Week Two Home Team Friday Recap

I think week two has created more questions than answers for me in high school football.  First off, let me say I had a blast hosting Home Team Friday last week.  I was wearing the pink shirt in support of my beloved friend and colleague Shelley Kirk who is about to whip breast cancer.  This is my 18^th year of covering football, and for whatever reason, last Friday’s show was a lot of fun to host.

Onto my ramblings…

I have to start with the battle of Posey.  What in the name of a Posey County melon happened?  North Posey came off a shutout loss at home to South Spencer, and Mt. Vernon looked dominant in blowing out Tell City in week one.  How do you explain the Vikings 43-0 drubbing of the Cats?  First off, credit Coach Joe Gengelbach for rallying his guys.  That is a special rivalry full of emotion.  It was also a trap game for Mt. Vernon.  The Cats were at home, and feeling good, and before they knew it North Posey was smothering them.  One thing is for sure, Tell City is not very good, and South Spencer has an excellent defense.  Props to the Vikes for the win.

Is there any chance that we will have a better game in 2009 than Central and Mater Dei?  What a thriller at the Reitz Bowl!  I just love coaches that go for the two point conversion and the win.  After capitalizing on a bad snap, and getting the game into overtime, the Bears matched the Cats overtime touchdown.  At that moment, Central coach Andy Owen didn’t hesitate in going for two.  Dyris Haywood took the end around and got to the corner before the MD defense.  Bears win 36-35.  That could go a long way for Central’s confidence.  I also credit Mater Dei.  They are still a lot better than I anticipated.  The offense is clicking well for essentially an entire new starting 11.

Owensboro and Memorial had a real slugfest in the border bowl.  I anticipated the Devils winning the game.  I have touted all year that they may be the best team in the Tri-State.  However, Memorial showed me a lot.  The Tigers had a chance to win that game.  Memorial has so much to replace from last year’s state team, plus the schedule is so brutal for Memorial.  Owensboro shook off the first game jitters and pulled out the victory.  The Devils have Catholic this week.

Also, in the border bowl, Reitz was without quarterback Matt McIntosh and tailback Alardo Bell, and still survived in a snoozer 14-2 against Daviess County.  The Panthers need to heal up!

How ‘bout them Bulldogs?  Bosse made the long bus trip to Marshall County, and really whipped the Marshalls 42-7.  I went out to Bosse’s practice yesterday.  Coach Weinzapfel and company were pretty happy with the win.  The Dogs have allowed only 4 scores in two games.  However, they now have to face Memorial, Mater Dei, Central then Castle!.

Another nice surprise was Castle.  I had no idea what to expect from the Knights after their opening loss at Terre Haute North.  New Albany has been good in the past, but Castle controlled the game from start to finish.  Junior tailback Logan Hayford wins the week 2 HTF MVP award with 217 rushing yards and 3 TDs.

Boonville, Forest Park, and South Spencer all won to move to 2-0.  This is only the Rangers second season of football.  FP coach Terry Wagner told us he’s very happy with his team, but knows it’s a long season.  Meanwhile, we went out to Boonville on Monday.  The Pioneers are very pumped about their start.  They told us practices have been more intense and more productive this season.  They have their hands full with Jasper on Friday.

Speaking of Jasper…the Cats really waxed rival Southridge.  The Wildcats were still stinging from 2008 when it was the Raiders that were the dominant team.   Jasper is a machine right now.

Heritage Hills put up another 63 points on the scoreboard.  Hard to imagine what they will do in the Jungle opener against Pike Central.  We were also at Patriots practice on Monday.  Intense as always, Coach Bob Clayton is always striving for perfection.

I covered the Henderson County vs. North game.  I’m still not quite sure what happened!  I left with about 3 minutes left in the first half and the Huskies were completely dominating the game.  I mean it was one-sided.  The Colonels had five possessions and not a single first down.  What happened after I leave?  The Cols explode.  They win 38-21!  Javaris Lewis ran wild.  Great win for Henderson.

How about the final minute victory for Apollo?  The Eagles are now 2-0.  Apollo is at Ohio County on Friday.

Mad props to meteorologist David Heckard for getting better with his hilites.  I like working with him.  He’s a great asset to HTF.  Blaine shot 2 games, and edited 4 sets of hilites!  Without Randall at the station, Blaine is my right-hand man.

Off to week number three.  I’ll be at Enlow field for Reitz at Harrison.  I hope for another flawless show on Friday!  See ya then!

Comments

[Blaine]

It was alot of fun editing those games...hitting up Castle vs. Central this week. At this point, I don't know if I can go with one team over the other...they both have some strong qualities. And, there are two undefeated teams in Dubois Co...Jasper and FOREST PARK...I was there for the very first regular season game last year...Way to go, Rangers.

[UEeng]

I was at Reitz Bowl to watch the Central/Mater Dei game. There were some sloppy moments - lots of penalties, several botched snaps - for both teams. But the game was overall very entertaining enjoyable.

Brought my radio and listened to bits of the Colonel's game on Sports 86 WSON. Seems like they have a formidable rushing attack.

Tried to listen to the battle of Posey, but 1590 WRCY doesn't have enough signal to reach the Bowl at night. From what I heard, the Wildcats couldn't hang onto the ball long enough to put together a decent drive.

After I watched the MVP edition of HTF last night, I looked up Logan Hayford in the IN Football Digest. 8.8 yards per rush last year in a backup role. That's impressive.