High School Playbook

 In the first round of the 2009 Kentucky High School Football Playoffs, the Ryle Raiders comfortably defeated the Pleasant Ridge Park Panthers 52-22. The Raiders got off to a bit of a slow start offensively but would eventually get into a rythm and lead 24-0 at halftime. Although the Panthers scored some points later in the ballgame, it was too little too late.

Eventhough their first-round opponents didn't threaten their playoff run, the Raiders will have quite a challenge on their hands when they face No. 1 Louisville St. Xavier in the second round. The Tigers defeated the Boone County Rebels 49-0.

 This was a great game by the Hornets! Congratulations to Zach Eckert for kicking a 50 yard field goal!

 How bout it, the bulldogs are going to the playoffs there playing good ball and i hope we bring home the title. like we did in basketball

In the final game of the season for both the Roger Bacon Spartans and the Purcell Marian Cavaliers, the Spartans won big, 52-13, in front of their home crowd.

Both teams were 1-8 and came into the game after losses last week. So, both were looking to end their season on a positive note. Unfortunately the Cavaliers will have to wait until next year to win one after dropping eight straight games to finish the season. As for the Spartans, it was a great way to end the season and a great way to send off the seinors.

The Spartans jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the game but the Cavaliers would eventually put some points on the board to avoid being shut out. The Cavaliers just couldn't get anything going and seemed to down on themselves after the Spartans jumped out in front. The Spartans just seemed to have the edge physically as they were just bigger and faster than the Cavaliers.

Congratulations to the seinors on both teams. As a former high school football player, I know what it's like to put in all that time and hard work. There's nothing like going out in front of your close friends and family and playing under the bright lights on Friday nights. While some teams will be heading to the playoffs, there are those who will be heading into the off season. Congratulations to those of you who have made the post season. And to those of you who are done for the year, get ready because next season will be here before you know it.

The 2009 high school football season is nearing its end with just a couple of games left in the regular season. This week I'll be traveling to Wyoming High School where the Cowboys will face off against the Taylor Yellow Jackets. The Cowboys are a perfect 8-0 this season and are coming into this game after a 54-0 thrashing of Finneytown last week. The Yellow Jackets are 3-5 this season after last week's 48-32 loss to Indian Hill.

The Cowboys are atop the Cincinnati Hills League and will look to continue their dominance against a Yellow Jackets team that has struggled lately. Look for Cowboys' offense to have a successful night as they average over 400 yards of offense and 42 points per game.

Last year's contest between these two CHL teams ended in a 68-6 blowout in favor of the Cowboys. Expect similar results tonight.

Players to watch for:

Wyoming quarterback Kyle Seyfried- Leads the league with 1,946 passing yards.

Wyoming wide receiver Harry Meisner- Leads the league with 705 receiving yards.

Wyoming wide receiver Evan Aleshire- Second in the league with 549 receiving yards.

 It's such a shame that our kids get a bad rap wherever they travel to play sports...CNE is looked at as a poor hick school. We are no more "country" than say Western Brown, Goshen, Blanchester, etc..but yet the taunting of our kids never stops. This district doesn't have the best equipment, the best school buildings, etc..but we do have kids with drive & heart like I've never seen before! No, we are not champions on the field...that's just a small part of who we are. CNE is always a team..we band together in the best & in the worst of times. These kids are amazing! I only wish that in the next couple of years our Rockets can show the rest of the tri-state how great we are!!!

Tonight the Playbook rolls into the home of the “Big Blue” of Hamilton High School, as they will be hosting The Lakota East Thunder Hawks.

Both coming into tonight game at (1-3); neither team is thinking playoffs, but its pride that’s on the line this week. Last week was tough on both teams; the Thunder hawks lost (27-0) to Middletown, and Hamilton lost a tough one at Mason (17-7).  Both Hamilton and Lakota East will come out hungry; wanting to show the division they’re not chumps—even though they’re going through a down year. Now let’s take a closer look at tonight’s teams.

Lakota East likes to run the ball and wear their opponents down. They’re good at milking the clock, and forcing their opponents to use timeouts. Lakota East has been very successful with running the ball, and they have averaged over 154 yards per game. But that’s where the positive compliments end. LE’s defense gives up, on average, 26 points a game! For all you non math majors; that’s a ton of points! The goal for LE should be to stick to their game plan and run the ball if possible. Now with rain in the forecast for a second straight week; that might be a tall order. In the event they can’t run, they must be prudent with their passing game. I would recommend short screen passes and short come back routes.

If Lakota East can establish their offense, they should be able to take the pressure off their “D”. But like we saw last week at Fairfield, when it rains, nothing usually goes as planned. Lakota East gives up way too many yards rushing; thus they need to load the box with 8 men, and force Hamilton to throw—if they can take away the run, then they might have a decent chance at neutralizing their powerful offense.

Now onto Hamilton…..

Hamilton is a much more balanced team than East; I’ll make no bones about it. While West relies so much on the run; Hamilton will run and mix in the pass to keep teams on their toes. On average Hamilton rushes for 151 yards per game, and passes for 118; much more of a solid attack. But just when you think both teams look so much different, they begin to look a lot alike, and here’s where!

Both teams give up over 25 points per game! So this is either going to be a shoot out, or a blow out tonight. Look for the poor field conditions and rain to play a major factor.

Freland Final Take:

Hamilton: 34 Lakota East:31

WLWT High School Playbook Reporter Mike Freland

     It's week seven and the Harrison Wildcats are set to host the Winton Woods Warriors. The Wildcats are 3-3 so far this season and are coming off of a tough 37-12 loss to Milford. As for the Warriors, they are 4-2 this season and are also looking to bounce back after a 52-38 loss to Anderson last week. Although the Warriors can throw the ball, they are predominately a running team as they average over 300 yards rushing per game. So, expect the Warriors to feed the Wildcats a heavy dose of senior running backs Jeremiah Goins and Dominique Brown. The Wildcats haven't had quite the same success running the football, but they do average a little over 20 points per game. So they do have the ability to put some points on the board. If they can contain the Warriors running backs, they will give themselves a chance to win the game. Who will win? Who knows? Right now it's anybody's ball game. But one thing is for sure. One team will feel much better about themselves after coming into this one having lost last week.

Tonight two teams will play a very important conference game, in what looks to be in very "wet" conditions. With various parts of the tri-state picking up anywhere from 1-3 inches of rain overnight, things are shaping up to be very muddy and sloppy at Fairfield High School.

The last time we were at Fairfield was week three. That week the Indians were hosting Winton Woods in what turned out to be a terrible game for the Indians. That night Winton Woods routed the Indians (36-0). After starting the season at (1-2) the Indians have been able to get back to.500, but a crushing loss last week to rival conference team Middletown (41-0), the Indians GMC championship hopes are on life support. Tonight Fairfield gets a chance to redeem themselves with another conference foe; Lakota West. But can the Indians shake off that (41-0) drubbing and gear up for a game against the conference leaders ? Can Fairfield scave off another team and keep their hopes of a GMC title alive ? Already with one loss, Fairfield has to run the table and win out; and hope that they can beat LW and have both Colerain and Middletown lose as well along the way.

The Indians will not impose their will on either side of the ball, and have been one of the worst tems against the run this year, while Lakota West is built on running, and running hard! Fairfield needs to muster up some Rocky Balboa courage and get through this week against all odds. However there is a silver linging to this game. With the extremely wet conditions, Lakota West may find it hard to establish the run; which may end up helping the Indians. It's games like this that really show what your team is made of!

Now onto Lakota West......

Lakota West is sitting tied for first in the GMC at (3-0) tied with both Colerain and Middletown. Overall LW is (5-1) and are coming off a big win last week at Mason (45-13). Right now is when you will see the good teams; like Lakota West come together and make a big push down the home stretch. Another thing to keep in mind about tonight; it's been really wet the last 24 hours and the bulk of their offense is based on the run; averaging 177 yards per game on the ground. Will this throw a clink in the armor? Or will LW be able to adapt to the conditions and show they are an elite team in the GMC?  Only time will tell, but don't be surprised if turnovers are the big key to this one.

Final Score Prediction:

Lakota West 35 Fairfield 7

WLWT High School Sideline Reporter Mike Freland

It's time to announce our first-ever Antonelli College "Fan Photo of the Week" winner!

And this week's honor goes to.... Go Dogs!

Go Dogs captured the celebration as Batesville knocked off East Central in a battle of unbeatens!  Again, congrats to Go Dogs for providing us with this great image.

If you're intereseted in getting involved here is how it works.....

Each week, we will pick a photo posted by YOU the fan!  The winning photo will be featured right here each and every Wednesday.  On top of that, we may even feature YOUR photo Friday night during the High School Playbook on News 5 beginning at 11pm.

Uploading is easy!  Simply create an account.  Make sure you pick YOUR school.  Then, once you’re registered with website, you can begin uploading.  To do so, click on UPLOAD PHOTO at the top of the page and follow the necessary steps.

THIS WEEK, we want to see your best FALL SPORTS photos!  Whether it is game action, fans, cheerleaders, etc, we want to see it! 

So with that, HAPPY UPLOADING!

Previous Fan Photos of the Week:

9/2 - 25s MOM (New Richmond)

9/9 - daytonparents (Dayton)

9/16 - David Simpson (Conner)

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