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August 8, 2008

NEKC gives teams more to play for

By AARON SNYDER / The Independent The Daily Independent Fri Aug 08, 2008, 11:39 PM EDT

Local middle school football coaches have finally gotten their way.

Seven area schools will compete for a little something more this season, as part of the Northeastern Kentucky Football Conference.

“It’s something that has always been talked about,” said Boyd County seventh- and eighth-grade coach Brent Cordial. “East Carter contacted me about it.”

The NEKC was formed this past spring and consists of Verity (Ashland), McKell (Greenup County), Boyd County, East Carter, West Carter, Russell and Lawrence County middle schools. East Carter was a big factor in initiating the conference.

“East Carter kind of got the ball rolling,” said NEKC chairperson Phillip Caudill.

Caudill, who is also the assistant principal and athletic director at Verity Middle School, volunteered to take the responsibilities of heading the conference in its first year.

The NEKC, according to Caudill, will probably have a new chairperson every two years, with each school eventually getting a chance to manage the conference.

Caudill said that a few of the teams were previously a part of the Ohio Valley Conference, but it had no type of postseason and coaches were ready for a change.

“Geographically, it makes more sense and it gives the kids something to play for,” Caudill said.

According to Cordial, the development immediately pushed his players to put forth more effort.

“They’re excited,” Cordial said. “As soon as we mentioned it, it really inspired the kids to condition a little more and work a little harder.”

The seven teams will compete for the top two spots in the conference, which is based on regular season conference records.

Each team will play every other member of the conference, which means a total of six games will factor into who will play for the title.

For those teams who play against one another more than once, as do Ashland and Boyd County, it is predetermined which one of those two games will count toward the team’s conference record.

The top two teams will face off in the first annual NEKC championship game on Oct. 25, with the top eighth grade team holding home field advantage for both the seventh- and eighth-grade championship games.

Whether or not the NEKC was a factor, Boyd County has seen its total number of players increase from 22 to about 40 in just one season, according to Cordial, who is in his second season.

Cordial hopes the added motivation can push his team to vastly improve its winless record from a year ago.

The middle school football season begins the week of Aug. 25. Most games will be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658.

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