I12 SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 /// THE ENQUIRER KENTUCKY

one of the coaches. Even so, deci-

sions need to be made. Coaches at
both schools suggested the starter
could be that in name only.
The candidates at Cooper include
Billy Prickett, a 6-1 senior, and Na-
than Brown, a 6-1 junior, plus Donte
Hendrix, a 6-1 sophomore. Prickett
threw eight passes last season.
Brown threw two.
A final decision will not be made
until the Monday of Ryle week,
Borchers said of the Aug. 22 home
opener.
Cooper quarterbacks coach Gar-
ry Clark explained the happy dilem-
ma.
Billy Prickett, who saw minimal
time last year as a varsity backup,
has really matured over the offsea-
son. He has experience with the
offense, but lacks varsity experi-
ence. Nathan Brown split time last
season with Prickett as the JV quar-
terback. He has the ability to make
any throw on the field. But, like
Prickett, lacks that Friday night
lights exposure.
Hendrix has been getting a ma-
jority of the varsity reps at QB in
practice. He has garnered some
interest from college recruiters for
his playmaking abilities and is a
great all-around athlete.
Coach Trosper at Conner experi-
enced a similar quandary. Senior
Jeff Martin, the only player other
than Barker to throw a pass last
season for the Cougars, and junior
Kyler Padgett, whos back after a
year away from the program, have
been in a neck-and-neck battle that
took time to eliminate sophomores
Cody Buckler and Elijah Boyd.
Martin threw seven varsity
passes last season.
Its still an open competition at
QB. Jeff is very athletic and has a
ton of skill. Its discipline in going
through progressions and his reads
that were trying to help him with,
Trosper said. Kyler has been a
pleasant surprise. m
QB options aplenty
for Cooper, Conner
Continued from Page I11
(Listed in order of 2013 district finish)
South Oldham
2013 record: 8-4 overall, 4-0 district (lost
to Franklin County in second round of play-
offs)
Head coach: Jamie Reed (fifth season at
South Oldham, 29-17; sixth season overall,
34-22)
Key losses: QB Chase Lightfoot, WR
Davis Culbertson, C Chris Figg
Key returnees: Sr. LB Connor John (87
tackles), Sr. RB/LB Kevin Kuriger (1,145 yards
rushing), Sr. OL/DLTyler Covington, Sr. WR/DB
Ethan Reinert, Sr. OL/DL Hunter Hamilton
Top newcomers: Sr. QB Michael McGee
Outlook: Graduation losses werent as
heavy at South Oldham, compared to the
rest of the district, but the passing game is in
transition. The Dragons welcome back six
returning starters to the much improved
40-front defense and four to the multiple-
option offense as they attempt to repeat as
district champions. There are quality athletes
everywhere, including Kuriger, who aver-
aged 6.1yards per carry.
We lost several key skill position starters,
and will have a new quarterback and start-
ing wide receivers, but Kevin looks to add to
his impressive resume as the tailback in our
Flexbone system. This will be his third year as
the starter, and he has rushed for 1,950 yards
over the last two seasons, Reed said. Con-
nor John is primed to be one of the best
linebackers in the state.
Kuriger will make a charge at 3,000 career
rushing yards, putting him among the
schools all-time greats, but the key is mak-
ing a smooth transition in the air after losing
all of the top producers. McGee takes over
for Lightfoot, who last season totaled over
2,300 yards and 30 TDs.
Conner
2013 record: 8-4 overall, 3-1district (lost
to Anderson County in second round of
playoffs)
Head coach: David Trosper (seventh
season at Conner, 39-31; 11th season overall,
59-62)
Key losses: QB Drew Barker, RB/WR Jesse
McKeehan, WR/DB Andrew Way, LB Zack
Castleberry
Key returnees: Sr. OL/DL Dustin Baker, Sr.
WR/DB Michael Postel (17.8 yards per catch),
Sr. RB/LB Jacob Warwick (92 tackles, 6.2 yards
per carry), Jr. RB/DB Isaiah Ebarb
Top newcomers: Jr. WR/DB Tanner
Nyers, So. QB/WR/DB Cody Buckler, So. QB/
WR/DB Elijah Boyd
Outlook: The district runner-up Cougars
lost Barker, now at the University of Ken-
tucky, and have multiple new starters in
every position area. But theres no shortage
of good-sized skill position athletes, theres
experience at linebacker and special teams
remain a strength. Just three full-time start-
ing players return - Baker, Postel and the
versatile Warwick. All three play both ways
in the spread offense and 30-front defense.
Baker, a third-year starter, anchors both
lines.
Ebarb contributed a lot, especially to the
much improved defense. Like Ebarb, Boyd,
Buckler and Nyers are tall, rangy athletes.
Boyd and Buckler can play quarterback.
Those four all stand 6-2 or taller. Postel is 6-3,
and Warwick is 6-2, making for some size-
able targets for the new starting quarter-
back, either senior Jeff Martin, the only
player other than Barker to throw a pass last
season, or junior Kyler Padgett, whos back
after a year away from the program.
Scott
2013 record: 7-4 overall, 2-2 district (lost
to Franklin County in first round of playoffs)
Head coach: Dan Woolley (third season
at Scott, 12-10)
Key losses: QB Ben Osborne, RB Josh
Castleman, RB Nick Brinkman, WR/DB, Nick
Wolff, OL/DL Kameron Crim, LB Chris Rob-
erts
Key returnees: Jr. RB/DB Roberto Lon-
don (558 yards rushing, 6 TDs), Jr. OL/DL
Brendan Sebree, Jr. RB/DB Deondre Pleasant
(55 tackles)
Top newcomers: Jr. QB Danny Fitzgerald
Outlook: The Eagles were hit hardest by
graduation, losing just about every top
statistical producer after setting school
records for wins and several scoring records
in addition to compiling the second-most
offensive yards in a season. Every position
area is starting over, but theres experience
in the backfield.
It seems like every time we have a good
season, we lose a lot for the next year. But
last season was a confidence builder for
everybody, even the coaches, said Woolley.
It will take some overcoming, but were
going to find the right players with the
experienced guys we have coming back and
plug in new players.
Fitzgerald should be able to hit the
ground running after playing and practicing
in the system the past two years. A priority
for the line is giving him enough time to
make decisions. London averaged 9.6 yards
per carry last season in limited duty as the
fourth running option.
Cooper
2013 record: 3-8 overall, 1-3 district (lost
to Anderson County in first round of play-
offs)
Head coach: Randy Borchers (seventh
year at Cooper, 30-37; ninth year overall,
37-51)
Key losses: QB Will Ludwig, WR/DB
Aaron Morgan, RB/LB Avery Bricking, WR
Cory Fussinger, WR Richie Pauls, OL/DL Jacob
Neumann
Key returnees: Jr. RB Torey Cordell-
Armstrong (333 yards rushing), Sr. OL Ste-
phen Shelton, Jr. OL/DL Elliot Smith (57
tackles), Jr. OL/DL Marcus Watson (56 tackles)
Top newcomers: Sr. QB Billy Prickett, Jr.
QB Nathan Brown, So. QB Donte Hendrix
Outlook: Cooper lost nearly every statis-
tical leader in the Multiple-I offense and the
4-2-5 defense. But the Jaguars are building
in numbers and getting away from relying
on two-way players.
With over 70 players on the varsity
roster, there is a greater opportunity to play
more kids one way, which should help us
win more games in the fourth quarter, said
Borchers, who two years ago guided the
Jaguars to the state championship game.
The 2012 state runner-up lost nine defen-
sive starters (Smith and Watson are the only
returnees) and eight on offense. Back is last
years second-leading rusher, Cordell-Arm-
strong, a shifty runner with good speed, and
three offensive linemen who either started
or saw significant time last season.
Grant County
2013 record: 1-9 overall, 0-4 district
Head coach: Kevin Siple (third season at
Grant County, 4-16; 20th season overall,
136-78)
Key losses: RB/LB Derek Sutherland,
WR/DB Quentin Haubner
Key returnees: Sr. OL/DL Dustin Shively,
Jr. RB Hunter Lawson (550 yards rushing) Sr.
LB Ryan Turley, Jr. RB/LB Triston Wallace
Top newcomers: Sr. TE/LB Austin
Schneider
Outlook: Siple, a proven winner with a
.635 winning percentage in over 200 games,
expects his Braves to turn a corner and be an
improved football team after ending last
season on an eight-game losing streak. They
concluded a five-year stretch that failed to
produce a district win, a winning season and
a playoff berth, but welcome back more
starters than any other district team. The
Braves return six starters on defense, five on
offense in the third year of the coachs sys-
tem.
We should be much improved, Siple
said. We have 21juniors who have been
playing a lot of varsity the last two years. We
are building a program from the ground up,
and we feel like this is the year that all our
hard work will pay off.
CLASS 5A
DISTRICT 5
By Marc Hardin
Enquirer contributor
Conner head coach David Trosper must find a replacement for Kentucky freshman
Drew Barker at quarterback. THE ENQUIRER/JAMES WEBER
Dayton
2013 record: 2-9 overall, 0-3 district
(lost to Frankfort in the first round of the
playoffs, 53-8)
Head coach: Chad Montgomery (4th
season at Dayton, 6-27, 4th season overall,
6-27)
Key losses: OL/DL Eddie Combs
Key returners: Sr. RB Logan Brewer
(358 yards rushing, 4 TDs in 2013); Sr. RB
Justin Turner (298 yards, 2 TDs)
Top newcomers: So. OL/LB Carl Mat-
thews
Outlook: In each of the last two sea-
sons under Chad Montgomerys guidance,
the Greendevils have found a way to win
multiple games an accomplishment
considering where the program was when
he took over. However, taking the next
step has been difficult for the team due to
a variety of reasons, the most of which
was a rasb of injuries for last years team.
Those injuries did provide an opportu-
nity for underclassmen to gain valuable
experience, and Montgomerys staff hopes
that will pay off this year. The Greendevils
still lack depth, but they return nine start-
ers on the offensive side of the ball and
seven on defense.
Dayton will start five sophomores on
the offensive line. The group is young, but
started over 75 percent of the games last
season and is a talented unit that is grow-
ing together. Expect the Greendevils to
lean on those sophomores up front to run
a ball control offense. The strength of this
team will be in its physical rushing attack
with senior running backs Logan Brewer
and Justin Turner returning behind junior
quarterback Dylan Adams.
There are questions to be answered in
the secondary where the Greendevils lost
three starters from last year, but the line-
backers, led by Brewer and sophomore
standout Carl Matthews, should be a
strength of Daytons defense. Last year,
this unit gave up an average of 55.3 points
in three district games, while looking a
little shell-shocked by how much district
rivals passed the ball. Expect the Greende-
vils to adjust and be more prepared for
the new offensive styles this year.
Class 1A
District 4
Continued from Page I3