The year 2017 in sports was amazing for Franklin-Simpson High School. Wildcat teams won the state football championship, finished fifth in the state in boys golf, won the regional baseball championship, and played state basketball champion Bowling Green just about as close as anyone in the state, led by a Mr. Kentucky finalist.
Not so much for the year 2018 so far. The boys basketball team has a 6-14 record while the Lady Kats are 5-25. Both of them are in the previously unthinkable position of being the bottom seeds in the district.
That slump could have a much happier ending if Franklin’s teams pull off upsets of the number one Logan County seeds tonight in the 13th District Tournament at LCHS.
On paper the F-S boys have a much better chance of pulling off the upset than do the girls.
Coach Finley Baird’s Lady Cougars (19-10) have beaten Franklin 58-38 and 61-35.
On the other hand, two of the Franklin boys’ wins have come against the Cougars, 60-57 at FSHS on Dec. 8 and 78-75 I double overtime two weeks later in a tournament at Warren East.
The third meeting on Jan. 18 at LCHS clinched the number one seed for Coach Lonnie Mason’s Cougars. They won 74-49 over a greatly changed Franklin team. Three players for Coach Dee Spencer’s team have suffered injuries which are serious enough they aren’t playing anymore.
In Franklin’s game at Warren East last Tuesday, they were without DeMarco Chatman and Kyler Pritchett, who scored 10 points each in that first win. Pritchett was the leading rebounder in the first two games, too. Also gone is reserve Dawson Knight.
The team’s most experienced player, point guard Dee Ragland, also sat out the third game against the Cougars.
Ragland is expected to play tonight, as is multi-sport standout Alex Gilbert, who was injured in the first half in the Cats’ second loss to Russellville recently. Gilbert was the shortstop in baseball and the number two player on the golf team, both regional champions.
Junior guard Kelby Epley has led LCHS against Franklin, averaging almost 16 points a game, but his 3-pointers wouldn’t fall at the end of the two losses. Classmate Tommy Krohn is averaging 10.7 points and 8 rebounds against the Cats. Senior Mykal Hampton is averaging 10 points a game and Austin Rayno 9 in those games. Ethan Smock scored 11 points in the second game, and Third Bell had six assists in the last one.
Reserves Matthew Mullins, Dylan Basham, Reggie Powell, Dalton Thompson, and Jonathan Furlow were in the scoring column in the last one. Cade McKinnis scored 9 points in the first game.
Ragland is averaging 14.5 points and Gilbert 9 against the Cougars. Chase Gooch and Andreyous Miller each have scored 13 in a game after not playing the first time the teams met.
Only four Lady Cats have scored against Logan County in girls action. Alera Barbee has scored 23 point, Christina Carver 21, Evyn McCutchen 17 and Kate Norwood 9, for an average of 35 points per game. Barbee and Carver are also the rebounding leaders with 15 and 10, respectively.
Sarah Beth Hale has scored 28 points, Paige Vanzant 19, Kennedy Nichols 17, Peyton Vanzant 13, Blayke Bingham and Haile Borders 9 each, and Addie White 7.
Nichols has 22 rebounds with Hale totaling 10, Brittany Garrett and Borders 9 each, Bingham 8, and White and Peyton Vanzant 7 each.
The girls game begins at 6:30 at LCHS with the boys to follow. Both games and any other postseason action featuring a Russellville or Logan County team will air on WRUS.