Justin Miller Back With Jets

Photo Courtesy: NY Daily NewsGreat to see that former Owensboro standout Justin Miller is back in the NFL.  He returns to the team that originally drafted him.  The Jets ink a deal to bring the speedster back to New York. 

Miller was one of the most athletic players I have ever covered.  We all knew on the Home Team Friday staff that he would play in the NFL.

Congrats Justin!  He was a Home Team Friday MVP in 2000.  Can't wait to see some highlights soon!

Here is the Associated Press story:

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - The New York Jets have re-signed cornerback-kick returner Justin Miller, acquiring a replacement for the injured Leon Washington on special teams.

Miller was a second-round draft pick of the Jets in 2005, and made the 2007 Pro Bowl season after leading the AFC with a 30.1-yard average and two touchdowns on kickoffs.

He was waived by the Jets last season and signed with Oakland, which re-signed him for one game before releasing him Nov. 11. Miller has a 26.2 career kickoff return average, and five returns for scores.

Washington, a Pro Bowl returner last season, was placed on injured reserve after breaking his right leg Sunday in the Jets' win at Oakland. He replaced an injured Miller as the primary returner in 2007.

Week Three Home Team Friday Recap

It was another great night of high school football in week number three.  From behind the scenes of Home Team Friday, it was not too stressful.  The new peeps are now in a nice groove and know what to expect.  We by far had the best highlights compared to the first two weeks.

We also had 13 games to keep track of.  That is a lot.  13 different scores, 13 different shot sheets, all edited at nearly the same time.  It is organized chaos at HTF headquarters.  We have a big dry wipe board with every score in the Tri-State on it.  We use that so everyone knows what the score of any game is at anytime.  We also use it to help us keep our online scoreboard as up to date as possible.

What did I learn from week 3?  Biggest surprise came from Paradise.  I thought Castle and Central would be one of the best games of the night.  Not at all.  Castle really has improved in just 3 weeks.  The Knights are now 2-1 with loads of confidence.  The 35-7 win was a team victory.  The Knights threw the ball when they had to, Logan Hayford had another great game on the ground, and the defense gave up a short field score, and that was it.

I covered the Reitz at Harrison game.  What a weird way to start the game.  I’m sure everyone saw the Play of the Night.  Reitz Erik Bryant with the interception, then he was stripped, and Javier Hawkins from Harrison scooped up the fumble and took it 55 yards for the touchdown.  Harrison did a good job on defense in the first half against Reitz.  The Panthers were still without quarterback Matt McIntosh.  Jeff Hudson does everything. Plays quarterback, wide receiver, tailback, he even nailed a couple of long field goals.  Reitz got it going in the third quarter and cruised to the win.

For the second straight week, Mater Dei fans were holding their breath in the final seconds of a game.  This time the Cats pulled out the last second 29-26 win over North.  Great win for Mike Goebel’s club.  Horrible news for North..the Huskies quarterback that I have raved about is out for the season with a knee injury.  I feel just awful for Matt Strohmeier.

In a battle of Big Eight unbeatens , Jasper had no problems at Boonville.  It was to be expected. Even though the Pioneers are much improved, the Wildcats are a machine.

How about Pike Central actually scoring the first touchdown at Heritage Hills!!  That means at the exact same moment, Harrison led Reitz 7-0, and Pike Central was beating Heritage Hills 7-0.  Talk about the earth getting knocked off its axis!  Of course the Patriots scored the next 41 points.  That sets up perhaps the best game of the regular season:  Jasper at Heritage Hills.  I can’t wait for this one.  It will be our HTF Showdown game.  I will be jealous of Randall.

South Spencer is also 3-0 after waxing Tell City 42-14.  The Rebels are at Owensboro Catholic this week.  The Aces were no match for Owensboro.  The Devils show they can pass or run.  Quarterback Kal Prince had 5 touchdowns.  That offense is loaded with speed.  Owensboro is on a mission.  I hope they make it to State.

North Posey also pitched a shutout.  35-zip over Gibson Southern.  The Vikings are at Southridge this Friday.  The Raiders handled Forest Park. 

Also in the Big Eight, Mt. Carmel used a strong second half to drop Mt. Vernon.  The Wildcats have struggled since winning the opener.

Back in Kentucky, Henderson County tied Christian County 28-28 late, but the visiting Colonels picked up their first win of the season.

Hancock County put up 80 on Fort Knox!  Good grief. 

Finally I have to talk about Ohio County hosting Daviess County.  It was one of those sets of highlights that seem to happen each week.  While our cameras were there, the Eagles dominated.  We had all OC video.   Of course the Panthers came back to win the game 29-19.  The same thing happened to me week two.  I had all North highlights, Henderson couldn’t even get a first down.  Then after I leave the Cols rip off 38 points! 

This week we are down our best photographer.  Aaron Hancock is on vacation at Disney World.  How do you put Mickey Mouse over HTF?!!?  We will still have a great show.  I can’t wait until the red light comes on at 10:35pm Friday night!  See you then!

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!

Week One Home Team Friday Recap

Of course I can’t be at every game, but the entire Home Team Friday crew picks each other’s brains all of the time about the games they covered. Every Friday Night since HTF started in 1995, the crew has always gone out to celebrate a great show, and to talk football. We are ate up with football!

Here are some things I learned about week number one of the season:

Bosse is really going to be improved. I know they really hated to lose that opener. The Bulldogs have 2 really nice receivers. Josh Pendleton will get a lot of yards at tailback, and Joe Frazier can manage the game. Bosse needs to stay the course, and believe they can win.

North’s quarterback is the real deal. Matt Strohmeier is 6’6” and can throw a strike. He needs to sit back in the pocket a little longer and trust his line. But in just one start, he looked poised and sharp, and most importantly he got the win. Cameron Clements can make it happen on the ground too.

Mt. Vernon won 43-6 over Tell City. The Wildcats have another Stemple at quarterback. Jason takes over the qb duties. MV lost a lot of great players from a year ago. It’s hard to tell if Tell City is down, or if Mt. Vernon is the real deal. One thing is for sure, coach Paul Maier had his kids prepared on week one, which isn’t the easiest thing to do.

Jasper’s ground game is going to be hard to stop. The Cats have some big boys on the line, and they have senior dual thread quarterback Austin Ahrens running the show. Ahrens won our first HTF MVP. Jasper is going to be in the mix in Class 4A.

Mater Dei’s Mike Goebel had to be happy with the Cats win at Union County. How about the Wildcats defense pitching a shutout on the road? The Braves didn’t look anything like the team that ended the 2008 season.

Castle had a tough start to the season. Coach Doug Hurt told us he was worried about taking such an inexperienced team 2 hours away to Terre Haute North. It won’t be easy this week as the Knights host New Albany. Hopefully, Castle can’t chalk up win number one.

How about the start Memorial has? Not only do the Tigers have the bulls-eye from the success of last year, but they begin at Jasper, at Owensboro, home against Bosse, and at Reitz. Geez, that is brutal. Grant Gribbins’ and the Tigers offense was on the field for only about one-fourth of the game against Jasper.

Reitz has depth, and great offensive weapons. I knew a young Henderson squad would struggle at Reitz. The Colonels played well though. The Panthers just have so much depth, and can really mix up the offense with the pass and the run. But make no mistake, the Panthers defense won that game.

Central’s offense was in mid-season form against Harrison. Andy Owen told me he was excited about some of his offensive players, and he was right. I can’t wait to see how the Central and Mater Dei game plays out.

How about Forest Park starting the season with a win at Gibson Southern? The Rangers could go to 2-0 if they can beat Princeton. The Tigers snapped their losing streak with a dominating performance against Wood Memorial. I love watching the Chavis kids play football!

South Spencer head coach Bruce Green has a defensive mind, and his Rebels whitewashed North Posey on the road. The Vikings ended the Rebels season a year ago in the 2A Sectional.

This week, I’m looking forward to Owensboro vs. Memorial. I wish that game was on Friday instead of Saturday. I will be at Henderson as the Colonels host North. It will be the second straight week for me covering the Huskies.

I can’t wait to kick things off. See y’all at 10:35pm on HTF!