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Cards to face Casey County in regular season finale SHANNON HUTCHINSON Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals, 5-4 on the season and coming off a 20-14 triple overtime win over Garrard County, travel to district rival Casey County this Friday night, in the regular season for both squads. The Cards own a 1-1 district mark, while Casey County owns a 1-1 league tally and is coming off a 23-7 home loss to Corbin. The Rebels enter the 24th meeting between the two schools with a 3-6 overall record. Wayne County owns a 17-6 all-time series advantage, including a 42-14 home win in 2005. "We've won the last two in the series, but they won the two games before that and Casey County has a much improved football team. It will take a great effort and we're looking forward to the challenge," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. A win this week would be big for the Cardinals for a couple of reasons. A victory assures the squad of the district's #2 seed and a home playoff game, plus a win would assure the program of their third straight winning season something that hasn't happened since 1990. "This is certainly what you play for all season. We wanted to win the #1 seed, but to still get a home playoff game would be big towards our postseason goals. Also a sixth win would guarantee our third straight winning season and that's something that's not happened very often around here. It's the last week of the season and we have so much to play for, so this should be an exciting week for our team," said Thompson. Casey County enters the match up with a chance to also claim the district's #2 seed. Either way the teams are guaranteed a match up with each other in next week's opening round of the state playoffs. "This is the first year of staying in the district for the opening two rounds of the playoffs and we're playing Casey County the last game of the season, plus we know we'll see them again the following week. We are not going to change how we prepare or play, this is a big game. Homefield advantage is on the line and we don't want to travel to Liberty two straight weeks," said Thompson. The Rebels opened district play with an impressive 24-0 road win over Garrard County two weeks ago and also owns wins over Grant County and Evangel Christian. "Casey County doesn't have a lot of numbers on their roster, but the kids they do have really play hard," said Thompson. Casey bases out of I-formation on offense and averages 244 rushing yards per game, led by talented senior back Marcus Patterson. Patterson, a Division One prospect, has rushed for over 800 yards and has 11 total touchdowns. Patterson starts at quarterback, but will also see time at the tailback position. "Casey's line really comes off the football well and they have one of the area's most talented players in Marcus Patterson. Defensively we have to be better tacklers and do a better job of getting off the field. We are giving up way too many third down conversions," said Thompson. The Rebels average just over 18 points per game and net over 300 total yards of offense per outing. "This will be a battle on the line of scrimmage. They are pretty good up-front and get after you, so we have to pick up the intensity and play with a high level of focus," said Thompson. The Wayne County offense, which totaled 299 yards and nine first downs in last week's win, will face an improved Rebel defense that allows just under 25 points per outing. "Offensively we have to do a better job of blocking. We need to come off the football quicker and get after it until the whistle. We also must do a better job of taking care of the football. Three turnovers last week were just too many and that's something we can't do against Casey," said Thompson. What concerns the coach about the Casey County defensive unit? "Their defense is probably the most improved area on their team. They really like to bring pressure and play an aggressive, attacking style of football," said Thompson. What must the Cards do to pick up their sixth win of the season and secure a home date the next week? "We have to put it all together for 48 minutes and not take plays off. We've played nine games and we're still looking for that one game that everything comes together. If we do that I like our chances, but make no mistake about it we must raise our overall intensity level," said Thompson. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Casey County's Rebel Field and both teams know it will be the first of two straight games against each other. "We're playing this one for all the marbles. We don't want to hold anything back. We'll prepare for the next game next week, all our focus is on winning this game and getting homefield for the playoffs," said Thompson. Details on the game in next week's edition of The Outlook. Add a comment |
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