Barren, Metcalfe, Monroe scrimmage

Trojans played in Louisville; Hornets were at Russellville; Falcons played at Hart

By JOHN VERSER

Barren County, Metcalfe County and Monroe County each scrimmaged for the first time on Friday night.

The Trojans headed north to Louisville to face a trio of teams while the Hornets were at Russellville and the Falcons traveled to Hart County.

Barren faced Butler, Pleasure Ridge Park and Iroquois in a scrimmage at PRP.

“This was a good opportunity for us to travel up and see teams that we’re not used to seeing year in and year out,” Barren coach Jeff Richey said. “We see a lot of speed in our district, so this allowed us to start off trying to get ready for that.”

The Trojans faced Butler in the opener.

“We held our own against them,” Richey said. “We moved the ball well offensively and made some hits on the defensive side of the ball.”

The Bears scored twice and the Trojans found the end zone once.

“They’re a very athletic team and they have a lot good skill players,” Richey said.

Barren faced PRP in the second series before ending the scrimmage against Iroquois.

“We came out and played well,” Richey said. “All in all, it was a very successful scrimmage.”

The Trojans rotated five quarterbacks in offensively and Richey said he was pleased with what he saw.

“Coty Lynn ran the ball real well,” Richey said. “He had some good throws too.

“Gil Thomas and Tyler Hughes, a couple of sophomores, did a good job. They had good throws and their throws got better.”

The Trojans also had a solid defensive effort, according to their head coach.

“We had some kids come up and hit people,” Richey said. “We had some good pops in there tonight.”

The Trojans scrimmage Friday at Russell County. They open the season Aug. 30 against Metcalfe in the T.J. Samson Bowl.

Metcalfe at Russellville

Metcalfe traveled to Russellville for the first scrimmage for both teams.

“Overall, it was a pretty good scrimmage,” Metcalfe coach Larry Harbison said. “Both teams got a lot of work done.”

Harbison said he was pleased with his team’s hitting on defense.

“We really hit pretty good,” Harbison said. “We kept after it and didn’t let a bad play get to us.

“I was sort of tickled with our effort. We played well enough and they responded to what we asked them to do.”

Individually, Harbison said running back Daniel DeLeon had a good scrimmage as well as Colton Satterly. Sophomore quarterback Zack Morgan continued his progression as well.

“He performed better than he had in practice,” Harbison said. “We had a few dropped passes as well, so we’ve got to work on that. It’s just going to take some time.”

Morgan was out recovering from hernia surgery when fall camp began. He was recently cleared to practice.

Harbison said Matt Blythe earned more time and got improved play from the linebacker position.

“We got good play out of Matt Blythe, a back up tight end and linebacker,” Harbison said. “He earned some varsity minutes.

“We got to work out some depth. Our starting middle linebacker, Shea McCoy, played better.”

Metcalfe’s second scrimmage is Saturday, Aug. 23, at the PAC Jamboree, hosted by Bardstown Bethlehem. The Hornets face Barren to open the season Aug. 30 in the T.J. Samson Bowl.

Monroe County at Hart County

Monroe County coach John Petett said his team had some highlights but found things that it needs to work on after a scrimmage at Hart County on Friday night.

“We had some bright spots, but there are some spots that need to be brighter,” Petett said.

One of the bright spots for the Falcons was on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our defense really played well,” Petett said. “We stepped up and flew to the football.

“We had decent pass coverage, but overall I was pleased.”

Petett said his defense was ahead of his offense at this point in the season, but that was to be expected.

“We’ve got some things to work on, but those mistakes are correctable mistakes,” Petett said. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get ready for Taylor County.”

The Falcons play their second scrimmage next Friday at Campbellsville. They open the regular season Aug. 29 at Taylor County.