as the season continues through late fall.

Summers, the club’s vice president, said with each event the club and team gains new interest.

“Each time we come out, our booster club gets bigger and bigger, and our tailgate party gets bigger and bigger,” she said. “We have people who pull in just to see what we’re doing because they see our signs that we put out on the road.

“They support the Central football and want to come in and see what we’re doing or sometimes they just throw five dollars in our donation bucket.”

The parties, which start approximately 5:30 p.m. each Friday, provide a chance for Storm supporters to share a meal and excitement for the players.

Rodney Watts helps to man the grill, cooking up a variety of tailgate favorites.

“We have porkchops, we got chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, Polish sausage, everything,” he said. “We don’t charge nobody. It’s all donated from the booster club.”

Summers also made sure to say guests are not required to bring money for the meal.

“You can bring stuff if you like, but most of it we try and pitch in and pay for it,” she said. “We do a lot of fundraisers and we go to Sebree Rodeos. We set up there and do concession stands and we do concession stands here in Madisonville also for the chamber of commerce.”

Another tailgate organizer, Tim Tompkins, works for Atmos Energy and used the connection with his employer to enhance the Friday gatherings.

“Atmos Energy has a trailer that they use to do tailgating for Western Kentucky University and they got a new grill and stuff and I asked them what they were going to do with their old grill,” Tompkins said. “I asked them if I could get it for our football boosters here at Central and they donated the grill and then they had an extra P.A. system and they let me have that too. I mounted it all on a trailer and we’ve been tailgating with all that.”

Watts graduated from West Hopkins High School and now his nephew, Travis, plays for the Storm.

When asked about the party’s importance, Watts said the event is much more than getting together to listen to music or share a meal.

“(The best part is) meeting new people,” he said. “We all went to school together when we were young. Now, we’re growing up together and our kids are playing football.”

For Summers, it’s also a chance to show her support for her son, Cody, a junior.

“It gets the morale going,” she said. “It gets our spirits and pulls us closer together.”

Summer said the first tailgate began with 10 people and has slowly increased to more than 100 attending the function before Friday’s game against Calloway County.

“It’s gotten bigger and bigger,” she said. “Our booster club has always been pretty good, but not this big. We’ve got parents here and kids here and family here. We’ve all become one.”

After Friday’s gathering, Summers said she never thought she would be so excited about football, but with the success of this year’s Storm team and her son’s involvement, she’s hooked.

“All sports are important, but there’s something about football,” Summers said. “Four years ago, if you told me I was going to be watching football on TV, I’d say you’re crazy. This is like Oreo cookies, you’ll get addicted to it and it’s easy to get in.”

Miscues, sluggish start halt Storm

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Untimely turnovers and an ineffective offense seldom factor into a winning equation when it comes to high school football.

Unfortunately, both happened to Hopkins County Central (5-3) during the second half of the Storm’s seven-point loss to Calloway County (6-2) on Friday night, inhibiting the team from capturing its first-ever district championship

Leading 21-7 at halftime, the Storm inherited the ball first in the second half, but the tide began to change.

“I think one of the big momentum changes – the biggest – was when we drove the ball down to start the third quarter,” coach Rick Snodgrass said. “They kicked off to us, we drove down within the 10-yard line and then we had two penalties.”

Central stepped to the line on second-and-two from the Laker 8-yard line, but two penalties backed the Storm into a first-and-23 situation from the 32-yard line.

On the ensuing third-down play, Central needed 14 yards and quarterback Jake Powell dropped back and threw to Kelsey Bowman. Instead, Laker defender George Garner stepped in front of Bowman and ran 66 yards before Bowman caught up to make a touchdown-saving tackle.

“That was a huge, huge swing right there and then on that drive we throw the interception that they returned to the 12-yard line,” Snodgrass said. “I think that was when the momentum changed quite a bit because we came out on that drive and methodically drove it down the field and did a good job of moving the ball down to the 10.”

Calloway needed just four plays from that point to convert for the score and cut the deficit to seven.

The Storm’s final turnover came on a halfback pass, pinned close to their own goal line on a third-and-long situation with just three minutes in the game.

Without Powell, who left earlier in the fourth quarter with an injury, Central lacked its starting quarterback and some depth at punting.

Therefore, on third down, back-up quarterback Jesse Almon pitched to running back Troydale Rorer, who took a few steps before launching a ball near midfield.

The jump ball fell into the arms of Laker Austin Hargrove, but Snodgrass said he was aware of the play’s possible outcomes.

“We opted to go with the halfback pass and we figured that would be as good as a punt if we didn’t get it,” he said. “We thought maybe we could get pass interference, maybe pop a big play or at the worst throw the ball down the field 30 or 40 yards and if they pick it, we tackle them. It’s as good as punting the ball out of your own endzone.”

Quarterback Luke Crawley directed the Central offense on the squad’s final drive of the game.

“Crawley has a little bit quicker release, a little bit stronger arm and a little more mobile than Jesse and that’s probably why we went with him then,” Snodgrass said.

Forced to air the ball out and take many chances with less than a minute to go, another Calloway interception ended the Storm’s hopes.

Despite not having Powell under center for much of the final quarter, defensive end Anthony Qualls gave Central fans plenty to cheer about and think of a potential game-winning drive.

With a tie game, Calloway moved near midfield with six minutes to play. On second-and-15 from the Central 47-yard line, Qualls and Nathan Crick combined to sack Laker quarterback Casey Brockman for a 12-yard loss. The very next play, Qualls did it again, this time for a 2-yard loss.

With the back-to-back sacks, Calloway punted away on fourth down to give Central the ball with four minutes.

“He’s been playing pretty well,” Snodgrass said of Qualls. “He’s quick off that edge and he causes some problems for some people. The last three or four weeks especially, he’s been applying pressure to the quarterback.”

In the first half, the Storm offense ran the show, breaking away for two long rushing touchdowns, one by Powell and the other by Rorer.

“They gave us a 3-3 look and we did a good job of executing, getting guys on the linebackers and making the right reads,” Snodgrass said. “We were actually able to run the football the whole night. In the second half, we just missed some assignments up front and of course when Jake went down, our game plan changed quite a bit.”

Powell’s long dash in the first quarter would not have been possible, however, without a key block from receiver Keith Couch inside the redzone.

“We busted it and Jake made a nice run and it was just pure hustle by Couch to get down there and make the block to spring him to take it to the endzone,” Snodgrass said. “It was going to be a huge gain for us, but with Keith hustling down the field to make the block, that’s what made that thing go for a touchdown.”

In the end, Snodgrass said he thought Central had its success, but a few unfortunate mistakes in the second half erased it.

“We were able to move the ball and control them, but we gave up a couple big plays and a couple crucial penalties at bad times,” he said.

Central statistics

Passing: Powell 8-12, 92 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Crawley 3-5, 26 yards, 1 INT

Receiving: Bowman 5-83, 1 TD Rorer 4-22 Kevin Couch 1-8 Keith Couch 1-5

Rushing: Powell 10-89, 1 TD Keith Couch 9-68 Rorer 11-60, 1 TD

Interception: Nikee Caldwell 1-34

HCC falls to Lakers, 28-21

Saturday, October 25, 2008

MORTONS GAP — Presented with an opportunity to secure the school’s first-ever football district championship, Hopkins County Central jumped out to a 21-7 lead at halftime, but the Storm could not repeat the same level of success in the second half, ultimately losing 28-21 to Calloway County on Friday night.

With a win, Central could have taken the district outright, but three second-half turnovers wiped out an impressive first-half performance by the Storm, dropping the team to a likely three-seed in the district playoffs.

The turnover came with three minutes left in the ballgame and ultimately proved to be the difference in the contest when the Lakers turned the opportunity into the game-winning score.

The Storm turned to back-up quarterback Jesse Almon in the fourth quarter when first-stringer Jake Powell left the game with an injured leg following a punt return.

After a pair of mishandled snaps out of the shotgun formation, Almon pitched to running back Troydale Rorer on third down deep in Central’s own territory. Rorer took the ball, made a few steps and held the ball up to throw.

Rorer’s pass, intended for Kevin Couch, fell into the hands of Laker Austin Hargrove at midfield and Calloway began its march.

Four plays later, Laker running back Tyrrell Willis ran untouched off the right side of the line for a 5-yard touchdown with :58 seconds left in the game.

Quarterback Luke Crawley entered for Central’s final offensive series and led the Storm to midfield as time winded down, but another Hargrove interception sealed Central’s fate.

Leading 21-7 to begin the third quarter, Central appeared to continue its offensive success by taking the second half’s first drive down to the Calloway 14-yard line.

A costly 15-yard penalty, and later an interception, erased the scoring opportunity, however. Powell’s pass for Kelsey Bowman was intercepted by George Garner, who returned the ball66 yards to the Central 13-yard line.

Facing fourth-and-six from the 9-yard line, Calloway opted to go for it and Laker quarterback Casey Brockman found a wide-open Chris Dobbins for six points and with an extra-point made the score 21-14 Central

Following a Storm three-and-out, the Lakers tied the game when Brockman found Garner on a 35-yard pass play.

On a later Calloway possession, as the game clock ticked under 10 minutes to play, the Lakers punted away to Powell, who took the kick about 20 yards, twisting and shaking past a number of Lakers.

When Powell finally hit the ground, he hit it hard, injuring his leg and missed the rest of the game.

Almon entered to guide the offense and on his first play, a high snap sailed over his head and Calloway recovered.

The play turned out to be an omen of sorts as Central continued to struggle with turnovers in the game’s final minutes.

Big plays defined the first half, however, for the Storm.

After falling behind 7-0, Central scored 21 unanswered points in the first half.

The Lakers scored on their second possession of the game to get the scoring started on an 82-yard drive, capped by three straight rushes from Willis, who took the ball the final 18 yards.

It did not take long for Central to respond with their own score, equalizing the game just a minute later.

Powell accounted for every yard of the two-play scoring drive. Following a seven-yard rush on first down, the senior broke loose for 66 yards to paydirt.

Keying the touchdown was a wonderful block on the left sideline near the 15-yard line by wide receiver Keith Couch. With Powell moving to the outside, a Laker defender caught up, but Powell cut back inside and Couch was there to stonewall the Calloway player.

Central continued its running momentum on its next possession, another two-play scoring effort.

This time, Rorer ran right up the gut past the second line of defense and sprinted untouched for a 46-yard touchdown. A high snap on the extra-point attempt resulted in a missed kick, but the Storm led 13-7 jut inside the second quarter.

The Storm defense maintained its dominance the rest of the quarter, but the Lakers threatened to score as the first half neared a close.

On first-and-10 from the Calloway 48-yard line, Brockman dropped back to pass with two minutes left in the quarter. Brockman aired a pass down the field, but it was over the middle and Central defensive back Nikee Caldwell stepped in front of the intended receiver for the interception.

Caldwell returned the pick 35 yards to put the Storm in prime position to add a few more points to their lead before the break.

Five plays later, on third-and-13 from the 18-yard line, Powell fired a strike to Bowman, who caught the ball near the 2-yard line, broke a tackle and twisted into the endzone with 43 seconds left in the half.

Then, Rorer recouped the single tally missed on the earlier extra-point opportunity, scoring a two-point conversion on a sweep right play.

With the conversion, Central led 21-7 and the score stuck until halftime.

1st quarter

CC: 1:59, Tyrrell Willis 3-yard rush, Garrett Schwettman XP – Calloway 7-0

2nd quarter

HCC: :57, Jake Powell 66-yard rush, Wesley Ipock XP – 7-7

2nd quarter

HCC: 11:03, Troydale Rorer 46-yard rush, XP failed – Central 13-7

HCC: :43, Kelsey Bowman 18-yard reception from Powell, two-point conversion rush Rorer – 21-7

3rd quarter

CC: 4:39, Chris Dobbins 9-yard reception from Casey Brockman, Schwettman XP – 21-14

CC: 1:26, George Garner 35-yard reception from Brockman, Schwettman XP – 21-21

4th quarter

CC: 0:58, Willis 5-yard rush, Schwettman XP – Calloway 28-21

Storm looking to wrap up their 1st district crown

Friday, October 24, 2008

For members of the Hopkins County Central football team, tonight’s match-up with Calloway County presents a chance to do something no other Storm gridiron squad has accomplished.

During a week in which the team has already learned the Associated Press awarded Central (5-2) its highest 4A ranking in school history, the school could record its first football district championship with a win against the Lakers (5-2) in today’s 7:30 p.m. game at Storm Field.

Senior running back Troydale Rorer smiled wide as he tried to explain the emotions of the opportunity.

“I’ve been thinking about it and it just feels so good,” he said. “This school is just so young and doesn’t have a lot of tradition. For our class to set the tradition for Central, and to let them carry on that tradition next year, it’s just an exciting thing to me.”

If the Storm wish to do so, however, they will have to battle through some expected rainy conditions, which could have a considerable effect on the style of football played.

“It’s supposed to be nasty (today), so we’re going to have to keep the ball on the ground most of the game probably,” Rorer said. “We’ll have to make sure to hold onto the ball and make sure our line gets a good push.”

Last week, Rorer rushed seven times for 54 yards as Central collected an impressive 266 yards on the ground against Ohio County in a 35-0 win.

Rorer will be expected to handle the bulk of the load tonight if the field becomes slick as expected and he appeared happy of thoughts of such a game.

“When it’s sloppy like that you know what kind of game it’s going to be,” Rorer said. “It’s going to be a hard-knocking game. It’s going to be a lot of hits on the ground, lots of nasty falls, slips.”

Quarterback Jake Powell said he also understands the game plan.

“If the O-line comes in and blocks like they’re capable of and Troydale runs the ball like he should, then we’ll be alright,” he said.

The Storm have enjoyed back-to-back weeks of solid running efforts and coach Rick Snodgrass said the department’s success helps the team settle in.

“If we can run the football, we tend to be a little more comfortable,” he said. “If we can be successful running the football, then our offense tends to flow a little bit better.”

A rainy night could hinder the effectiveness of the Lakers’ offense, which boasts 4A’s leading passer, quarterback Casey Brockman.

Through six games, Brockman passed for an average of 268 yards per contest. Brockman has also shown great accuracy, throwing for 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

At his disposal is a large group of receivers. Chris Dobbins leads the corps in yardage (581) with Chris Garner closely behind (516). Each receiver has four touchdowns, but Tyrrell Willis has caught 21 passes for eight touchdowns and 400 yards.

Snodgrass said there’s plenty that helps Brockman’s success.

“He’s got all the intangibles,” he said. “He’s about 6-2, 6-3, he’s a 200-pound kid who can run and he’s got a great arm. He’s a prototype college quarterback.”

With Brockman directing the air attack, Willis will handle most of the ground duties. Willis, the team’s leading rusher, averages more than five yards per touch and has eight touchdowns.

Defensive tackle Dustin Grant said Central’s focus will be up front.

“You just have to beat the guy you’re lined up in front of and get in his face and see what he can do, if he can take the pressure,” he said. “I feel like we can pretty much pick them apart, studying so much this week, by just looking at their formations.”

Lucas Duncan, a Storm defensive back, said the defense’s goal will be just recreating what the team has done all season.

“There’s really no strategy, just keep on playing the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “Just do what you’re taught to do.”

Central’s defense has been consistent throughout, collecting three shutouts while allowing only two opponents to score more than 20 points.

Their success has helped the team’s offensive players to loosen up.

“It relieves a lot of pressure from us,” Powell said. “We don’t have to worry about making a big play every play so much. We can try to make a drive last and keep them off the field.”

The lack of stress to score has actually propelled the team to even further success, averaging 42 points per contest over the past three games.

“We’ve been able to put a lot of points on the board,” Snodgrass said. “We’ve been able to utilize all of our playmakers. Jacob has done a real nice job the last three weeks of running the offense. He’s really grasped what we want him to do and distribute the football around.”

If Powell and the rest of the squad can repeat its success one more time tonight, Central will secure its first district championship and ensure home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Legends speak at dinner

Friday, October 24, 2008

Local University of Louisville fans and alumni displaced from the campus and surrounding city got a chance to have dinner with two of the school’s most famous basketball legends on Thursday evening when former coach Denny Crum and player Darrell Griffith traveled to Madisonville.

The pair visited the Madisonville Golf and Country Club to help raise money for the Hopkins County chapter of the U of L Alumni Association and for a $100 donation, individuals could sit at a table with either man.

Crum was quick to make the cause of function clear though.

“Anything that has to do with raising money to help send kids to school, I’m in favor of,” he said.

With an unsteady financial situation these days, Crum said he understands the importance of providing assistance to the youth.

“The bottom line is the cost of education goes up and up, regardless of the economy,” he said. “You have so many kids whose family’s would have been able to help, but can’t help them now. It’s a tough time for a lot of ways and I think we sure don’t want the young people to stop going to college, so any thing we can do to help enhance that situation is a real plus.”

After 30 years of coaching, Crum now spends most of his time appearing as a guest speaker and working with one of his past adversaries in former University of Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall on the Joe B. and Denny Show.

Despite the heated rivalry between the schools, Crum had no problem joining forces with Hall on the program.

“Joe Hall and I have so many things in common that it was really easy for us to do this type of a show,” Crum said. “We both loved our coaching, we both have a strong passion for hunting and fishing. We both grew up doing that.”

When we would get together, we wouldn’t talk about basketball for the most part. We would talk about other sports, mostly fishing, hunting and fishing.”

Crum said he spent the better part of Wednesday fishing on the Kentucky River, but for eight or nine weeks each summer he heads west to his ranch in Idaho , about 15 miles from West Yellowstone, where he like to fly fish.

“It’s an art form,” he said. “It’s really fun to do, it’s challenging.”

Although Crum enjoys fishing in his spare time, he admitted he’s more of a catch-and-release type fisher.

“It’s not in the list of my favorite top 10 things to eat,” Crum said. “I’ll eat walleye. I don’t dislike crappie and bluegill. They’re good-eating fish, but I’d rather have a hot dog.”

Joining Crum at the fundraiser was “Dr. Dunkenstein” himself, the lone senior on Crum’s 1980 NCAA Championship team.

When asked if Griffith’s high-flying aerial displays ever worried the coach, Crum didn’t hesitate to say no.

“If you couldn’t enjoy watching Darrell play, well you didn’t like basketball,” he said. “Darrell was so much fun to watch, so physically talented and he played so hard and he was just such a talent.”

Griffith, tabbed Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1976 out of Male High School, showed much gratitude, having the chance to be part of the school’s first ever championship, especially doing so with Crum.

“He’s just a wonderful person, got a great heart,” Griffith said. “I was glad to be one of his players.”

Twenty-eight years removed from the Cardinals’ championship run, Griffith said he enjoys watching Michael Beasley, who nearly came to Louisville.

“When I first met Beasley, I saw him for the first time, I said ‘This kid’s not going to be around but one year,’” Griffith said. “They had a high school game in Louisville and he played. He was just a massive kid and I was hoping we were going to get him, but he ended up going to (Kansas State University).”

I’ll be closely watching him mainly because of the connection with Nolan Smith.”

Smith, a sophomore guard at Duke University (N.C.), played with Beasley at Oak Hill Academy (Va.), and is the son of Griffith’s former teammate Derek Smith.

In addition to Smith and Beasley, Griffith said he also likes to watch Kentucky product Rajon Rondo.

Griffith said he enjoys following the trio of high-profile athletes just like the residents of small communities like Madisonville.

“They love the sports because they can’t really get to Louisville to see the Cardinals play,” he said. “They’re huge fans from afar.”

Griffith did not finish his thoughts on the area without recounting his memories of playing in Hopkins County.

“We used to beat up on you guys in high school. We played Madisonville in high school.”

Crum also displayed his knowledge of Madisonville by describing Oklahoma State University men’s basketball coach Travis Ford’s success.

“It’s not a big surprise,” Crum said of the Madisonville native. “His whole life has been basketball.”

Rodgers meets up with old mate

Thursday, October 23, 2008

When former Hopkins County Central runner Ashly Rodgers, now a freshman at Murray State, showed up for Saturday’s University of Evansville Invitational she discovered a familiar face among the competition.

Unknown to Rodgers, her former Lady Storm teammate, Morgan Whitney, who races for Kentucky Wesleyan was also in attendance.

“Our tents were just set up next to each other and I just kind of looked up and saw her standing there, so it was a good surprise,” Rodgers said. “It’s been a while of course since I’ve seen her, since she graduated, so it was nice to have her there.”

Whitney graduated two years before Rodgers, but it was the younger runner who finished higher on the day.

“It wasn’t a big deal really,” Rodgers said of edging Whitney. “It was mostly just good to see her, and of course, even though we’re on opposite teams, we still have that connection and we were still rooting for each other to do well.”

Both girls set personal records at the 6K invitational. Rodgers finished in 21:06.50 while Whitney came in at 22:53.60, beating her previous race by more than a minute.

After the meet, the pair met to do a cool-down run together.

Rodgers said it was nice to have the unexpected reunion and had fond memories of their time together at Central.

“I just remember that she was always a really good, key teammate for me whenever I ran with her,” Rodgers said. “She would always push me to do well. She was always the most positive girl on the team and when she graduated, I missed her a lot.”

Saturday’s race did not come without a bit of discomfort for Rodgers though as she ran her last meet of the year with a possible stress fracture in her left shin.

“I actually ran my race Saturday with a lot of pain,” Rodgers said. “It was really nice to have success from it. Now, I’m looking to get better for track season.”

Men’s cross country

Austin Peay State University men’s runner Tim Hall also participated in the UE Invitational and led the Governors cross country team to a fourth-place finish of the 22 attending schools.

Hall, who graduated from Madisonville-North Hopkins, finished the 8K race in a season-best time of 25:43.91 to claim 45th place overall.

Austin Peay will enjoy a bit of rest before running in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships 10 a.m. Nov. 1 at Southeast Missouri State University.

Football

Former North football player Blake Boyd recorded seven tackles, including a key fourth-quarter stop on Saturday for Western Kentucky University, but the Hilltoppers’ offense could not muster enough points to overcome the Florida Atlantic Owls, losing 24-20.

With four minutes left in the game and FAU facing a third-and-23, Boyd penetrated the backfield and tackled Rusty Smith for a 10-yard sack to give WKU the ball and an opportunity to drive for a game-winning score.

Boyd’s sack was the only on the day for the Hilltoppers, but unfortunately, the offense did not pull through, punting away after a three-and-out and the Owls ran the clock out for the win.

In the second quarter, Boyd also contributed on a big play, combining with teammates Travis Watters and company to take down the Owls’ Chris Bonner on fourth down near the goal line.

By game’s end, Boyd tallied seven tackles, good enough for second-best on the team.

The loss represented the fourth in a row for WKU, dropping the team’s record to 2-6.

The Hilltoppers will return to action 3:30 p.m. Nov. 1 for Homecoming against North Texas.

Men’s soccer

After making 11 stops and allowing just a single goal in two Southern College Athletic Conference games last week, Centre College goalkeeper Aaron Arndt earned the conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday.

The Colonels hit the road for two conference matches, splitting a pair of 1-0 games, but Arndt, a 2006 North graduate, shined in both.

In Friday’s 1-0 defeat of Austin College (Texas), Arndt made two saves to collect his fourth shutout of the season placing him second in the SCAC.

On Sunday, Arndt finished with nine saves, but a lone goal proved to be the difference, losing 1-0 at Colorado College.

Centre returns home 7:30 p.m. Friday to play host to DePauw University (Ind).

Men’s swimming

Also at Centre, 2008 Central graduate Zach Ford swam in just his second collegiate event on Friday, but the Colonels narrowly lost to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Centre took on the D-I Jaguars team and swam strong yet ultimately lost 150-141.

Ford participated in the 100-yard breast stroke, finishing in a time of 1:14.39.

The Colonels’ next race is 6:30 p.m. Friday against the University of the Cumberlands.

Women’s swimming

Auburn University swimmer Emile Ewing began the 2008-09 season amid a field of tough competitors Saturday at the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Ala.

During the meet, Ewing finished in third place in the women’s 100 freestyle race with a time of :51.88, just six-hundreths of a second behind teammate Ava Ohlgren. Former 2004 Olympian Amanda Weir won the event.

The Tigers will be back in the pool Nov. 14 when the Auburn hosts SEC foe Georgia in the squad’s first dual meet.

Lady Maroons fall to Ohio County, 4-0

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

For the fourth straight year, the Ohio County girls soccer team ended the postseason for Madisonville-North Hopkins as the Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Maroons 4-0 on Tuesday evening at Donley Field.

Neither team managed to score in the first half of the Third Region semi-finals despite several opportunities, taking a 0-0 tie into halftime, but Ohio (16-3-2) notched four goals in the final 40 minutes, which proved to be insurmountable for North (14-4-3).

After playing solid defense to begin the game, once North allowed its first goal, the flood gates seemed to part and never closed.

The game’s first goal came just minutes into the second half when McKinsey Ward hit from near the 18-yard line, past an outstretched Troyanna Hardy in goal, giving Ohio a 1-0 advantage.

Nearly 10 minutes passed before the Lady Eagles repeated the feat. Charley Notle scored on a breakaway opportunity, firing a shot past Hardy in a one-on-one situation to go ahead 2-0.

With 22:32 left in the game, Hardy blocked a penalty kick by Katie Henderson, but Kaitlyn Duke tracked down the rebound to score for the Lady Eagles.

Less than two minutes later, Henderson sent a rocket to the back of the net from 20 yards to give Ohio a commanding 4-0 lead, which stuck until the final whistle.

Neither team would have guessed the second half’s outcome after a grueling defensive battle to begin the game.

Nine minutes into action, North goalkeeper Troyanna Hardy made a solid save on an Ohio hard hitter to keep the Lady Eagles off the board.

Just 15 seconds later, Heidi Clayton moved the ball up field on a header to Laura Rao, who collected the ball and fired toward the goal, but an alert Brandie Hagerman hauled in the shot in goal.

Ohio sophomore Leslie Chinn had the game’s next chance to break up the shutout when she launched a shot toward Hardy, but the shot deflected off the North goalie’s leg and bounced harmlessly away.

The Lady Maroons’ fans cheered wildly midway through the first half after Clayton sent a shot toward goal, but the ball went just over the crossbar.

North defender Yiwenna Chen saved multiple goals later in the first half after Hardy vacated the goal to stop several Lady Eagle shot attempts.

Central ranked seventh in 4A; best in school history

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

For the second time in as many weeks, the Hopkins County Central football team appeared in the weekly Associated Press Class 4A rankings, but this week’s rankings have the Storm higher than the team has ever been.

On Monday, the AP awarded Central (5-2) 77 points, which bumped the team up one spot from last week’s poll to seventh place – its highest in school history.

“It’s great for the kids, but the bottom line is where you’re ranked at the end of the season,” coach Rick Snodgrass said of the honor. “We don’t look at the rankings that much, we just look at our opponents...it’s good recognition for the hard work they put in this season, but we’re interested in how the polls are ranked at the end of the season.”

Snodgrass added the last time Central was ranked occurred in 1999 when the team reached as high as eighth.

“We ended up going to the playoffs and getting beat by Owensboro Senior 14-7 that year,” Snodgrass said. “(Owensboro) ended up going on and getting beat by Ft. Thomas Highlands in the championship game.”

This season’s squad ranks among the state’s best in both offensive and defensive categories.

Entering Friday’s 35-0 thrashing of Ohio County, the Storm maintained 4A’s fifth-best scoring average (33.2/game) and average yardage allowed per game (116/game).

Central’s Jacob Powell and Keith Couch have been two of the Storm’s deadlier weapons thus far. Couch is tied for the fifth-best individual scoring average per game at 10.3. Powell, at quarterback, has completed approximately 55 percent of his passes.

The Storm have used their high-powered offense to knock off some of western Kentucky’s most explosive teams, including a 35-31 win against fourth-ranked Lone Oak on Oct. 10.

“The Lone Oak win a couple weeks ago was a big win for the simple fact that it gave us an opportunity to play for the district championship on Friday night,” Snodgrass said. “I would think that would have to be the signature win.”

Snodgrass said he thinks what sets this year’s team apart is the players’ work ethic.

“This senior class has really put in the time and dedication in the weight room and the offseason,” he said. “We got a good group and they’re good leaders.”

They set their goals high and we’re trying to obtain those goals. With winning some, comes your rankings and we just hope to continue to win. Our ultimate goal is the district championship. We’re hoping to get that done and take care of business.”

Central has never won a district championship, but with a win over Calloway County at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Storm could accomplish another first for the program.

Calloway will come to Storm Field just outside the top 10, ranked 12th overall, but the game plan will not change for the home team.

“I think the key is kind of what we have been doing all year,” Snodgrass said. “We have to play good football. We can’t turn the ball over. We just got to continue to defensively play well, just come ready to play and hopefully we can get a win.”

Central ranked seventh in 4A; best in school history

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

For the second time in as many weeks, the Hopkins County Central football team appeared in the weekly Associated Press Class 4A rankings, but this week’s rankings have the Storm higher than the team has ever been.

On Monday, the AP awarded Central (5-2) 77 points, which bumped the team up one spot from last week’s poll to seventh place – its highest in school history.

“It’s great for the kids, but the bottom line is where you’re ranked at the end of the season,” coach Rick Snodgrass said of the honor. “We don’t look at the rankings that much, we just look at our opponents...it’s good recognition for the hard work they put in this season, but we’re interested in how the polls are ranked at the end of the season.”

Snodgrass added the last time Central was ranked occurred in 1999 when the team reached as high as eighth.

“We ended up going to the playoffs and getting beat by Owensboro Senior 14-7 that year,” Snodgrass said. “(Owensboro) ended up going on and getting beat by Ft. Thomas Highlands in the championship game.”

This season’s squad ranks among the state’s best in both offensive and defensive categories.

Entering Friday’s 35-0 thrashing of Ohio County, the Storm maintained 4A’s fifth-best scoring average (33.2/game) and average yardage allowed per game (116/game).

Central’s Jacob Powell and Keith Couch have been two of the Storm’s deadlier weapons thus far. Couch is tied for the fifth-best individual scoring average per game at 10.3. Powell, at quarterback, has completed approximately 55 percent of his passes.

The Storm have used their high-powered offense to knock off some of western Kentucky’s most explosive teams, including a 35-31 win against fourth-ranked Lone Oak on Oct. 10.

“The Lone Oak win a couple weeks ago was a big win for the simple fact that it gave us an opportunity to play for the district championship on Friday night,” Snodgrass said. “I would think that would have to be the signature win.”

Snodgrass said he thinks what sets this year’s team apart is the players’ work ethic.

“This senior class has really put in the time and dedication in the weight room and the offseason,” he said. “We got a good group and they’re good leaders.”

They set their goals high and we’re trying to obtain those goals. With winning some, comes your rankings and we just hope to continue to win. Our ultimate goal is the district championship. We’re hoping to get that done and take care of business.”

Central has never won a district championship, but with a win over Calloway County at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Storm could accomplish another first for the program.

Calloway will come to Storm Field just outside the top 10, ranked 12th overall, but the game plan will not change for the home team.

“I think the key is kind of what we have been doing all year,” Snodgrass said. “We have to play good football. We can’t turn the ball over. We just got to continue to defensively play well, just come ready to play and hopefully we can get a win.”

Central ranked seventh in 4A; best in school history

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

For the second time in as many weeks, the Hopkins County Central football team appeared in the weekly Associated Press Class 4A rankings, but this week’s rankings have the Storm higher than the team has ever been.

On Monday, the AP awarded Central (5-2) 77 points, which bumped the team up one spot from last week’s poll to seventh place – its highest in school history.

“It’s great for the kids, but the bottom line is where you’re ranked at the end of the season,” coach Rick Snodgrass said of the honor. “We don’t look at the rankings that much, we just look at our opponents...it’s good recognition for the hard work they put in this season, but we’re interested in how the polls are ranked at the end of the season.”

Snodgrass added the last time Central was ranked occurred in 1999 when the team reached as high as eighth.

“We ended up going to the playoffs and getting beat by Owensboro Senior 14-7 that year,” Snodgrass said. “(Owensboro) ended up going on and getting beat by Ft. Thomas Highlands in the championship game.”

This season’s squad ranks among the state’s best in both offensive and defensive categories.

Entering Friday’s 35-0 thrashing of Ohio County, the Storm maintained 4A’s fifth-best scoring average (33.2/game) and average yardage allowed per game (116/game).

Central’s Jacob Powell and Keith Couch have been two of the Storm’s deadlier weapons thus far. Couch is tied for the fifth-best individual scoring average per game at 10.3. Powell, at quarterback, has completed approximately 55 percent of his passes.

The Storm have used their high-powered offense to knock off some of western Kentucky’s most explosive teams, including a 35-31 win against fourth-ranked Lone Oak on Oct. 10.

“The Lone Oak win a couple weeks ago was a big win for the simple fact that it gave us an opportunity to play for the district championship on Friday night,” Snodgrass said. “I would think that would have to be the signature win.”

Snodgrass said he thinks what sets this year’s team apart is the players’ work ethic.

“This senior class has really put in the time and dedication in the weight room and the offseason,” he said. “We got a good group and they’re good leaders.”

They set their goals high and we’re trying to obtain those goals. With winning some, comes your rankings and we just hope to continue to win. Our ultimate goal is the district championship. We’re hoping to get that done and take care of business.”

Central has never won a district championship, but with a win over Calloway County at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Storm could accomplish another first for the program.

Calloway will come to Storm Field just outside the top 10, ranked 12th overall, but the game plan will not change for the home team.

“I think the key is kind of what we have been doing all year,” Snodgrass said. “We have to play good football. We can’t turn the ball over. We just got to continue to defensively play well, just come ready to play and hopefully we can get a win.”

Central ranked seventh in 4A; best in school history

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

For the second time in as many weeks, the Hopkins County Central football team appeared in the weekly Associated Press Class 4A rankings, but this week’s rankings have the Storm higher than the team has ever been.

On Monday, the AP awarded Central (5-2) 77 points, which bumped the team up one spot from last week’s poll to seventh place – its highest in school history.

“It’s great for the kids, but the bottom line is where you’re ranked at the end of the season,” coach Rick Snodgrass said of the honor. “We don’t look at the rankings that much, we just look at our opponents...it’s good recognition for the hard work they put in this season, but we’re interested in how the polls are ranked at the end of the season.”

Snodgrass added the last time Central was ranked occurred in 1999 when the team reached as high as eighth.

“We ended up going to the playoffs and getting beat by Owensboro Senior 14-7 that year,” Snodgrass said. “(Owensboro) ended up going on and getting beat by Ft. Thomas Highlands in the championship game.”

This season’s squad ranks among the state’s best in both offensive and defensive categories.

Entering Friday’s 35-0 thrashing of Ohio County, the Storm maintained 4A’s fifth-best scoring average (33.2/game) and average yardage allowed per game (116/game).

Central’s Jacob Powell and Keith Couch have been two of the Storm’s deadlier weapons thus far. Couch is tied for the fifth-best individual scoring average per game at 10.3. Powell, at quarterback, has completed approximately 55 percent of his passes.

The Storm have used their high-powered offense to knock off some of western Kentucky’s most explosive teams, including a 35-31 win against fourth-ranked Lone Oak on Oct. 10.

“The Lone Oak win a couple weeks ago was a big win for the simple fact that it gave us an opportunity to play for the district championship on Friday night,” Snodgrass said. “I would think that would have to be the signature win.”

Snodgrass said he thinks what sets this year’s team apart is the players’ work ethic.

“This senior class has really put in the time and dedication in the weight room and the offseason,” he said. “We got a good group and they’re good leaders.”

They set their goals high and we’re trying to obtain those goals. With winning some, comes your rankings and we just hope to continue to win. Our ultimate goal is the district championship. We’re hoping to get that done and take care of business.”

Central has never won a district championship, but with a win over Calloway County at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Storm could accomplish another first for the program.

Calloway will come to Storm Field just outside the top 10, ranked 12th overall, but the game plan will not change for the home team.

“I think the key is kind of what we have been doing all year,” Snodgrass said. “We have to play good football. We can’t turn the ball over. We just got to continue to defensively play well, just come ready to play and hopefully we can get a win.”

Enlarged heart doesn't prevent Central's Eakins from running

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

MORTONS GAP – Heart. It’s not just something an athlete needs for extra drive and determination during a competition, it’s also what pumps the blood and allows that athlete to continue.

Corey Eakins, senior captain for the Storm cross country team, knows this fact more than most after running nearly the entire 2007 KHSAA state meet with an enlarged heart.

Just one-half mile into the race, Eakins tried to accelerate around a turn to catch a runner and felt a sharp pain in his chest he had never experienced, but still continued.

“About the mile mark, I saw that my time was slower than usual and I was like, ‘I just got to keep going the second mile to get it back,’” Eakins said. “Then I tried to speed up again and I just couldn’t because my chest started hurting and I started getting dizzy. I’ve ran hundreds and hundreds of times and it didn’t feel right.”

Eakins’ coaches and family watched the race and could tell he was in pain.

“He went running by me in the first loop of the state meet and he was pretty well off of where I expected him to be,” coach Jerry Womack said. “I said, ‘Corey, what’s the matter with you?’ and he just tapped his chest and I thought, ‘Oh, well he’s telling me he can’t breathe.’”

Despite the mysterious injury, Eakins completed the race.

“We got finished and he said, ‘Man, my chest is killing me,’” Womack said. “I thought maybe well he’s got a case of bronchitis or had something going on.”

For Eakins, the discomfort was too much to ignore any more. Once Eakins returned to Madisonville, his parents took him to Multicare, where the doctors administered an electrocardiogram. The result was an enlarged heart on the left side.

A second test in Evansville procured the same conclusion.

When Eakins told the doctors he had just returned from running a 5K, the doctors were more than a bit surprised.

“They thought I was crazy to be honest with you,” Eakins said. “They were like, ‘You did what?’ kind of thing and I was just like ‘Yeah, it started hurting, but I kept going.’”

Not finishing the race was never an option for Eakins.

“I was never taught to quit or stop running,” he said. “I’ve never stopped doing any thing, so I was like what’s different now? I didn’t know what it was I just knew, ‘This hurts, I can’t run my best,’ but I was like ‘Well, I at least have to finish.’”

It was just desire to keep going. That’s all it was. I was like, ‘I can’t be embarrassed where I walk at the state meet.’”

After taking an entire month off physical activity, Eakins took a stress test and was finally cleared. The doctors told Eakins, who had a pre-existing heart murmur, the stress of running as avidly as he did finally took its toll in the state meet.

“I would get up at 5:30 in the morning and run,” Eakins said. “Then, I would come to school and I had a sports conditioning class and I would run then and then I would run again at practice. Then, I would lift at conditioning.”

All the stress I was putting on myself – I would go all out in every thing just trying to get better. I was trying to get my best time at state and have scouts look at me. That way, senior year, they would already be looking at me, so I just put my body in so much stress.”

Following the stress evaluation, Eakins was allowed to return to play basketball, but had already missed a month.

Although Eakins has not had any problems since, it is a situation that could occur again and that knowledge has not escaped his mind.

“It’s kind of hard to do: to make yourself get better and run hard and yet you don’t want to do too much because you could end up the same way as last year,” Eakins said. “I knew if I could handle that, I could handle pretty much any other running thing, so that’s not a factor.”

At the same time, during the track season, my first race after the state, I was kind of weary because I was like, ‘Oh man.’ You just get that same feeling where you’re like scared that it could happen again.”

Serious injuries are not something new for Eakins either.

During his eighth grade football season, Eakins was blind-sided and twisted his back during practice.

Even at his young age, Eakins initially wanted to play through the pain.

“At the time, my lower back was hurting, but I was always taught to tough it out, no big deal,” he said. “Take some Advil, put some ice on it, keep going. I finally went to the doctor and they said I had a dislocated hip and herniated disk, so I had to go to physical therapy.”

Eakins missed the rest of the football season and half the basketball schedule.

The injury spurred him to take up cross country though, following in the footsteps of his older brother Zack, who graduated from Central in 2005.

“(Zack) was like, ‘How about running?,’” Eakins said. “I hated running back in eighth grade, but I was like, ‘Well, I’ll give it a try.’ I started running freshman year and just got hooked on it, loved it ever since.”

Now, in his final year of high school, Eakins is a captain just like his brother was, but Corey has a chance to lead Central to its third consecutive state appearance, something that has never been accomplished at the school.

Womack said Eakins was an obvious choice for team captain this year.

“He’s just able to run practice for me and he just does the things a good captain does,” Womack said. “That’s what you look for out of a captain, that’s what you look for out of a leader, somebody that the rest of the team will get behind and kind of gravitate to.”

Despite the injuries, Eakins has continued to work hard, achieving a personal record time of 18:45 in his last race on Saturday, and judging by his words, the experience will only fuel his passion for the sport even more.

“Just the feeling that you get after a really good race and all the effort that you put into it and you reap the benefits of all the hard work through the race,” he said. “There’s no other feeling to describe it, just the adrenaline and being out here. I can’t put it into words almost, I just love it.”

Maroons run to late-season wins

Sunday, October 19, 2008

With the high school regular football season’s end within sight, the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons seem to have finally found a reliable formula for victory, just in time to clinch a playoff spot.

For the second straight game, North employed a heavy dose of the running game and created further scoring opportunities by forcing turnovers. One week after using the strategy in a 36-12 victory over Marshall County, the Maroons (5-2) repeated the process to defeat Graves County (4-3) 35-14 on Friday night.

“We actually went from throwing the football the majority of the time to now we’re actually running it quite a bit,” coach Will Weaver said of the team’s improved rushing stats.

By game’s end against the Eagles, the Maroons ran nearly double the amount of plays they attempted through the air.

Leading the attack for North was running back Ryan Robinson, who eclipsed 130 yards and ran for three scores.

“He played real well,” Weaver said. “He’s rededicated himself to running hard and getting out there and practicing hard.”

One of the game’s most defining plays involved Robinson and wide receiver L.J. Gregory when a block by Gregory on the outside cleared two defenders and provided a running lane, which Robinson used to give the Maroons a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

“L.J. made that play happen,” Weaver said. “Ryan Robinson is a guy that when he gets open space, he can take it to the next level. He’s been doing a real good job of once he gets into open field, the last couple weeks, of accelerating and leaving the defense behind.”

That score was the first of three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns, all part of a 21-0 run by North to close the game.

Weaver said he thought the team’s success late was a result of not using as many players two ways like Graves.

On the defensive side of the ball, many Maroons stepped up and had an opportunity to be named defensive player of the game, but ultimately the honor went to Jaquez Samuel.

Samuel finished the game with 22 total tackles and collected a fumble recovery in Maroon territory during the third quarter.

Weaver said Samuel’s effort was just another reason he ranks among the state’s best tacklers.

“He was number two in the state as of last week, but I think with this it will put him number one in the state, all classes in tackles,” he said. “We had three of the top-five tacklers in the state with Iven Jessup, Jaquez Samuel and Jesse Donahue.

“Those guys just play with so much heart. They just fly to the football. They’re very athletic, but the desire to play the game is why we’ve been so successful on that side of the ball.”

Donahue and Jessup combined to stall an Eagles drive that reached the North 35-yard line early in the second quarter. On second-and-10, Donahue broke up a pass attempt and Jessup followed with a sack on third down for a 9-yard loss, forcing Graves to punt.

Donahue’s interception with less than a minute to play allowed North to run out the clock.

With the pick, the Maroon defense ensured a shutout as both Eagle touchdowns came on turnovers.

Another defensive standout in Friday’s win was J. Michael Collins, who created two significant plays in the second half. With Graves approaching the North 30-yard line, on second down, Collins recovered a loose ball to stop the drive.

Later, in the fourth quarter, Collins sacked quarterback Jake Clapp for an 11-yard loss, putting the Eagles in a fourth-and-36 situation from their own 9-yard line with about five minutes left in the game.

Weaver said Collins transferred from the Atlanta area this summer, and has found his niche.

“He wasn’t eligible to play until about midseason, so he’s just now starting to get in the mix and he really is starting to play well at interior tackle and defensive end as well.”

Collins’ uncle, Sonny, and father, John, both of the same last name, were standout players at the University of Kentucky. Sonny is one of the school’s all-time rushers while John played defensive line.

“He’s got a pretty good blood line,” Weaver said.

If the season were to end today, North would hold the four-seed in District 1, meaning the Maroons would play on the road at the District 5 one-seed’s home site. Currently, that team would be Louisville Trinity (6-1), the defending state champs.

Notes

North kicker Rush Dugger had a rather exceptional week on the football field and soccer field.

Dugger scored five goals in two games to spur his team to the Fifth District Tournament title.

During Friday’s football game, Dugger excelled by successfully converting on all five extra-point attempts and creating touchbacks on four of his five kickoffs.

After a Robinson touchdown gave North a 28-14 lead with less than three minutes to go, Dugger kicked off near midfield following a Graves penalty. With the fans finally feeling loose and comfortable leading by 14, they cheered wildly when Dugger’s kickoff split the uprights and the public address announcer shouted, “It’s good!”

In addition, Dugger averaged 32 net yards in his five punts, including a 49-yarder in the first quarter to pin Graves at its 21-yard line.

Maroons defeat Graves, 35-14

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Madisonville-North Hopkins High School running back Ryan Robinson rushed for three touchdowns in another explosive running effort as the Maroons defeated the Graves County Eagles 35-14 after a sluggish first half.

Tied 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, Robinson and the rest of the backfield turned it on to put the game out of reach for North and essentially clinch at least a four-seed in the 6A playoffs for the first time in school history.

The Eagles (4-3, 1-3) appeared ready to take the momentum, holding the ball with less than 10 minutes to play to play. On second-and-10, however, from their own 34-yard line, the Maroons (5-2, 2-2) began the turn-around when North defender J.C. Wade dove to the ground to haul in an interception near the 40-yard line.

Robinson used just two plays to convert the pick into a seven-point lead. On second-and-four, Robinson ran to his left side. Receiver L.J. Gregory cleared two defenders on a wonderful block that created a running lane for Robinson and he sprinted the rest of the way for a 33-yard score.

Forced to turn to its passing game, Graves County felt the pressure and failed to gain significant yardage through the air and had to punt.

North inherited the ball at its own 40-yard line with just under five minutes to play. Back-to-back 23-yard runs by Robinson and quarterback Matt Levin gave the Maroons another rushing touchdown. Levin created the score when he sold the hand-off to Robinson and went untouched off the left side of the line for six points.

The Eagles turned the ball over on downs after a three-and-out on their ensuing drive, giving North the ball at the 20-yard line. Chris “The Bus” Scisney scored the Maroons’ fifth rushing touchdown on a 12-yard carry to put his squad up 35-14 with less than two minutes to go.

The first 24 minutes of play did not go as smooth though for North. Offensive miscues highlighted the first half as Graves scored on a fumble recovery and interception return, while the Maroon defense shutdown the Eagle offense to 61 total yards.

It took Graves less than one minute to score the game’s first points. Although North began the game with the ball, on second-and-one from its own 19-yard line, Levin made a lateral pass in the flats to Robinson, who could not find the handle.

Eagle defender Cassidy McAlpin alertly picked up the live ball and took it to the endzone with a 7-0 lead just 42 seconds into play.

The Maroon defense did its best, holding the Eagles to a three-and-out on their first offensive series.

A Graves holding penalty on fourth down allowed North to set up its ensuing drive on the Eagle 40-yard line thanks to a 10-yard return by Ryan Quinn.

On third-and-seven from the 37-yard line, Levin dropped back to throw and a Graves defender committed pass interference, giving the home team a first down just inside the red zone at the 19-yard line.

Robinson took the next play, a carry, to the house, running up the middle then bouncing to the right side for the corner. Rush Dugger added the extra-point opportunity to even the game at 7-7.

Once again, the Maroon defense limited the Graves attack and forced a punt on fourth-and-15.

During the punt attempt, North’s Joe Kington shred through the line and blocked the football. Graves recovered at the 5-yard line, but it was a turnover on downs.

One play later, Robinson took his second carry of the day into the endzone for his second touchdown and the Maroons went up 14-7.

North appeared poised to take that same lead into halftime as neither offense could muster any sustainable drives in the second quarter. The Maroons inherited the ball with 54 seconds remaining in the half and did not appear to be making much of the drive until a pass interference call on the Eagles gave North a first down near the 35-yard line.

The next play, Levin attempted a pass to Scisney, but the ball was underthrown and intercepted by defensive back Dustin Collins, who sprinted 52 yards down the left sideline to tie the game with six seconds left.

Madisonville-North Hopkins 14 0 0 21 – 35

Graves County 7 7 0 0 – 14

GC-Cassidy McAlpin 15-yard fumble return, Tyler Willett XP

MN-Ryan Robinson 19-yard rush, Rush Dugger

MN-Robinson 5-yard rush, Dugger XP

GC-Dustin Collins 52-yard interception return, Willett XP

MN-Robinson 33-yard rush, Dugger XP

MN-Matt Levin 23-yard rush, Dugger XP

MN-Chris Scisney 12-yard rush, Dugger XP

Madisonville-North Hopkins (4-2)

Passing: Matt Levin 12-17, 64 yards, 1 INT

Receiving: Isiah White 2-31, Ryan Quinn 2-19, L.J. Gregory 3-13, Ryan Robinson 3-6, Chris Scisney 1-(-2,) Carl Hatchett 1-(-3)

Rushing: Robinson 14-131, 3 TD, Chris Scisney 7-31, 1 TD, Levin 9-15, 1 TD

Punt block: Joe Kington

Forced fumble: J.C. Wade

Fumble recovery: Troy Collins, Jaquez Samuel

Interception: Jesse Donahue 1-12, J.C. Wade

Graves County (4-2)

Passing: Jake Clapp 4-18, 31 yards 1 INT, Larry Brown 0-1, 1 INT

Rushing: Dustin Collins 8-40, Dillon Pirtle 7-34, Chase Walls 8-22, Clapp 10-12, Zach Crawford 1-4, Steven Thomas 1-1

Receiving: Pirtle 3-23, Taylor Jones 1-8

Interceptions: Dustin Collins 1-52, 1 TD

Fumble recovery: Cassidy McAlpin 1-15, 1 TD

North tackles film room

Friday, October 17, 2008

Members of the Madisonville-North Hopkins football team may have enjoyed a brief respite from the stress of school this week, but that just means an increased time bulking up on football knowledge.

Instead of practicing as usual after school, the Maroons (4-2) woke up early and practiced 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. each day, followed by a film session, all in preparation for today’s 7:30 p.m. contest with Graves County (4-2).

“We feel good going into it this week where you don’t have to worry about school, don’t have to worry about grades,” coach Will Weaver said. “Our only focus this week has been on Graves County.”

Although the two teams’ records are the same, North brings a lot of momentum into tonight’s game after its offensive line and running game stepped up significantly to defeat Marshall County 36-12 last week.

Weaver said he respects the Graves defense, but has confidence his team will repeat the performance from a week ago.

“We should be able to run the football on them a little bit,” he said “Their secondary is decent, but they’re not the best secondary we’ve played this year. They’re well-coached, they play hard and I definitely think if we play the way we played last week we’re going to have some success running and throwing the football.”

While Weaver noted the secondary, senior offensive lineman Andrew Daugherty said he and his fellow lineman have been focusing on those defenders closer to the ball.

“I think their strengths would be their linebackers,” Daugherty said. “They like to bring their linebackers and we’ve been working all week on picking up blitzes.”

Weaver said he thought his offensive line graded out the

highest so far on the season against Marshall County.

The Maroons ran for nearly 300 yards, more than half by running back Ryan Robinson.

“We just wore down the defense,” Daugherty said. “We hit them hard in the first quarter and they got tired quick.”

Daugherty said the team’s running attack has benefited from the line’s switch to a three-point stance.

“We run-block better out of a three-point stance than we do in the two,” he said. “You’re lower to the ground when you take off. It allows you to get more momentum in a shorter amount of space.”

Speaking for the rest of his lineman, Daugherty said the transition was an easy one to make.

“All of us have been using it since rotary league football, so it’s just like second nature to us,” he said. “It was back just like that. We knew it like the back of our hand the second day we started going at it.”

Offensively, the Eagles will run a wing-T set and have small, yet quick lineman up front.

“They take good angles to the ball,” Weaver said. “They’re going to be tough to slow down, but I definitely think we have more team speed than they do and our linebackers are playing real well.”

The key for the Maroons’ defense will be to stop the run and force Graves to rely on throwing the ball, something they are not as comfortable doing. North employed the same strategy last week and forced Marshall County quarterback Denver Seay to make risky decisions, which allowed the Maroon secondary to come away with four interceptions.

“What we’ve done in the past is we’ve pressured the quarterback and put him in bad situations,” Weaver said. “We mixed up our coverage to where he comes out, he doesn’t always get the same coverage, his reads change a little bit. Our guys just did a real good job of breaking on the football.”

As for the North offense, the team will try to do exactly what the Maroon defense will try to limit: running the football.

By running the football behind a strengthening line, Weaver said he hopes to open up the passing attack, which will be highly important if North is to come out on top.

“I think that’s the key to winning this game – continuing moving the chains, getting first downs and being able to run the football,” he said.

For Daugherty, he thinks the key is more of the same from last week’s strategy.

“We have to stay low (on the line),” he said. “When you come off the ball, you have to be lower than the defensive player. If you’re lower than the defense, you can drive them wherever you want to put them.”

North stomps Henderson

Friday, October 17, 2008

MORGANFIELD — For the first time in at least 10 years, the Madisonville-North Hopkins girls’ soccer team defeated the Henderson County Lady Colonels in the Fifth District Tournament and did it in sound fashion Thursday night.

North broke an eight-game postseason losing streak to Henderson, and after leading just 2-1 at halftime, the Lady Maroons appeared locked in another close game, but a great second-half effort put the game on ice in already chilly conditions as North won 6-1.

KHSAA online records are not available before the 2000 postseason, but in each season since, Henderson County has beaten North during the district tournament.

“It feels – words can’t even describe what the feeling is,” senior Heidi Clayton said of beating the Lady Colonels. “Finally beating Henderson in district and winning the district, it’s just a really great feeling.”

For six-year coach Steve Shepard it was his first postseason win against the Lady Colonels as well

“It’s a six-year monkey off our back and Henderson, they’ve ruled it,” he said. “This is the sixth game we’ve played against Henderson since I’ve been coaching. I don’t even know – it hasn’t even hit me yet. After the fourth goal, I knew it was our game.”

The Lady Maroons scored four second-half goals to put the game out of reach, led by junior Laura Rao’s three scores.

Rao scored twice via penalty kick and added another to pace North.

Ten minutes into the second half, Rao scored her first goal to put the Lady Maroons up 3-1. Mason Howard scored North’s next goal eight minutes later to put the team ahead three goals.

Midway through the final half, a Lady Colonel clipped Heidi Clayton inside the box as she fell to the ground. Junior Laura Rao took the penalty kick for Clayton. Rao sized up the goalie and shot left as the keeper seemed to freeze in place.

Six minutes later Rao converted on another penalty kick opportunity to put North ahead 6-1, the eventual final score.

“The girls deserve everything,” Shepard said. “I don’t take any of the credit. They stepped up and fought through the fouls.”

Clayton said the team never gave up, even when the goals began to come so readily in the second half.

“We emphasized at halftime, this is not over,” she said. “It’s back to zero-zero. We have to play just as hard as we did coming out. It’s not going to get any easier and we definitely maintained our intensity.”

By game’s end, four different Lady Maroon players scored in the victory.

“I’m so thankful to have so many girls that can contribute to the scoring,” Clayton said. “We didn’t have to worry about just two people scoring, we had four different people scoring.”

After the game, each of the North players donned T-shirts that said “Lady Maroon Soccer” on the front and “2008 District Champions” across the back.

During the first half of play, junior Lyndi Tedder dominated the game.

“Lyndi Tedder was just on fire,” Shepard said. “She won everything. She ruled the midfield.”

In the 12th minute of play, Tedder corralled a ball that bounced around in front of the goal. Tedder worked past a couple of defenders, including one who fell down. That gave her an opportunity to turn and shoot, scoring on the left side.

“I just came to play tonight,” Tedder said of her aggressive performance. “I left it all out there. One of my teammates told me to leave it all out on the field, so whether you win or lose, you know you gave it your all.”

North’s lead would not last for long though because the Lady Colonels reclaimed the momentum four minutes later when Henderson evened the game.

The Lady Maroons tried to clear the ball in front of their goal, but a weak kick found an open Lady Colonel freshman Morgan Graves, who fired the ball from 25 yards out. Graves’ shot went over the head of keeper Troyanna Hardy to tie the game at 1-1.

Neither team found the back of the net until another 20 minutes passed. In the 33rd minute, Tedder notched her second goal when she collected a pass right in front of the goal, turned and sent it past Henderson’s goalie.

“Lyndi stepped up the scoring in the first half,” Rao said. “That was huge. It really opened the gates to the second half and we just poured it on them.”

The goal gave North a 2-1 lead and it stuck until halftime.

The Lady Maroons will continue play in the Third Region against Ohio County next week.

After the game Lady Maroon players Clayton, Rao, Tedder, Troyanna Hardy, Meagan Hutchens, Carli Whittington and Ellen Whittington were named to the All-District team.

Hopkins County Central’s Amber Coakley, Kasey Long and Tavia Young were also named.

Mary Rachel Hobgood, Morgan Major and Ashely Smith represented Webster County.

Ex-Central swimmer Ford sees action

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Former Hopkins County Central swimmer Zach Ford got his first taste of action at the collegiate level on Saturday as the Centre College men’s swim team defeated Rhodes College in Nashville.

Ford took part in three events with two relays and an individual event.

During the 100-yard breaststroke, the former Storm swimmer defeated Rhodes swimmer Garrett Rhodes by nearly 1.5 seconds for fourth place. Ford missed taking third place by less than a second. He finished his first lap with at time of 34.54 and ended at 1:14.21.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Ford swam the second leg and finished in 33.33.

For the 200-yard freestyle relay, Ford took the anchor and collected a time of 25.31 as his team finished third of four in the event.

Women’s cross country

Central graduate Morgan Whitney, now a cross country runner at Kentucky Wesleyan, set a personal record on Sept. 20 in the Old Timers Classic for the Lady Panthers.

Whitney ran the five-mile course in a time of 24:45.20

On Oct. 4, Whitney participated in the Greater Louisville Classic, running a 6K race. She finished 152nd out of 205 racers at 23:57.43.

A week later, Whitney ran in the Border Wars Cross Country Championship, another 6K event. Whitney finished third of five KWC runners with at time of 23:59.26.

The Lady Panthers’ next race is 11 a.m. Saturday at the University of Evansville Invitational.

Football

Virginia Military Institute quarterback Tim Maypray, a former Madisonville-North Hopkins football player, continued his successful season on Saturday by setting a Big South Conference single-season rushing record for a quarterback and helping the Keydets to a 47-20 victory over Coastal Carolina (S.C.).

Maypray rushed 22 times for a career-high 155 yards to push his season total to 696 yards, a new conference record. The game marked the fourth time of the year Maypray rushed for at least 100 yards.

Maypray’s effort led the team to its first conference win since 2005. The win did not come easy though as VMI (3-3, 1-0) trailed 20-10 before scoring the game’s final 37 points.

In addition to his rushing yardage, Maypray completed his only pass of the day to receiver Michael Rainey-Wiles for a 19-yard touchdown with 8:01 left in the third quarter. The score increased the Keydets’ lead to 33-20.

Maypray scored the game’s final points on a 4-yard rush with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, and he also caught three passes for 59 yards.

VMI will look to continue its winning ways 1:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 25 at Gardner-Webb (N.C.).

Men’s soccer

Centre College goalkeeper Aaron Arndt, a 2006 North grad, led the Colonels to two victories last week with his solid play in goal.

Arndt allowed just one goal over both games. On Friday, Centre defeated Rhodes College (Tenn). 3-1. Rhodes’ lone goal came in the 28th minute, but since Arndt has not allowed a score in 152 minutes of action, including a 2-0 shutout on Sunday against Hendrix College (Ark).

The pair of wins increases Centre’s record to 11-3 overall and 5-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The team next plays 4 p.m. Friday at Austin College (Texas).

Women’s swimming

After participating in the U.S. Olympic swimming trials this summer, former Madisonville-North Hopkins swimmer Emile Ewing returned to the pool Sept. 26 for Auburn University, taking part in the school’s annual Orange and Blue meet.

The team divided into two squads, blue and orange, with Ewing a co-captain for the Blue Team, and participated in nine various relay events.

Ewing’s Blue Team came out on top and after the meet, Ewing told auburntigers.com she was impressed by her teammates’ energy.

“The spirit at this meet was more than any other intrasquad meet in the past,” Ewing said. “Having the coaches poolside firing each team up really helped out a lot too, and it is always a lot of fun to race against each other.”

Auburn took the Southeastern Conference championship last season and the Tigers will begin defending their title Friday through Sunday at the War Eagle Invitational at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

Women’s volleyball

Barry University (Fla.) junior Julia Ridley collected 17 kills and four blocks last week as the Buccaneers’ volleyball team split two games in Sunshine State Conference play.

Ridley, a 2006 North graduate, had five kills in her team’s first set against Lynn University (Fla.), a 25-23 win on Oct. 7. Barry went on to win the match 3-1, and Ridley had eight kills and three blocks.

Four days later, the Buccaneers took on 10th-ranked Florida Southern, but did not meet the same success. Barry lost in four sets to the Moccasins while Ridley posted nine kills and one block.

The loss dropped the Buccaneers to 8-5 overall and 2-4 in conference.

Boyd comfortable being leader for WKU

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

BOWLING GREEN — On a blistering hot Saturday afternoon in October, Western Kentucky University linebacker Blake Boyd stretches, does his calisthenics and pre-game drills in preparation to play host to the 25th-ranked Ball State Cardinals at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

After initially committing to the University of Louisville, Boyd, who starred during his high school days at Madisonville-North Hopkins, transferred to WKU, and since joining the team has become one of its defensive leaders.

“I just try to do what I can for the team, play the role I can play,” Boyd said. “If they ask me to be a leader, I want to be a leader for them and be the best that I can.”

Entering Saturday’s contest against the undefeated Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference, Boyd’s 37 tackles led the squad. The game marked the third time this season the Hilltoppers had played a nationally-ranked team, but just the second time the team played at home.

“The schedule we play, I would put it up against any of the top first seven games in the nation with any team,” Boyd said. “Five on the road and in some of the places we played, it’s tough. Being on the road drains you. Seven games into the season, you can ask any college football player, you’re hurting.”

When the Cardinals came to town Saturday, it marked the first time a ranked I-A/Football Bowl Subdivision came to Bowling Green.

Western trailed just 7-0 at halftime, but during the second half Ball State flexed its muscle to break away with a 24-7 victory.

Despite hosting a ranked team, Boyd said the team did not make any unusual adjustments earlier in the week.

“We prepared for them like we prepare for every other team,” he said. “We know they’re a good team. They have a high-powered offense. That was one thing we knew we had to stop, keep them from getting points and get our offense the ball. We didn’t do that enough.”

Boyd was correct in his assessment of Ball State’s offense as the Cardinals amassed 355 total offensive yards, but that was just three more than the Hilltoppers.

During his team’s 27-13 loss to Virginia Tech the previous week, Boyd got a chance to make an impact offensively. In the first half, punter Jeremy Moore faked a kick and threw to Boyd for a 46-yard catch.

The reception turned out to be the longest offensive play for either team. Boyd said it was nice to get the ball for once and relive the days of running the Maroon offense.

“It was great,” he said. “I told them (my team) we’ve always been trying to get me the ball, and I joke with them and they finally did. It just went back to being natural.”

Crowell leads North past Union: Dugger returns in Maroons' 11-1 win

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The biggest news during the Madisonville-North Hopkins boys’ soccer team’s 11-1 first round district win over Union County should have been the successful return of senior forward Rush Dugger, but no one told Micah Crowell, who took the spotlight by scoring four goals and notching an assist Monday evening at Donley Field.

Dugger scored the game’s first goal for North (14-3-1), the first of what would be three for the Maroon standout, but Crowell worked the ball throughout to lead all scorers and set a new personal career high against the Braves (4-10-1), doubling his previous single-game best.

“Micah has got in a little bit better conditioning as the years have gone by,” coach John Tichenor said. “I think he’s playing with more confidence and he’s been able, with each passing match, he’s had a knack to find the back of the net and we need that.”

“We need Micah to play that way Wednesday night against Henderson County. We’re going to have to need somebody to put the ball in the back of the net besides Rush or Miles.”

After missing over a week of game action to an injured hamstring, Dugger started and proved his healthy return by scoring the game’s first goal.

Dugger said he’s not quite 100 percent, but finally being able to contribute made him feel good.

“It kind of bothers we when I stride out and sprint, but I just feel it a little bit.” he said. “It doesn’t really bother me that much.

“It felt pretty good knowing that I still got a little bit of something for the rest of the year.”

In addition to his three goals, Dugger collected an assist.

Tichenor, who always looks for ways to improve, said the goal corrected a slow North start to the game.

“I think that first goal really set the tone,” he said. “I guess you could say the rout was on. Early on, we didn’t come out exactly ready. We gave them a couple opportunities that we shouldn’t have, and that’s OK as long as our boys learn from it.”

Crowell said Dugger’s return means a lot to the team’s unity.

“It’s just like you go without your brother for a while,” he said. “Me and him have been playing up front together all year. It’s like my brother is gone and you start connecting with a new person on the team.”

Senior Miles Durham collected the Maroons’ other multi-goal game with two and added three assists also.

With 18:05 to go in the first half, Durham dropped one in to Ethan Rutledge from the right side and Rutledge headed the ball home for a 5-1 advantage.

Robbie Hatchett rounded out the scoring when he scored with 44 seconds left in the half on another Durham assist as North led 10-1 at halftime.

Crowell made his fourth goal and the game’s final when Trevor Gillespie found him in front of the box nine minutes into the second half.

Rounding out the North points, Rutledge also had an assist and Gillespie had two assists.

Communication has been a strength all season for the Maroons, and Crowell said he felt it in effect Monday.

“We really played as a team tonight, I think more than others,” Crowell said. “We just really looked for the open man and went back to playing simple and keeping possession of the ball. We did really well of that tonight and that’s what brought us success.

“Just by looking at the other person’s facial expressions, you can kind of tell what they mean by not even using their mouth. We’ve played so long together, we can read each other.”

It did not help that the Braves defenders were not keeping up with their responsibilities.

“They ball-watched and we made runs behind them and they don’t follow the players,” Dugger said, “That puts us in behind them so we can finish.”

The team’s success, as Crowell said, would not be possible without its defenders.

“They are by far the strongest defense we’ve had behind us, I think in my career, playing for this team,” he said.

Tichenor said he is proud of keeper JD Lester’s progress, but saved most of his praise for co-captain John Arnold.

“I’m real proud of Arnold,” Tichenor said. “His leadership in the back has been solid. He’s got to be the glue in the back.”

With Dugger back and the team playing some of its best soccer all year, Tichenor said he does not have to give his team any further motivation when the Maroons play at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Henderson County.

“Any time we play Henderson, I don’t have to give a rah rah talk,” he said. “That’s our biggest rival, it always has been, even when I started 23 years ago. They’re our rival. We know we’re going to get their best shot and the game will play with a lot of intensity.”