Apollo 57 - Meade County 53

Meade County High School, Brandenburg, Kentucky 02-15-08

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

Friday night I decided to step out of the Fifth Region and catch a game between the Apollo Eagles and the Green Wave of Meade County. Both teams have made some noise in the last season with a couple of bumps here and there. Apollo beat Third Region favorite Muhlenberg North on February 1st, and Meade has won six of their last eight games. Both teams were playing good ball coming into this game.

I got over to Meade County early so I could tour the tornado damage. It hit Meade-Olin Park, which holds a special place in my heart. I can't tell you how many softball games I played there. Good times. I know that Meade's football field also got hit. I'm glad that everyone in that county is O.K. It will take some time to rebuild things over there.

I finally made my way to the gym and was early enough to catch some JV action. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a kid for Apollo who was towering above everyone. I found out from the Apollo stat man that he is 6'9" freshman Taylor Ewing. The kid is huge. He still has to develop, but his future looks bright. Then, the stat man for Apollo told me that the kid's mom is 6'8". Unreal!! She was very easy to pick out of a crowd.

I also got to talk to an old friend of mine, Kevin Robinson. He is an assistant coach for Meade County. I played with Kevin at Breckinridge County, and it's good to see many of the old Breck players going on to help coach or become head coaches themselves. Believe me, there are a lot of them.

When the game started, Meade came out with intensity, but their crowd was quiet. Maybe they are still in shock from the storms last week. Maybe Meade hasn't been in the Third Region long enough to know how important this game really was. Apollo is always at the top of the region, and they have one of the top coaches in the state with Tony Hopper.

Meade County fans! You must get up for this game!

Meade busted out an early lead, but the Eagles were not going to let that bother them. They stepped up their "D" and was able to get Meade to commit some turnovers. Apollo plays very good man-to-man defense, probably the best I've seen all year. They are pretty quick at every position. Meade got into early foul trouble. They had two starters with two early fouls, but Coach Jerry Garris gambled and left one of them on the floor. Apollo had the first quarter lead at 12-10.

Between quarters I wondered when Apollo's Tyler Brown was going to show up. It was like he read my mind because he came out in the second ready to play. He forced a few shots, but he had to get something going for the Eagles. Meade was quick to answer with a guy they like to call "Mr. Stinnett." His name is Nick Stinnett, and I followed his great football season last fall. I knew he was an athlete and strong. It's hard for me to describe how strong he really is. Heck, just go to a Meade County game and see for yourself. He, too, forced a lot of shots and had an off night. He was also in foul trouble.

The Green Wave's Rob Williams took up some slack and helped Meade outscore the Eagles 14-11 in the second and took a 24-23 lead to halftime.

I think Tony Hopper looks like a drill sergeant because he has a shaved head and a deep voice. Sergeant Hopper kept his team in the locker room almost the entire halftime, and I would've liked to have been a fly on the wall in that dressing room. He's really not like a drill sergeant because I noticed when he takes players out of the game he always says something positive to them. Whether they made a mistake or not, he was always positive.

He got his team mad because they came out and used a 12-4 run on Meade, and I thought it might wash up the Green Wave. Meade called a timeout at 4:37 after Apollo built a 35-28 lead. Meade made some adjustments and put together their own 7-2 run.

Meade had to go to a zone to protect their mounting foul trouble, and Apollo went cold. Nick Stinnett capped off a good quarter for Meade with a layup at the buzzer to help get the Wave back in the game. The Eagles had a 44-42 lead at the end of three. The difference in the game, though was the 12-4 run to start the half and Apollo outscoring Meade 21-18 in the third.

The game was back in forth in the fourth. At the 4:01 mark Apollo had the advantage, 49-47. It was shaping up to be a barn burner in Brandenburg. Tyler Brown quietly scored 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Apollo decided to go "stall-ball" with 2:30 left in the game. It broke down Meade County. The Eagles spread the floor and point guard De-Lon Butler found a hole in the Green Wave defense. He got a lay-up and was fouled. He missed the free throw, which was nothing new because both teams shot horribly from the charity stripe. Apollo had a 51-47 lead.

Meade County was not ready to give it up. With 1:25 they hit a huge three to cut it to one, but they made a mistake. They put on the press, and with the clock under a minute the Eagles took flight. They ran off six points under a minute and crashed the Green Wave, 57-53.

OBSERVATIONS

Has This Eagle Landed?: It's rumored that Tyler Brown has either signed or will sign with Morehead State. I guess he likes being an Eagle.

The Apollo Program: This one may be ready to blast off and make a flight for the regional title. They play very tough man-to-man pressure defense, and they have the quickness that can hurt some teams. They must improve at the charity stripe. Friday night they shot 57%. They go nine deep and got 17 points from their bench. They have beaten the top teams in the region, and they have the right coach.I hope they can look at these wins and build on them. Being an old Third Region man myself, I will always root for anyone who represents the region in the Sweet Sixteen. (Editor's Note: Daviess County knocked off Muhlenberg North at Greenville on Friday night).

Tsunami or Lapping Water? The Green Wave fans looked lost tonight. Their team is in the Third Region, and so is Apollo. It was a regional game between two of the top team, and the Meade County folks sat there like they used to when they were the whipping boys of the Fifth. C'mon, folks, Meade's a good team, and the fans should get behind them -- if it's not too much to ask. They get up for two games a year, and that's when they play Breck County.

Old Glory: Meade County takes a different approach to displaying the flag during the National Anthem. In many gyms I feel like an idiot looking around for the flag, and the song is half over before I find it. Meade puts it right out there. It hangs in the rafters in the middle of the gym, and when the band starts playing someone lowers it to about eye level. I thought that was pretty cool. Even my six year old took notice and said, "well, no one has done that before."

A Pick and Roll Thank You: Johnathan Whelan, the student stat man for Meade County supplied me with rosters for the game. I noticed him with his laptop during the JV game and asked him if he could give me the rosters. It was early, and I thought he might forget about me, but he hooked me right up. He even asked me if I wanted halftime stats and end of the game stats. I didn't want to impose, so I just asked for end of the game stats. Also, I can't forget the student stat man for Apollo. He sat next to me, too, and we talked a little during the game. I'm sorry I never asked his name, but he was a good guy and knew his Eagle basketball. Thanks guys.

Editor's Note: Chris in the Third, and I was in the Fifth. I guess Chris is Dan Akroyd, and I'm Eddie Murphy. Trading Places.