South Warren was able to snap its two-game skid with a hard-fought 21-16 win at Owensboro Catholic on Friday night, but the focus now shifts to a much bigger prize for Coach Brandon Smith and his team.
The Spartans (8-2) will begin the quest for their first state title as a member of Class 5A on Friday night, as they will play host to the visiting Graves County Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.
“There’s no easy games in our region,” Smith said. “They’re really, really good, and we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
Graves County (6-4) is certainly coming into the first meeting between the two schools with a chip on its shoulder, as the Eagles lost nail-biters to district opponents Apollo and Christian County by three and seven points, respectively, to finish third place in the First District.
The Eagles are led by quarterback Ryan Mathis. The junior completed 112-of-218 passes for 1,586 and 17 touchdowns during the regular season despite missing the first three games due to a hamstring injury.
Wide out Trevor Grant leads the entire state of Kentucky in receiving, as the senior has hauled in 62 passes for 1,231 yards and 17 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball Graves is led by senior linebacker Avery Milliken, whom has a whopping 122 tackles on the season.
Meanwhile South Warren will look to continue its balanced attack behind junior quarterback Gavin Spurrier (121-of-200; 1,792 yards; 18 TDs). The Spartans have four players over 100 yards rushing and seven players that are over the century mark in receiving yards.
Multiple players will lead South Warren on the defensive side of the ball. Junior defensive lineman and Notre Dame commit Jacob Lacey has been excellent at applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks all year, and junior linebacker Pete Cross has been a force with 83 tackles on the season. Junior Tre Teague (71 tackles, three fumble recoveries) and senior Greg Byrd (five interceptions) have both also been a significant reason why the Spartans give up just an average of 15 points per contest.
Kickoff between the Eagles and Spartans is slated for 7:30 p.m. at South Warren High School. If you can’t make it to the game listen at STBNTV.com, pre-game starting at 7:15 p.m.
