High school football starts off with a bang on Friday evening in Glasgow with the Scottie Bowl hosted by Glasgow High School.
The two-game slate will feature an exciting matchup between Monroe County and Trigg County at 6:00 p.m. followed by a battle between Class 2A powerhouse Glasgow and Class 1A powerhouse Russellville. Here are a few things and players to watch for in these matchups:
Monroe County vs. Trigg County – 6:00 p.m. CT
Both teams are looking to capitalize on 3-win efforts in the 2016 season. With some of the talented players that are returning for each team, it will be hard to pick this game.
Monroe County: The Falcons are looking to get back to their winning ways and have the necessary tools returning this season to pick up a win over Trigg. Despite the graduation of leading rusher Tucker England, Monroe returns dual-threat quarterback Ty Mink and leading receiver Braxton Walker, who look to power the offense. Leading tacklers Braden Murphy and Cade McPherson return to lead the defensive unit.
Trigg County: The Wildcats come into Glasgow facing a similar situation as Monroe County. Coming off of a 3-7 season, Trigg County loses its leading passer but returns leading reciever Gabriel Hardie and leading rusher Tyson Bush. Bush will also be expected to split time on defense as well, as he led the Wildcats in tackles. Third-leading tackler Caleb Burden also returns to help lead the defense.
Glasgow vs. Russellville – 8 p.m. CT
This game has been highly anticipated since it was announced as a part of each team’s schedule. In itself will feature two distinct aspects: Glasgow’s size and power versus Russellville’s speed. This one should be a barnburner.
Glasgow: The hometown Scotties will be bringing the big guns to their own turf on Friday evening. Unfortunately for them, lots of firepower graduated in last year’s class in leading receiver Ben Hughes and exceptional quarterback Dessi Austin. Other than that, Glasgow will be returning the rest of their excellent weapons, including leading rusher Trayjan Bradley and second-leading receiver Griffin Murphy. Gavin Burd and Selverio Greer return to lead the defensive unit.
Russellville: The dark spot: out of Russellville’s 4,193 rushing yards from last season’s semi-state team, 3,328 of those yards are gone to graduation. The good news: more speed comes up to replace those starters so that the Panthers can – well – run all over local teams again. Jacob Naylor will take over full-time at the quarterback position while maybe splitting time on defense as well. Damon Hales and Edward Barber round out the backfield. Barber and Teon Morris look to lead the defense.
Sports Insider Clay Manlove can be reached at (270) 724-9620. Follow him on Twitter at @ctmanlove58.
