Danville can stack its football schedule up against any small school in the state, and almost any other school, for that matter. But don’t think the Admirals don’t know where their biggest game is.
It’s tonight at Admiral Stadium, when what was once an excellent middle-round playoff matchup becomes a turf war within Class AA, District 4. So even though the Admirals have some tough opponents behind them and other tough games ahead, they know that this one matters most.
“This is really the team right here,” senior Jae Paul Jones said.
Bardstown and Danville have met three times in the last seven years in the playoffs, with Danville winning 33-29 in 2000 and 20-6 in 2004 and Bardstown winning 21-0 in 2005. And although very few of today’s Admirals were on the field for that devastating 2005 loss, those who were remember it well.
“We owe them big-time,” junior Leonard Macon said.
The Admirals are braced for a level of speed and a quality of running game that they haven’t seen this season. But even if they’re able to stop that speed, they won’t beat Bardstown if they continue to turn the ball over at the rate they’ve been doing it all season.
Danville, a largely inexperienced team at the start of the season, has made much progress while stringing together five straight wins after opening with a loss to Madison Central. But when you look at the Admirals’ turnover totals, it’s hard to see how they’ve done it.
In a sea of meaningless numbers, turnovers stand out as one of the few statistics that can almost always separate the good teams from the bad. Yet Danville is averaging 3.3 giveaways per game, and its turnover margin for the season is minus-9. a number more likely to be associated with a 1-5 team than one that’s 5-1.
Bardstown has had its own problems with turnovers, and it’s likely that the team that makes the most mistakes will pay dearly tonight. There’s also a good chance that if Danville’s turnover ratio doesn’t improve, that will be what eliminates the Admirals on some Friday night in November.
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From The Sentinel-Echo, a preview of tonight’s Lincoln County-South Laurel game.
And now for the weekly picks. I thought I was in line for my first perfect week when I heard the dramatic finish of Casey County’s win over Adair County last Friday on the car radio in the parking lot of the Campbellsville McDonald’s, only to find out minutes later that Mercer fooled me again. As for this week:Boyle County over West Jessamine.
Bardstown over Danville.
Garrard County over Casey County.
Lincoln County over South Laurel.
Hopkinsville over Mercer County.
Last week: 4-1 (again). For the season: 24-8 (.750).
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The postseason begins Monday in soccer and volleyball. Look for district tournament previews and schedules in Sunday’s Advocate. Here are the No. 1 seeds in districts involving area teams:
Soccer: 29th boys, Danville; 29th girls, Danville; 30th boys, Somerset; 30th girls, Southwestern.
Volleyball: 43rd, Boyle County; 44th, Mercer County.
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