By Coach Stoney
Now that the season has come and gone it is time to recap the top 10 story lines of 2007 for KY high school football
(10) Highlands Domination: The Bluebirds outdid their opponents by an average score of 40-10 on their way to the state’s only undefeated season with a schedule that included 3A champ Central and 4A champ LexCath.
(9) Anderson County finishes regular season 10-0: The Bearcats and coach Mark Peach were the feel-good story of the year while finishing the regular season unbeaten for the first time since the 1980’s.
(8) Surprise Regional Finalists and Beyond: The new 6-class system brought new schools deeper into the playoffs in a trend that will only continue into the future as the sport strengthens.
- 1A-Campbellsville made it back to the regional finals after a great run in the 90’s and LCA made their 1st finals appearance
- 2A-Fort Campbell won state for the first time since the 70’s
- 3A-Central won their 1st ever state title. Russellville was back in the regional finals for the first time since 1993 while Henry County was a newcomer to the 3rd round.
- 4A-Warren East and Lone Oak were in region finals for the 1st time. The Purple Flash, of course, finished as state runners-up. Greenup County was also a surprise regional finalist while Harrison Co. made the state-semis for the 1st time.
- 5A-Letcher County Central made the region finals for the 1st time in their brief history.
- 6A-no real surprises
(7) Bowling Green loses 3rd state championship game in a row: The Purples became the first team since Paducah Tilghman in the late 80’s to lose 3 title games in a row with their loss to Highlands in the 5A final.
(6) Glasier denied first unbeaten season: Coach Mike Glasier has been at St. Xavier for nearly a quarter of a century. In that time he has won 6 state titles, but never finished unbeaten. The Tigers went into the 6A final against rival Trinity with a 14-0 record only to lose an overtime thriller to the Shamrocks, denying Glasier his first perfect mark.
(5) Fort Campbell’s run to the 2A state title: After having much Division 1 talent and coming up short in recent years many thought that Fort Campbell would not contend for the 2A title. However, the Falcons provided another feel good story by giving some troops stationed overseas something to cheer about by winning their first state title since that late 70’s.
(4) 300 Game Winners: Bell County coach Dudley Hilton and Belfry coach Phillip Heywood both surpassed 300 career wins this season. Ironically, both coaches won their 300th game on back-to-back weeks against the same opponent, Sheldon Clark.
(3) Record Breakers: The title of Mr. Football is up for grabs. Record-breaking Shelby County QB Alex Mathews did himself well by making a strong run in the playoffs. However, he was outdone by Lone Oak QB Corey Robinson, who broke national records for TD passes. And, then there is Somerset WR John Cole, who has his name all over the KHSAA record books for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TD’s.
(2) Louisville Central is state 3A Champs: Central High School became the first Jefferson County public school, other than Male, to win a state title since 1979. The Jackets endured a tough regular season schedule that included St. Xavier, Male, Manual, and Highlands to prepare for the playoffs. It paid off in the school’s first ever state title making head coach Ty Scroggins the first African-American head coach to ever win a state championship.
(1) KY’s move to 6 classes in football: All season long, the biggest point of conversation was KY’s move from 4 to 6 classes. This is a debate that will probably continue to rage on for some time. However, I can tell you that each year this topic will move further and further down this particular list.
