GLASGOW — In his introductory press conference on Feb. 18, newly-hired Barren County football coach Jason Esters laid out one of his major goals for the 2010 season: shorten the expanse between the Trojans and their three district opponents (Warren Central, Bowling Green and Grayson County).
“We can’t set back and wait for any large things to happen,” Esters said after the press conference. “We have to be proactive.”
I agree. And in the spirit of that pro-activity, allow me to toss out a suggestion that could go a long way in transforming the Trojan football mind set and close the widening gap between the team and its western opponents:
Drop Glasgow from the schedule.
No matter how often coaches cast the annual late-summer matchup between the two teams as “just another game,” it’s undoubtedly encircled in red ink each year by players and fans alike. Attendance booms every season, so much so that the annual game is one of the selling points in expanding the seating at BCHS’s football stadium. The game is great for the community, but from a football standpoint, the contest is a needless, pointless distraction. As long as the Trojan players remained geared up for a game against a 2A opponent, catching up to the likes of Grayson County will always remain secondary.
This suggestion has nothing to do with whether I think Barren will beat Glasgow this year. I have no idea what will happen. A team’s fortune can shift drastically from year to year (see: 2008 Scotties; 2009 Scotties). Despite Glasgow’s recent dominance of the series — eight wins in 10 seasons — a Trojan win in 2010 is perfectly feasible.
A win over the Purples or Dragons ... well, maybe not. In the last three years, Barren posted a combined 0-7 record against Bowling Green and Central. The Purples outscored the Trojans 159-9 in three contests, while the Dragons bested Barren 209-26 in four matchups.
Esters said his team will have to focus on overtaking Grayson before tackling its two Warren County adversaries, but that may not prove any easier. The Cougars have posted 7-4, 7-4 and 9-2 marks over the last three season and have defeated Barren two years in a row by a combined score of 56-6.
To help erase these bad memories, the Trojans could use the week usually allotted to Glasgow to play another top-tier 5A school. Barren is, after all, a large institution and should be measured against its similarly-sized brethren. Barren proved it could play with such schools in its postseason matchup with Christian County, and another regular-season game against a possible playoff opponent would only help the Trojans in the 5A Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl.
There are, of course, legitimate arguments against all this. The Scottie/Trojan matchup is a major event in the community, and creates large amounts of revenue for each competing school. But there are other ways of generating that revenue.
Allow me to toss out another suggestion.
In lieu of a regular season game, Barren and Glasgow could face each other in a preseason scrimmage, a la the ones they played against Russellville and Corbin last year. But the schools could turn the event into much more than a scrimmage. Cheerleaders and the bands could each perform. Other fall athletes could be brought out onto the field and introduced, Meet-the-Scotties/Trojans style. Non-athletic extracurricular groups could sell raffle tickets or baked goods or T-shirts or anything to raise money for a previously agreed-upon local charity that would change each year. Such an extravaganza would (possibly) attract non-football-loving members of the community and render revenue far greater than a normal football game and still contain football at its core.
An event like that would render a Barren/Glasgow rivalry, at least when it came to football, non-existent and free each team to focus on the postseason.
You know: that thing that, if won, brings about state championships. And if Barren or Glasgow are proactive enough to win one of those, imagine what kind of boost it would give to the community.
Jon Webb is the sports editor for the Glasgow Daily Times. He can be reached at jwebb (at) glasgowdailytimes.com
Sports
End the ‘rivalry’
Why the football Trojans should drop Glasgow from the schedule
- Sports
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It's tournament time
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Underdogs...
With the likes of softball powerhouses Greenwood, Glasgow, Bowling Green and Allen County-Scottsville in the tournament, the Metcalfe County High School Lady Hornets, winners of the 16th District, are probably heading into next week’s Region 4 Tournament as underdogs.
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Champions...
Another chapter in the Glasgow High School Lady Scotties’ fairy-tale softball season was written Wednesday night as they became the first GHS team since 1996 to claim the District 15 Tournament championship, after beating the tournament’s No. 1 seed and the No. 1 team in the state, the Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriots, 1-0.
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Couldn't give it up...
Until a few weeks ago, Glasgow High School senior Shelby Ray wasn’t sure if she would pursue sports into her college career. Although a standout basketball and softball player, Ray thought it was time for her athletic career to come to a close so she could focus solely on academics in college. But in the end, she said she couldn’t imagine walking away from softball.
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Finally
After Glasgow High School center fielder Jordan Alexander settled under a fly ball to make the final out of the Scotties’ District 15 Championship game victory over Allen County-Scottsville Wednesday night, he raised his hands above his head, let out a big yell, and took off running to be with his teammates.
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Cornerstone
A cornerstone in the foundation that Steven Murphy has used to build the Glasgow High School softball program has been pitching. He believes you start everything with good pitching and then you can build from there.
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Season ends
The Barren County Trojans have struggled with their hitting over the last six or seven games of the regular season and unfortunately for the Trojan faithful, the problem arose again for Barren County on Tuesday in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association District 15 Baseball Tournament in Glasgow.
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Opportunity knocked
Going into Monday’s baseball game against Glasgow, Monroe County High School coach Jerome Taylor said the Falcons, to have a chance to beat the No. 1 seeded Scotties, would have to take advantage of every one of their opportunities.
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Big obstacle
The Monroe County Lady Falcons came into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association District 15 Softball Tournament Monday night in Glasgow with a big obstacle in front of them.
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