Nelson County 43 - Larue County 42

Larue County High School, Hodgenville, Kentucky 02-12-08 (Abraham Lincoln's Birthday)

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

Tuesday was a big day in Hodgenville. The whole town was celebrating the 199th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The First Lady, Laura Bush, was supposed to be here but canceled due to the bad weather, so we had to settle for newly elected Governor Steve Beshear. The icy weather made everything a big gamble, but the governor rolled the dice and and brought all his chips to Larue County. The town was buzzing.

School had been out for the last two days, so I wondered if any games would be played on Tuesday night. I made a few calls and sent a few e-mails and found out the games were on. Because the weather was a question mark, I decided to wager that the roads were slick and stayed close to home to watch the Hawks take on the Nelson County Cardinals.

Nelson County came into Tuesday's contest riding a big win against cross town rival Bardstown in an overtime contest on February 8th. Nelson brought a 12-10 record, which might have made the Hawks overlook feathered friends from the neighboring county. When I looked at Nelson County's roster, I realized they were loaded with seniors, seven to be exact. They were not that big, but they were a scrappy bunch.

Nelson came out looking like they were going to stuff the Hawks and put them over their mantel. They got it done on the both ends of the court and jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead. Coach Paul Childress called a timeout at the 5:10 mark. His Larue County squad responded and stepped it up big time by getting into every passing lane. In a sarcastic tone, Nelson County Coach Minor Harmon told his team to try to pass it to a player wearing a red jersey.

Larue Switched defenses every trip down the floor, and they were putting down the hammer. They went on a 10-2 run to close the first quarter. The Hawks led 14-10.

The 1-3-1 zone was working for Larue, and Nelson County went cold in the second quarter. The Hawks were patient on offense, more so than I had seen all year. Tyler Hornback was filling up the basket and was all over the floor. It seemed that Larue had put it on cruise control in the second. Coach Harmon called another timeout and really got into his team. I was close to their bench and could hear him say that if they were going to play like that, then just load up the bus and go home. That's all he said to them; end of timeout. Larue continued to claw the Cardinals and pushed their lead at the half to 28-16.

I have been all over the Fifth Region this year, and I have always watched the refs just to see how consistent they are. Tonight I saw the worst in the region. They must have just been called up from the JV ranks. These two guys were horrible. After the game something was pointed out to me. Someone told me that every time a team builds a lead the refs let the other team back into the game. Then, I got to thinking back to the games I've been to, and it seemed that way. Never was a hand check called, or a hold or anything like that. They only called the obvious ones.

Anyway, Nelson County was getting back into this game with the help of Larue County making some turnovers. Grease the pan and warm the oven because the Hawks were serving them up hot. Turnovers were killing Larue. Nelson County was hot from the field. Despite all of that, Larue still held a 38-28 lead at the end of the third.


The fourth quarter was getting pretty wild in Hodgenville. Nelson County gave it all they had and were knocking on the Larue's door. Their full court press was hurting the Hawks, and not long into the quarter, the Cardinals had cut the lead from ten to four. Despite being out-of-control, Larue started their own press, but it did little good. Nelson County was determined and were not going to give up the game.

Forgive me because I didn't catch the kids name, but a non-starter for the Cardinals nailed a three pointer around the 2:00 mark that gave them the lead. The crowd was so loud that I could not hear the PA announcer. It was a good shot, and it was about 23 feet from the goal. Nelson had a 41-40 lead.

Larue started to foul. Nelson County had not shot many free throws. I guess the refs were worried about the weather and wanted to get the game over with. A Cardinal player missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Larue got a run out with 30.6 seconds left. Nelson fouled senior Alan Vass, who is also Larue County's quarterback, so pressure was no issue for him. He made both and regained the lead. With 19 seconds left, Nelson ran an offense looking for the best possible shot, and they got it with 19 seconds to go. Larue called a timeout.

Larue County lost on February 8th on a last second thirty footer, so I thought this my be a welcomed payback for them. They had to go the length of the floor, but I thought they had plenty of time.

While Larue tried to inbounds the ball to their senior point guard, Christian Seymour, Nelson County appeared to be holding him. The referee must've swallowed his whistle or was looking at the roof checking for leaks or something. Hey, refs! You're at Larue County. You've got to call that for the home crowd. It happened right in front of the Larue fans, and, man, they were hot. I'm sure the ref has a few burnt hairs on his neck, and he wouldn't turn around to face the crowd.
That's the fastest I've ever seen a ref run off the floor.

It was aces and eights for the Hawks. Nelson came in and stole one on Old Abe's birthday.

I think Larue is a better team than their last few games have shown. Maybe when the district tournament comes around they can get back to playing good ball.

Speaking of district tournaments -- or regionals for that matter -- things have gotten pretty interesting over the last few weeks. North Hardin has lost a couple that they shouldn't have. Bardstown has lost two of their last four, and Larue has lost four of five. So, all the tops teams, except for Adair, have lost some games down the stretch, and some of the middle of the pack teams have shocked and upset some of those top teams. The fifth is shaping up to be a good tilt. I can't wait.

This is the best time of the year for us basketball fans.

OBSERVATIONS

Bring Out Your Dead: Coach Minor Harmon looks like a mortician to me. I'm not making fun of the guy, I was just surprised to see him as coach. I had not seen him prior to this season. He is fun to watch, and I can tell he is always thinking. He will walk down to the end of the bench and then all of sudden turn around and call a play or think of a defensive move. It's really a treat to watch. The fans seem to really like him, and his team has put together back-to-back regional wins over some top teams. He has them believing they can play with anyone on any given night.

The Jumping Hawks: Halftime entertainment Friday night was a group of 4th through 6th graders that have formed a jump rope team. These kids were amazing. They do crazy things with jump ropes. They are led by two coaches, and they perform everywhere from parades to festivals to high schools around the state. Keep up the good works kids! It was a treat to watch the show, and it kept me from visiting the concession stand (they don't call me "pudge" for nothing).

Thank You, Mother Harper: I sat in amazement as I watched the refs. It was bad at both ends. I had never seen these guys before and after talking to some Larue County fans after the game, we probably will never see them again (editor's query: should I alert the sheriff? "Never see them again" has double meaning in some of the places I work). I guess some refs have off nights, and I know first hand that it is a hard job. But, I can't stand it when they miss call after call. I know this is not the norm for the Pick and Roll, but I can't help it tonight. I'm blowing off some steam because I'm a Larue County resident and a fan. If these guys were anywhere else tonight, and I was there watching, I would be as equally upset. Sorry, it was that bad.