The Best Seat in the House

Kaitlin Snapp of Danville will compete in the KHSAA State Cross Country Championships for the final time Saturday in hopes of winning her fourth individual title.

Snapp will run in the Class 1A girls race, the second of six races to be held in the meet at the Kentucky Horse Park. She won championships from 2006-08 but dropped out of the 2009 race due to an illness and finished second last year to Maddox Patterson of Sayre, who has won in each of the last two years and is now a freshman.

Patterson will be the favorite again, but if we have learned anything, it is that we can never count Snapp out as long as she’s healthy. She reminded us of that this spring at the state track and field meet, where she won the 1,600-meter run with her best time ever in that event. Don’t underestimate what winning this race one more time would mean to her — or her ability to do it.

In Class 2A, the Boyle County girls are looking to improve on a third-place finish last year that was their best ever. It’ll be tough, with teams like defending champion South Oldham, North Oldham and Collins to deal with, but Boyle brings a senior-based team, and its top runners know how to race as a pack.

And keep an eye on the performances of Burgin’s Alex Beckerson, who is seeded fourth among Class 1A boys, and Lincoln County’s Alex Bunch, who is 15th among Class 3A girls based on regional results.

See the entries (performance lists) for all local runners now and results following the races at the KHSAA’s state meet page, and look for coverage of the local runners and teams in Sunday’s Advocate and at amnews.com.

Fair or not, this year’s Danville football team could well be defined by one game.

That game is tonight, when the Admirals play at Somerset in a Class 2A second-round playoff game. They have lost three straight games to the Briar Jumpers, including two in the previous two seasons that weren’t particularly close and one earlier this season that their coach called “embarrassing.”

They have the chance to wipe those games off the board — or at least this year’s game — with a victory tonight at Clark Field, and it’s certainly within their power to do it. Somerset has been up and Danville has been down in the last two or three years, but the swinging pendulum has brought them closer together this season.

In other words, there really isn’t that much difference between these two teams right now. And it’s a good bet — a very good bet, I’d say — that the Admirals will give a much better account of themselves than when they were last in Somerset five weeks ago.

Still, they have been all over the map this season, and that makes this game nearly impossible to predict. A Danville team that is clicking on all cylinders wins at Somerset; a Danville team that doesn’t seem to be in the game gets boat-raced. I’m going to have to pick Somerset until the Admirals show me they can get over this particular hurdle, but don’t be surprised if I’m wrong.

A few miles to the northwest, Boyle County makes its first visit to Rockcastle County in more than a decade for a 4A game. That’s no easy place to play, and the Rockets are no easy team to beat. It’s the kind of tough second-round game you have to deal with when you don’t win your district, but it’s the kind of game the Rebels should still win.

And back to the northeast of Mount Vernon, Garrard County hosts the biggest game Dyehouse Stadium has seen in some time when Russell rolls in for a 3A game. It’s only the second time the Golden Lions have hosted a second-round game, and the first time since 1993, one of their best seasons ever. Russell is a name-brand team with one of the state’s most recognizable coaches, but I think the Lions are good enough to get the win.

The road will be a tough one tonight for Mercer County and Lincoln County, who play at Lexington Catholic (4A) and Harlan County (5A), respectively. Getting a first-round win was a coup for both local schools; getting a second-round win against those opponents will be an awful lot to ask.

The picks:

• Boyle County over Rockcastle County.
• Garrard County over Russell.
• Harlan County over Lincoln County.
• Lexington Catholic over Mercer County.
• Somerset over Danville.

Last week: 4-2; season: 51-10 (.836).

The Kentucky High School Girls Soccer Coaches Association will hold its Kentucky Girls All-State Showcase on Saturday at Boyle County’s Rebel Stadium.

The two-game event features players who were named to the coaches’ all-state teams and the accompanying honorable mention list. Players are divided into East and West squads for the games. Here are the games and the area players eligible to participate (all area players are on the East teams):

• 1:30 p.m.: East vs. West honorable mentions (includes Savannah Austin, Kate Carman, Alex Combs and Lucinda Combs, all of Boyle, and Shannon Murray of Mercer County).
• 3:30 p.m.: East vs. West first- and second-teamers (includes Kennedy Collier, Meagan Curry and Katie Upton, all of Boyle).

Longtime 12th Region baseball and basketball official Kelly Gentry of Crab Orchard died Tuesday at age 36 after a battle with cancer.

Gentry, a Rockcastle County graduate, had worked as a 12th Region official for 14 years. He was also a fox hunter and an avid sports fan.

According to his obituary, the visitation for Gentry will be held Friday night and the funeral will be Saturday at Owens Funeral Home in Brodhead. My condolences to his family.

Landon Souder of Mercer County has been named to the Kentucky High School Soccer Coaches Association all-state first team.

Souder was named to the East first team, making them among 24 players statewide to earn first-team honors. He had 21 goals and 13 assists to lead Mercer, the 29th District and 15th Region runner-up in both categories and help the Titans to a 16-3-2 season.

Tate Spivey of Mercer and Jake Winkler of Danville were named to the East second team. Christian Gateskill-Fuqua and Drafton Peck, both of Danville, received honorable mention.

Kennedy Collier and Katie Upton of Boyle County have been named to the Kentucky High School Soccer Coaches Association all-state first team.

Collier and Upton were named to the East first team, making him one of 22 players statewide to earn first-team honors. Collier had 27 goals and 14 assists to lead Boyle in both categories, and Upton, a defender, had one goal and two assists. The Lady Rebels went 17-3-3 and reached the state tournament for the sixth time in seven years.

Seven members of Boyle’s 11-woman starting lineup made first- or second-team all-state or received honorable mention. Meagan Curry of Boyle was named to the East second team. Savannah Austin, Kate Carman, Alex Combs and Lucinda Combs of Boyle and Shannon Murray of Mercer County received honorable mention.

Here’s the updated playoff picture for regions including Advocate-area teams, with tonight’s first-round scores and next week’s second-round pairings:

CLASS 2A, REGION 4

First Round

Friday, Nov. 4

• Somerset 47, Betsy Layne 6
• Danville 32, Prestonsburg 16
• Leslie County 35, Middlesboro 12
• Lexington Christian 55, Shelby Valley 13

Second Round

Friday, Nov. 11

• Danville (3; 8-3) at Somerset (1; 7-4)
• Lexington Christian (2; 5-6) at Leslie County (1; 9-2)

CLASS 3A, REGION 2

First Round

Friday, Nov. 4

• Central 44, Casey County 20
• Corbin 14, Henry County 7
• Bell County 66, Elizabethtown 0
• Wayne County 7, LaRue County 0

Second Round

Friday, Nov. 11

• Corbin (2; 7-4) at Central (1; 8-3)
• Wayne County (3; 9-2) at Bell County (1; 10-1)

CLASS 3A, REGION 3

First Round

Friday, Nov. 4

• Garrard County 55, West Carter 6
• Russell 19, Western Hills 13
• Powell County 45, Lewis County 0
• Bourbon County 41, Fleming County 0

Second Round

Friday, Nov. 11

• Russell (2; 7-4) at Garrard County (1; 10-1)
• Powell County (4; 7-4, 2-3) at Bourbon County (2; 8-3)

CLASS 4A, REGION 3

First Round

Friday, Nov. 4

• Lexington Catholic 76, Clay County 18
• Mercer County 19, Russell County 14
• Rockcastle County 39, Marion County 8
• Boyle County 28, Knox Central 14

Second Round

Friday, Nov. 11

• Mercer County (3; 5-6) at Lexington Catholic (1; 9-2)
• Boyle County (2; 8-3) at Rockcastle County (1; 9-2)

CLASS 5A, REGION 4

First Round

Friday, Nov. 4

• Southwestern 40, Whitley County 10
• Perry County Central 46, South Laurel 13
• Harlan County 20, Pulaski County 0
• Lincoln County 28, Letcher County Central 14

Second Round

Friday, Nov. 11

• Perry County Central (2; 9-2) at Southwestern (1; 8-3)
• Lincoln County (2; 5-6) at Harlan County (1; 10-1)

It’s playoff time in Kentucky, and the first-round matchups for Advocate-area teams — or at least some of them — are a little more interesting than usual. At least three of the six games look like they could be close, which would be unusual for almost any group of six games in round one.

Start at Rebel Stadium, where Boyle County hosts Knox Central in a Class 4A game that Lexington Herald-Leader high school writer Mike Fields said could be the best first-round matchup in the state. With all due respect to Mike, I’m not willing to go that far, but it is a much tougher game than the two-time defending champion Rebels are used to.

They got this matchup as a result of their second-place finish in District 5, and if they survive it they’ll be looking at two rounds on the road at places where visiting teams seldom win. I think they will survive, however, in a game that will be neither a nail-biter nor a runaway.

Then there’s the matter of Danville, a team that coach Sam Harp himself referred to his team as a Jekyll-and-Hyde outfit. If the Hyde-like Admirals emerge tonight in Prestonsburg, they’ll be shipped back home to watch the rest of the season from the bleachers. If they look more like Jekyll, they’ll get past this game and Prestonsburg’s tricky offense and move on to the rematch with Somerset that they crave.

The Admirals aren’t used to traveling so far for first-round games, or even to traveling at all. In fact, this is the only the second time in Harp’s 23 years as coach that they have played out of town in the first round.

Back in this area, Lincoln County gets a home game in 5A against a Letcher County Central team with an identical, sub-.500 record and with a quarterback who figures to throw it all over Death Valley. This looks like the biggest toss-up of the bunch to me. The Patriots have had a noteworthy turnaround in the second half of the season to earn a No. 2 seed and the chance to play at home, but they also have trouble defending the pass.

The other games seem more cut-and-dried: In 3A, No. 1 seed Garrard County should have little trouble with West Carter, while No. 4 seed Casey County looks to be in big trouble against powerful Central. In 4A, Mercer County is a big underdog against a Russell County team that very nearly went undefeated.

The picks:

• Boyle County over Knox Central.
• Central over Casey County.
• Danville over Prestonsburg.
• Garrard County over West Carter.
• Letcher County Central over Lincoln County.
• Russell County over Mercer County.

Last week: 3-1; regular season: 47-8 (.855).