Jim Mashek

SOUTH WARREN LOOKS FOR BOUNCE-BACK WIN AT OHIO COUNTY; WILDCATS AWAIT HART COUNTY IN CLASS 3A SHOWDOWN

The Courier-Journal in Louisville releases statewide polls for high school football across the Commonwealth each week, one of them looking at the overall picture.

The Courier-Journal also breaks down teams’ relative strengths, and ranks them accordingly by classification.

And when it comes to the KHSAA’s Class 5A picture, in the grand scheme of things, the newspaper is certainly impressed with South Central Kentucky’s three 5A squads. Bowling Green, which stunned South Warren, 36-29, last week, is ranked No. 1 in the classification, while South Warren checks in at third and Greenwood, ninth.

The Purples (6-2, 2-0 in KHSAA Class 5A, 2nd District) plays host to Greenwood (6-2, 1-1) on Friday night at El Donaldson Stadium. South Warren (6-2, 1-1), meanwhile, closes district play on the road against Ohio County (1-7, 0-2).

“If we can win this game, we’ll clinch home field (for postseason play) for at least the first two weeks,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “I think our kids know what’s at stake. Winning a game like we did, last week, it’s really unique. But I’ll give our guys credit. They came back this week and went to work.

“We’ve had a pretty good week of practice.”

Bowling Green didn’t trail South Warren until the final minute of the game. South quarterback Bryce Button got into the end zone on a two-point conversion, putting the Spartans ahead 29-28 with 34 seconds left. Bowling Green quickly moved downfield before scoring on a “hook-and-lateral” play, with Trey Graham taking BGHS teammate Trevy Barber’s pitch on the left sideline to complete a 40-yard scoring play.

The Purples are 34-0, all-time, against Greenwood, which opened in 1990.

“This game is really big for us,” Greenwood linebacker Gray Price said. “We know what we have to do … this is the part of the season we’ve been waiting for.

“We’re definitely prepared.”

Greenwood has won four of its last five games, including a 21-13 victory over Class 4A powerhouse Logan County and last week’s 24-13 triumph over previously unbeaten Franklin-Simpson. The Gators have a versatile weapon in senior receiver/running back/defensive back Tel Tel Long, who leads the team in touchdowns (nine), rushing yards (578) and receiving yards (361).

Senior quarterback Cam Smith has given Greenwood at that critical position, too, passing for 1,075 yards and 16 touchdowns in eight games. Smith has been intercepted four times.

“It’s just a shame that we only had (Cam Smith) for this one year,” Greenwood coach William Greenwood said. “He’s done a fantastic job, leading our offense.”

Bowling Green quarterback Deuce Bailey and his counterpart from South Warren, Bryce Button, have had exceptional junior seasons. Button has completed 135 of 214 passes (63 percent) for 2,404 yards and 29 touchdowns. He’s added 265 yards and five TDs on the ground.

Bailey, meanwhile, has guided the Purples to five consecutive victories. He has completed 142 of 200 passes (71 percent) for 2,249 yards and 26 touchdowns, including a 96-yard scoring pass to sophomore running back Trey Graham in the opening moments of last week’s thriller on the road at South Warren.

Bailey has four rushing touchdowns and has been intercepted only three times.

“Deuce is really impressive, he fills that role perfectly,” BGHS coach Mark Spader said. “HE carries himself really well. He’s really steady out there.”

Greenwood’s William Howard has been impressed, too.

“(Bailey is) extremely versatile,” Howard said. “He runs the ball well, throws it really well. Makes good decisions. You can see the improvement he’s made in his three years as their starter.

“We’ve stayed relatively healthy. We’ve got some veteran guys, like Gray Price and Tel Tel Long, that we’ve leaned on. All you can ask for is an opportunity, and we have that.”

Warren East, meanwhile, is on the road for a big matchup with Logan County in Russellville. The Raiders (5-3 overall, 3-1 in KHSAA Class 4A, 1st District) can clinch a home playoff game with a victory over Logan County (6-2, 3-1). The Cougars slipped past Hopkinsville, 28-27, last week while Warren East will have to bounce back from a 70-20 loss to unbeaten Paducah Tighlman.

“Logan has losses to Greenwood and Paducah Tighlman, just like us,” Warren East coach Tanner Hall said. “We’ve gotten into a little rhythm, offensively. Defensively, we still have some areas where we can improve. We lost a lot of lineman from last year’s (12-1) team.

Dane Parsley, the Raiders’ junior quarterback, is a dual threat. He’s passed for 720 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 414 yards and six scores. Defensively, Parsley leads Warren East with five interceptions.

“Dane’s almost a man among boys out there,” Logan County coach Todd Adler said. “There’s a lot on the line in this game, and we’ll get a chance to see what we’re made of …”

Adler has used both 6-foot-3 sophomore Ridge Holman (1,553 yards passing, 17 TDs) and returning starter Davin Yates at quarterback. Yates has become the Cougars’ starting tailback (710 yards rushing, 11 TDs) and they have another star in senior linebacker/fullback Eli Hawkins.

In other critical matchups on Friday night, Glasgow (6-2, 1-2 in KHSAA Class 3A, 2nd District) looks to break a two-game losing streak at Butler County (1-7, 0-3), while Franklin-Simpson (7-1, 3-0) plays host to unbeaten Hart County (8-0, 3-0). Warren Central (1-7 overall) looks for its first victory in KHSAA, Class 6A play against North Hardin (3-4) while Allen County-Scottsville (3-5, 1-3 in KHSAA Class 4A, 2nd District) is on the road to play Hopkinsville (1-7, 1-3) at the Stadium of Champions in Hoptown.

This is the final week of district play in KHSAA football.