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SPORTS
Owen County out
of
All – A
By
Brian Blair
NH Correspondent
As of October 1st of 2006, Owen County
High School had too many students to qualify to play in the All
“A” Classic. This includes girls and boys basketball,
baseball and softball.
“It is a blow to our community,” said Bob Osborne.
Osborne coaches both the girl’s basketball team and the
baseball team.Coach Osborne talked about how he and others were
instrumental in organizing what is now the All “A”
Classic baseball tournament throughout the state.
This past season the Lady Rebels basketball team lost in the championship
game of the 8th Region All “A” Classic in Carrollton.
In 2006, the baseball team won the 8th Region All “A”
and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament before
falling to Owensboro Catholic at Applebee’s Park in Lexington.
Boy’s basketball coach, Devin Duvall, said he was “very
disappointed.” His team lost in the 8th Region All “A”
Championship game to Gallatin County back in January. The boys
were scheduled to host the 8th Region basketball tournament next
season. The girls were scheduled to host in 2008. Both Duvall
and Osborne said they will have to work hard to add games to their
schedule for next season. Coach Duvall said he would look for
another tournament in January to participate in. Coach Osborne
was disappointed because he thought his team was “probably
a favorite next year” to win the 8th Region and go to Richmond
for the statewide tournament.
Co-Athletic Director, Randy Bishop, said he received an e-mail
that notified the school it no longer qualified to participate
in the All “A” activities. Bishop said the total enrollment
allowed for a school to be eligible is 425 students in the top
three grades. The numbers are based on the enrollment on October
1 every year. The numbers come from the Kentucky Department of
Education and the decision has nothing to do with the Kentucky
High School Athletic Association. “We knew it was coming.
We see growth,” said Bishop.
Other schools competing at the Class “A” level in
the 8th Region include, Carroll County, Eminence, Gallatin County,
Trimble County and Walton-Verona. Bishop said at this time he
is unaware if any of these schools are also ineligible.
The exclusion of the Rebels impacts the athletic department in
other ways as well. The school will lose out on revenue it would
have received by hosting tournaments. Bishop said he was not sure
what the exact amounts would be, but said they could have been
significant.
Rebel athletes will also miss out on the opportunity to compete
on a state-wide level in venues they might not ordinarily get
to compete in. Coach Osborne talked about how the girls’
basketball team had the chance to play in Richmond at Eastern
Kentucky University after winning the 8th Region All “A”
Classic. He also said his baseball players last season had the
chance to play at Applebee’s Park after winning the 8th
Region title.
“It’s a bad situation all the way around,” commented
Coach Duvall.
According to Osborne, the school could again have the chance to
participate in 2008-2009 if the numbers were to go back down by
Oct. 1, 2007. Whether that happens or not will depend on how the
county continues to grow. As more and more people move into the
county, they bring with them students who will continue to make
the numbers go up. Bishop said the continued growth is why the
county continues to review options for how to help the district
keep up with the changing population.
Fans of the All “A” will still have the chance to
see the softball and baseball teams compete for 8th Region titles
later this season. It will be the final time any Owen County teams
compete for such a title for at least the next year.
A
grand week for Perkins and the Rebels
By
BRIAN BLAIR
NH
Correspondent
The Owen County Rebel baseball team
has yet to give up a run this season. Jared Perkins has hit homeruns
in both games and the Rebels have two wins.
Owen County opened up the season last Monday with a 9-0 win over
Williamstown. The Rebels scored two runs in the first inning,
but did most of their damage in the third. After a Daniel Neeley
single and back-to-back walks to Michael Ogden and Trey Linear,
Perkins came to the plate and calmly emptied the bases with one
swing. His opposite field grand slam to right was the second of
his career. Perkins said he hit his first last year in a game
against Eminence.
While Perkins was providing the offense, Linear was taking care
of the Demon hitters. Linear struck out eight hitters in the first
three innings and finished the game with an Owen County single-game
record of 16 strikeouts. Ogden hit a three-run homerun in the
fourth to round out the scoring for the Rebels. Jordan Cox came
in to
pitch the seventh inning and seal the win.
On Tuesday, the Rebels welcomed Bellevue to Dunavent Field. Owen
County wasted no time in getting starting pitcher Ogden run support.
Neeley took the first pitch he saw and hit it high off the right
field fence for a double. Perkins drove him in with an RBI-single
and later scored on a base hit by Danny O’Toole for a 2-0
lead.
The Rebels added another run in the home half of the second inning
on an Ogden RBI-single.
The score stayed the same until the fifth when again it was Perkins
who came up with the big hit. Linear singled with one out and
Perkins then hit a towering drive to left field. “I knew
it was gone, I just hoped it stayed fair,” said Perkins
after the game. It did stay fair and Perkins had a two-run homer
and the Rebels had a 5-0 advantage.
Bellevue came up with a threat of their own in the top of the
fifth inning. The Tigers had runners on second and third with
one out before starting pitcher Ogden struck out the final two
hitters to end the inning. Ogden finished the game with eight
strikeouts.
The Rebels scored two more runs in the sixth inning. Neeley again
led off the inning by reaching base. He stole second and third
and scored when Linear hit a pop-up behind first base that no
one was able to find before it landed in the outfield grass. Perkins
followed that up with yet another RBI-hit. This time he hit a
double that plated Linear.
If his offense was not enough, Perkins then took the mound in
the seventh inning and set down the Tigers in order to wrap up
the game.
After the game, Coach Osborne said his team still had some things
to work on, but was pleased with the team’s start to the
season. He said it was also better to be 2-0 to start the season
as opposed to 0-2.
The Rebels were scheduled to play Eminence on Saturday at Eminence,
but the game was rained out. Instead, Coach Osborne said his team
played an intrasquad scrimmage at the high school.
Another
Rebel to play
NCAA football
Dustin
Curtis is the latest Rebel student-athlete to take his skills
to the next level.
Dustin has decided to pursue a criminal justice degree and play
quarterback at Thomas More College. The biggest factors in Dustin’s
choice of schools were the closeness to Owenton, Owen County and
his family and the possibility of continuing to play quarterback.
Dustin’s mother, Georgia Curtis, reiterated the importance
of her son staying close to home, joking that she was “moving
with him” had he decided on a school farther from Owen County.
Tony Curtis, Dustin’s father, emphasized the excellent academic
reputation of Thomas More and that Dustin’s choice to play
football for the school is just an added bonus. Tony Curtis has
been an active participant in Dustin’s football career,
serving as a volunteer for the Owen County youth leagues and Bowling
Middle School. He continued in that role, even after Dustin began
playing at the high school. Dustin has been coaching along side
his father in the youth league for the past few years.
Dustin was a senior leader and was an integral part of the OCHS
football squad all four years of high school playing a variety
of positions other than QB. He has excelled at linebacker, strong
safety, fullback, halfback and even as a defensive lineman before
taking over the reins as the Rebel signal-caller this past season.
Fast
Pitch Softball:
The
first week
It was
a week of firsts for the Owen County softball team.
On Monday, the team played its first game of the season in which
they got the first win of the season. In the 5-4 win over Walton-Verona,
Emily Trammel hit the first homerun of her career.
On Tuesday against Gallatin County, Lauren Wooten threw the first
no-hitter of her career in the Lady Rebels 7-0 win over the Lady
Wildcats.
On Wednesday, the Lady Rebels were rained out for the first time.
On Thursday, they played the first make-up game of the season
and defeated Carroll County 9-2 in Carrollton.
On Friday, Coach Wainscott’s team got their first come-from-behind
win of the season when they defeated North Oldham 9-3.
“Right now we’re playing pretty well,” said
Coach Wainscott on Friday night after the Lady Rebels finished
their perfect first week of the season.
Indeed they are. The Lady Rebels are getting good pitching from
Wooten and solid hitting from several hitters. Besides throwing
the no-hitter against Gallatin County, Wooten has also notched
the victory against the other three opponents. In the four games,
the senior pitcher struck out 36 hitters and allowed nine runs.
Offensively, the Lady Rebels have been getting production up and
down the lineup. One night it is one player and the next it is
someone else. Against Walton-Verona, Cassie Hamilton had two doubles
and an RBI. Trammel had an RBI single and a two run homerun. Sheila
Wilson sparked Owen County by reaching base three times and scoring
three runs against Gallatin County.
Brooke McDonald helped lead the cause against Carroll County.
In the fourth inning, she led off the inning with a single and
later scored on a Lauren Lowe double. Later in the same inning,
McDonald drove in two runs with a double of her own. In all, the
Lady Rebels scored seven runs in the inning.
Friday night proved to be Lowe’s turn to get things going
for the Lady Rebels. Twice, Lowe led off innings with hits and
later came in to score on base hits by Samantha Toole. Hamilton
drove in two runs in the fifth inning with a single to right field.
Coach Wainscott was quick to give credit to his entire team for
the fast start. “It’s a team effort and it’s
not just one person pulling this team.”
The Lady Rebels have been getting the job done with their gloves
as well. It has not gone unnoticed by their head coach. “We’ve
worked more on defense this year than we ever have.” It
has paid off for Coach Wainscott and the team. Monday night, in
the seventh inning, Jensen Wainscott made a shoestring catch in
centerfield to help preserve the win. In the win over Carroll
County, the Lady Rebels turned a pair of double plays to help
end two innings.
The Lady Rebels will attempt to keep the streak going this week.
They were scheduled to play last night at home against Frankfort.
Thursday night will see Henry County come to town for a rematch
of the district championship game of a year ago. The Lady Rebels
will then travel to Danville for a weekend tournament.
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