Jim Mashek

GREENWOOD WINS SIXTH STRAIGHT GAME; MANY AREA TEAMS HAVE OPEN DATE NEXT WEEK

Eleven months and change have passed since Bowling Green High School and its KHSAA Class 5A archrival, South Warren High School, renewed hostilities on Nashville Road, when the Spartans completed a two-game sweep of BGHS on their way to the third state championship in just 12 seasons.

For the moment, though, players from both squads have been careful to profess respect for their opponent, both of them looking for any edge that may surface in Friday night’s showdown at Bowling Green’s El Donaldson Stadium.

“I think we’re ready to go,” star BGHS linebacker Davis Fant said earlier this week. “Our defense is going to have to step up.”

Bowling Green (5-1) pulled out an amazing 46-45 victory over Father Ryan Academy, a Class 6A school in Tennessee, last week in Nashville. The Purples didn’t have the lead until the game’s final seconds, winning on a two-point conversion in the most unconventional fashion.

Sophomore quarterback Deuce Bailey got the ball in the hands of BGHS running back Javen Huddleston, and Huddleston drew the Father Ryan defense before handing off to freshman wide receiver Trevy Barber on a reverse. From there, Barber stopped to gain his footing before throwing the two-point conversion pass to Bailey in the end zone.

The Purples survived, 46-45, and they could turn their attention to Friday night’s game against the Spartans.

“(South Warren) is a really good program over there,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “Our kids are dialed in, knowing what we have to do to get ready. There’s so much emotion, in this game. South joined our (KHSAA Class 5A) district in 2017, and since then, they lead the series 5-4.

“In our game last week, we never hit a point where our kids dropped their heads, and quit. When we were on our last touchdown drive, I made my mind up that we’d go for two points, if we got the chance. As soon as Deuce got the play going, down in Nashville, I thought to myself, ‘This is our game.'”

Their game.

Bowling Green avenged a regular-season loss to the Spartans in 2020, winning 41-24 at South Warren on its way to the seventh state championship in school history. The Spartans had little trouble with BGHS in their two games last year, when Spader was breaking in quarterback Deuce Bailey as a freshman.

At South Warren, meanwhile, Bryce Button was an understudy to three-year starter Caden Veltkamp, who made his debut last week as a backup WKU quarterback in a historic 73-0 throttling of visiting Florida International University at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

Veltkamp passed the baton to Button after last year’s state title, and the two have stayed in touch ever since.

“I talk with Caden all the time. Just about every week,” Button said. “It’s different, this game, being the starter. A lot more eyes on me, a lot more pressure.

“We just want to go in, do our thing, what we do best, and be confident in what we’re doing.”

A little bit different, and certainly more intense.

Button is certainly off to a promising start, having completed about 65 percent of his passes for 902 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s been intercepted twice.

“Kid (Button) is a stud! A student of the game, for sure,” Veltkamp said via text message on Friday. “He’s one of my close friends.”

Bailey also has been efficient, completing about 55 percent of his passes for 902 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s been intercepted twice, but he’s also a threat as a runner. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound sophomore has rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns.

Fifth-year South Warren head coach Brandon Smith has seen his squad bounce back from back-to-back road losses to Hendersonville (Tennessee), a 28-24 setback, before a devastating 28-22 loss to Gibson Southern on September 9 in Fort Branch, Indiana. Since then, the Spartans have had little trouble with Paducah Tighlman (a 36-3 triumph) and Louisville’s Central High School, a 24-0 shutout victory on the South Warren campus.

“We have made progress, but we are still behind where we need to be,” Smith said. “We have to speed up the process … Bowling Green is really impressive, offensively. This is the best offense I can remember them having in quite some time. They have some great playmakers and their quarterback (Bailey) is a star …

“Fortunately, we have played some big games this year, and our guys have gotten some quality experience. But this game is a little bit different, and we will see how they respond.”

The city’s other KHSAA Class 5A squad, the Greenwood Gators, extended their winning streak to five games in Thursday’s 42-0 rout of Christian County at the historic Stadium of Champions in Hopkinsville. Like Bowling Green, Greenwood coach William Howard’s squad is heading into an open date, before the Gators square off with the Purples on October 14 at the BGHS campus.

No one has to tell Howard that the Gators are still looking for their first victory over Bowling Green, which twice defeated Greenwood before finishing a 6-6 season with the 28-3 loss to South Warren.

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Huff has shown steady improvement for the Gators (6-1), who are looking to establish themselves as worthy adversaries of high-profile programs such as Bowling Green and South Warren. Greenwood has one of South Central Kentucky’s premier players in senior Lofton Howard, the son of the Gators head coach and a WKU commit.

Howard is a starting linebacker and tight end and usually takes the snaps in short-yardage and goal-line situations.

“I think our defense played extremely well (at Christian County),” William Howard said. “It’s a great time to reboot with the off week and heal up a little before the final three games.”

In other high-profile KHSAA games in South Central Kentucky, Butler County (5-0) is on the road to square off with Hancock County (5-1) in Lewisport, Kentucky, while Metcalfe County, another Class 2A contender, takes a 6-0 record into tonight’s home game against winless Adair County in Edmonton, Kentucky.

Kickoff for both games is at 7 p.m.

“We need to control the line of scrimmage and get pressure on their quarterback (Cole Dixon),” Butler County coach Brandon Embry said via text message on Friday. “Our defense will have to fly around, as they have multiple offensive weapons. Big, strong guys.”

In other key games, Coach Brad Hood’s tradition-rich Allen County-Scottsville squad looks for its first victory since August 26, when the Patriots (1-5) stopped Monroe County 47-13. AC-S plays host to McLean County (5-1) in Scottsville, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Another KHSAA Class 4A, 2nd District team, the Franklin-Simpson Wildcats (4-2, 1-0) play host to district rival Russell County (1-5, 0-2). In Class 3A, Glasgow (4-2, 0-1) plays host to Adair County (2-4, 0-2), while Class 6A Barren County (4-2, 0-0) is on the road to open district play against Central Hardin (5-1, 0-0) in Cecilia, Kentucky.

Thanks for reading.