Friday football digest, week 6
It’s not like there are tumbleweeds rolling down Main Street, but it’s still awfully quiet in Kentucky’s Title Town this week.
It’s Danville-Boyle County week, and that has generated plenty of buzz annually for the last 15 years or so. This year, however, with Boyle riding high and Danville at an historic low, there just isn’t as much excitement surrounding the game.
The most common question associated with the game that I’ve heard has been, “How bad will it be?” (Although I suppose if you’re a Rebel fan the question would be, “How good is it going to be?”) It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Boyle will win, just as Danville victories were foregone conclusions through the 1980s and early ’90s.
Time will tell if the rivalry will be one-sided for years to come or if this is just a phase. But here’s where we are this year: There’s a very real possibility that tonight’s game at Admiral Stadium will be the first running-clock game in which Danville is on the losing end.
That almost happened two weeks ago in the Admirals’ 48-7 loss at Somerset, when the Briar Jumpers drove deep into Danville territory in the middle of the fourth quarter but had no particular interest in adding to their lead.
It would seem that Boyle can’t help but put up a big number tonight, and if coach Larry French is true to his substitution pattern in games that get out of hand, it’s easy to imagine the Rebels building a lead of 45 points or better, which triggers the mercy rule in the second half. There’s no reason to believe that French would have any interest in running up the score, but it isn’t hard for the Rebels’ quick-strike offense to roll up seven or eight touchdowns.
The better game tonight will be in Lancaster, where Garrard County and Wayne County will play a game that will greatly impact the standings and playoff seedings in district 3A-5. Look for a high-scoring affair in what could be the only truly good game on this week’s local schedule.
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We discovered a schedule oddity two weeks ago when every local team played on the road, and we have almost an exact reversal of that this week. Every team is at home tonight except Boyle County, which has a trip so short that the players could get out and jog to Danville if their bus breaks down.
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Here are this week’s preview stories:
- Boyle County at Danville: Larry Vaught’s story from amnews.com.
- Somerset at Casey County: Contained within a three-game preview at amnews.com.
- Wayne County at Garrard County: Also within the three-game preview at amnews.com; Shannon Hutchinson’s story from The Wayne County Outlook.
- Southwestern at Lincoln County: Hal Morris’ story at amnews.com.
- South Laurel at Mercer County: Also part of the three-game preview at amnews.com; Denis House’s story from The Sentinel Echo of London.
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Another two-loss week has dropped my picking percentage below .700. Still I persevere with another dubious list of predictions:
- Somerset over Casey County.
- Boyle County over Danville.
- Garrard County over Wayne County.
- Southwestern over Lincoln County.
- Mercer County over South Laurel.
Last week: 2-2; season 16-7 (.696).
