Central Hardin (9-3) vs. McCracken County (10-2)
With last week’s victory, the McCracken County Mustangs advanced to the regional finals for the first time in school history. In their two playoff wins this season, McCracken has outscored its two opponents 121-20 and head coach Shawn Jackson thinks there is a simple answer as to why the Mustangs are hitting their stride at the right time:
“Health,” Jackson said Tuesday. “When we lost to Bowling Green, we lost De’vharius Jones to a torn ACL and another defensive lineman, Jacob Dunker wasn’t playing either. We were limited for a while, but the last two weeks are as close to 100% as we’ve been all year.”
One of the biggest injury concerns for Jackson’s squad this season has been quarterback Cash Jones. The junior, who suffered a foot injury in a victory over Daviess County, was sidelined for a couple of games, but Jackson is confident that Jones is back to full health and is comfortable making any throw in the playbook.
McCracken’s opponent on Friday, Central Hardin, ousted them from the playoffs in 2013, their first year as a program. If the Mustangs want to reverse the result this time around, it’s going to start with limiting the Bruins on the ground.
“I hate when teams try to control the ball,” Jackson said. “Any time somebody can line it up and run over you, that’s a big fear. No matter what the weather is like, it still works. And we are going to have to play really well up front.”
Central Hardin runs a Wing-T offense similar to what McCracken saw against Paducah Tilghman early in the year, but quarterback Reece Iler is also a threat to throw the ball from a traditional run-focused offensive system.
The Mustangs host the Bruins at Marquette Stadium Friday night. A win will earn them one more home contest next week against the winner of Louisville Trinity and Louisville Male. Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7:00.
Owensboro Catholic (10-2) vs. Mayfield (11-1)
To call Mayfield’s defense “stingy” through the first two rounds of the playoffs doesn’t do it much justice. The Cardinals have allowed only seven points since starting the postseason, including a shutout last week over Butler County.
“That game [against Butler County] was our best of the year, we’re playing really well,” Mayfield coach Joe Morris said of his team’s effort, “but I also told them after the game last Friday that we haven’t played our best game yet.”
If that’s the case, the seven other teams left in class 2A have a lot to be worried about.
Owensboro Catholic, the Cardinals’ foe this Friday night, will present a much stiffer challenge than its last two. The Aces, a well-respected 2A program led by veteran head coach John Edge, will look to attack Mayfield through the air early and often on Friday night. Quarterback Ray Zuberer leads all class-2A passers with 3,210 yards and 44 touchdowns through the air on the season. But, Morris is adamant that Mayfield won’t try anything exotic with their coverages this week. Instead, they will rely on a defense that allowed only 10 points per game this season:
“We might a couple different at them here and there, but we’re not going to change what we do. Our kids know what their responsibilities are, but we have to focus on covering in the secondary and when they catch the ball we have to make tackles.”
Mayfield’s offense has been able to work efficiently in the last two weeks, scoring early on big plays and instituting a running clock. Because of this, Morris has been able to rest his playmakers, a move that should benefit the Cardinals on Friday night.
The Cardinals roll toward a fourth consecutive state title continues Friday night at War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff for this game has been pushed back to 7:30 to allow for travel.
