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Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008

HIKE: A preview of Friday night's top games

FRIDAY NIGHT'S KICKOFFS

City games

All game times 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted:

Clark County at Henry Clay

Records: Clark County 4-1 (lost to Madison Central 49-35 last week); Henry Clay 0-4 (lost to Lafayette 24-14)

Rankings: Clark County is No. 11 and Henry Clay is No. 12 in Class 6A.

Radio: WVLK-FM 101.5

Familiar face: Cardinals senior Ryan Williams, one of the state's leading rushers with 1,124 yards and 13 TDs, was at Henry Clay before transferring to Clark County for his junior year. He also played youth football in Lexington with several of the current Blue Devils.

Wasted chances: After last week's loss, Henry Clay Coach Sam Simpson bemoaned his team's failure to capitalize on scoring chances. The Blue Devils have been in the red zone 14 times this season, and come away with points four times. Another key statistic: Henry Clay is 8-for-52 (15%) on third-down conversions.

On-and-off rivalry: These teams have met seven times in the last 15 years. Clark County's last win against the Devils was in 1996.

Key to victory: Williams has had a knack for busting loose for long runs. Henry Clay must rein him in if it hopes to avoid its first 0-5 start since 1997.

Harrison County at Lexington Catholic

Records: Harrison County 3-2 (beat Bourbon County 49-14); Lexington Catholic 2-3 (lost to Boyle County 14-11)

Rankings: Harrison County is No. 18 and Lexington Catholic is No. 2 in Class 4A.

Triggerman: Van Isaac is in his third year as Harrison County's starting QB. He threw for more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore and again as a junior in a balanced attack. He's already passed for 991 yards and 6 TDs this season.

History lesson: Lexington Catholic has had its share of close games against Harrison County, including a 14-0 win last year. Under Coach Ray Graham, Harrison County's physical style of play gave the Knights trouble. Will that trend continue under new Breds coach Aaron Stepp?

Time to grow: Lexington Catholic is averaging less than 20 points and 200 yards a game, half of its production in recent years. But look for the offense to start clicking behind QB Nic Ward and RB Greg Raglin in the next couple weeks.

Key to victory: The Knights' defense did itself proud against Boyle County last week. A similar effort against Harrison County is needed as a building block.

Lafayette at Bryan Station

Records: Lafayette 3-2 (beat Henry Clay 24-14); Bryan Station 2-2 (did not play)

Rankings: Lafayette is No. 15 in Class 6A; Bryan Station is No. 12 in Class 5A

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Rested and ready? After wins over Dunbar and Western, Bryan Station has lost to district rivals Johnson Central and Woodford County. Last week's open date couldn't have come at a better time as the Defenders try to regain their early-season mojo.

Pickin' and grinnin': Bryan Station DB Earl McCann has three interceptions and returned them for an average of 46 yards.

Return weapon: Lafayette's Keenan Green returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD last week, but a referee's mistake nullified the score. The ref blew his whistle when he thought Green was knocked out of bounds near midfield, but it was a teammate, not Green. There was so much confusion that the officials eventually had Henry Clay kick off again. Green has returned six kickoffs for an average of 28 yards.

Key to victory: A collision of two teams with lots of speed should be interesting to watch, especially darting RBs Patrick Cornett of Station and Eric Shaw of Lafayette. Whoever finds more running room may lead his team to victory.

Lexington Christian at Corbin

Records: LCA 4-1 (lost to Raceland 37-35); Corbin 5-0 (beat Knott Central 48-14)

Rankings: LCA is No. 2 in Class A; Corbin is No. 4 in Class 2A.

Radio: WJMM-FM 99.1

Testing time: LCA had a tough road game last week when it lost to Raceland on a late field goal. Now comes a visit to tradition-rich, unbeaten Corbin. The Redhouds have a punishing ground game, led by Ryan Fritts and Caleb Watkins. LCA is familiar with Fritts, who rushed for 249 yards and four TDs in a 47-21 win over the Eagles last season.