Scott Brown's SportsBytes on WKDZ

Kentucky moving up in football polls

It wasn't pretty, but it was a 27-20 win for Kentucky Saturday at Vanderbilt.

As a result, Kentucky has moved up to #20 in the USA Today Poll and #22 in the Associated Press Poll.  The bad news, their next two opponents are ranked higher.  Georgia is #8 in the AP Poll and #9 in the USA Today Poll, while Tennessee, who the 'Cats haven't beaten since 1984, is #19 in both polls.

CLICK HERE to see the complete polls and latest BCS Standings

Trigg County 42 Murray 15

Trigg County advanced to the district championship game with a 42-15 win over Murray Friday night at Perdue Field.

The Wildcats will host Heath Friday night in Cadiz after the Pirates knocked off the top-seeded Caldwell County Tigers 20-7 in Princeton.

Trigg is now 8-3 on the year, marking the eighth straight season with eight or more wins.  In this decade, the Wildcats have a 76-22 record.

Other facts and figures from Friday:

• Trigg County outgained Murray 357-212 in total yardage.
• Murray's Jamie King came into the game averaging 178 rushing yards a game.  He had 99 yards on 28 carries against the Wildcats.
• Murray ran 54 plays to Trigg's 47.  Trigg averaged 7.5 yards a play, while Murray averaged 3.9.
• Donald Bush was 13-of-18 passing for 132 yards.  He has 16 touchdown passes and just one interception on the season.
• In his last two games, Bush is 25-of-32 for 423 yards and eight touchdowns.
• Brandon Bridges carried 10 times for 132 yards and scored his 10th touchdown of the season.  He needs 16 yards to pass 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight year.
• Scotty Mayes added 77 yards on 13 carries.  He needs 92 yards for 1,000 on the season.  The only time Trigg County has had two backs rush for 1,000 yards in the same season was 1971 (Selby Grubbs - 1714 and Norris Radford - 1027).
• Devin Stewart had two interceptions and leads the team with five on the season.  He also returned a pick for a score for the second time this season.
• Josh Adams also returned an interception for a touchdown.  It was the first time Trigg had returned two picks for scores in a game since 2004 when Frank Russell and John David Fourqurean both had five-yard interception returns for TDs in a 47-0 shutout of Webster County.
• Trigg County has eight interceptions in two games against Murray this year.
• The Wildcats were penalized eight times for 66 yards and gave Murray four first downs because of a defensive penalty.
• The win was Trigg's 20th playoff win in 35 career postseason games.
• Trigg County will host consecutive playoff games for the first time since 2001.
• Interesting note.  Had the old playoff format been in effect for this year, Trigg County would have hosted Todd County in the first round and traveled to Fort Campbell this week.
• Murray's season ends with a 5-6 record and they lost in the first round for the first time since 1995.

What happened to Caldwell County??

Heath won their first playoff game since 1995 with a 20-7 win at Caldwell County.  Heath's Chad Wright rushed for 247 yards on 47 carries. 

For the second straight season, Caldwell County earned the top seed in the playoffs but won't win the district championship.

Click here to read the game recap from the Princeton Times-Leader.

Trigg County vs. Murray -- Part II

In a week that saw Steve Beshear flashback and win the Kentucky governor's election despite being out of political office for nearly 20 years, it's only appropriate that Trigg County and Murray meet a decade after some of the most fierce playoff games in the school's history.

Trigg County is 7-3 and the two seed in the district.  Murray is 5-5 and the three seed in the district.

The Wildcats looked sharp in last week's 66-6 win at Fulton County, while Murray had the week off to heal and then scout both Trigg County and Caldwell County.

The winner of the game will play the winner of the Heath/Caldwell County game next week.

More news and notes about Friday's playoff game:

• Murray leads the all-time series 34-16-1.  The Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tigers dating back to 1996 with the 49-6 win Sept. 14 in Cadiz.
• CLICK HERE FOR THE GAME RECAP OF TRIGG'S 49-6 WIN EARLIER THIS YEAR
• Trigg County and Murray have met five times in the playoffs, with Murray winning the last four.  The first game was in 1989, which Trigg held on to win 12-7.  In 1992, Murray won a hard-hitting affair 7-0 at Ty Holland Stadium.  The game is remembered for a post-game ruckus at midfield that saw Trigg players swinging helmets at Murray players.  Since then, Trigg County has kept their helmets on their heads when shaking hands after the game.  Murray won the 1994 second round playoff game 21-0 and again in 1995 by a 14-12 score.  Murray's go ahead touchdown was scored on a punt return by Johnny Harrison, who appeared to step out of bounds at the Murray 40 yard line but not seen by the officials.  In 2000, Trigg County's high-scoring season ended in the second round with a 34-21 loss to the Tigers.  That marked Trigg's last game in Class 1A before getting bumped to 2A.  It was also the last time the schools played until this year.
• Trigg County has a career playoff record of 19-15.  They are 9-6 in playoff games at Perdue Field and have won six straight home playoff games dating back to the 2000 loss to Murray.
• Murray is 30-24-1 in the playoffs, making their 28th postseason appearance.
• Murray has won 10 straight first round playoff games dating back to 1996.  They all came in Class 1A.  Trigg has won six of their last seven first round games.
• Murray won Class 1A state titles in 1961 and 1974.  The 1961 team beat Trigg County 47-0 in the season opener.  The 1974 Tigers beat Trigg 35-6.
• Trigg County is 48-56-3 (.458) in the month of November.
• Trigg County has beaten a team twice in a season just two other times.  That happened in 1989 when the Wildcats beat both Heath and Murray in the regular season and in the playoffs en route to the Class 1A championship game.
• Brandon Bridges leads the Wildcats in rushing with 851 yards.  Scotty Mayes has 831 yards.  The duo have combined to score 22 touchdowns.
• Thanks to last week's record-setting performance, Donald Bush has seen his passing totals increase to 72-of-133 for 1,028 yards, 15 touchdowns, and one interception.
• Antonio Grubbs is the leading receiver with 17 catches for 235 yards, while Will Stagner (183 yards) and Scotty Mayes (270 yards) both have 15 catches.
• Trigg County still has a turnover margin of +7
• The Wildcats are scoring 34 points a game and allowing 25.8.
• Murray is averaging 32.4 points and game and giving up 26.1.
• Murray rushes for 207 yards a game and passes for 127.9 yards a game.  Trigg's defense gives up 172.6 yards on the ground and 103.7 through the air.
• Trigg's offense averages 229.8 yards rushing and 102.1 yards passing.  Murray's defense gives up 159.2 yards rushing and 110.2 yards a game passing.  Don't expect to see a 7-6 game Friday.
• Junior Jamie King leads the Tigers in rushing with 1,779 yards and 15 touchdowns.  John Therrill has rushed for 300 yards and four touchdowns, thrown for a score, and leads the Tigers with 40 catches for 470 yards and five touchdowns.
• Jarvae Langford has picked off six passes for Murray, returning two for touchdowns.
• Murray's five wins came against teams that posted a 12-38 record.  The five teams that beat them were 33-16.
• Trigg's seven wins came against teams that were 26-42.  The three teams that beat them were 20-10.
• According to the Massey Computer Ratings, Trigg County played the eighth toughest schedule in Class 2A, while Murray's was the 25th toughest out of 33 teams in Class 2A.  Owensboro Catholic and Newport Central Catholic played the toughest schedules.  Fort Campbell was ninth, and Caldwell County was 11th.

CLICK HERE to read a preview from the Tiger side of things in the Murray Ledger and Times

CLICK HERE to read a preview from the Kentucky New Era

Airtime tonight on WKDZ-FM is 6:03pm with the SEC Football Report.  Bill Booth has the tailgate show at 6:20pm.  Go find him and give your game prediction on the air.  High School Football Gamenight is at 6:45pm.  Kickoff is at 7:30pm.  You can listen to the game on the internet at www.wkdzradio.com.

College Football Bowl Projections

With less than a month left in the regular season, college football teams are trying to get into solid position for bowl bids.

Where will Kentucky and Louisville land?  Here are some bowl game projections from three websites.  Most feel Kentucky will play in Tennessee -- either Liberty or Music City.

Louisville is another story altogether.

ESPN.com Bowl Projections

Rivals.com Bowl Projections

SI.com Bowl Projections

Bluegrasspreps.com football rankings released

Here are this week's high school football rankings from Bluegrasspreps.com

1A
1. Beechwood vs. Ludlow
2. Hazard vs. Evarts
3. Frankfort vs. Eminence
4. Mayfield vs. Crittenden County
5. Pikeville vs. Allen Central
6. Fulton City vs. Fulton County
7. Lexington Christian vs. Nicholas County
8. Louisville Holy Cross vs. Beth Haven
9. Dayton vs. Bellevue
10. Cumberland vs. Jenkins

2A
1. Newport Central Catholic vs. Newport
2. Fort Campbell vs. Todd County Central
3. Danville vs. Fort Knox
4. Corbin vs. Knott County Central
5. Green County vs. Monroe County
6. Bardstown vs. Washington County
7. Glasgow vs. #9 Metcalfe County
8. Owensboro Catholic vs. Hancock County
9. Metcalfe County at #7 Glasgow
10. Caldwell County vs. Heath

3A
1. Belfry vs. Magoffin County
2. Central vs. Shawnee
3. Breathitt County vs. Fleming County
4. Russell vs. East Carter
5. Paducah Tilghman vs. Webster County
6. Somerset vs. Taylor County
7. Mason County vs. West Carter
8. Sheldon Clark vs. Pike County Central
9. Russellville vs. Hart County
10. Elizabethtown at Moore

4A
1. Bell County vs. McCreary Central
2. Lexington Catholic vs. West Jessamine
3. Warren East vs. Russell County
4. Bullitt East vs. #7 North Bullitt
5. Lone Oak vs. Muhlenberg North
6. Franklin County vs. Bourbon County
7. North Bullitt at #4 Bullitt East
8. Fairdale vs. Western
9. Boyle County vs. East Jessamine
10. Valley vs. Atherton

5A
1. Highlands vs. Scott
2. Bowling Green vs. Grayson County
3. John Hardin vs. Iroquois
4. Lincoln County vs. Mercer County
5. Owensboro vs. Ohio County
6. Covington Catholic at #8 Dixie Heights
7. Woodford County vs. Montgomery County
8. Dixie Heights vs. #6 Covington Catholic
9. Anderson County vs. South Oldham
10. Johnson Central vs. Bryan Station

6A
1. Saint Xavier vs. Butler
2. Trinity vs. Seneca
3. Manual vs. #9 Pleasure Ridge Park
4. Henry Clay vs. Tates Creek
5. Male vs. Bullitt Central
6. Scott County vs. Shelby County
7. Ballard at Eastern
8. Boone County vs. Campbell County
9. Pleasure Ridge Park at #3 Manual
10. Meade County vs. North Hardin

Dixie Jones' father passes away

Condolences go out to former Trigg County football coach Dixie Jones, whose father Jimmie passed away Monday in Paducah.  He was 84.

Click HERE to read more about Jones and how Dixie is forging ahead with a crosstown playoff battle this weekend from the Kentucky New Era.

Final AP Football Poll released

Here are the Associated Press Kentucky High School Football Polls.

Class 1A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Hazard (11) 10-0 140 3

2. Beechwood (4) 8-2 137 1

3. Frankfort - 8-2 117 2

4. Fulton City - 8-1 101 6

5. Lex. Christian - 7-3 78 4

6. Pikeville - 7-3 77 7

7. Mayfield - 7-3 68 8

8. Dayton - 8-2 49 5

9. Cumberland - 7-3 27

10. Lou. Holy Cross - 5-5 16 10

Others receiving votes: 11, Raceland 10. 12, Bellevue 3. 13, Fairview 2.

Class 2A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Newport Central Catholic (15) 9-1 150 1

2. Corbin - 9-1 126 2

3. Green Co. - 10-0 111 3

4. Danville - 8-2 103 5

5. Fort Campbell - 8-2 102 4

6. Glasgow - 8-2 62 8

7. Middlesboro - 7-3 42 10

8. Prestonsburg - 7-3 34 6

9. Caldwell Co. - 7-3 26 7

10. Metcalfe Co. - 8-2 24

Others receiving votes: 11, Bardstown 19. 12, Trigg Co. 15. 13, Owensboro Catholic 9. 14, Lou. Christian Academy 2.

Class 3A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Belfry (14) 10-0 149 1

2. Breathitt Co. - 10-0 133 2

3. Russell - 9-1 114 3

4. Sheldon Clark - 8-2 90 4

5. Russellville - 8-2 77 5

6. Somerset - 7-3 72 7

7. Lou. Central (1) 5-5 70 6

8. Mason Co. - 7-3 53 8

9. Paducah Tilghman - 6-4 41 9

10. Estill Co. - 8-2 11

Others receiving votes: 11, Elizabethtown 7. 12, Henry Co. 3. 13, Wayne Co. 2.

Class 4A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Bell Co. (13) 10-0 148 1

2. Lex. Catholic (1) 8-2 129 2

3. Lone Oak (1) 10-0 124 3

4. Franklin Co. - 8-2 104 4

5. Warren East - 8-2 90 6

6. Harrison Co. - 7-3 56 7

7. Lou. Valley - 8-2 48 8

8. Marion Co. - 8-2 44 5

9. Bullitt East - 5-5 31 9

10. Lou. Fairdale - 7-3 22

Others receiving votes: 11, Boyle Co. 16. 12, Calloway Co. 8. 13, North Bullitt 5.

Class 5A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Highlands (14) 10-0 140 1

2. Bowling Green - 9-1 125 2

3. John Hardin - 10-0 113 3

4. Owensboro - 9-1 83 5

5. Anderson Co. - 10-0 75 6

6. Lincoln Co. - 8-2 68 7

7. Woodford Co. - 8-2 51 4

8. Pulaski Co. - 9-1 36 9

9. Letcher County Central - 9-1 27 10

10. Johnson Central - 8-2 24 8

Others receiving votes: 11, Cov. Catholic 15. 12, Dixie Heights 7. 13, Christian Co. 3. 14, Hopkinsville 2.

Class 6A

Rank-School FPV Rcd TP Pvs

1. Lou. St. Xavier (13) 10-0 148 1

2. Lou. Trinity (2) 8-2 134 2

3. Lou. DuPont Manual - 9-1 122 4

4. Lex. Henry Clay - 8-1 101 5

5. Lou. Male - 8-2 84 3

6. Scott Co. - 9-1 82 6

7. Boone Co. - 7-3 43 10

8. Lex. Lafayette - 8-2 34 7

9. Meade Co. - 7-3 25

10. Lou. Ballard - 4-5 10

(tie) Lou. Eastern - 7-3 10 9

Others receiving votes: 12, Lou. Fern Creek 9. 13, Marshall Co. 7. 14, Graves Co. 6. 15, Lou. Pleasure Ridge Park 5. 15, Shelby Co. 5.

Two Wildcats qualify for state XC meet

Trigg County had two runners qualify for the state tournament based on their finish at the Region I Cross Country Meet Saturday at Marshall County.

Jay Jolly finished tenth in a time of 18:59 over the 3.1-mile course and became the first Wildcat to finish in the top ten in two years.

Jonathon King finished 36th in a time of 21:29, followed by Zeke Wright in 42nd place in 23:01, and Grady Cofield in 46th in a time of 25:10.

Trigg County did not field a complete team, despite having enough middle schoolers on the roster that were ineligible to compete.  The middle school runners competed in middle school races throughout the year and did not compete in the necessary four varsity events to qualify for the regional meet.  That may have been most costly to seventh grader Romaine Cunningham, who finished in the top ten consistantly in the middle school races, and has posted a varsity time close to what would have been needed to qualify for the state meet.

Head coach Mike Wright said many of the middle school runners had three varsity races under their belts, but two meets were cancelled late in the season that cost them a shot at making the four race minimum.  Those runners could have been entered in varsity races last week at the Meet of Champions in Lexington but were not.

St. Mary's James Maglasang won the race in 17:05, easily outdistancing Fort Campbell's Thomas Wilson.

St. Mary edged Fort Campbell by 14 points to claim the team title.

On the girls' side, Trigg eighth grader Lynease Byers was considered the race favorite coming into the day, but a wrong turn and a sprained ankle soon after knocked her out of contention.

Macy King was Trigg's top runner with a 28th place finish in a time of 24:49, which was fast enought o qualify her for the state meet.

Byers, despite the injury, managed to finish the race in 36th place in 27:56.  Monica Jones was 38th (28:56), and Rachel Cronin was 40th (29:26).

Unlike the boys, the girls' team did not have any qualified runners because they are in the sixth grade and lower.  Runners have to be in the 7th grade or higher (or grandfathered in like Macy King) in order to compete.

Ballard Memorial's Megan Pickett won the race in 20:32, nearly a minute faster than Fort Campbell's Emily Such.

St. Mary beat Hancock County and Fort Campbell by nine points to win the team title.

Jolly and King will represent Trigg County at the state meet Saturday in Lexington.

Kentucky Football Playoff Brackets

Here are the links to the Kentucky football playoff brackets.

Class 1A playoffs (PDF)

Class 2A playoffs (PDF)

Class 3A playoffs (PDF)

Class 4A playoffs (PDF)

Class 5A playoffs (PDF)

Class 6A playoffs (PDF)

C.J. Trotter close to cracking JUCO lineup

Former Christian County basketball star C.J. Trotter is among several players vying for a starting job at Rend Lake Junior College in Illinois.

Read more about Trotter's chances in this story

Football Playoff Views

Paducah Sun sports writer Joey Fosko joined me on the Saturday Morning Sports Report this morning.  We talked about the upcoming football playoffs and who he likes from western Kentucky in each class.

You can listen to the Saturday Morning Sports Report by visiting the Toyota of Hopkinsville Audio Rack and clicking HERE.

Trigg County 66 Fulton County 6

In a game where Trigg County exercised some demons of the past three games, it was only appropriate that the final score Friday night was 66-6.

The Wildcats scored on their first ten possessions en route to the easy 60-point win at Fulton County in Hickman.

The Wildcats snap a three-game losing streak and enter next week's postseason with a record of 7-3.  Fulton County fell to 2-8 with their fifth straight loss.

Trigg County scored nine touchdowns in the first half and led 47-0 after the first quarter.  Trigg led 59-0 at halftime.  Four of their nine scores in the half came on the first play of the drive.

Trigg County's scoring plays

• Devin Stewart 12-yard pass from Donald Bush (John Reinick kick), 9:25, 1q
• Antonio Grubbs 52-yard pass from Bush (Reinick kick), 8:45, 1q
• Will Stagner 25-yard pass from Bush (Reinick kick), 8:23, 1q
• Scotty Mayes 42-yard pass from Bush (Reinick kick), 7:28, 1q
• Mayes 24-yard pass from Bush (Reinick kick), 5:36, 1q
• Stewart 59-yard pass from Bush (Kick blocked), 3:30, 1q
• Bush 25-yard run (Run failed), 1:34, 1q
• Stagner 9-yard pass from Bush (Kick failed), 8:28, 2q
• Brandon Bridges 19-yard run (Kick blocked), 1:28, 2q
• Mayes 11-yard run (Reinick kick), 4:50, 3q

Other observations from a cold and sight-challenged press box at Fulton County's Sanger Field

• Donald Bush completed 12-of-14 passes for 291 yards and a school record seven touchdowns.  He had eight TD passes in the previous nine games.  The seven touchdowns break the old mark of six TDs in a game done by Dan Moser three times in the 2000 season.
• Bush also passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season, joining Dan Moser (1998-2000), Tommy Woodall (2004-05), Ian Stites (2001-02), Bruce Higbee (1970-71), Jimmy Mathis (1972-73), and Marty Jaggers (1975-76) as Wildcat quarterbacks who have thrown for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.  Bush, a junior, could join Moser next year as the only quarterbacks to accomplish 1,000 yards in three straight years.
• For the season, Bush has 15 touchdowns and one interception.
• Scotty Mayes caught four passes for 85 yards, Devin Stewart added three catches for 75 yards, and Antonio Grubbs had two catches for 90 yards.
• Brandon Bridges was the leading rusher for Trigg with 65 yards on eight carries. 
• The Wildcats had 183 rushing yards and 291 passing for a season-high 474 yards.
• Trigg held Fulton County to minus-one yard total offense in the first half and 46 for the game.  44 of the yards came on a screen pass against the JV team.
• Fulton County had three first downs, with two of those coming via Trigg penalties.
• The 47 points scored in the first quarter is a school record.
• The 66 points scored was the sixth most in school history.  The record is 72 points scored against North Marshall in 1970.
• The win came six years to the day from Trigg's 69-14 win over Edmonson County in the first round of the playoffs.
• The 60-point margin of vcitory is the fourth highest in school history.  The record is 68 in a 2002 shutout win over Todd County.
• The seven touchdowns thrown ties a team record set against Crittenden County in 2000.  Crittenden County hasn't played Trigg since.
• Trigg County had 20 first downs in the game and made it as far as third down just twice.  They were 1-of-2 on 3rd down.
• Trigg scored their first four touchdowns in a span of 1:58.

To see some video highlights of the game, click HERE to see the WPSD-TV recap.  The highlights appear after the Mayfield/Caldwell highlights.

Heritage Christian Academy Baskeball Schedule

Here is the basketball schedule for Heritage Christian Academy in Hopkinsville. 

Click here for the schedule

Trigg County at Fulton County

Trigg County closes out the regular season tonight looking to do something no other Wildcat team has done since 1964 -- win at Fulton County.

The Wildcats (6-3) look to end a three-game losing streak -- their longest since 1999.  Fulton County (2-7) enters play tonight with a four-game losing streak.

Other assorted potpourri surrounding tonight's game:

• Fulton County leads the all-time series 7-4 and have won the last four in a row.  The last time they met was a 47-19 Pilot win in Hickman in 1998.  The last time Trigg beat Fulton County was a 51-20 win in the first round of the playoffs in 1994. 
• Trigg County has lost four of the five games played in Hickman, with their only win coming in 1964.  Trigg won 41-7 in the first ever meeting between the schools.
• Trigg has won seven straight regular season finales dating back to 1999.
• Trigg County is 47-56-3 (.456) in games played in November.
• The Wildcats are averaging 30.4 points a game on offense, 235.0 rushing yards, and 81.1 passing yards.  The defense is giving up 28.0 points a game -- the highest since 1999.
• Scotty Mayes leads the Wildcats in rushing with 806 yards, while Brandon Bridges has ran for 786 yards.  Bridges has rushed for 77 yards total in Trigg's last three games.  Mayes has rushed for 211.
• Donald Bush has completed 50.4% of his passes for 737 yards, 8 TDs, and just one interception.
• Bush has thrown just 40 passes in the past three weeks -- just 13.3 attempts per game.
• In Trigg County's three game losing streak, they are averaging just five yards for every pass attempt and 3.1 yards per rush.
• Trigg County has been outscored 55-14 in the first quarter the past three games.
• The Wildcats have allowed their opponent to score on their opening drive the last four games and five of the last six games dating back to the win over Murray.
• Trigg County gave up 27 points in the first quarter to Fort Campbell last week -- the most since Bowling Green scored 28 in the first quarter in a 2005 win. 
• Trigg allowed 27 points in the first quarter last week.  They hadn't allowed 27 points in a game in 34 of their previous 42 games.
• One area that Trigg County is struggling is defending kick returns.  It's all or nothing in that department.  John Reinick has been somewhat dependable in reaching the end zone on his kickoffs.  But when they don't make it to the goal line, the opponents are averaging 22.9 yards a return and have taken three kickoffs to the house for scores.  The three touchdown returns equal the number of the last eight years combined.

                       Trigg County's Kick coverage

                       Year         Avg.        TDs

                       2007        22.9          3

                       2006        13.9          0

                       2005        15.0          1

                       2004        13.9          0

                       2003        13.9          0

                       2002        12.1          0

                       2001        14.0          1

                       2000        11.2          1

                       1999        13.1          0

                       1998        28.1          3

                       1997        26.0          2

                       1996        17.0          0

Our coverage begins tonight at 6:30pm with the SEC Football Report.  High School Football Gamenight begins at 6:45pm, and kickoff is at 7:30pm.  To listen to the game live on the internet, click HERE.

Wayback machine: Fulton County

Trigg County and Fulton County last played in 1998.  The last time they played at Perdue Field was in 1997 -- a game won by the Pilots 32-17.

One of Trigg's touchdowns was scored by Kelvin Grubbs.  Yours truly has the call on the TD with commentary in the booth from Shannon Knight.

Kelvin Grubbs' 1997 touchdown run against Fulton County

Murray gets an extra week to prepare for the 'Cats

While Trigg County plays at Fulton County tonight, you can expect to see a few guys in black shirts and windbreakers with gold letters in the crowd.  That would be the Murray High coaches -- Trigg's first round opponent in the playoffs next week.  Murray is off this week.

Trigg beat Murray 49-6 back on Sept. 14 -- a game that seems like it happened last year.  Since then, Trigg County has lost three of five while Murray has won five of six and will carry a three-game winning streak into Perdue Field next week.

“I'd rather be sitting where we're sitting than where Trigg is sitting,” Murray head coach Lee Edwards told the Murray Ledger and Times in a Thursday story.  “Our confidence is at an all-time high. I don't know where Trigg's is, but I can only speculate it's not as it was the first time we played them.”

Murray does have a few injuries to heal, but everyone is expected to be ready to play.  Trigg's main concern will be Murray running back Jamie King, who rushed for 159 yards on 21 carries in their first meeting.  King may very well be at the game tonight to watch a defense that has allowed 859 rushing yards the last three weeks.  Hopefully, he won't be salivating at the mouth after watching Trigg's performance against the Pilots.

Driving Directions: Trigg County at Fulton County

Fulton County.   Oh boy.

This is not one of the easier places to get to because of road designs and numbering.  There are probably three good ways to get to Fulton County.

Keep two things in mind.

1.) Fulton County is near Hickman and NOT located in Fulton City.  DO NOT go to Fulton City.

2.) Watch out for the deer.

Now, the three ways to get to Fulton County

#1 - THROUGH MURRAY - Take U.S. 68 into Murray.  You can take the new four-lane and turn left onto U.S. 641 through Murray.  Or you can turn off the four-lane onto old KY 94.  Come to the four-way stop that has the three drug stores and Victor's Sandwiches.  If you come in on KY 94 through downtown Murray, just go straight.  If you came in on the four-lane and turned on U.S. 641, turn right onto KY 94.

You will take KY 94 west through the scenic communities of Lynn Grove, Tri City (where is one city here, let along three cities?), Lynnville, Pilot Oak, and Water Valley.  Right before you come to the Julian Carroll Purchase Parkway, you will turn left in Water Valley on U.S. 45/KY 94.  Continue about two miles until KY 94 turns right.  You will turn onto KY 94.  Stay on KY 94 the entire way, through the tiny hamlet of Cayce.  Continue straight on KY 94.  The school should be seven miles past Cayce on the right.  The street address for the school is 2740 Moscow Avenue. It's about 87 miles from Cadiz if you go this way.

#2 - THROUGH MAYFIELD - Take U.S. 68 west and turn left onto KY 402 (old KY 80), going through Hardin and into Mayfield.  In Mayfield, continue straight until you reach the Julian Carroll Purchase Parkway.  Get on the parkway and go south.  Get off the Purchase Parkway at Exit #1 (U.S. 51).  Turn right onto U.S. 51 (north) and travel north to the KY 94 intersection (about 2.5 miles).  Turn left onto KY 94 and follow the road through Cayce.  The school should be seven miles past Cayce on the right.  The street address for the school is 2740 Moscow Avenue.  It's about 93 miles from Cadiz if you go this way.

#3 - I-24 TO THE PURCHASE PARKWAY - Take I-24 to the Purchase Parkway south.  Take the Purchase Parkway south and get off at Exit #1 (U.S. 51).  Turn right onto U.S. 51 (north) and travel north to the KY 94 intersection (about 2.5 miles).  Turn left onto KY 94 and follow the road through Cayce.  The school should be seven miles past Cayce on the right.  The street address for the school is 2740 Moscow Avenue.  It's about 106 miles from Cadiz if you go this way. 

Now, you can get off in Fulton and take KY 166 and come in that way, which we did nine years ago, but the choices above appear to be the shortest.

Here is a map to the school.  Be sure to use the tools to zoom out and in to get a bigger picture.