ASHLAND —
Morehead State University and Marshall University have some connections to Super Bowl XLVII.
John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, was an assistant coach at MSU in 1988 under Bill Baldridge. Harbaugh was special teams and defensive backs coach along with being strength and conditioning coordinator.
He was there only one season before taking the special teams coordinator job with the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Phil Simms, the lead analyst of the Super Bowl for CBS and a Louisville native, played quarterback at MSU from 1975 to 1978 before being selected seventh overall by the New York Giants in 1979. He led the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles during his 15 seasons.
Four former Marshall University players are on the Super Bowl rosters, too.
The San Francisco 49ers have former Marshall record-breaking wide receiver Randy Moss and former Herd safety C.J. Spillman.
The Baltimore Ravens have former Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan and former Marshall safety Omar Brown, who is a rookie.
Moss came to the 49ers after a one-year retirement. He had 28 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns in his 14th NFL season.
Spillman is an outstanding special teams player for the Niners with 11 tackles as a gunner for the punt coverage team. He was a 2012 Pro Bowl alternate.
McClellan has 49 tackles, a second and a forced fumble for the Ravens in his second season.
Brown is a reserve safety for the Ravens.
Shawnee ranked
Shawnee State University cracked the NAIA Division I top 25 this week at No. 24.
Shawnee State is 11-7. Tyler Boyles, a senior from Raceland, is a starter for the Bears. He reached Shawnee State’s 1,000-point club in November.
University of Pikeville, 18-2, is ranked No. 3. Former Rowan County standout and Mason County coach Kelly Wells is the head coach at UPike.
Columbia (Mo.) is the top-ranked team in the country.
Faulkner stars
University of Charleston recently handed top-ranked West Liberty University its first defeat after a 14-0 start.
Evan Faulkner, the former Elliott County High School star who transferred from Radford, is averaging 10.8 points. 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game at UC, which is 10-3.
Belmont tonight
Morehead State faces new Ohio Valley Conference member Belmont tonight at 7 in Ellis T. Johnson Arena.
The Eagles, who are 10-10 overall and 4-2 in the OVC, have won five of their last seven contests. The Bruins, who are 15-4 on the season and 6-0 in league play, have won six consecutive games.
Belmont, which is No. 23 in the NCAA's official Ratings Percentage Index, comes in as Morehead State's highest-ranked foe this season. The two schools have never met in men's basketball.
MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.
Local Sports
MARK MAYNARD: Super ties for MSU, Herd
- Local Sports
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Boyd’s Fraley commits to Herd
Boyd County sophomore basketball player Logan Fraley has announced her commitment to Marshall University.
The 5-foot-11 shooting guard informed Marshall women’s coach Matt Daniel of her decision on Monday morning, which was confirmed by Boyd County coach/father Pete Fraley via text message. -
63rd softball: Greenup leans on bunting, baserunning; Russell wins
Immersed in another district contest with little breathing room, Greenup County softball coach Eric Keeton resorted to the strengths of his lineup: bunting and baserunning.
Two bunts and a swinging bunt helped the Lady Musketeers scratch across three runs in the fifth inning of a 6-2 victory over Raceland in the 63rd District Tournament opening round on Monday night at Russell High School. Top-seeded Russell defeated Lewis County, also 6-2, earlier in the evening. -
Boyd pounds out 11 hits to go along with Grimm’s shutout, 14-0
Robbie Shivel might be a little sore after Monday night, but it was Fairview that left the game battered and bruised.
Boyd County belted out 11 hits to go along with Dylan Grimm's complete-game gem as the Lions roared past Fairview, 14-0, in the opening round of the 64th District Tournament at Ashland's Alumni Field. The game lasted five innings. -
Different look, same results for Lady Lions
A longtime fixture in the 64th District softball championship game, Boyd County looked different this return trip.
The Lady Lions defeated Fairview 10-5 in Monday’s district semifinal, which doubled as an Autism Awareness Night. Boyd County players wore light blue shirts and colorful, jigsaw puzzle socks for the event, which had to be rescheduled more than once due to weather problems. -
Musketeers explode in final 2 innings to beat Raceland; good times continue for Lewis
Through the first four innings of its 63rd District Tournament opener, Greenup County found itself hitless. The Musketeers made up for it over the next two innings.
Greenup County scored eight runs on eight hits in the final two innings to defeat Raceland, 9-1, at Russell High School on Monday. -
The will to win
Opponents get the same look from Emily Stewart whether it’s softball, basketball or soccer season.
Steely eyed and lips pursed, the Boyd County senior is keenly focused and all business between the lines. -
THE WEEKLY CYCLE: Holding the key to upset city?
It takes only one game. Few are more firm believers in that fact than the small schools that find themselves in underdog roles year after year.
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Locals struggle to make impact
Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug.
It is a saying that proved to be all too true for Rowan County on Friday night at the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Championships at the University of Louisville’s Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park. -
Womack eliminated in state semis; Rose Hill, Russell doubles also ousted
Fairview senior Kennedy Womack wasn’t her consistent self in Saturday morning’s state tennis semifinals at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary Boone Tennis Complex.
As a result, the top seed fell to Lexington Sayre sophomore Madeline Rolph 6-1, 6-0.
Womack was obviously disappointed with her finish, especially after losing in last year’s state finals, but she was happy for her good friend Rolph. -
FLYING HIGH
If Fairview could have fielded a combined track and field team at Saturday’s Class A State Track and Field Championships, the Eagles and Lady Eagles would have had a record day. Instead, the Fairview girls had to “settle” for fifth, while the boys’ claimed 10th.
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