The Pigskin Classic, Franklin, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

They're not talkin' pork rinds.

In Franklin, Kentucky, pigskin talk means football, and this year they put together a couple of nice football games for the folks of Simpson County to enjoy. It's a great deal, too. I paid six bucks to see two high school football games, and the concessions are great and reasonably priced. Next September, if a family is looking for a great way to spend a beautiful September Saturday night, I recommend that they point their cars down U.S. 31-W and find their way to James "Shadetree" Matthews Stadium, which is near the end of College Street and take in the Pigskin Bowl.

Game 1: Russellville 36 - Barren County 21

The Panthers from Russellville were smarting after Franklin-Simpson laid a 47-15 shellacking on them at Rhea Stadium a week earlier. It didn't look good for Russellville at first. Barren County scored first and quickly and seemed to have the momentum early in the game. A defensive lapse left a Barren County player wide open and the quarterback nailed him with a pass. I apologize for not having players' names, but I had just walked into the stadium when Barren County scored.

The Trojans seemed in control and had a their one touchdown lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Russellville found their momentum that seemed lost in their nightmare game against Franklin-Simpson last week. Fifty-nine seconds into the second quarter quarterback D.J. Quarles played a nice fake and rambled 26 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Then, with 3:43 left in the half Quarles connected with Zach Smith for a 64 yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers ahead 14-7. Momentum loves to switch sides in football, and Russellville was riding high after the second touchdown.

Barren County committed one of the mortal sins of football by fumbling the ball with just 1:33 left in the first half. The Panthers, bolstered by Smith's catch and scramble touchdown seemed to be in control of the game, and a late half touchdown would have put them in complete control. Russellville was on their way to a touchdown but fumbled the ball with 1.1 seconds left on the clock and deep in Trojan territory.

Barren County dodged a deadly bullet.

Russellville controlled the third quarter, though. Damien Elam, who was the game's MVP, was everywhere. First of all, he plays on both sides of the ball and plays them well. Elam is only a sophomore but plays the defensive backfield like a pro. He anticipates ball movement well and made several tackles by coming all the way across the field and knocking the blocks off of the Barren County rushers. I had little doubt he would be the MVP. He was certainly going to get the Pick and Roll (aka Hook and Ladder) MVP award for the game.

Elam also caught a 27 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Russellville had a commanding lead at the end of three: 29-7 after a 73 touchdown run.

Barren County mounted a good fourth quarter rally with two touchdowns, but the game was out of reach. The drama in the fourth quarter was that the last seven or eight minutes was played with a blacked out scoreboard. Fans were clueless about the amount of time left in the game. Finally, as the two teams were about to lineup, the officials blew their whistles and the game was over. It reminded me of playing sandlot football as a kid back in Louisville. When it was time for one of our Catholic families to have supper, our games ended. We sometimes stopped in the middle of a play. All of our players were off to supper.

Russellville won 36-21 and evened their season at 1-1.


Game 2: Daviess County 25 - Franklin-Simpson 20

This is the best high school football game I've seen in a long time. I've only made it to Bowling Green games in the past couple of season, and they pounded their opponents in those games. The Purples can beat everybody except for teams north of Elizabethtown.

Franklin-Simpson was coming off their pasting of the Panthers in Russellville last week and were ranked 7th in 3A football. Daviess County upended Evansville Harrison in the Border Classic in Owensboro last week, and the Panthers were ranked 10th in 6A ball.

This is the game I was there to see. I knew the Wildcats were good after watching them put the smack down on Russellville a week before, and I knew that Courtney Dalcourt and Patrick Flippin would prove to a handful for Daviess County. My brother-in-law, who is from Hancock County, is friends with Daviess County Coach Marcus Kimbrell, so that is another reason we decide to take in the Pigskin Classic.

Franklin-Simpson drew first blood in the game when Courtney Dalcourt, who is one of the best athletes in the state this season, turned prime Daviess County pass coverage into a touchdown when he hustled into the endzone with 10:19 to play.

I really knew nothing about Daviess County. The last time they had a real good season was when I was listening to "Men at Work" cassette tapes, wearing peg-leg jeans and Cheeno shirts, and mullets were actually in style.

The Panthers are led by quarterback Cole Lanham, who is a left handed kid who settles into the pocket and zips perfect spirals right into the numbers of his receivers. He can also scramble and rush very well. One of his favorite targets is Joey "Kosmo" Kramer (I made up that nickname, but I did scan their roster for a kid named Costanza). Kramer is unafraid to raise up his arms and catch high thrown balls in the middle of the field. When I was a kid we called these "hospital catches."

I noticed that Lanham also had a target named Chad McCain. Everyone! Please! Let's keep this kid out of Florida on the first Tuesday in November. I thought it was funny that a lefty was willing to throw the ball to a kid named "McCain." I also wondered if it takes a 42 year old woman from Alaska to keep him in the ballgame.

Lanham linked up with Kramer at the 9:09 mark in the first quarter to tie the score. This is when I first sensed that we were going to be witness to a great football game. The quarter ended with the score 7-7.

The two teams matched each other in the second quarter. Neither team could score. Well, without sounding too corny, it was a cat fight.

I hope I have the kid's name right. I think it was Hayden Williams for Franklin-Simpson got tangled up in a crazy Daviess County interception play that ended up with the Wildcats regaining possession after Dylan Clark fumbled the ball. Williams was injured and EMT's had to remove him from the field. Let's hope the kid is alright.

Courtney Dalcourt faked a hand-off and rumbled for 60+ yards for a touchdown, giving his Wildcats a tough earned 14-7 lead. Daviess County answered when Dylan Millay, an incredibly fast runner, scrambled for a touchdown. The Panthers missed the extra-point, so Franklin-Simpson held onto their 14-13 lead, which was the score at halftime.

I thought that the missed PAT could really hurt Daviess County in this game. It was shaping up to a be a close, hard-fought game.

Daviess County opened the second half with an effective drive for a touchdown to take a 19-14 lead. The Panthers did a good job containing Dalcourt and Flippin the third quarter. They bottled both of them up at the line and kept them from getting lose in their backfield. Both are good enough athletes to wreak havoc on defensive backs. I really felt like Daviess County's defense was the key to winning the ballgame. It really says something for them to be able to clog up a guy like Courtney Dalcourt.

The third quarter ended with the score 19-14 in favor of the visitors.

After sacking Dalcourt for a big loss on third down, the Panthers got the ball and scored with 8:43 left in the game. Millay ran a spinning and tackle breaking 21 yards to give Daviess County a 25-14 lead. The Panthers missed the two point conversion.

A chain of events unfolded that only happen in big, exciting games. The contest had the feel of a playoff game.

With 6:39 left in the game, Daviess County intercepted a Dalcourt pass, but they could not capitalize on the turnover. They had to punt, but the punter -- Lanham -- shanked the punt off his shin, and the Wildcats took over on the Daviess County 30 yard line. Twenty seconds later, Dalcourt found Jerrell Wickware in the end zone. They missed the PAT, and the score was 25-20.

Daviess County needed to run out the clock, but they had the worst possession of the game when they needed one of their best. They punted the ball away and Wickware had a great return to the DC's 24 yard line. On fourth down, Daviess County committed pass interference, which gave the Wildcats a fresh set of downs with little time left on the clock.

Dalcourt threw to the back of the end zone on first down, and Daviess County was able to run out the clock.

"County" took home the victory in a great contest. Well worth the six dollars to get in.


OBSERVATIONS

What It Really Means: At halftime of the Russellville-Barren County game, the Russellville Panthers walked out into one of the fields behind Matthews Stadium and knelt down and listened to their coaches. They took shelter in the shade of a big oak tree. A coach or a booster drove a pickup truck out there with jugs of Gatorade on the tailgate. The sun was setting behind that oak tree. It was a great scene. My Louisville friends don't get to see scenes like this up there, but, to me, it's a great piece of Americana to see high school football players spending halftime going over plays in the middle of what could've been a pasture.

Concessions Confessions: I love concession stands at football games. I don't know why, but food at football games is so much better than basketball games. At Franklin, they cook all their food on a this gigantic grill, and all that smoke of those different food gets all mixed up and adds flavor to everything. Plus, $10 will buy all the food you care to eat at "The Shadetree." The ladies at the concession stand are sweeter than west Kentucky tea, too. I might be at every Wildcat home game this season. Heck, I might buy one of those houses on College Street along with a football season ticket.


They Didn't Kill Kenny: Everybody in Franklin knows and loves Kenny Perry. They don't care that he ducked the British Open. I also think that it must be a town or county ordinance that Kenny plays a round of golf with everybody down there. I've not spoken to a single golfer down there who hasn't played a round with him.

Between the Hedges: Franklin-Simpson has a hedge of boxwoods on both sides of the football field. I started looking for UGA VII along the sideline. It's a great place to watch a football game. Did I mention the concession stand?

Name Game

Future Member of U2: Jacob Edge (Daviess County)

Future BMW Dealer: Beamer Barron (Daviess County)

Future Basketball Referee: Gage Hacker (Daviess County)

Future Horse Trainer: Tyler Furlong (Barren County)

Candle Makers in the Making: Jerrell and Darius Wickware