Jim Mashek

DRAGONS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST FRANKLIN-SIMPSON; GREENWOOD VISITS CROSSTOWN RIVAL WARREN EAST

Week One has come and gone, in KHSAA football, but the heat’s still on in places such as South Warren High School, not to mention locales such as Warren Central and on Louisville Road, Warren East.

The calendar turns to September in a few days, and South Warren, ranked fourth statewide by On3 and Kentucky Sports Radio, has a major challenge on its hands in its first home game of the season. The Spartans (1-0) will play host to Louisville’s Dupont Manual High School, while crosstown rival Bowling Green (1-0) is on its way to the Derby City to tee it up with St. Xavier.

St. X is no longer coached by legendary figure Kevin Wallace, who won five KHSAA state championships at Bowling Green, but the Purples — ranked No. 24 statewide by On3 and KSR — understand the challenge at hand. St. Xavier, now coached by former Frederick Douglass head coach Brian Landis, is looking to bounce back from last week’s 24-7 road loss to Owensboro High School.

Owensboro is the defending KHSAA Class 5A state champion.

Bowling Green, which opened the season with a sturdy 34-7 victory over Bullitt East in the Rafferty’s Bowl, has gone 3-5 against St. X since the 2018 season. The Tigers claimed a 27-10 victory over ninth-year coach Mark Spader’s squad last year at the BGHS Stadium, on their way to a 10-4 finish in Wallace’s farewell season at the Louisville school.

“I’m glad we got the win last week, but there were a ton of mistakes,” Spader said before Wednesday’s practice. “We left a lot of meat on the bone, offensively, in the first quarter. Coach Landis has a lot of new starters, on offense and defense, but he knows what he’s doing. This is our longest road trip of the season.”

Bowling Green used a blocked punt in the final moments of the first half — sophomore defensive back Ayden Wickware stormed through the Bullitt East line to block the kick, before BGHS teammate Tayden Green took the ball 25 yards for a critical score — to take control in the final Rafferty’s Bowl to be played at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The bowl game moves to the BGHS campus next year.

“St. X had a big test, with Owensboro, right out of the gate,” Spader said. “Our kids understand the challenge in front of them.”

Meanwhile, at South Warren, last year’s KHSAA Class 6A runner-up looks to roll with the momentum after a 32-9 victory over Lexington’s Bryan Station High School, in the opening game of the ecampus.com doubleheader at Lexington Christian Academy.

“I thought our emotional composure was good, against Bryan Station,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “We’ve got some experienced guys, and they never got rattled … It was a good starting point for our team.”

The Spartans have had to deal with some critical injuries, most notably on the defensive line, where senior tackle Jaquise Smith, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound run stuffer, is on the mend with a leg injury. Brandon Smith said the Spartans’ massive lineman isn’t expected to return until after the fall break, in October, and sophomore Caleb Pile has moved into the starting role at that position.

South Warren quarterback Camden Page, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior, turned in a strong effort in last week’s thumping of Bryan Station. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns, with junior running back Jamir Boards on the receiving end of two of those scores.

The Spartans have had some other injury concerns, however, with seniors such as wideout Justin Capps and outside linebacker Will Mayes, but they seem to have the depth to address those needs.

“It’s hot, right now, so you’re going to play a lot of kids,” Brandon Smith said. “You’ve got to look for a silver lining (with the injuries), but it kind of forces you to do what you should probably do, anyway.”

Across town, on Louisville Road, Greenwood High School (0-1) looks to bounce back from last week’s 50-21 loss to Station Camp (Tennessee) in the opening contest of the Cole Lumber Bowl at Allen County-Scottsville. The Gators will travel across town to tangle with Warren East High School, which opened the season with a 21-0 victory over Ohio County in Jason Foley’s first game as the Raiders’ head coach.

Warren East quarterback Brandon McCluskey passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns in that game, adding 50 yards on the ground.

“We’ve had a good week, of focus, on the practice field,” Greenwood coach Tony Adams said. “We aren’t dwelling on last week’s loss … I think our kids and staff have put their best foot forward this week.

“We have to take care of the ball, force some turnovers and be much more crisp on special teams.”

At Warren Central, meanwhile, first-year head coach Kenny Davidson and the Dragons are playing host to a tradition-rich Franklin-Simpson squad. The Dragons opened the season with a 21-0 loss to Monroe County, while the Wildcats look to rebound from a tough 28-24 loss to Whites Creek (Tennessee), in a game played under the fading sun at Warren East High School.

“We’ve really just got to take it one week at a time, and play disciplined football,” Davidson said after Thursday’s practice at WCHS. “We need to get off to a good start, against a team like Franklin-Simpson … Our No. 1 goal, on offense, is to get our athletes the ball, in space.”

In other games involving area teams on Friday, Allen County-Scottsville (0-1) is on the road to face Monroe County (1-0) in Tompkinsville, while Barren County (1-0) plays host to crosstown rival Glasgow (1-0). Logan County (1-0), a team to watch in Class 4A, faces crosstown rival Russellville (0-1), in a home game, while Hart County (1-0) will play host to Trigg County (0-1). Metcalfe County (0-1) will square off with nearby rival Adair County (1-0) in Edmonton, and Butler County (1-0) is on the road to tangle with Ohio County (0-1).