By JON WEBB
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
This Friday will usher in a new decade in the Barren County-Glasgow football rivalry. And if the numbers are any indication, the Trojans will welcome its arrival.
In the previous 10 seasons, Glasgow outscored Barren 261-107 en route to posting an 8-2 record in the annual matchup. Trojans head coach Jason Esters hopes to reverse that trend starting now, but he knows doing so won’t be easy.
“(The Scotties) throw the ball around everywhere. They’re scary,” he said. “They do good things as far as running the ball, passing the ball, blocking ... offensively, they have a lot of weapons.”
Glasgow utilized those weapons to the fullest in its season opener against Warren East. The Scottie offense accumulated 271 yards on the ground and 177 through the air in a 61-14 win over the Raiders. Thanks to the victory, the Associated Press ranked the Scotties 10th in class 2A and immediately rendered Glasgow a target for any forthcoming opponent.
But Rick Wood doesn’t want such things to go to his players’ heads. The Scotties will come into Friday’s game fresh from an off week spent focusing on “the basics” and hard work: two things Wood said prevent his players from being caught up in any swirling hype.
“We’re working hard, that’s one thing,” he said. “Our performance against East was the result of hard work. It didn’t just happen that night.”
That night was laden with plenty of results, though. Quarterback Parker Cash tossed 177 yards and three touchdowns, while receiver Lajuan Smith benefitted in the form of four catches for 107 yards and two scores. Tailback Tavion Parrish reached the endzone twice, running for 123 yards on only 11 carries. He also grabbed a receiving touchdown when Cash hit him on a screen pass good for 55 yards.
Esters said limiting the Scotties’ speed will prove crucial for the Trojans.
“First of all, you’ve got to keep them contained,” he said. “As long we can get them wrapped up at the line of scrimmage, their speed can’t be a factor.
“But we can’t let them get away.”
Bullitt Central nearly let a win get away last Friday night. Although they gained a mere 25 yards and lost starting quarterback Gill Thomas to injury in the first half, the Trojans rattled off 13 fourth quarter points under the leadership of backup QB Luke Matthews. The junior employed his arm and receiver Jess Hunt to move down field and set up a one-yard Tyler Hughes score that sliced the Central lead to 17-7. Barren followed the touchdown with a 77-yard scoring drive and was a two-point conversion and on-side kick away from realizing the comeback victory.
Despite that effort and Barren’s 35-0 rout of Metcalfe County the week before, Esters doesn’t think the Trojans possess any extra leg-up coming into Friday. Quite the opposite, actually.
“I don’t know if we’ve got momentum. It’s actually kind of deflating to fight back that much and come up short,” he said. “I’m proud of our effort, but we could easily be 2-0 ... getting back above .500 is our goal (this week).”
They may have to achieve that goal without Thomas. As of Wednesday morning, Esters was still unsure of Thomas’ status.
But no matter the identity of the Trojans’ quarterback — nor the results of the last 10 years — Wood knows Glasgow will face an emotionally-charged, arduous challenge Friday night.
“(Barren) looked really good against Metcalfe and they hung in there and played real tough down the stretch against Bullitt Central,” he said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game, and hopefully we’ll be ready on Friday.”
