Friday football digest, week 6
We’re told every year that the start of district play is what really matters in the regular season, and that day has arrived for almost all of the local teams. But while the five district games on tap for tonight are important, they really aren’t all that glamorous.
Not one of them jumps off the page as a must-see game, even though they might be must-win games. McCreary Central at Casey County (3A-4), Bath County at Garrard County (3A-5) and Boyle County at Taylor County (4A-5) look like easy victories for the Advocate-area teams, while the locals look to be clear underdogs in Mercer County at Lexington Catholic (4A-5) and Lincoln County at Pulaski County (5A-7).
The game that is clearly the most compelling on this week’s schedule is the lone non-district game between Danville and Green County at Admiral Stadium. The two teams will meet tonight for the fourth consecutive year, but the past three meetings have been in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs, with Green eliminating the Admirals in 2008 and ’09 and Danville felling the Dragons in 2010.
The first and third games were close, but the one that stands out is Green’s 61-22 victory in 2009 at Greensburg. It was the first (and still only) time Danville has lost a running-clock game, a nugget that was not forgotten by coach Sam Harp and the Admirals in their rematch last year and that will certainly be brought up again before the game tonight.
The most recent realignment means the teams probably won’t cross paths in the playoffs for at least the next four years — the only possible meeting would be in the state finals — so Harp and Green coach Mike Griffiths decided to move their series to the regular season.
It’s a good matchup between good teams — Danville is ranked No. 4 in Class 2A; Green is No. 9 — and one that could go either way. The Admirals will be at significantly less than 100 percent for the second straight week, and they’ll have their hands full with Green’s size and speed. On the other hand, they’ll also surely have the words of their coach reminding them of that 2009 game, and many of them will have their own memories of that night in Greensburg.
The predictions, coming off a week in which I tripled my loss total:
- Boyle County over Taylor County.
- Casey County over McCreary Central.
- Danville over Green County.
- Garrard County over Bath County.
- Lexington Catholic over Mercer County.
- Pulaski County over Lincoln County.
Last week: 3-2; season 21-3 (.875).
