Friday football digest, week 4
The good news at Lincoln County is that Garrard County is on the schedule this week. But the bad news at Lincoln County is that Garrard County is on the schedule this week.
A Lincoln team still looking for its first win of the season will try to get that win against a Garrard team the Patriots have beaten for six straight years, including three and perhaps four years when the Golden Lions looked like an easy pick. But the Garrard team that will roll into Death Valley tonight comes in with a full head of steam to play a Lincoln squad with no momentum whatsoever.
The fact that Lincoln has owned Garrard since 2005 has made this the most inexplicable series involving Advocate-area teams in this decade. The real head-scratcher came in 2008, when an 0-6 Lincoln team beat a 3-3 Garrard team 40-20 in Lancaster for what would be the Patriots’ only win of the season. The very next year, the two neighbors met in the regular-season finale and 1-8 Lincoln beat 4-5 Garrard 14-7.
What will happen tonight at Lincoln? It’s once again easy to pick the Lions, who have turned in three good performances in their first three games. But it’s also impossible to ignore the Patriots, who came close to a win for the first time last week and who clearly get up for Garrard.
The key could well be whether the Lincoln defense can keep Garrard’s offense in check. The Lions have put up big numbers in their two wins, and if they do so again they’ll pull away from an opponent that doesn’t yet appear to be capable of putting a lot of points on the board.
Boyle County and Danville hit the road to play tough opponents coming out of their crosstown clash. Boyle plays John Hardin, a team that most fans in this area know little about but that is easily the toughest opponent not named Highlands on the Rebels’ schedule. And Danville heads south to play old rival Corbin, which has an unimpressive record but has played impressive competition.
Mercer County will have to show some improvement on offense to get its first win, but the Titans’ game at West Jessamine presents them with an opportunity to do just that. And Casey County looks likely to get back into the win column against overmatched Clinton County.
As a whole, this is the most unpredictable week so far in the 2011 schedule, with at least four of the five area games appearing to be up for grabs. So I offer this week’s picks with a little less confidence than usual:
- Casey County over Clinton County.
- Danville over Corbin.
- Garrard County over Lincoln County.
- John Hardin over Mercer County.
- Mercer County over West Jessamine.
Last week: 5-0; season: 13-1 (.929).
