BORDER BOWL

 The Third Annual Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl will be held Saturday, January 16 at James H. Taylor Stadium on the campus of the University of the Cumberlands.

Several events will take place before the two teams battle for the lead in the series. Each team has a win. Tennessee won the first game played in 2008, but Kentucky came back to win last year (26-20) and evened the series at 1-1.

An awards dinner will be held Friday, Jan. 15 at the Williamsburg Tourism Center, beginning at 7 p.m., honoring each team and their coaches. Brian Milam of WYMY-TV in Hazard will host the dinner.

Tickets for the dinner are $13 per person or two for $25 in advance. A limited number of tickets are available. You are asked to make reservations by calling 1-800-552-0530.

The keynote speaker will be Rob Smith, a former Tennessee Volunteer and NFL veteran, who played for Fort Thomas Highlands. While at Fort Thomas he led Highlands to a 53-5 record from 1998-2000 and three straight Class 3A state championships. He went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns.

Saturday, Jan. 16, a Canopy Tailgate Party will be held under the pavilion at the University of the Cumberlands Stadium. Border Bowl packages are available by purchasing tickets, parking passes and food and beverage through the University of the Cumberland Alumni Association.

Packages are available by calling Dave Bergman at the University of the Cumberlands, 606-539-4355 for more information. The $25 package includes two tickets for the Battle of the Border Bowl, All-You-Can-Eat for two people, and one reserved parking pass near the stadium or the $50 package includes six tickets for the Battle of the Border Bowl, All-You-Can-Eat for six people and one reserved parking pass near the stadium. You can email the alumni association at alumni@ucumberlands.edu.

The Border Bowl will kickoff at 12 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 adult, $5 students.

Head Coach for the Kentucky staff will be Covington Holy Cross coach Bruce Kozerski. His assistants will be Dudley Hilton (Bell Co.), Larry French (Boyle Co.), Mark Peach (Anderson Co.), Oliver Lucas (Bryan Station), David Trosper (Conner), Jerry Herron (Williamsburg) and Felix Moore (Holy Cross). French is the 2009 Kentucky Co-Coach of the Year.

Fulton High School Coach Buck Coatney will lead Tennessee on the field. His assistants will be Lamar Brown (Morristown West), Dave Gilliland (Anderson Co.), Clark Duncan (South Doyle), Brad Taylor (Bearden), Jim Moore (Seymour), Scott Blade (Oak Ridge), Rusty Bradley (Christian Academy of Knoxville), Rod Black (Fulton) and Houston Wyatt (Hixon).

Several News Journal All-County players will be in action, including, Aaron Mann’s (Corbin), Dan Burnett (Whitley Co.), Nathaniel Davis (Whitley Co.), Alex Patrick (Whitley Co.), Ryan Moses (Williamsburg), Daniel Pettit (Williamsburg) and Dusty Brown (Williamsburg).

Some of the state’s top players will also be here for the game including: Greg Raglin (Lexington Catholic), Dominique Hayden (Lexington Christian), Robert Bell (Clark Co.), Cody Marcum (Bell Co.), Rees MacShara (Boyle Co.) and Brandon Roller (Highlands).

For complete rosters go to www.Ky-Tnborderbowl.com.