By John Stepp / Fr The Times-Tribune
In the second round of the 2008 playoffs, the Knox Central Panthers defeated the Boyd County Lions to reach the regional finals. This year, the Panthers will face the Lions in the first round of the playoffs, but hope to have the same results.
“We are a little familiar with them because we played them last year,” said Knox Central Coach Wayne Mills. “They are about like us, graduated a lot of seniors, but they have a solid football team. We’ll have to play a good football game in order to win.”
The Panthers have had somewhat of a roller coaster of a season, but have been playing really well as of late, winning the last four of their five games, including the last three in a row. Knox Central hopes to continue that trend this week when the Lions come to town.
“We’ve been playing better. We had a good game last week (against Harlan),” said Mills. “We’ve really played well the last three games, and we just want to continue to do that.”
One of the reasons the Panthers have been successful lately is because of their ground attack. In last week’s game, running backs Chad Merida and Jonathon Turpin both rushed for over 100 yards in the win. Knox Central’s passing attack hasn’t been bad, either, as quarterback Jonathon Barger threw for three touchdowns last week.
“We’ve done a good job offensively. Last week we ran the ball really well, and also threw for three touchdowns,” said Mills. “We try to keep it balanced. With our running backs, we try to give them both carries and keep them fresh. We also feel confident in our abilities to throw the ball.”
The Panthers have also seen a big improvement on defense in the latter part of the season. In the last two games, the Panthers have won by a combined score of 76-10. The Panthers will need a good game on defense this Friday, in order to knock off Boyd County.
“We have been playing a lot better football on the defensive side of the ball,” said Mills. “It has really been our defensive line. They have been the anchor of our defense, and we have been playing better because of them. Boyd County’s running backs and quarterback are really the heart of their team, and we will have to do a good job of stopping their running game.”
With the win, the Panthers will be one step closer to getting back to where they were last year – the regional finals. Though the Panthers goal is replicate last season’s success, Knox Central focus for the moment is the Boyd County Lions.
“We definitely don’t want to overlook anyone,” said Mills. “In the playoffs, it is win or go home, and we want to focus on Boyd County, and take care of the win this week. Our kids do a good job of staying focused.”
