Jim Mashek

BOWLING GREEN PLAYS HOST TO FRANKLIN COUNTY; GLASGOW ON THE ROAD AGAINST FRANKLIN-SIMPSON

South Warren High School made its first year in the KHSAA’s top classification a memorable one, reaching the state championship game before dropping a 28-14 decision to Louisville’s Trinity High School in Lexington.

The Spartans, ranked No. 13 statewide by On3 and Kentucky Sports Radio, will put their 7-2 overall record on the line when they made the short road trip to tangle with Logan County on Friday night in Russellville. The Cougars, also 7-2 overall, will face the Spartans before opening the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs with a home game against Taylor County High School.

South Warren, meanwhile, will have a bye in the KHSAA Class 6A playoffs for the second consecutive season. This time, however, veteran South coach Brandon Smith and his squad will understand that well in advance of next week’s ‘open date’ before playing host to an opponent to be determined by the KHSAA this weekend.

Last year, the Spartans learned they’d be idle for the first week of the postseason when Christian County High School bowed out of the Class 6A playoffs as the regular season was coming to a close. Since then, Christian County and Hopkinsville have merged into a single high school, and that’s a team South Warren could face in the KHSAA’s 1st Region in the first weekend of November.

So Smith and his coaching staff have an idea of what to expect before the Spartans board the bus for Russellville on Friday afternoon.

“The good news is we kind of have a template, for how to approach it, after last year,” Smith said. “I still don’t like it, but we’ve gotta make it work. When you start playing good teams, in the playoffs, it’s the small things that matter.

“You have to be detail oriented.”

Camden Page, South Warren’s senior quarterback, believes his team is peaking at the right time.

“I definitely think we’re getting better. The hard work’s paying off,” Page said. “Our offensive line has really started to gel, figure things out as a group. We know we’re facing a good team in Logan County.”

Logan County has bounced back from a 37-7 loss to mighty Paducah Tilghman, the state’s 12th-ranked team, with lopsided victories over district rivals Franklin-Simpson (a 40-19 victory) and upstart Warren East (a 43-21 triumph). The Raiders have had an impressive bounce-back season under first-year coach Jason Foley, and they’ll be playing on the road against North Hardin High School (4-4-1) before opening the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs next week against Nelson County (8-1) on the road in Bardstown.

Warren East (6-3 overall) has faced two Class 4A contenders, Paducah Tilghman and Logan County, in its two games since returning from Fall Break. The Raiders have relied on a strong defense to return to postseason play but they’ll be looking for improvement on both sides of the ball against North Hardin.

In other high-profile games involving South Central Kentucky squads, Glasgow High School (8-1 overall) will face tradition-rich Franklin-Simpson (3-6) at Mathews Stadium in Franklin, while Bowling Green High School (5-4 overall) returns to the BGHS Stadium to tangle with Franklin County (also 5-4). The Purples, winners of three straight games, will remain on their home turf for the first round of the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs, when they square off with Owensboro’s Apollo High School (4-5) overall on November 6.

BGHS coach Mark Spader was pleased with his team’s performance in last week’s 54-7 rout of Grayson County in the Purples’ final district game of the season.

“I’m really proud of this team,” Spader said when it was over. “We had some things carry over from last week (a 45-7 victory over crosstown rival Greenwood, and we had a great week of practice … Maybe we’re onto something.”

Greenwood dropped to 2-8 overall on Thursday night, dropping a 26-14 decision to Union County in Morganfield. First-year Greenwood head coach Tony Adams will lead his squad into first-round play of the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs next week against defending state champion Owensboro High School (7-2 overall).

The Red Devils have won five straight games, all by comfortable margins. Owensboro will be on the road Friday night to face Henderson County (4-5 overall).

South Warren coach Brandon Smith knows his squad will have its hands full with Logan County, which went 10-3 last year, bowing out in the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs against Paducah Tilghman. The Blue Tornadoes swept into Russellville to stop Logan County, 37-7, earlier this month.

“They’ve got the majority of their team back, from last year,” Smith said. “They expect to win … we’ve had some tough games with Logan over the years.”

South Warren’s two losses have come against state-ranked teams, a 42-21 defeat at the hands of Louisville’s Dupont Manual High School in August, and a nailbiter against Pulaski County about a month later. Pulaski won that game, 36-35, but the Spartans have won three straight, all by comfortable margins.

“We’ve had some tough injuries, but pretty much everybody has,” Smith said. “I don’t think our starting defensive line has played a single snap together, all season. We didn’t play that well against Pulaski. They’re a good team, definitely, but we had the equivalent of two blocked punts, and we gave up a pick six to start the second half. Defensively, we’ve played better since that game.”

South Warren has played the vast majority of its games on artificial turf, but they’ll be on a grass field on Friday night against Logan County. With that in mind, the Spartans have practiced on their grass practice field, adjacent to the South Warren Softball Complex.

“It’s a different feel, playing on a grass field,” Smith said. “The grass field has a crown (to help with drainage), and you don’t have that on turf. Not having a crown can make a difference in the passing game.”

Warren Central (1-8 overall) will close the season under first-year coach Kenny Davidson with a road trip to face Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Dragons have dropped four straight games since their 47-7 victory over Ohio County in Hartford. Madisonville-North Hopkins (7-2 overall) looks to bounce back from a 49-6 loss to Owensboro; the Maroons will open the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs next week against Grayson County (7-2 overall) in Madisonville.