If you have been waiting to see a kid who has some nasty moves at tailback, the wait is over. Mercer County's James Johnson is only a sophomore but he has enough moves to be on dancing with the stars. Make sure to check out his highlight tape . Johnson's perfromance has won him the LEX18 Player of the Week. The Titan's running back rushed for 189 yards on 20 carries. He averaged 9.4 yards a carry and finished with two touchdowns. He is only a sophomore for Mercer County. The Titans won 28-21 over Dunbar this past week in the Ihigh Football Frenzy. Up next for the Titans is Lafayette who they host Friday night at 7:30pm. Check out the ridiculous highlight tape of Johnson running all over the Dunbar Bulldogs above. more »

For the past two seasons Tates Creek has looked like just a shadow of it's past behind head coach Mike Harmon. But it looks as if the young Commodores have bought into Harmon's system and now they are reaping the rewards. Harmon has the Commodores flying high this season at 2-0 after big wins over Lafayette and Shelby County. The Commodores have outscored their opponents 74-28 and have done it mostly on the ground. Jontez Jones has been leading the ground attack so far this year with 231 yards rushing and two touchdowns. "This is a special team this year, the offensive line has been coming up huge for us", said Jones after Tates Creeks 42-0 win over Shelby County in the ihigh football frenzy bowl. "We have a lot of work to go, the season is early and I want to keep the kids focused, the difference has been our defense this year." said coach Harmon. In two games the Commodores defense has really been the key to Tates Creek’s success. They have only allowed 27 points this season and have held Lafayette's offense to just 127 total yards while shutting out Shelby County in their last game. Up next for the commodores is Bryan Station at home on Friday followed by Dunbar on the road. Looking down Tates Creeks schedule I believe they won’t get a true test of how good they are until October 17 when they play host to Clark County. more »

Penalties killed the Henry Clay Blue Devils Friday night against Boone County. The Blue Devils played great in the 28-19 loss but they shot themselves in the foot with penalties. Running back Bo Brooks had a 65 yard touchdown called back because of a hold and wide receiver Evander Harris had a punt return called back because of a hold. Senior Blue Devils quarterback Jerry Williams played ok in the game but did nothing to blow away any scouts. Williams was 10-15 passing for 106 yards and one touchdown. He also added 62 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Jerry also had an interception which was one of Henry Clay’s 3 turnovers on the night. Bo Jackson lead the Blue Devils in rushing with 53 yards on 5 carries. Henry Clay didn’t look awful in the game but they will need to step things up quickly as their schedule doesn’t get any easier. They are on the road the next two weeks against Pulaski County and Scott County. more »

For the Clark County Cardinals this has been a week that they have looked forward to since the end of their season November 13th against Scott County. The Cardinals lost a heart breaker at home to Scott County 18-15. Instead of this being the week of new beginning it has turned into a week of tragedy and prayer. 17 year old Mykal Barnes was driving home from his girlfriend’s house Sunday night around 9pm when he lost control of his Nissan Altima and crashed into a stone wall on Mount Sterling road. Barnes was immediately flown to UK Hospital where he has been in critical condition every since with a head injury. GRC coach Paul Columbia canceled practice Monday so that the team could go to visit Mykal in his time of need. "We are all just praying for him, the entire community is praying for him to make it," said Columbia. This Friday was supposed to be Mykal's time to shine under the lights as he has emerged as a leader on defense. But instead his teammates will have to strap up their chin straps without one of their fellow seniors and dearest friends. "We are going to go out there and try to win this for Mykal," said Mason Jones. The Cardinals have had this game marked on their calendars for a long time as they have had a bitter taste in their mouths from a year ago when Bryan Station stuck it to GRC 56-24. Tevin McCaden who is now a running back at UK rushed for 6 touchdown and over 300 yards against the Cardinals. "We got beat really bad and they kept running it up and we couldn't do anything about it, we are a... more »

One of the best quarterbacks in Lexington last season was just a junior, Henry Clay QB Jerry Williams III. Williams is going into his senior year as the lead man for Henry Clay who lost a lot of starters on the defensive side of the ball. Sam Simpson is looking for the Henry Clay offense to step up to the plate after having to replace so many people on the defensive side. Williams will be the Key to the Blue Devils offense this season were he will need to be effective through the air and on the ground. Williams had a few huge games last season for the Blue Devils but he will need to show up every Friday if Henry Clay will be able to make it as deep in the playoffs as they did last season. Henry Clay lost in brutal fashion to Scott County last season on the road and that has motivated this Blue Devils team to not let it happen again. Another big key for Williams is to stay healthy this season. Last year he had some knee problems and was sidelined. If Williams can stay healthy this season then I think you could be looking at a QB that could put up some big time numbers and have some people calling his name for Mr. Football come November. Currently Williams is getting interest from Bowling Green, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Kentucky. Henry Clay opens up their season at home against Boone County August 27th at 6pm. more »

Standout Clark County guard Robbie Stenzel has verbally committed to play basketball at Eastern Kentucky. "The style they play fits me perfectly and I'm not too far away from home so my family can come see me," Stenzel said. Stenzel informed EKU Coach Jeff Neubauer of his decision on Tuesday. "He was real excited," Stenzel said of their conversation. "He said we're going to make it fun in the OVC with me on the team and that made me feel real good." A number of other mid major schools were recruiting Stenzel. He held scholarship offers from Morehead State, Gardner-Webb and Tennessee Tech, according to recruiting website Rivals.com. He said that Eastern Kentucky has recruited him for several years and watched him play with his AAU team as recently as this summer. Stenzel has started since his freshman year at Clark Co. As a junior he moved from shooting guard to point guard, averaging 14 points a game for the Cardinals. Clark County returns one of the most talented teams in the state for Stenzel's senior season. He hopes having his college decision out of the way will allow him to focus solely on winning a state championship. "It feels like the world is off my shoulders and now I can just focus on this year and focus on trying to get my high school team to the state tournament," he said. more »

Robbie Sayre is stepping down as football coach at Lafayette High School to become an associate principal at the school. Carl Hayden, who worked as the receivers coach for the Generals, will take over for 2010 on an interim basis. Hayden was a Nike indoor All-American in track in his senior year at Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2006, where he was a four-year letter winner for the Colonels and served as captain his senior year. He also played with the Lexington Horseman indoor football team. With football conditioning starting on July 10 and practice beginning on July 15, the timing for this move isn't the best. "Our biggest concern is the kids," said Lafayette High's principal Vicki Richie. "Everybody has been very opened minded and very good. We wanted to give those seniors continuity and not put them in limbo." After the season is over, Lafayette will start looking for a new football coach. more »

Paul Rains, who did a terrific job building Lexington Christian Academy into one of the top football programs in Kentucky, is stepping down. "I just need a little time away," says Rains. "I've been on the sidelines since 1981. Nonstop. That's a lot of practices. A lot of wins. A lot of losses." The wins include winning the Class A state championship last season. Rains was the head coach at LCA for seven seasons. Paul is leaving LCA without a job. For the first semester, he wants to concentrate on his family and being a dad. But, Rains expects to walk the sidelines again. "I am probably going to look after this season for a public school that wants to win a championship," he said. "My insurance is kind of messed up. It's been kind of on hold since I left Madison Central." Rains is hoping that what has happened to him in the past will continue. "I've been able to pick and choose where I've gone and I hope to do the same in the future," he said Ray Graham, who was on Rains' staff for two years after 28 seasons as the head coach at Harrison County, will take over as head coach of LCA. Graham left LCA to take over at Henry County. more »

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Kentucky Girls All-Stars waited patiently for their chance to pounce on the Indiana All-Stars. It came with less than two minutes left in regulation. Ebony Rowe scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half and overtime, helping Kentucky overcome a late deficit to beat Indiana 94-87 on Saturday in the second game of the annual home-and-home series. Indiana led 77-71 with 1:42 left in regulation before Kentucky rallied to send the game to overtime tied at 78. "Our coaches told us from the very beginning that Indiana has a tendency to lose focus at the end," said Rowe, who had 13 rebounds. "We didn't have to be ahead the whole time, but we just wanted to keep it close. We knew if we kept it close, we could pull it out at the end." Kentucky cut the deficit to 78-76 on Mary Jehlik's two free throws with 44 seconds left in regulation. Kentucky took advantage of a backcourt violation on Indiana's ensuing offensive possession, getting the tying basket from Antonita Slaughter. Indiana had a chance to win, but Courtney Moses' runner at the buzzer was no good. Indiana took an 81-80 lead early in overtime, but Kentucky used a 10-4 run to take control with 18 seconds remaining. Following an Indiana basket, Theresa Montano's two free throws sealed the win for the visitors. "I've had some good players in my life, but this group is the epitome of never-quit," Kentucky coach Tommy Adams said. "Every one of these kids thought they could win this ball game. Sometimes it looked tough, but they never quit." Slaughter had 20 points and Samantha Drake added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Kentucky, which avoided being swept for... more »

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Terone Johnson and DeShaun Thomas made Saturday's Indiana-Kentucky All-Star game at Conseco Fieldhouse look like an extension of their past state championship performances in the building. Thomas scored 28 points and Johnson added 25 to help Indiana complete a sweep of Kentucky with an 81-69 victory. Johnson, an Indianapolis North Central graduate who will play for Purdue, was named player of the game after shooting 9 for 16 from the field. It was much like his 26-point effort in a state title win over Warsaw this season. Thomas, a Fort Wayne Luers graduate and Indiana Mr. Basketball selection who will play for Ohio State, also had 12 rebounds. He won back-to-back state finals at Conseco in 2008 and 2009. Thomas didn't mind Johnson winning the MVP award. "I'm gonna give much props to Terone," Thomas said. "We both did our thing out there, it was a toss up neck and neck, but he deserved it." Both could have many more great moments at Conseco, the site of the Big Ten tournament. The weeklong roommates traded good-natured barbs throughout the week about which team would win the conference next season. "Yeah, we made jokes back and forth," Johnson said. "It's just fun doing stuff like that." Together, they were too much for Kentucky. "We had no answer for either one of them, just being flat honest," Kentucky coach Mike Listerman said. "I think they're tremendous high school players. They're going to have great college careers." Louisville-bound Elisha Justice, Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, led his team with 20 points. Ricardo Johnson added 12 and was the only other Kentucky player to score in double figures. Indiana shot 34 percent and Kentucky shot 31 percent, but Indiana dominated the glass. Butler-bound... more »

Julian Tackett has been named the seventh Commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and will assume the position on June 1, 2010, the KHSAA Board of Control announced at its meeting on April 13. Tackett will succeed current Commissioner Brigid DeVries, who will retire on July 9, 2010 after more than 30 years of service to the Association, including the last eight as Commissioner. "The opportunity to follow in the line of outstanding leaders at the KHSAA is daunting as the past Commisioners have certainly set the bar very high," said Tackett. "But with the Board's support, continued hard work by our staff, and the cooperation of our member school administrators and coaches, we will all continue to strive to do what's best for the high school student-athletes in Kentucky." Tackett, current Executive Assistant Commissioner of the KHSAA, has served the organization for 26 years. His career with the Association began in 1984 when he was named the KHSAA's first Sports Information Director. In that role he served as the Association's chief public relations officer and primary media contact. He was responsible for news releases, maintained records of all KHSAA activities and supervised the design, production and printing of all state championship game programs, Association Handbook and other official publications. more »