Friday football digest, week 6
A year ago, I wrote in this space that all was quiet in Title Town leading up to the Boyle County-Danville game, and it’s nice to see that there’s a little more noise this year. There is still a clear-cut favorite in tonight’s crosstown showdown at Rebel Stadium, but Danville has improved to the point where it can again be considered a threat.
Boyle has owned the last two games in the series, which Danville still leads 32-15-1. The Rebels won 43-6 in 2008 and 49-9 last year, giving them wins in eight of their last 11 games against the Admirals. Boyle’s longest winning streak in the series is three — 1999-2001 and 2003-05 — and it could match that number with another win tonight. (Danville’s longest winning streak is 15 games from 1980-94.)
How does the game go down? Probably as another Boyle win. Forty-four of 53 people who responded to a prediction poll on Bluegrasspreps.com through lunchtime today said so, as did 71 percent of the 297 people voting in an amnews.com poll. I agree with both groups, and I think line play, which hurt Danville in its loss last week at Southwestern, gives Boyle an edge in this game.
It’s possible that the game could turn into another blowout, but I expect it to be noticeably closer.
* * *
These are heady days at Casey County, where the Rebels are 4-1 and were just one place removed from the top 10 in Class 3A in the latest Associated Press poll. They’ll be fired up as they head to Somerset for their District 3A-5 opener, but I don’t think they or anyone else in their district will be able to threaten the Briar Jumpers.
There is a game of intrigue in that district at Monticello, where Garrard County plays Wayne County in a matchup that will settle nothing but will give the winner the early lead in the race for the district’s No. 2 seed. It seems obvious to me that Casey, Garrard and Wayne will join Somerset as the playoff representatives from the six-team district, but they could finish 2-3-4 in any order.
* * *
The KHSAA has released its first weekly statistics report, and the only area player among the statewide leaders is Garrard County’s Tyler McCoy, who ranks 11th in receiving with 93 yards per game. Boyle County ranks fourth in scoring, Casey County is 12th in scoring defense, and those two teams appear among the leaders in other team categories as well.
* * *
Once again I find myself looking to go one better in my weekly predictions. A near-perfect week is good, but I’ve had two of those in a row; a perfect week would be better. The picks:
- Boyle County over Danville.
- Mercer County over South Laurel.
- Somerset over Casey County.
- Southwestern over Lincoln County.
- Wayne County over Garrard County.
Last week: 4-1; season: 22-5 (.815).
