Tates Creek (11-2) vs. Bryan Station (12-1)  November 26, 1999

The winner of this matchup will advance to the class 4A championship game December 4th in Louisville, to play the winner of the St. Xavier - Hopkinsville game.  Tates Creek defeated Bryan Station 26-21 earlier this season but both teams have improved since that meeting.  Both teams live by their powerful running game but both have used the pass effectively this season when needed.

Joe Ruddell will bring his Tates Creek Commodores to the matchup playing their traditional smash-mouth football.  Their powerful ground game has been led this year by tailbacks Greg Baltimore and Mian Smith. Baltimore has rushed for 1345 yards on 143 carries for a 9.4 average. Mian Smith has added 921 yards on 131 rushes for a 7.0 average. Fullback Devin Neal has carried the ball 128 times for 871 yards for a 6.8 average and has been a monster on defense.  Wingback John Clay chipped in with 641 yards on 76 carries for an 8.4 average. Quarterback Ben Reust has passed for 690 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Kimiko Ogle has led all receivers with 14 catches for 228 yards.  Injuries could slow down the Commodores as center/defensive tackle Justin Richards is expected to miss this game and wingback John Clay is questionable.

John Nochta brings his Defenders in at the top of their game.   Tailback Eric Shelton leads the ground game with 2087 yards on 212 carries for an eye-popping 9.84 yards per carry.  Quarterback J.T. Haskins has added 1414 yards on 148 attempts for a 9.6 average.  Fullback Greg Shiddell chipped in with 632 yards on 68 carries for a 9.3 average.  These fine runners have the luxury of running behind an excellent offensive line.  J.T. Haskins has also passed for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns. Robert Haskins and Marquis Johnson have each caught 13 passes for 376 and 356 yards respectively.

Bryan Station totally dominated Tates Creek in this game, rolling to a 41-0 lead at halftime and cruising to a 55-16 win.  Eric Shelton raced 84 yards for a touchdown on the Defenders' first snap of the night and the rout had begun.  Tates Creek's troubles mounted before the kickoff. Justin Richards and John Clay were unable to play because of injuries, and it was reported that Mian Smith missed the game because of disciplinary reasons.  Tates Creek was also hampered by an uncharacteristic -- at least for them -- series of turnovers including fumbles, interceptions, and a blocked punt.

Eric Shelton led Bryan Station with 233 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns on runs of 84, 49, and 52 yards. Shelton accomplished these heroics in less than three quarters of play.  J.T. Haskins added 105 yards on the ground and three scores.  He also passed for one touchdown, a 16 yard strike to his brother Robert who made a spectacular catch in the end zone. Greg Baltimore led Tates Creek with 86 yards on the ground and Ben Reust added 131 yards through the air.

Bryan Station improves their record to 13-1, and will now meet St. Xavier for the Class 4A championship.  Tates Creek ends their season at 11-3 on a disappointing note.  However, you cannot discount the wonderful job done at Tates Creek this year.  They lost their first game of the season 42-14 at Henry Clay, and some foolishly whispered that the "Creek" was down this year.  Tates Creek rebounded behind hard work, an excellent coaching staff, and pride and tradition to advance to the state 4A semifinals before their run ended.
 

Scoring Summary

 Bryan Station  55         Tates Creek  16
 

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Tates Creek	0	0	9	7	16
Bryan Station	21	20	14	0	55

BS Eric Shelton 84 yard run (Ryan Pearl kick)
BS John Blaine recovered fumble in end zone (Pearl kick)
BS J.T. Haskins 4 yard run (Pearl kick)
BS J.T. Haskins 7 yard run (Pearl kick)
BS Shelton 49 yard run (Pearl kick)
BS J.T. Haskins 16 yard pass to Robert Haskins (kick failed)
BS Shelton 52 yard run (Pearl kick)
TC Aaron Jackson 1 yard run (Joe Ales kick)
TC J.T. Haskins tackled in end zone for safety
BS J.T. Haskins 56 yard run (Pearl kick)
TC Ben Reust 53 yard pass to Jackson Seale (Ales kick)
 

Selected Statistics
 
 

Tates Creek						Bryan Station
Rushing	No.	Yds	Avg	Long		Rushing	No.	Yds	Avg	Long
Ben Reust	3	-15	-5.0	0		Eric Shelton	14	233	16.7	84
Devin Neal	8	29	3.6	11		J.T. Haskins	5	105	21.0	56
Greg Baltimore	20	86	4.3	23		Greg Shiddell	4	13	3.3	5
Aaron Jackson	4	9	2.3	4		Gerard Combs	5	18	3.6	20
Larry Brown	1	2	2.0	2		Markeith Gillis	11	63	5.7	27
Alan Livingston	2	5	2.5	4		Darrell Brooks	3	4	1.3	2
						Darryl Bond	1	6	6.0	6
Passing	A-C-I	Yds	TD	Long		Passing	A-C-I	Yds	TD	Long
Ben Reust	17-7-2	131	1	53		J.T. Haskins	6-4-0	44	1	16
Receiving	No.	Yds	TD	Long		Receiving	No.	Yds	TD	Long
Jackson Seale	1	53	1	53		Robert Haskins	2	31	1	16
Greg Baltimore	1	24	0	24		Marquis Johnson	1	7	0	7
Kimiko Ogle	4	32	0	11		Markeith Gillis	1	6	0	6
Scott Fehrenbach	1	17	0	17

 

Other Area Games of Interest
 
 

4A Playoffs
 
 

St. Xavier

22

Hopkinsville

21

St. Xavier overcame an 18 point (21-3) deficit to score the winning touchdown on a 25 yard Eric Saling to Brooks Myer pass with 14 seconds left on the clock.
 

3A Playoffs
 

Highlands

76

Lawrence County

36

Brandon Zenni led the Highlands attack with 202 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
 

Owensboro

21

Bullitt East

6

Owensboro improved their record to 13-1 behind Sophomore quarterback Cody Holder's two touchdown runs.
 

2A Playoffs
 

Boyle County

66

Middlesboro

14

Boyle County improved their record to 14-0 by dominating Middlesboro to advance to the State Class 2A championship.
 

Glasgow

43

Taylor County

7

Glasgow improved to 11-3 behind two touchdowns each by Bradley and Randy Depp.
 

A Playoffs
 

Hancock County

47

Somerset

20

Travis Atwell threw for three scores and added three more touchdowns on the ground to lead Hancock County.
 

Beechwood

25

Pikeville

19

Beechwood continues the tradition as they have appeared in seven of the last eight championship games.