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Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

Rings run in the Guidugli family

Guidugli's fourth son tries to uphold title tradition

He may not be Lord of the Rings, but Dave Guidugli qualifies as Dad of the Rings.

Guidugli's four sons — Gino, Jeff, Ben and Tony — have won seven state championship rings playing football for Highlands. "My boys have to deal with me," Dave said, "because I'm always in the middle of what's happening. Everybody calls me 'The Guy' around here. I've been very lucky to have sons like I have. It's been a lot of fun."

Gino was backup to Jared Lorenzen when Highlands won a state title in 1998. When Gino took over the quarterback reins, he led the Bluebirds to two more championships. He went on to play QB at Cincinnati.

Jeff, nicknamed "Bay," was a receiver on Highlands' 1999 and 2000 title teams, and played for Hal Mumme at Southeast Louisiana.

Ben was a tight end/linebacker for the 2004 championship Bluebirds, and he now starts for Cincinnati.

Dave Guidugli has watched his sons in a lot of pressure situations, including UC's near-upset of Ohio State in 2002 when Gino was quarterbacking the Bearcats. But Dave can't remember any more gut-wrenching than Tony's clutch performance against Bryan Station in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs last week.

Bryan Station led 22-21 with three minutes left. Highlands got the ball on its own 26-yard line, with its state title hopes hanging in the balance. "That was as nervous as I've ever been at a football game," Dave said. "My hands were shaking. But Tony came through big time."

The youngest Guidugli son completed six of seven passes in the do-or-die drive, capped by a 22-yard TD pass to Austin Collinsworth with 18 seconds left.

Dave, of course, was right there on the sidelines. He hoisted up Collinsworth in celebration before finding Gino to give him a high-five. Thanks to Tony's heroics, Highlands' bid for a record-tying 18th state title is still alive, and Dad of the Rings has a chance for more family jewelry.

■ Are All-State football teams outdated, at least in the way they're comprised? Lexington Christian Coach Paul Rains thinks so. Filling out a ballot this week, he noticed he was supposed to vote for three running backs and two receivers. "I'm like, are we running the wishbone here? It's not very reflective of what we do." LCA, like a lot of teams nowadays, has a spread offense that employs more receivers than running backs. Rains thinks All-State and All-City ballots should be adjusted accordingly. He would also like to see more honorable mention spots for quarterbacks, the only one-player position. When Rains was at Madison Central, he had Ryan Jones, who finished his career as one of the leading passers in state history. "But he didn't even make honorable mention All-State," Rains said. "It was an injustice to the kid. I know there's no perfect way and we can't recognize everybody, but maybe we can change the process a little bit."

■ Clark County's Ryan Williams set school records for carries (219) and rushing yards (2,003), and scored 22 of the Cardinals' 35 TDs this year. He broke Eric Clay's rushing mark of 1,815, set during Clark County's 1991 state championship season. EKU and WKU are among the colleges interested in the 5-foot-7, 175-pound senior.

■ Zach Lewis' record-setting career at Clay County came to an end with a loss to Pulaski County. His final numbers: 13,642 passing yards (state record); 1,508 pass attempts (state record); 916 completions, and 105 TDs.

■ A swarming Whitley County defense, rainy weather and a bum thumb on his throwing hand added up to a disappointing night for South Laurel QB Ricky Bowling. Whitley County won 48-0. Bowling went into the game tied with Tim Couch for most TD passes (133) in state history. Bowling's final career numbers included 947 completions (state record) and 12,575 yards.

■ Malcolm Thomas of Harrison County returned a fumble 100 yards for a TD in the Thorobreds' playoff win over West Jessamine. He also scored on a 41-yard pass from quarterback Van Isaac. Thomas also intercepted a pass.

■ Elizabethtown's Chris Gohman had six catches for 238 yards and four TDs in a win over Western Hills last week. For the season Gohman has 83 catches for 1,733 yards and 25 TDs. The state record for TD receptions is 28, set by Lone Oak's Jamarielle Brown last year.

■ North Bullitt senior Dalton Cissell, who has rushed for more than 6,500 yards in his career, has a scholarship offer from Navy.

■ Dave Abbott resigned as North Laurel coach with a four-year record of 9-31.

■ North Oldham's Travis Ridley had three interceptions in an 18-6 playoff win over Western.

■ Pulaski County junior linebacker Tyler Stone set a single-season school record for tackles with 171, eclipsing the 167 by Jordan Gilliam, now at Union College.

■ Mercy came early in Boyle County's 55-0 rout of Pendleton County last week. Wildcats Coach Lee Teegarden asked if the running-clock mercy rule could kick in whenever the margin reached 45 points, instead of having to wait until the second half. So when Boyle County jumped ahead 48-0 early in the second quarter, the clock started running. According to the Advocate-Messenger, the game took only one hour, 48 minutes to complete.

■ Mercer County's J.D. Gilliam carried 11 times for 305 yards, including scoring runs of 92, 75 and 67 yards, in a win over Perry Central. The losing Commodores got a big game from QB Jordan Amis, who ran for 174 yards and two TDs, and passed for 150 yards and a score.

■ If Boyd County can beat Knox Central on Friday night, the Lions will advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1973.

■ Clark County's boys' basketball team, loaded with young talent, suffered a big loss when Travis Purvis tore his ACL in practice Tuesday night. He will have surgery in early December and be sidelined for the season. Purvis, a 6-6 sophomore, already has a scholarship offer from Morehead State. "It's a tough break, especially for somebody who's worked as hard as Travis," Clark Coach Coach Scott Humphrey said. "But he'll come back strong from this and still have two years left."

■ Adair County basketball star Darren Ballou signed with Morehead State. The 6-7 senior averaged 17 points and nine rebounds last year. He has started every game since he was a freshman and has 1,435 points and 808 rebounds. As a sophomore he led the Indians to the Sweet Sixteen.

■ Jeffersontown's Jordan Reves signed to play college hoops at Texas-Arlington.

■ Taylor Stewart, who helped Lexington Catholic reach the Sweet Sixteen semifinals last March, became the first Air Force Academy freshman in eight years to get a double-double. Stewart had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Falcons' win over Cal State-Bakersfield.

■ Sisters Shannon and Natalie Novosel, former All-Staters at Lexington Catholic, played against each other when 15th-ranked Notre Dame beat Evansville 96-61 Wednesday night. Shannon, a senior at UE, had seven points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. Natalie, a freshman at Notre Dame, had six points, four assists and three rebounds in 21 minutes.

■ Berea College is hosting a high school basketball panorama Saturday, and the event has a twist — all of the participating head coaches played at Berea for Roland Wierwille. The lineup of scrimmages, which tip off at 2:30 p.m, with the coaches' names in parentheses: Owen County (Devin Duvall) vs. North Laurel (Jim Conway); Seven Hills, Ohio (Willie Hill) vs Henry Clay (Daniel Brown); Grant County (Ron Kinmon) vs. Seven Hills. The nightcap will be a game between Berea College and St. Catharine.

■ Guy Strong, who as a high school and college basketball coach won more than 500 games (including a national title at Kentucky Wesleyan) before retiring in 2001, still has a competitive fire that he stokes on the golf course. After having knee replacement surgery three years ago, and cataract surgery this summer, he's shooting in the 70s. A couple months ago he got his sixth hole-in-one. It came at Southwind in Winchester. He's had aces in four different decades, starting in the 1960s. What's his secret? "Hit 'em and hope," Strong said with a laugh.

■ Tates Creek swimmer Kelsey Floyd signed with Tennessee this week. Floyd is a three-time high school All-American, twice in the 100 butterfly and once in the 100 backstroke.

■ Pannell Swim Shop of Lexington is the new title sponsor of the KHSAA's state swimming and diving championships through 2011. The event will be held at the University of Louisville's Wright Natatorium the next three years. Pannell's sponsorship also includes two academic scholarships, open to any senior in the state meet.

■ Louisville Eastern pitcher Ben Lady signed with Evansville. He had a 3-0 record and 2.03 ERA, and he hit .441.