One school’s historic season, plus predictions for every football playoff game
Simply put, Tates Creek football has already made history this season.
So, why not some more?
Last week, the Commodores (8-4) won the program’s first second-round playoff game since 2001.
And while this year’s Commodores might not have reached the heights of the turn-of-the-century teams who went to a state finals and multiple state semis, they have advanced farther than any Tates Creek team since they’ve been alive. That’s something.
It feels pretty good.
“It’s crazy. I just thought about it the other day, like wow, we really made history,” said standout wide receiver Miles Thomas, who ranks among the top receivers in the state with 1,644 yards and 21 TDs this season. “I think it’s great, but we’re not done. I think we can keep going.”
Friday, the regional championship (third) round of the UK Orthopaedics/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl resumes with four games in each of Kentucky’s six football classes.
They will feature games between top-flight contenders such as Williamsburg and Paintsville in Class A and and Ashland Blazer and Belfry in Class 3A.
One of the weekend’s most competitive matchups looks to be No. 10 Tates Creek hosting No. 13 Simon Kenton in Class 6A.
“We scrimmaged Simon Kenton (before this season), so we kind of have an idea of what we think they are going to do. It’s just a lot of fine tuning of stuff this week,” Tates Creek quarterback Luke Duby said during a rainy Tuesday evening practice. “They have a really good offensive line and a really good defensive line and their running back’s really good. They are more of a pound it team and we’re more of an air raid offense.”
The Pioneers (8-4) feature running back Austin Hammack (1,188 yards and 16 TDs) and quarterback Chase Crone (1,740 yards passing and 669 yards rushing with 20 TDs combined). Hammack ran for 261 yards and three TDs in Simon Kenton’s rout of Dixie Heights last week.
Duby, a 6-foot-3 senior who has committed to the Ivy League’s Cornell, has been among the state’s top passers each of the last two years and has thrown for 4,038 yards and 39 touchdowns this season, completing 61.8 percent of his passes.
While Miles has emerged as the primary target, Elliot Bryant and Cion Townsend help round out a talented receiving corps.
“Our passing game is better than it’s been since I’ve been here for sure,” Duby said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons on the outside and our offensive line’s done a really good job of keeping me clean.”
Thomas, a 6-3 senior with offers from five Division I colleges including Louisville, said he began feeling this team could be special from the very first game of the season.
Why? “Because of how well we played against Madison Southern (a 39-7 win in the season opener) and how well we worked with each other,” Thomas said. “We used that to to be like a precedent to see how we should do it every game.”
Duby remained skeptical about Creek’s chances until they rolled through district play and began putting together their six-game win streak.
“We realized we had the first two (playoff) games in our district, and we were going to be able to make a run,” Duby said. “It feels good, but we know we won’t be satisfied without a win this week.”
Regional picks
Below are the pairings and @HLpreps picks for the regional championship round of the playoffs. All rankings are from the KHSAA’s RPI. All games Friday. All times local to site. Last week’s @HLpreps pick ‘em record: 38-of-48 (79%).
CLASS A
Best game: No. 5 Williamsburg at No. 4 Paintsville, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Paintsville, 21-20.
No. 10 Crittenden County at No. 1 Kentucky Country Day, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: KCD, 24-21.
No. 6 Newport Central Catholic at No. 3 Holy Cross (Louisville), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Newport Central Catholic, 31-28.
No. 16 Nicholas County at No. 2 Pikeville, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Pikeville, 42-18.
CLASS 2A
Best game: No. 12 West Carter at No. 7 Beechwood, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Beechwood, 35-21.
No. 17 McLean County at No. 3 Somerset, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Somerset 35-0.
No. 28 Edmonson County at No. 2 Mayfield, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Mayfield, 50-7.
No. 18 Walton-Verona at No. 5. Breathitt County, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Breathitt, 56-7.
CLASS 3A
Best game: No. 9 Ashland Blazer at No. 7 Belfry, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Belfry, 35-33.
No. 10 Bardstown at No. 5 DeSales, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: DeSales 28-14.
No. 14 Taylor County at No. 2 Paducah Tilghman, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Tilghman 21-14.
No. 12 Fleming County at No. 1 Bell County, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Bell, 39-7.
CLASS 4A
Best game: No. 13 Moore at No. 12 Central, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Moore, 24-21.
No. 4 Wayne County at No. 2 Johnson Central, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Johsnon Central 35-17.
No. 18 Scott at No. 1 Boyle County, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Boyle County 48-7.
No. 24 Franklin-Simpson at No. 7 Madisonville, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Madisonville 21-10.
CLASS 5A
Best game: No. 13 Bowling Green at No. 5 South Oldham, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Bowling Green, 31-17.
No. 17 Southwestern at No. 2 Frederick Douglass, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Douglass 38-0.
No. 14 Fairdale at No. 4 Owensboro, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Owensboro, 40-35.
No. 18 Madison Southern at No. 1 Covington Catholic, 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Covington Catholic, 42-14.
CLASS 6A
Best game: No. 13 Simon Kenton at No. 10 Tates Creek, 7:45 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Tates Creek, 28-21.
No. 9 St. Xavier at No. 1 Male, 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Male 48-10.
No. 7 McCracken County at No. 2 North Hardin, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: North Hardin, 42-20.
No. 17 Oldham County at No. 4 Trinity, 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Trinity, 40-7.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 8:11 AM.
