High School Football

The Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl begins across the state this evening.

Class 5-A: The Hopkinsville Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time in three years as they travel to Warren Central this evening. The Tigers bring a 3-6 record into the game, while the Dragons, ranked third in the state in 5-A, are 9-1. The Dragons are very explosive offensively and Tiger coach Marc Adam Clark talks about what the Tigers must do to win:

Kickoff from Dragon Stadium at 7, with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 6:35 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP and online at whopam.com.

Christian County begins its playoff run hosting Greenwood. It’s the first meeting between the two schools in six years as the Colonels bring a 8-2 record into the game, while the Gators are also 8-2.  Colonels coach Steve Lovelace with his thoughts on the Gators:

Kickoff from the Stadium of Champions at 7, with the Heritage Bank pre game show at 6:35 on Lite 98.7 and online at lite987whop.com.

Other games in 5-A have Bowling Green hosting Apollo and Graves County entertaining Logan County.

Class 3-A:   Fort Campbell hosts Hart County, while Trigg County travels to South Warren, Paducah Tilghman hosts Adair County and Heath travels to Monroe County.

Class 2-A: Caldwell County entertains Butler County, Ballard Memorial goes to Hancock County, Union County at Murray, Crittenden County at Owensboro Catholic.

Class 4-A: Madisonville at Allen County Scottsville, Franklin Simpson at Lone Oak, Warren East hosts Calloway County and Owensboro welcomes Breckinridge County.

Class 6-A: Henderson County hosts Fern Creek, Marshall County at Eastern, Daviess County hosts Oldham County and Muhlenberg County at Ballard.

Class A: Mayfield hosts Caverna and Russellville hosts Bethlehem.

Heritage Christian Academy had its volleyball banquet last night. Grace Waldron, Haley Lisembee, Brette Walsh and Ashley Jent were all named most valuable players. Lisembee also won the Christian Character Award, with Walsh and Jent sharing the Heritage award along with Alicen Taylor. HCA was the runner up in the KCAA State tournament last weekend.

College Basketball: Kentucky opened its pre season with a 93-61 win over Northwood in Rupp Arena. Archie Goodwin had 22 points, Nerlens Noel added 17 and Alex Poythress scored 11 in the victory for the Wildcats. Madisonville’s Jon Hood also scored two points in the game. Kentucky will face Transylvania in its next pre season game.

Louisville opened pre season play with a 93-57 win over Pikeville. Freshman Montrezl Harrell led the Cards with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Holly Warlick’s first game as Tennessee’s women’s basketball coach saw the Lady Vols drill Carson Newman 104-44. Warlick says the Lady Vols have work to do and she will continue to experiment with the starting lineup, trying to find combinations that work well together.

College Football: Western Kentucky lost another tough Sun Belt contest to Middle Tennessee 34-29. Reggie Whatley’s 97 yard kickoff return broke a 24-24 tie with 6 minutes to go in the game and proved to be the game winner for MTSU. Former Fort Campbell standout Antonio Andrews rushed for 136 yards on 25 carries in a losing effort for Western. Andrews had a career best 392 all purpose yards in the contest.

The win makes Middle Tennessee bowl eligible at 6-3 and moved the Blue Raiders into second place in the Sun Belt at 4-1 behind Louisiana Monroe. WKU dropped to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Belt. The Hilltoppers are already bowl eligible.

Saturday’s action includes Kentucky hosting Vanderbilt, with pre game coverage at 9:30 am on Lite 98.7. Also in the SEC tomorrow, top ranked Alabama is at LSU, with coverage at 6:30 on Newstalk 95.3 FM/1230 AM WHOP. Tennessee hosts Troy.

In the OVC: Austin Peay hosts Culver Stockton, while Murray State entertains Middle Tennessee.

NFL: Tennessee Titans tight end Jared Cook says he’s happy with his role with the Titans and is worried about winning. Cook spoke following practice Thursday and dodged questions on whether he or his agent had asked for a trade earlier this week. Cook said he had to focus on Sunday’s game with the Chicago Bears. Kickoff at LP Field is at noon.