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Cards excited to travel to Western Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals, 7-4 on the season and coming off an impressive 28-10 opening round win over Christian Academy, travel to Western this Friday night. Western enters the first ever match-up between the two schools with a 9-2 record and coming off a 63-35 win over Casey County. The contest marks only the second time Wayne County has ever advanced into the second round of the state playoffs and first since 1999. "We're very happy and excited to still be playing football and I know the last few weeks it has been very easy to coach this team. The guys are knowing very easy to coach this team. The guys are knowing their jobs and doing their jobs, plus everybody is on the same page. It's a lot of fun to coach when the guys are this focused and intense," said Wayne County head Coach Shawn Thompson. The Cards have a tough task in the second round with a district champion in Western. Western, under the direction of head coach Brian Wright, enters the contest riding a season high 7 game winning streak. The squad won their district with a 50-46 win over DeSales and finished league-play with a 6-1 mark. "We certainly have our hands full with a very good football team. Western has excellent team speed and some very good skill-kids. I do think this is another winable playoff game, if we play well. We have to be focused and play to our strengths, but we can't let them big-play us and get into an offensive shootout," said Thompson. Western bases their offense out of the Power-I formation, but can keep the defense honest with some spread look. The squad features one of the top runningbacks in the entire state. Justin Collins is the state's 3rd leading rusher and entered the post-season with 1,725 rushing yards and a team best 20 touchdowns. "Collins is the best back we've faced all season. I voted for him All-State, he's the real deal, defensively we can't let him get outside. As an offense they love to big-play you all night long," said Thompson. Western, which averages 38 points per game, has the state's 3rd best rushing offense that nets 322.5 yards on the ground per game. "The thing that makes them so dangerous is the number of quality skill kids they have. Collins is tough, but they also have several other guys that have big-play capabilities," said Thompson. Wayne County's defense, which allows 27.2 points per game, will look to build on three straight solid efforts. The unit has allowed 23, 14 and 10 points the last three games. "Going into the season we thought the defense would be the heart of this team. We played pretty well early and I certainly think we're peaking at the right time," said Thompson. The Wayne County offense has also been on a roll of late, led by senior quarterback Ryan Steele. Steele has rushed for a team best 1,066 yards and passed for a career best 1,283 yards, while totaling 23 touchdowns. "We've been calling Ryan's number a lot on offense and he's really stepped up. I know our kids have so much confidence in him and as coaches we really look for him to spark us. Give Ryan a lot of credit, but our blocking has been much improved the past month. We're pretty solid when all 11 guys do their jobs together," said Thompson. Wayne County averages 24.5 points per game and the unit has averaged 308.6 total yards of offense per outing. The squad will face a Western defense that allows 24 points per game. Western uses a lot of different looks on the defensive front and that makes them a difficult team to prepare for. "They play what they call a confusing defense and it does cause a lot of confusion. They may put 8-9 guys in the box and rely on their excellent team speed to cover man on the outside. We have to make the right calls and win the battle up-front," said Thompson. Does the coach have any concerns about his team regaining focus after such a big win last week? "We just have to go back to work and stay in our routine. We have to go up there and play loose, as the underdogs we have nothing to lose and so much to gain. I know this senior class would love to be the first to compete for a regional title and we can, if we stay hungry and focused," said Thompson. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Western High School Field. The stadium is located off Dixie Highway in Louisville, and for complete directions call the Wayne County High School. Add a comment |
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