CLASS AA FOOTBALL

 When last season ended Fort Campbell had captured its third straight 2A football title with a 29-9 win over the Louisville DeSales Colts. It was no real surprise by the Falcons.

It may be more of the same from the military campus with the return of Tre Powell. The feisty 5-8 senior scored 17 touchdowns last season and mad 34 catches for 754 yards. It might not sound like a lot of yardage and touchdowns, but when you have a team as loaded as Fort Campbell that’s a lot.

The only team to give the Falcons a run in the playoffs was region foe, Murray. Fort Campbell defeated Caldwell County, 56-7 and rolled past Trigg County 41-7 before edging Murray, 28-21. It was more of the same in the final two games as the Falcons beat Monroe County, 30-16 before taking the state title against DeSales.

The western part of the state looks loaded. Even Danville appears to be on the way back after a dismal 5-7 season. The Admirals will rely on Devonta Alcorn, a 6-2, 190-pound sophomore quarterback.

Monroe County has quarterback Jackson Arnett back. He threw for 1,404 yards and 21 touchdowns. Murray may just be the sleeper in 2, after all the Tigers have Robert Olive, a 6-2, 310-pound tackle that some big-time schools want including Kentucky, Penn State, Stanford, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt.

Owensboro Catholic has had a couple of lean years, but the Aces appear to be back. Junior running back Russell Hayden is certainly a player to watch.

In regions three and four, DeSales may have enough left to make a run at Fort Campbell once again. The Colts have star running back Garrit Leicht back.

Will Newport Catholic make it back to the title game or will it be someone from the mountains? When you say mountains, you say Corbin, Prestonsburg, Shelby Valley and Middlesboro. The Redhounds have to rebuild their offense while Prestonsburg reloads. Shelby Valley could be knocking at the door with quarterback Zack Norman and running backs Lucas Fields and Logan Lucas.

Chase Roark is a junior at Middlesboro and the Yellow Jackets have a new coach and some new excitement. Roark was third in passing last season with an average of 175 yards per game.

REGION FOUR

•Favorite: Is there anyone better than Corbin. Some will argue that Prestonsburg and Shelby Valley might be. The good thing about years and numbers in the playoff system should Corbin win the district we are back at home for the playoffs. Corbin must reload its offensive attack with the departure of Caleb Watkins and Ryan Fritts.

•Not far behind: Shelby Valley. This might be the year of the Wildcat instead of Blackcat. Shelby Valley will have the offense; it just depends on the defense. The ‘Cats ranked sixth in 2A last year allowing 16.7 points per game. They lacked the killer instinct in some games.

•Sleeper: Don’t laugh, but Leslie County may be a team to keep an eye on. Several key Eagles have played together quite a while and are juniors this season. Funny things happen with the football and if the Eagles can come out with four or five wins in the first half of their schedule, anything can happen.

Honor roll

•Top college prospect: There is a small crop of seniors in this year’s region class. If he has the year he is capable of having, Corbin’s Matthew Taylor could end up playing on the next level. The 5-9, 190-pound running back can run with the ball, but has the hands to catch the pigskin and hit paydirt.

•Biggest shoes to fill: Brady Foley. Can Foley become the next Caleb Watkins? The junior running back is very capable.

•The next big thing: Josh Jamerson, a 6-4, 210-pound wide receiver. If junior quarterback Adam Crisp can throw the ball half as well as Michael Burchett did, he will be among the top 10 scorers in 2A.

Three things to watch

•Keep an eye on the Leslie County Eagles. With a talented junior class, the Eagles are looking to make some noise in District 8.

•Jay Cobb is back at Knott County Central. He was about to make the Patriots into a football winner before he vaulted for Somerset. The Patriots have struggled for many years, but something may be brewing in Hindman.

•Chase Roark. It could be a year that the Middlesboro junior breaks out and has one of those years. With the talent he has Middlesboro is bound to go to the air like the ‘Jackets did several years ago. Somewhere down the line this kid is going to write his name in the record books.

Three must-see games

•Boyle County at Corbin. It’s the Pigskin Classic and the Redhounds entertain the Boyle County Rebels. Fans have complained that Corbin is not playing a tough enough schedule. Boyle County is plenty tough. The game will be played September 4^th.

•Corbin at Hazard. It could very well be the game of the mountains as the two football teams collide in Hazard on September 24. Will both teams be undefeated?

•A pair of big games in the region with Corbin at Middlesboro and Prestonsburg at Shelby Valley. Both games mean a lot to the winners. It will more than likely be home field advantage for the two winners in their respective district. These games will be the highlight of WYMT on October 22.