Six high school football teams scored in the 60s last weekend. Impressive stuff.
North Hardin sophomore Lydia Gumm scored in the 60s last weekend. Incredible stuff.
Gumm, one of the best golfers in the state, fired a 9-under-par 61 last Saturday to win the Kentucky Invitational Tournament for the fifth year in a row. Gumm had 10 birdies and one bogey on the Lakewood course in Russell Springs that hosted the Women's State Amateur earlier this summer.
Did the magic number 59 cross her mind?
"Yes, sir, it did a couple of times near the end," said Gumm, who birdied her 16th hole (it was a shotgun start) to get to 9-under. She just missed a birdie putt on her next-to-last hole, then finished with a two-putt par.
"It was an awesome day," Gumm said. "It's not often you can have everything going your way for a whole round. It felt great."
Greg Gumm, Lydia's father and North Hardin's coach, witnessed the amazing round. "It was one of those days when she got in a groove. She was hitting her driver well, she hit 17 greens in regulation, and seemed to always have a decent putt."
Gumm, who first qualified for the state high school tournament as a third-grader, said she will hang the 61 scorecard in her bedroom, and she will save the Titleist ball she used. She knows she probably won't get another chance at a 59, "but it'd really be sweet to do it again."
■ Clay County football coach Shannon Arnett remembers when the Tigers were a Class 3A power. He played on Clay County's 1990 team that won 10 games and lost to eventual state champ Ashland Blazer in the playoffs. Arnett is hoping this year's 5A Tigers can prove themselves on a statewide level, too. After losing to Knox Central 7-6 in their opener, the Tigers rallied past 6A Scott County 41-26 last week. "We needed to send a message that our program is back on the rise, and our kids did that," Arnett said.
Clay County had a bunch of big plays against Scott County. QB John Wilson threw for 316 yards, including scoring strikes of 85 yards to Noah Reid, and 59 and 45 yards to J.V. Hooker. "I knew we had that skill, but I wish we'd become a little more efficient and not count on big plays so much," Arnett said. Hooker, a 6-foot-4 senior, is among the Tigers' best players. He's the son of former Clay County QB Sean Pennington, who finished his career in the mid-1980s as the state's all-time leading passer. Hooker broke his collarbone as a freshman and sophomore, and was sidelined by a torn ACL midway through last season. "He's an unbelievable athlete," Arnett said. "It's hard to believe he's not getting more attention (from colleges)."
■ Bell County's Davenport brothers have rung up 11 TDs in helping the Bobcats beat Green County and Madison Central. Cody, a senior wide-out, has four TD catches and returned a punt for a score. Cory, a junior running back, has six rushing TDs. Their dad, Sean Davenport, played for Dudley Hilton at Bell County in the late 1980s.
■ Paducah Tilghman senior receiver Josh Forrest, who has committed to UK, had a 26-yard TD catch with 12 seconds left to give the defending 3A champs a 20-16 victory over St. Louis Gateway Tech. Tilghman QB Sam Cox threw for 215 yards and two TDs.
■ Warren Central's Cortez Barber blocked a Franklin-Simpson field-goal attempt in the closing seconds to preserve a 7-6 win for the Dragons. "I was so excited I almost overran it. I kind of blocked it with my armpit, I got there so fast," Barber told the Bowling Green Daily News.
■ Paducah Tilghman visits Mayfield on Friday in the 97th meeting of a rivalry that began in 1911. Mayfield has won the last four years, but Tilghman leads the series 47-39-10.
■ Three-time defending state champ Fort Campbell has lost to Nashville Christ Presbyterian (23-21) and Kenwood, Tenn. (52-34). But Coach Shawn Berner is reminding his team that the Falcons started 0-2 in 2007 before they ran off 13 straight wins to take the state title. "This is non-conference play and we play a lot bigger schools to make us better," Berner told the Clarksville, Tenn., newspaper. Fort Campbell faces another strong Tennessee team, Pearl-Cohn, Friday night.
■ Louisville Eastern's Jon Davis, a tight end/running back who has committed to UK, ran 16 times for 84 yards and a TD, and had two catches for 32 yards in a 35-28 loss to Male.
■ Lone Oak senior Jack Coorts kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal in a 54-21 win over Reidland.
■ Corbin's Matthew Taylor ran seven times for 94 yards, had two catches for 55 yards and scored five TDs in a 52-14 win over Harlan. Two of his TDs came on a punt return and a fake punt.
■ Greenup County beat Russell for the first time in 10 years behind the running of Corey Lyle and Brandon Marsh, and a pair of interceptions by Austin Stringfellow.
■ Seneca QB DaMarcus Smith. who has committed to Louisville, completed eight of 17 passes for 210 yards and four TDs in a win over Southern.
■ Russellville QB D.J. Quarles threw for 127 yards and three TDs, and ran for 114 yards and a TD in a 52-12 rout of Metcalfe County.
■ Ashland Blazer ripped Raceland 44-7 as QB Sam Hunter passed for 163 yards and three TDs, ran for 78 yards, and had a hand in four two-point conversions.
■ Perry Central junior linebacker Matthew Robinson had 28 tackles, including 17 solo and six for losses, in the Commodores' 22-21 win over Casey County.
■ Highlands beat Ryle 29-14 in a matchup of Northern Kentucky's two best teams, but it didn't live up to the hype. "There were (six) turnovers and (14) penalties. For No. 1 vs. No 2 ... it wasn't a great game," Highlands Coach Dale Mueller told the Cincinnati Enquirer. The three-time defending champs have won 30 games in a row.
■ Defending 6A champ St. X survived a Ballard comeback and won its season opener 35-34. St. X led 28-0 but the Bruins rallied behind star receiver Devante Parker. He had two TD catches in the last minute to cut the Tigers' lead to 35-34, but he couldn't grab the two-point conversion pass that would've won it. Parker, a 6-4 senior who has committed to Louisville, had eight catches for 127 yards and two scores. Jeont'a Hayden led St. X by rushing for 161 yards.
■ Trinity's talented sophomore class shone in a season-opening rout of Indianapolis Lawrence North. Among the young Shamrocks making an impact were QB Travis Wright (17 of 20 passes, 190 yards, one TD, and he ran for score); wide receiver James Quick (nine catches, 113 yards, one TD); Ryan White (64-yard punt return for a TD), and Dalyn Dawkins (96-yard kickoff return for a TD). Dawkins is the son of former Louisville star Ralph Dawkins.
■ Saturday's Scholastic Ball Report will air on WKYT-TV at 10:30 a.m. The earlier time is due to CBS's coverage of U.S. Open tennis.
■ Dixie Heights QB Zeke Pike completed seven of nine passes for 101 yards and a TD, and ran 17 times for 74 yards and two TDs in a 35-21 win over Beechwood. Pike also played linebacker and punted. Dixie RB Seth Bruns rushed for 168 yards and two scores.
■ Longtime Bellevue coach and teacher Sally Meng died in a car accident this summer. She coached volleyball, tennis, and girls' basketball during a 31-year career. Her volleyball teams won 513 matches in 22 years, including 16 conference titles. She was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors' Association Hall of Fame in 1995.
■ Jassmine Franklin, who played basketball at Tates Creek before transferring to Marion County for her senior season last year, signed with Roane State Community College in Tennessee.
