Mike Fields' notes: Heavyweight trio has tradition on its side

Highlands, St. X and Trinity carry tradition into semifinals

Mike Fields - Herald-Leader Staff Writer

Nobody does this football playoffs thing better than Highlands, St. Xavier and Trinity, which have combined to win 48 state championships in 60 title-game appearances over the last 50 years.

When they take the field in the post-season, their opponents are usually at a disadvantage not just physically, but also mentally. When one team has a big edge in tradition, games are sometimes won by mind games even before the opening kickoff.

How do coaches prepare their teams to meet the Big Three in the playoffs?

Pulaski County Coach John Hines, whose Maroons visit Highlands in the Class 5A semifinals Friday night, has come up with a unique plan: "We're going up on Wednesday to scrimmage the Bengals to prepare for Highlands," Hines said with a laugh. "Seriously, we're trying to play it down as much as we can and treat it like just another game. Our kids know they're playing the best team in the state, so it's a no-lose situation for us. Our sole goal is to play the best game we've played all year."

Greenwood Coach Mark Nelson is taking the same approach with his Gators, who play host to No. 1 St. Xavier in the 6A semifinals. On the advice of coaches who have faced St. X in these big-game situations, Nelson is preparing his team for the pre-game atmosphere when the Tigers trot out 100 or so players. "I've been told that if you haven't seen it before, you can get caught up in how awesome it all is. We don't want to be bothered by it. We'll remind our kids that the game is played between the lines, that nothing else matters."

Pulaski County and Greenwood are in the semifinals for the first time, so this is unchartered territory for them. Scott County, which visits Trinity in the 6A semifinals, has been here before. It faced St. X in the 2004 state finals. Scott County also used to regularly scrimmage Trinity in the pre-season, so Coach Jim McKee knows the challenge his team faces. "We call them the University of Trinity," he said. "We've dealt with them so many times on the freshman, junior varsity and varsity level. We know the huge advantages they have. Facts are facts, and you can't run from them."

McKee's focus is on his own team, not Trinity. "We know what we've got to do. We've got to take care of the ball, and we need to make plays. We know the animal we're fighting. I don't know if we can win the fight, but we know what we're up against."

■ Scott County and Trinity not only play each other in football this weekend, they also meet in basketball. They'll hook up in a pre-season scrimmage in the Fast Lane Classic at Sheldon Clark on Saturday night. The lineup: Lawrence County vs. Belfry, 10 a.m.; Bath County vs. Highlands, 11:30; Nelson County vs. Sheldon Clark (girls), 1; Scott County vs. Trinity, 2:30; Elliott County vs. Sheldon Clark, 4; Tates Creek vs. Huntington (W.Va.), 5:30; Clark County vs. Perry Central, 7; Shelby Valley vs. Logan (W.Va.), 8:30.

■ Former Tates Creek coach Roy Walton is still recuperating after unexpected surgery last week. That means the dinner and roast, scheduled for Monday at the Lansdowne Signature Club to mark his 80th birthday, has been postponed indefinitely.

■ Dudley Hilton has had good luck coaching against unbeaten Lawrence County teams. He's 3-0 with three shutouts. In 1997, Lawrence County was 13-0 before losing to Hilton's Bourbon County Colonels 14-0 in the 2A semifinals. In 2001, the Bulldogs were 11-0 before falling to Hilton's Bell County Bobcats 8-0 in the second round of the 3A playoffs. Last week Lawrence County took a 12-0 record to Log Mountain but lost to Bell County 41-0 in the 4A quarterfinals.

■ Defending state champ Bell County's visit to unbeaten Boyle County in the 4A semifinals looks like Friday's best matchup. It's a rematch from last year's semis, which Bell County won 17-15. It's also another big-game rematch between Bell County Coach Dudley Hilton and Boyle County Coach Larry French. In the 3A finals in 1991, Hilton guided Bell County past Meade County, which was coached by French.