The plan heading into the midweek column today is to recognize a few student-athletes who have earned a tip of the cap. With the fall sports seasons either nearing the midway point or a little bit past halfway, I just figured it was time to take a look at some of the players on various teams in the area, and mention their accomplishments in this space.
So, without further ado, here goes:
Bracken County junior running back-linebacker Daulton Tarter has rushed for 601 yards on 65 carries with eight touchdowns to lead the Polar Bears to a 3-1 record.
Mason County senior quarterback Teegin Routt has completed 55-of-98 pass attempts for 933 yards and 10 touchdowns, and his favorite target has been senior Cole Horch, who has 15 catches for 292 yards and four scores for the 3-1 Royals. Senior Garryon McClain has 14 receptions for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
On the soccer pitch, the Mason County Lady Royals are 7-1-2 after avenging their only loss on Monday in a 3-1 victory over Rowan County. Sophomore Hayley Durham-Campbell leads Mason County with 16 goals, senior Sarah Payne has six, while sophomore Madeline Grutza and freshman Hailey Henderson have tallied three apiece. Senior goalkeeper Kaelynn Henning has 66 saves and has allowed just 12 goals, an average of 1.2 per game.
The Fleming County Lady Panthers, who played Mason County to a 1-1 draw on August 26, are 6-2-3 on the season. The two teams will square off again on October 2nd in Flemingsburg.
Senior Samantha Adams leads Fleming with nine goals, junior Carly Smoot has eight, and senior Macy Perkins has seven in a balanced attack. Senior goalkeeper Hadley Hazelrigg has 94 saves and has given up just six goals in 11 games.
The St. Patrick Lady Saints are 2-5-1 and have received remarkable play in the net from junior Lillian Klee, who has 155 saves. Top goal scorer has been senior Bria Bauer with five.
In boys’ soccer action, Mason County stood at 6-3-1 heading into Tuesday’s match at Calvary Christian. Senior goalkeeper Cade Pugh has 46 saves for the Royals and had allowed just 12 goals. Sophomore Keagan Taylor has scored five goals, and senior Landon Lake and junior Noah Gardner have four apiece.
Fleming County is 4-6-1 and they’re leading scorer has been senior TJ Smith, who has 18 goals. Senior keeper Jared Ishmael has 70 saves in net for the Panthers.
The St. Patrick Saints are currently 2-5-0 after winning two of their last three. Junior Juan Antonio-Briseno leads the team with seven goals, and sophomore goalkeeper Aiden Samudio has registered 71 saves.
On the volleyball court, the 39th District has again proven to be evenly matched. Currently, Bracken County has a slight edge over Mason County, followed by Augusta and St. Patrick. The Lady Bears are 7-4 overall and 3-0 in district play, the Lady Royals 8-11 and 2-2, the Lady Panthers 2-8 and 2-1, and the Lady Saints 0-10 and 0-4.
Bracken County junior Macy Lucas had 100 kills and junior Jordan Ahrens had 73 heading into Monday’s 3-2 win at Paris. Ahrens also leads the Lady Bears with 25 aces, and Lucas leads
the team in digs with 127. Junior Baylee Wilson leads the Lady Bears in assists with 129.
Sophomore Delana Rigg and senior Reese Hardeman are the kills leaders for the Mason County with 88 and 81, respectively. Rigg has also posted 32 blocks, and is tied for the team lead in aces with 39, along with sophomore Kyleigh Kirk, who also leads the team in assists with 254. The digs leader is sophomore Hayley Allison with 221.
Statistics were incomplete at press time for Augusta, with just two of the 10 matches reported to the KHSAA as of Tuesday morning. In one of the contests, a 3-1 win over Mason County, senior Kenzington Hinson had 20 kills and nine blocks, and senior Addison Cooper passed for 29 assists and served for six aces.
The youthful and inexperienced Lady Saints have struggled, but they did get a 28-26 set win over Nicholas County on Saturday in a 201 defeat. St. Patrick has also missed their primary inside presence, senior Emma Gallenstein, who has been out with an injury after playing in the team’s first three matches, when she produced 19 kills, 13 aces and nine blocks. Junior Lillian Klee leads the Lady Saints with 31 kills and 16 aces. Other team leaders include seventh-grader Mia Neeley with 20 blocks, senior Bria Bauer with 33 digs, and freshman Savannah Tucker has 27 assists.
Over in the always formidable 38th District, the Robertson County Lady Devils are 8-7 heading into their showdown against Bracken County this evening in Mount Olivet. Senior Emma Adamson continues to lead the way for coach Ann Grause’s squad. She has produced 174 kills and served for 52
aces. The team’s assist leaders are junior Carlee Church and senior Hadleigh Linville, with 95 and 89, respectively. Leading the way in digs is junior Irene Dischar with 93.
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FOLLOW-UP THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND – In Saturday’s column, we discussed bouncing back from defeat and/or adversity. All four teams we mentioned responded favorably, but only two produced wins.
The Cincinnati Bearcats went about an hour north to Oxford to face their longtime rival Miami RedHawks and returned home with a 27-16 win. The victory was a much-needed one for coach Scott Satterfield, especially after the previous week’s collapse at home against Pitt.
Notre Dame took out its frustrations upon Purdue after losing at home to Northern Illinois. The Fighting Irish shellacked the Boilermakers 66-7 after building a 42-0 halftime lead. Notre Dame still has work to do to qualify for the 12-team playoff, and another stumble may leave them short.
On Saturday night in Lexington, the Kentucky Wildcats nearly pulled off what would’ve arguably been the biggest upset of the entire season. A strong defensive effort kept the game close but ultimately Georgia prevailed 13-12. The Cats have work to do offensively, with their only points scored on four field goals from Alex Raynor, including a school record 55-yarder in the first quarter.
The argument among fans after the game was why didn’t UK head coach Mark Stoops decide to go for it on fourth down instead of punting near midfield with 3:09 left in the game. Simply put, Stoops didn’t trust his offense to get the 13 yards
needed to continue the drive. He was counting on the defense to hold Georgia and get one more opportunity, but it didn’t work out, largely due to giving up a 33-yard pass completion on the ensuing drive to the Dawgs.
That one decision did not lose the game however. The Cats simply squandered too many opportunities to get into the end zone, and settling for field goals was not quite enough. Even though I don’t believe in so-called moral victories, Kentucky did show they’re a much better team than the one that was humiliated the week prior by South Carolina.
You could say much the same about the Sunday afternoon battle in Kansas City, where the Cincinnati Bengals came up one point short to the Chiefs. The Men in Stripes played worlds better than they did in their embarrassing loss to New England, but a few critical mistakes did the Bengals in, and sent them (again) to an 0-2 mark to begin the season.
The Joe Burrow fumble that resulted in a scoop and score for KC was a momentum changer, but the Bengals still had chances. Those opportunities disappeared when Ja’Marr Chase lost his cool and got rightly flagged for his behavior, which resulted in a field goal instead of a possible TD.
Of course, the final nail in the coffin came on a 4th-and-16 when a rookie cornerback picked up the pass interference call, setting up the winning field goal. It was close, but he made contact just before the ball arrived.
Still, it was a performance that demonstrated that Cincinnati can turn it around and make a run to the playoffs. They gave the two-time defending champs all they wanted, and should’ve won the game.
As is always the case, even following a win, improvements are needed as well. The Bengals will likely need help on the banged-up defensive line, the running game needs a boost, and Burrow misses Tee Higgins in the passing game. The Chase situation is also an issue that needs to be resolved, and he needs to show more maturity on and off the field.
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PUTTING THE FOOT IN FOOTBALL – Have you noticed that 50-yard plus field goals have become more or less chip shots? It’s not only in the NFL, but in the collegiate and high school games as well. Kickers are becoming more and more important in close games, and accurate kickers with range are a much-desired weapon for coaches everywhere.
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“In a game where points win, your leading scorer is probably going to be your kicker. And I’m literally doing the most football thing in football. I’ll leave it at that.” – Baltimore Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker
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“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” — Mark Twain
