Homefield on the line for Ashland

Local Sports

Discussion

October 21, 2009

By MARK MAYNARD — The Independent The Daily Independent Wed Oct 21, 2009, 11:34 PM EDT

Ashland — For coach Leon Hart, the message to his players is pretty simple this week: Win and play one more game at Putnam Stadium or lose and hit the road.

Ashland visits Woodford County on Saturday night at 6 with the runner-up position in the Class 5A district on the line.

“It’s an extremely important ballgame for both football teams,” Hart said. “Whoever wins this ballgame gets a first-round home (playoff) game. We told them If they want to play another game in Putnam Stadium, they need to win.”

The Tomcats (7-1) go into the game with the Yellowjackets

(4-3) as favorites.

Johnson Central rocked Woodford County 64-14 last week, rolling up 600 yards on the ground.

That scenario is similiar to last season when Johnson Central ran for 600 before the Tomcats played Woodford County in a game that turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season.

Ashland defeated Woodford County 54-44 in Putnam Stadium.

“It was an unbelievable game,” Hart said. “The thing that’s crazy about it, a 54-44 game was decided by three defensive plays at the end.”

Three pivotal interceptions helped the Tomcats from a 10-point deficit to a 10-point victory.

“If you’re a fan, that’s the kind of game you want to see,” Hart said. “There were a bunch of big plays — long runs, long kickoff returns, interceptions.”

Woodford County runs the same spread offense but it hasn’t been as effective without quarterback Steven Duckworth, who graduated.

Last week, the Tomcats shook off a sluggish first half and then zoomed past Montgomery County 36-6.

Josh Alber ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns. He has 985 yards rushing on the season. Sophomore Sam Hunter has thrown for 708 yards and eight touchdowns.

Woodford County has used two quarterbacks, Ryan Garrahan and Matt Couch. They’ve combined for 1,211 yards passing for 10 touchdowns but 13 interceptions.

“They’ve been unfortunate to play on some really wet, sloppy fields,” Hart said. “You can see a difference when they’re on a dry field. They’re dangerous. Spreading the field out and throwing the ball around is much harder to defend than wadding them up in a ball (and running).”

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com.

or (606) 326-2648.

Text Only

Local Sports

16th Region baseball: Hunter zeroes in
For much of Sam Hunter’s stellar career, he was the unquestioned ace of the Ashland pitching staff.

May 29, 2012
THE WEEKLY CYCLE: Who’s heading west and who’s heading home?
A different 16th Region school’s bus has merged onto I-64 en route to Lexington the past three baseball seasons.

May 28, 2012
ALL-AREA BASEBALL: Toss-up, Turnaround
As he trailed behind their tracks in preparation for the photo shoot, Lewis County’s baseball coach declared, “Man, I’d like to coach this team.”

May 26, 2012
16th Region baseball draw: Wide Open Stance
The consensus with the coaches at the 16th Region baseball tournament draw is that the field is wide open.

May 26, 2012
16th Region softball draw: All maroon at high noon
The 16th Region softball tournament will open up with a bang on Monday.

May 26, 2012
Different Meade, same title
Make it three in a row for the Meade brothers of Ashland.

May 25, 2012
Escape artists
Russell’s latest district softball championship may be remembered as the Great Escape.

May 25, 2012
Region, softball tournament draws Friday
The 16th Region baseball and softball tournament pairings will be drawn on Friday morning at 9 at Rowan County Senior High School.

May 24, 2012
Boyd County finally bests rival
Boyd County’s proud softball program has been aching for a victory over archrival Ashland.

May 24, 2012
AARON SNYDER: Former Kitten joins the Bulldogs
Former Ashland basketball player and assistant coach Angie Johnson is donning a new shade of red.

May 24, 2012
More Local Sports Headlines

Local Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Homefield on the line for Ashland

Site Map

Contact Us