Every school in the area is on fall break this week, but the sports world manages to go on with practically no interruptions.
That’s a stark contrast to the spring break season, when many teams play a reduced schedule or take the week off altogether. Fall break may mean morning practices and lunch at McDonald’s, but the season goes on even though the school year comes to a temporary halt.
One reason for this is surely because three of the five fall sports are in their postseasons this time of year. The golf season ended with last week’s state tournaments, and district volleyball and soccer tourneys are being played this week. Those schedules can’t be moved, and there’s no room for a break in the football schedule, either.
And while spring break is almost universal, not every school system takes a fall break. We haven’t fully gotten used to the idea of fall breaks yet, even though many have embraced them.
So while non-teaching coaches head for the hills or the beach or the backyard, the games go on — the most important games of the season in some cases.
But one by-product of the onset of fall breaks is that athletic directors hope those games go on somewhere else. In a conversation with one of them recently, we concluded that the luckiest ADs this week are those who don’t have to host any postseason tournaments and whose football teams are on the road Friday. Can’t blame them for wanting a break, too.
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Speaking of postseason tournaments, here’s the lowdown on the where and when as it pertains to area teams and upcoming regionals:
Soccer
Boys: Danville and Marion County play for the 29th District title tonight at Marion, and both teams advance to the 15th Region Tournament, which will also include Somerset and Southwestern. The Marion-Danville winner will host the regional next week.
Girls: Danville and Boyle County play for the 29th District title tonight at Mercer, and both teams advance to the 15th Region Tournament, which will also include Somerset and Southwestern. The Southwestern-Somerset winner will host the regional next week.
Regional dates won’t be set until the host teams are known, but both tourneys will almost certainly be played between Monday and Thursday.
Volleyball
Boyle County, Casey County, Garrard County and Mercer County will play in the 12th Region Tournament at Mercer. All district tournaments are finished; the winners are Boyle (43rd), Garrard (44th), Wayne County (45th) and South Laurel (46th), and the runners-up are Casey, Mercer, Russell County and Southwestern.
The regional draw will be held Friday. First-round matches are Monday and Tuesday, the semifinals are Wednesday and the championship is Thursday.
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This week’s football picks arrive a day early to cover tonight’s Danville game (and so I can forget about yet another just-that close-to-perfect week):
Tonight
- Danville over Russellville.
Friday
- Casey County over Bracken County.
- Lincoln County over Garrard County.
- Mercer County over Boyle County.
Last week: 4-1. For the season: 28-9 (.757).
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