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St. Matthew's: Trinity (Kentuckiana All-Stars) vs. Henry Clay The Bird Brain Flu has spread throughout the state. Just as The Old Goats are bound to a suicide pact of drinking the purple Kool-Aid, it seems that the public school coaches have a self-destructing pact of their own. The hard-core faction of The Goats made an appearance Friday night at The Temple of Doom. Why or why would we pay to go to a game that we had discussed the outcome of before the game ever began Jenny's Diner? The easiest answer is we wanted to see how the Lexington Region winner would do against a Trinity team that we let slip past us. We could tell from the warmups that Henry Clay had size everywhere. We found out early they had plenty of speed in the skilled positions. The problem was that they started their first position down 7-0. Against our infinite Goat wisdom they threw the first three plays. Henry Clay found themselves down 14-0 and eventually 21- 0 before trying the running game. The score was 24-7 at the half. They had a first down on the Trinity 20 in the first and threw an INT. on first down. They also had another impressive drive to start the second half that ended in a fumble inside the 20. The closest the game got was 24-13 in the third. After witnessing several more offensive play calling blunders and squandered scoring opportunities, we elected to leave early in the fourth. Somehow with the upcoming Prop 20 Bowl, I couldn't help but make these observations. Trinity and St. Xavier do indeed have an overwhelming advantage over every public schools in Kentucky. Not just the players and wherever they reside, but in coaching as well. It's not so much what the Big 2 do as much as what they don't do. They do not get rattled. They do not start out a game throwing three straight incomplete passes. They do not throw an INT. on first down at the opponents 20 yard line. They do not give up unforced turnovers. Henry Clay choked it up 4 times inside the Trinity 30. Yes Trinity's offense is much improved from the third week of the season. But have they played any team coached by intelligent life? Unlike any public school team I have ever seen, Trinity and St. X do show continuous improvement during the course of the season. They do not let a single loss loss ruin their confidence or team chemistry. |
