Through The Wire – A Sports Blog by Mike Stunson

The 2nd Region girls tournament will continue tonight in Princeton, with two semifinal games. First it will be Madisonville-North Hopkins vs. Henderson County at 6 p.m., with Webster County and University Heights Academy taking the court afterwards. Both semifinal games look destined to be great ones, so I’ll tell you a little bit about each one.

North vs. Henderson

A week ago, I would have penciled in Henderson for the championship game and likely have them as the winner. They are ranked in the top three in the state and haven’t dropped a regional game, after all. But after seeing how the Lady Maroons dominated Livingston Central last week, I could see this game being a close one.

North was clicking on all cylinders in their first-round game over Livingston, going up double-digits early and up by over 25 in the third quarter. The Lady Maroons had 20 steals for the game, with 8 coming from Shaniya Whitsell.

North had a balanced attack in the game, with five players scoring in between 10 and 15 points. I especially like how coach Brent Gibson has used Adarian Gray recently, the Lady Maroons’ leading scorer for most of the regular season who was put into the sixth-man role recently. She’s able to provide a big spark off the bench, and scored 15 points on Wednesday.

How North can handle Ellie Fruit and Maci Brown will be perhaps the biggest factor in the game. Fruit is arguably the best player in Region 2, averaging 18.5 points per game. The two of them are most dynamic from outside, as they have knocked down 116 3-pointers between the two of them this year.

The Lady Maroons shut down Livingston center Hailee Lampley last week, but trying to stop the guard combo of Fruit and Brown is a whole different story.

The two teams played last month in Henderson, with Henderson blowing out what was a close game until the fourth quarter — winning 62-41.

Webster vs. UHA

When the brackets came out two weekends ago, this was the potential game I immediately became the most excited about. It was a nail-biter the last time the school’s met, as Webster edged UHA 52-51 to claim the 2nd Region All “A” championship.

But the Lady Blazers haven’t lost since then, grabbing 12 straight wins. Meanwhile, Webster has seemed vulnerable — beating Caldwell County by four points on Thursday, a week after a double-overtime win over Union County.

The Lady Trojans were down eight points to Caldwell in the fourth quarter, but 19 turnovers forced by Webster was able to outdo their sub-par field-goal percentage for the game (21 percent).

Webster’s shooting is certainly their Achilles’ heel, and a percentage above 30 percent will be a must for tonight. The defense has carried Webster this year, but UHA has one of the best offenses in the region, so they won’t be able to rely solely on that. Their 1,791 points scored this year is the most in Region 2.

In their current 12-game winning streak, the Lady Blazers have won 11 of the games by double figures.

North and Henderson start play at 6 p.m. tonight, with Webster and UHA starting around 7:45. I’ll be at both games and will be providing live updates of the games on my Twitter account, @Mike_Stunson.

Madisonville-North Hopkins is set to tip off with Hopkinsville in their boys 2nd Region semifinal tournament game in a couple hours, but in the meantime I figure I’d tell you what to look for in this big game.

Hoptown comes into the game as the team to beat in the region, having not dropped a game to a Region 2 team all season. They are hosting the tournament, and have not lost a home game all year.

It comes as no surprise that a potential upset of the Tigers will be difficult for the Maroons, but it’s not out of their realm of possibility. When the two teams met in December, North played without two of their starters in Michael Soder and Matt Fisher, but still only lost 74-66. They are one of three teams in the region to only lose by single-figures to the Tigers.

One of the biggest keys for tonight is how the North frontcourt can handle Hoptown’s. The Maroons have Ross Thomas and Fisher down low, with Thomas coming off of a 14-point, 15-rebound game vs. Lyon County in the first round of the tournament. They will get the task of going up against Jaqualis Matlock and Jamonte Davis. Both of them stand at least 6-foot-4, with Matlock being rated as one of the top sophomores in the state.

Both of the Tiger bigs are capable of double-doubles with multiple blocks no matter who they play. The first time they played, Matlock had 20 points and 13 rebounds. On Monday against Webster County, Davis was a monster on the defensive end with six blocks, while Matlock had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Thomas and Fisher have the length to match up with the two, though the Tiger duo has more athleticism, which they will try to use to their advantage.

But the Tigers can dominate from all facets of the game, including at the point where Jordan Majors will lead the way. Majors is arguably the top player in the region, and at 6-foot-3, has a size advantage on nearly everyone who goes up against him.

Look for Michael Soder and Jaylen Mason to get the most time guarding Majors, who went off for 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting and 6-of-7 from deep in their win Monday. Mason, perhaps the most improved Maroon this year, has the 6-foot-1 frame and athletic ability to match up with Majors. He had seven points and eight rebounds in their meeting in December.

Daylyn Jones, who scored 22 the first time the two team’s played, and Jaiveon Eaves, North’s talented freshman, will be counted on for the scoring duties. North coach Matt Beshear said he believes tonight could be a coming-out game for Eaves, as he shines in the big-game atmosphere.

It will be the 110th time the two teams have faced one another. Though the Tigers have won the past five meetings, North leads the all-time series 60-49.

I’ll have all the coverage starting at 6 p.m. Follow my Twitter account @Mike_Stunson for constant updates.

Webster County boys basketball coach Jon Newton won the Region 2 Coach of the Year last season, and rightfully so, as his Trojan team won the 2nd Region All “A” Classic and the 6th District championship, finishing with a 20-11 record. That seems like a tough resume to top — until you look at what he’s done this season.

96 — Webster lost 96 percent of their production (points, rebounds and assists) from last season. Their whole starting-five were seniors, including Region 2 Player of the Year Jacob Scott. That was a senior-driven team, with only three current Trojan players on that team last year, all of whom just got slim minutes.

17-9 — That’s the Trojans record as they head into their important game with Henderson County tonight — good for third place in Region 2. They’ve only lost three games since Christmas and are currently riding a five-game win streak.

15-3 — Their 15 wins in Region 2 play are four more than anyone else. Granted, they are tied with Crittenden County for the most region games play, but that doesn’t take away that they’ve been able to beat almost everyone this region has to offer. Their four losses are respectable ones, as they lost to Henderson, UHA and Crittenden, who they later beat.

73 — That’s Webster’s free-throw percentage during their current five-game win streak. A good team is one that can knock down the freebies, and Newton has instilled that into his team. The Trojans made all eight of their fourth-quarter free-throws on Tuesday in their win over Madisonville-North Hopkins.

3 — The Trojans have just three seniors on their team, but they are all playing massive roles as the team’s leading scorers. Kyle Hayes leads the team with a 13.50 points per game average, while Logan Prow is at 12.61 and Dan Boswell at 9.23.

7 — Webster only uses a 7-man rotation, with Mason Roland, J.D. Newton, Madison Melton and Max McMain joining the aforementioned seniors. Schools like Henderson, Hopkinsville and North use a 10 or 12-man rotations, so for Newton to get 17 wins out of essentially seven guys is a testament to just how good of a coach he is.

10 — Not ranked among the top 10 teams in the Region to begin the year, the Trojans have won 10 games over teams that began the year ranked among the top 10. This includes two wins each over Union County, Lyon County, Caldwell County and Trigg County.

I don’t think that Newton is the best coach just this year, I also think he is the best coach altogether in the region. I underestimated how good the Trojans would be this year, as most people did. I now know not to make that mistake for future years.

For the first time since the 2005 season, the Webster County girls basketball team will take part in the Touchstone Energy All “A” Classic in Frankfort. The Lady Trojans (16-2) will face Louisville Collegiate (7-5) in their first round game. Let’s look a little more into that matchup.

According to last Thursday’s Litkenhous ratings ( http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPORTS050402  ) Webster will be a 36-point favorite for their first rounder with Collegiate (Litratings are updated every Thursday, so these do not include last weekend’s games). This point-differential is the largest of any other first round matchup — the second and third-most being a couple games hovering around 25 points.

Collegiate has played the fewest amount of games of any team in the tournament, and had just a .500 record going into their 7th Region All “A” Classic.

While Collegiate’s 56.0 Litrating is the lowest of all the 16 teams in the Classic, Webster’s is the fourth highest at 91.9. Should the Lady Trojans win their first round game, they would likely play Newport Central Catholic, who has a Litrating of 93.2.

Once any team advances to the second round, they likely won’t be able to expect any easy games, but it looks like Webster did get the easier side of the bracket. The bottom half of the bracket features Monroe County (97.4 Litrating) and Duke signee Becca Greenwell’s Owensboro Catholic team (92.1). Also, the only other team in the bracket with as few losses as Webster is in the other half, Region 8′s Gallatin County.

Webster is the second-highest ranked team in this week’s AP poll, coming in at No. 15. Monroe is tops among the All “A” teams at No. 12.

This is the sixth time in the 22-year history of the All “A” Classic that the Lady Trojans have played in. Their best showing came in their first ever classic, in 1993, when they lost in the championship game.

Webster will play at 11:30 a.m. EST tomorrow, and if they win they will play again on Friday at 10 a.m. The tournament will be held at the Frankfort Convention Center.

Friday and Saturday’s semifinals and finals of the boys 2nd Region All “A” Classic should be quite interesting, as all four teams alive have solid chances at winning this wide open tournament.

First let’s look at the matchups:

Friday, 6 p.m. — University Heights (6-9) vs. Crittenden County (10-10)

Friday, 8 p.m. — Webster County (11-8) vs. Caldwell County (7-11)

Crittenden is the host school, so they will have the home court advantage which could play into their favor. The Rockets are 6-2 at home this year, and just 4-8 elsewhere. They defeated Livingston Central 57-53 to get to the second-round, led by Ethan Hill’s 20 points and Bobby Knox’s 17 points.

The Rockets have not faced University Heights this year but lost to them 68-42 last year. The Blazers started the year out 2-9, but have since won four straight games, including a 74-40 first-round win over Dawson Springs on Wednesday. UHA had five players with at least nine points in the win, led by Lamontas Johnson’s 18 points.

All four of the Blazers wins during their current win streak have been by double figures. According to the Courier Journal’s Litkenhous ratings, UHA is a 12-point favorite.

In the other semifinal game, Webster plays Caldwell in a rematch of their game last week, which the Trojans won 51-45. Kyle Hayes had 17 points in that game last week, and had a season-high 24 points last night in their 81-72 victory over Trigg County.

Of course, the Trojans won this tournament last year, albeit with a much different team. Hayes, Daniel Boswell and Logan Prow are the lone players from last year’s Trojan squad.

Caldwell moved into the second round after a narrow 50-49 victory over Lyon County. Damonta Hopson scored off a baseline inbounds play with six seconds left to win it for the Tigers. Eli Pepper had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers.

The Tigers have already won more games this year than they have in any year since the 2007-2008 season, and will be looking for their first three-game win streak of the year on Friday. The Litkenhous rankings project Webster as 13-point favorites.

I expect both games to be closer than their rankings suggest, although I do believe the favorites will come out victorious in both matches. If that’s the case, we’ll have a rematch of the 2012 championship game, when Webster beat University Heights in double overtime.

Here’s some extra thoughts from last night’s boys basketball game between Hopkinsville and Madisonville-North Hopkins, which the Tigers won 74-66.

-Michael Soder and Matt Fisher, the starting small forward and power forward for the Maroons, both were not able to play due to illnesses. For the Maroons to hang with Hopkinsville without those two players really speaks a lot on the depth of the Maroons, which was on full display.

-Jaylen Mason and Albert McFarland started their first career varsity games, which at first surprised me considering how well Jaiveon Eaves has been playing lately. But Matt Beshear made the right call in using Eaves off the bench, as he is a guy that can get points in a hurry when others are taking a rest. Eaves finished with nine points in the game and is now averaging 12.33 points in his last three contests, with his three highest point totals of the year coming in those games

-Mason has also improved as the season has gone on, and played big minutes on Thursday. He made the most of it, scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds. He has now scored between six and eight points in six of his last seven games, after only scoring at least six points once in the first nine games.

-When the Maroons are healthy, they have a second-unit of Mason, McFarland, Eaves, Alex Gray and Cullen Reynolds. While I don’t think it’s as good as their bench from last year, I’d put their backups up against any others in the region.

-The Tigers are the team to beat in Region 2, but in two of their regional games this year they have shown how vulnerable they are. In their third game of the year they only beat Henderson County at home by six points, and again just won yesterday by eight. Even with them hosting the regional, they won’t be a shoo-in for the title.

-Hopkinsville has perhaps the top two players in the region, Jordan Majors and Jaqualis Matlock. Those two, as well as Jamonte Davis, did the bulk of the scoring for the Tigers. While I’m sure a team as talented as Hopkinsville has plenty of depth, they didn’t do much to prove it on Thursday.

-At 74.57 points per game, Hopkinsville has the best offense in the region, but they also are giving up the most points at 67.64 a game. This is somewhat understandable, as the Tigers have a fast-break style offense, allowing more possessions per 32 minutes, but if the shots aren’t falling for Hopkinsville this could be bad news.

I’m posted up in the pressbox for the Maroons’ battle with the Red Devils. Should be a great game, with the winner going onto the third round of the 4A playoffs to face the winner of Lone Oak and Warren East.

North won their previous game with Owensboro this year in Madisonville, with Daylyn Jones scoring with under 10 seconds to go to give the Maroons the 13-9 victory. I expect another close one here, with most likely some more points put on the board.

Look for Alex Gray to be an X-factor. The junior receiver has caught just 17 balls this year, but he is averaging 28 yards per reception — being QB Danny DeMercurio’s big-play receiver all year long.

I’ll be posting updates during the game here, as well as on my Twitter account @Mike_Stunson.

6:58- Madisonville will receive the ball to start out this game, looking like we’re about 3 minutes away.

7:01- Here we go. The Maroons start on their own 20 after a touchback.

7:02- Fumble Maroons on the first play of the game. Owensboro gets it and starts in the red zone.

7:07- 3-yard touchdown rush from Owensboro’s Nick Locher. They take a 7-0 lead with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

Owensboro went 18 yards in 5 plays for the score.

7:11- The Maroons get a first down, but then North QB Danny DeMercurio coughs up the ball, giving Owensboro the ball back. Horrible start for the Maroons. Owensboro takes over at the 38.

7:16- Wow. 51-yard field goal by Graham Gilliam puts Owensboro up 10-0, 6:53 left in the first quarter.

7:19- A 23-yard pass to Tevin Pearson puts North in Owensboro territory for the first time.

7:22- Danny DeMercurio throws a bad pass when he had an open receiver. Owensboro with the interception. They take over at their own 19.

7:23- A 60-yard run by Owensboro just got taken back to the 15 on a holding penalty. Big break for the Maroons.

7:28- Owensboro to the 1 after a 68-yard completion, then North gets a goal line stand and blocks the field goal. Still 10-0 Owensboro

7:32- Second quarter now, Maroons have it on their own 37.

7:35- Timeout Maroons, a pass to Bowman has them on the Owensboro 40.

7:38- Alex Gray with the 40-yard touchdown reception on a tipped ball. Maroons back in it now, down just 10-7 with 8:17 in the first half.

7:42- Huge kickoff return by Owensboro, all the way down to the 3. They score on the first play of the drive, now leading 17-7 over Madisonville.

7:46- Alex Gray with another big play, a 38-yard completion into Owensboro territory

7:48- Timeout Owensboro after Madisonville takes it down to the Red Devils 20. Pearson having a good day for North, 3 receptions so far.

7:56- Alex Gray with another big reception, on fourth down to the 4. But four plays later the Maroons have to kick the field goal and Austin Collard has it go wide right.

8:02- The 52-yard field goal attempt by Owensboro is just barely short. We’re at halftime now. 17-7 Red Devils over Madisonville-North.

8:20- And the second half has begun. Owensboro gets it at the 25.

8:26- Owensboro now up 24-7 after an 8-play drive results in a a Kahlil Hinton touchdown rush.

8:33- DeMercurio throws his second interception and Owensboro takes over at the North 37.

8:36- Walton with the touchdown rush for Owensboro, breaking this game open. They’re up 31-7.

8:47- This one is all but over after another DeMercurio pick. That will be all for me on here, unless something amazing happens.

7:1Hope everyone is doing well this fine Friday night. I’m here in Murray for the Maroons’ football district game with Calloway County. As always, I’ll be providing updates on here as the game goes on. So refresh your compute every few minutes or so to catch the latest. The internet isn’t the best up here, but I think it is good enough. Kick-off is at 7 p.m., so stay tuned!

A little more on the game…Calloway is 4-4 for the year, with North being at 4-3. The Lakers lost to Owensboro last week, 20-0. Caldwell has a solid offense, led by quarterback Tyler Greer and running back Steven Treadaway. North needs this win to set up a chance for them to win the district championship next week against Lone Oak.

We’ll actually be starting around 7:15 it looks like. We just got done with the longest Senior Night ceremonies ever.

7:13- The Maroons will take the ball first, about three minutes away.

7:16- Here we go, the Maroons take it at their own 23.

7:18- North with the three-and-out. Calloway takes over right at midfield.

7:20- Steven Treadaway with the first first down of the game for the Lakers to the 39.

7:23- Three first downs for Calloway, and they have it in the red zone. Timeout on the field.

7-29- Calloway hits the 25-yard field goal to go up 3-0 over North with 6:17 left in the first quarter.

7:30- North starts their second drive on their own 44.

7:31- DeMercurio gets North’s first first down on a 5-yard keeper into Laker territory.

7:33- Three solid rushes by Jaron White has North creeping on the red zone.

7:37- 11 play, 56-yard drive results in a 4-yard TD rush from Ryan Bowman. 7-3 Maroons over Calloway County. 10 of the plays were rushes. Jaron White and Danny DeMercurio with the bulk of the rushes.

7:39- Calloway starts at the 21.

7:42- End of the first quarter. North is up 7-3, Calloway has it on their own 37.

7:45- Tyler Greer sheds two would-be sacks and completes a pass for about 50 yards. But it’s going back on a holding penalty. Game-changer there.

Zach Adams just was helped off the field with what looked like a leg injury.

7:50- Penalties kill Calloway on their drive. Calloway punts to North. That was a 10-play, negative 9 yard drive. Because that is possible. Maroons have it in Lakers territory on the 25 after a bad punt.

7:52- North scores on the first play of the drive, 25 yards out from Jaron White.

7:57- Calloway has it right at midfield after a first-down from a North penalty.

8:02- Calloway has it on the Maroons 28 after a third-and-10 completion.

8:08- Levi Worth gets the sack on fourth down to give the ball back to North. 14-3 with 5:15 left in the first half.

8:10- 24-yard penalty from North, they are pushed back to their own 14.

8:12- North punts, Calloway takes over at their own 29.

8:14- Tyler Greer keeps it and takes it 52 yards to the Marons 13.

8:18- Tyler Greer with the 2-yard touchdown rush for Calloway County. They now trail Madisonville 14-10 with 33 seconds left in the first half.

8:22- And that’s our halftime score, 14-10 Maroons.

8:42- Calloway starts at the North 40 after a big return.

8:45- Having a lot of trouble with the blog tonight. Follow me on Twitter for updates- @Mike_Stunson. Sorry for the trouble.

I’m up in the pressbox for football action between North and Owensboro, and as always I’ll be providing live coverage of the game. Keep refreshing your screen for all the latest on the Maroons’ first district game of the season.

North comes in at 2-3, winners of two straight, while Owensboro is at 3-2.

Danny DeMercurio, Daylyn Jones, Austin Crook and Hunter Eustice are the captains tonight for the Maroons.

The Maroons won the toss and will receive. We’re about 5 minutes from the kick.

7:07- Here we go. (Finally) Ryan Bowman takes the return to the 14 to start it off.

7:09- 42-yard pass completion from Danny DeMercurio to Alex Gray gets things going for the Maroons.

7:10- Maroons call a timeout on fourth down. They have two yards to go to get the first at the 35 yard line.

7:12- Bowman gets just about one yard on the fourth-down play, giving the ball back to Owensboro.

7:16- Owensboro gets one first down, but the Maroons hold them from there. Red Devils punt it to the 25.

7:19- Just like Owensboro, North grabs a first down but has to punt four plays later. Collard kicks a great punt to the 5-yard line. Turned out to be a 51-yard punt.

7:22- Red Devils got a great bounce on their punt after their three-and-out, Maroons will get it at their own 35 for their third possession of the game.

That was as quick of a quarter as you’ll ever see. Scoreless after the first quarter.

7:27- Another three-and-out for the Maroons. Collard’s punt isn’t as good, going to the North 40. So far not much offense for either team.

7:29- Scotty Perry starts the Owensboro drive off with a sack of the Red Devils QB. The next two plays are a loss of one and then a gain of one, forcing another Owensboro punt. Three punts for both teams so far. The Owensboro punt goes to the 36.

7:33- Finally, a 16-yard pass from DeMercurio gives North a much-needed first down.

7:35- North gets five straight plays of at least seven yards to get to the 5-yard line. Timeout by Owensboro.

7:38- Danny DeMercurio gets a five-yard touchdown to give Madisonville-North the 6-0 lead over Owensboro. He needed every inch for that one.

51-yard pass completion to Wheeker, followed by a first down rush. Ball on the 15, 1:44 to go

7:40- Owensboro starts their next drive at the 20.

7:41- Red Devils finally get a big play, a 21-yard keeper from their QB.

7:43- Bryce Tichenor almost gets an interception, but the Red Devils are forced to punt for the fourth time. This one goes to the 18.

7:47- Maroons driving, DeMercurio with the 11-yard rush to the 36.

7:50- Two penalties drive North back, and on a third-and-17 DeMercurio fires a short pass to Gray. North punts again just before the half is up.

Wow, the Owensboro punt returner takes it all the way to the 12-yard line before he is finally tackled. Halftime. Maroons up 6-0.

8:19- We’re back after a half-hour halftime (Jeez). Collard’s kick is a touchback, so the Red Devils start at their own 20.

8:23- Owensboro picks up two third-down tries and now have it on the Maroons 46.

8:25- Red Devils have woken up. A big QB keeper brings them to the 24.

8:30- Owensboro gets stuffed on fourth down at the North one-yard line, giving the Maroons the ball back. The 6-minute drive resulted in 0 points. Momentum stays with Maroons.

8:32- Alex Gray gets hit in the endzone for a safety. It’s now 6-2 Madisonville-North over Owensboro.

8:34- The punt after the safety goes to the Maroons 26-yard line.

8:37- Maroon defense forces a three-and-out, ball back to North at the 38.

8:40- Ryan Bowman uses three rushes to get to the Owensboro 39.

8:42- End of the third quarter. Maroons up 6-2 and at the Owensboro 35.

8:43- At the 35, North does a fake but only get 3 yards. Ball back to Owensboro at their own 32.

8:47- Red Devils are driving, back-to-back solid gains and they now have it at the Maroons 31.

8:51- 25-yard touchdown run from Deanthony Walker and Owensboro leads for the first time over Madisonville at 9-6. 8:33 left.

8:53- The Maroons start on the 32.

8:56- With 5:47 left, North is on the Owesnboro 49 and after a timeout will have fourth-and-one to keep the drive going.

8:57- DeMercurio gets nothing, ball back to Owensboro.

9:01- Madisonville forces a three-and-out and will punt to the Maroons after a timeout. 3:10 left.

9:03- The Maroons have it on the their own 10 with 3:00 to go, needing a field goal to tie.

9:08- Ball on the 15 for the Maroons with 58 seconds to go. Timeout Owensboro.

9:12- Touchdown by Daylyn Jones from 1-yard out with 12 seconds to go gives North the 13-9 lead over Owensboro. Wow.

I’m here in the pressbox in Morganfield for some football action between Madisonville-North Hopkins (1-3) and Union County (1-2). We’re about 25 minutes away from kickoff right now, and I’ll be posting plenty once the game begins.

The Maroons are coming off of a big 36-14 win over Hoptown last week, but will be without linebacker Nathan Gibson this week as he is facing a mandatory one-game suspension due after being ejected from last weekend’s game with two unsportsmanlike penalties. North is fully healthy aside from Ivanta White.

7:00- North won the toss and elected to receive to get this game going.

7:03- Earl Leonard takes the opening kickoff to the Maroons 36.

7:05- Three plays and North is in Union territory after a 16-yard rush from Ryan Bowman.

7:07- Jaron White gets a 28-yard run to the 4, and then scores a touchdown on the next play. Danny DeMercurio converts the 2-point conversion. 8-0 Maroons over Union.

That first drive was a 6 play, 64 yard drive for North. 38 of the yards were from White on the ground.

7:11- On the Braves first drive, they go three-and-out. They punt to Brandon Jones who takes it inside the 10, but a block in the back brings them back to the Union 44.

7:13- Bowman with his second big rush of the game, this one a 14-yarder to the 26. White takes it 9 yards on the next play to the red zone.

7:15- North running it with ease into the 10-yard line. This game has running-clock potential

7:16- DeMercurio’s first pass is an 11-yard TD to Tevin Pearson. 15-0 North over Union.

7:20- Braves get their first 1st down of the game to their own 35 on a third-down completion.

7:23- Good drive for Union here, they have it in Maroon territory.

7:26- With fourth-and-two, Union does a fake punt to get 3 yards and the first down to the North 44.

7:30- Big 42-yard TD pass from Davis Joiner to Jarrell Foster puts Union back in it. They convert the 2-point conversion. 15-8 Maroons.

7:32- Big driving coming up for Union. They haven’t been able to stop the Maroons rushing attack so far.

7:33- The onside is recovered by the Maroons. Good field position at their own 45.

7:34- Double-revere to Alex Gray takes it inside the 5, but a holding penalty brings this one all the way back t their own 35. Big penalty there.

7:37- But Pearson gets a 27-yard rush, and then White a 17-yarder into the red zone. North running at will.

7:39- On fourth-and-goal on the 2, North goes for it, but DeMercurio drops it on the 1-yard line. Ball back to Union. 15-8 Maroons still.

7:43- A 22-yard QB keeper from Union’s Joiner takes them to their own 30.

7:45- North forces a punt though, and Union actually does punt this one. Fumble on the punt, punter is able to gather it and punt it but, North hits the punter and it’s a roughing the kicker. First down for the Braves.

Brock Shoulders isn’t happy, to say the least. Big play goes Union’s way again. North is controlling this game, but still have just a slight lead.

7:52- Interception by Earl Leonard, but he is hit with the biggest hit I’ve ever seen in high school football. He fumbles it back to the Braves.

7:57- If you include the interception and brief possession change, it was a 16-play drive for Union that results in 0 points. Maroons get it back at their own 29.

8:03- Union takes the punt to the 20 but fumbles to the Maroons with 4 seconds left. Austin Collard barely makes the 37-yard field goal. 18-8 North at the half.

67 rushing yards for White in the half, 41 for Bowman, 16 for DeMercurio.

8:25- Long halftime, but were back. Will Summers kicks for the Maroons and Union will begin at the 31.

8:28- Another big QB keeper, this one for 30 yards to the North 32.

8:29- That’s followed by a 23-yard rush, and then on fourth-and-goal on the 1 foot line, Joiner takes it to the endzone for 6. Union cuts the lead to 18-16 after the 2-point conversion.

8:33- Maroons start this drive on their own 24, and they need some points here.

8:37- White and Bowman carrying North right now. They have it at midfield after two first downs.

8:39- And there’s a 19-yard run by DeMercurio. 8 rushes and 0 passes this drive.

8:41- 5-yard touchdown rush from Bowman, coming right after a 22 yard rush from him. Extra point is good, 25-16.

8:46- Kickoff return goes to the North 43, and Union gets a 25-yard rush on their second play.

8:49- Freddy Gaines cuts the lead closer with a 2-yard score for Union. North now up 25-22 after a failed 2-point conversion from the Braves.

8:50- Ryan Bowman continues his strong play, a 77-yard kickoff return to the house.

8:52- Then the Maroons kick an onside kick and Earl Leonard recovers for them. Chance for North to break this one open.

8:58- Nothing going for the Maroons that possession. Collard kicks a great punt to the 4-yard line. Union needs 10 points, 11:21 left.

Nevermind, it was ruled a touchback.

9:01- Foster with a 54-yard rush to the 26 on the first play of the drive.

9:06- Daylyn Jones recovers a fumble and North has it back on their own 27.

Danny DeMercurio with a 32-yard rush on the first play. Then White for 10. yards on the next play.

9:09- Great running by White has the Maroons in the red zone.

9:11- Four different Maroons have ran it this drive. Just six passes for the whole game right now. North has it on the 5 now.

9:14- Danny DeMercurio with the 6-yard touchdown to put North up 3 possessions, 39-22.

9:17- Wow. Scotty Perry simply takes the ball out of the kick returner’s hands. He takes it to the endzone. 46-22. I guess it;s a fumble, more like burglary though.

Scotty Perry with an interception now, have a game kid.

That will do it for me, time to write my story. Maroons up 53-22 on a TD run from TJ Phaup.