Cardinals

George Rogers Clark boys basketball coach Scott Humphrey didn't know what to expect from his team in the Cardinals' season opener Tuesday night. However, Humphrey had to feel more at ease after the Cardinals survived with a 54-49 triumph at Covington Catholic. “I don't know if you saw two state final teams, but I think (you saw) two teams get better with the environment that we played in, and I was real pleased with our kids' execution down the stretch,” Humphrey said. “We had zero experience going into the environment that we had and it was a great night for us. We really improved a lot since our last scrimmage.” The Cardinals broke open a close encounter by scoring eight straight to open the fourth quarter and made five free throws in the final 1:40 to hold off the Colonels and win the season opener for both teams.

LEXINGTON — George Rogers Clark boys basketball coach Scott Humphrey won’t be paying much attention to the schedule when the Cardinals compete in the 30th Beach Ball Classic beginning Tuesday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “I looked at it (the schedule) and it overwhelmed me a little bit,” he said. “I know we play the first night (Tuesday) at 8:45 p.m. We’ll see how we do and where we go from there.” Clark (7-2) will open the tournament against Boys and Girls High School based in Brooklyn, N.Y. The squad features Rutgers signee Mike Taylor.

The George Rogers Clark High School football team isn't dwelling on the first month of the season. The Cardinals are moving forward. “That's the good thing about it,” Clark coach Steven Collins said earlier this week. “You get to move on to the next one.” The Cardinals are still searching for their first victory of the year after opening with three consecutive losses, including a 54-7 setback to Bryan Station in the team's home opener last week at Cardinal Stadium. Clark will try to rebound from the 0-3 start Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Henry Clay.

The George Rogers Clark boys basketball team will have to wait another day to open play in the Toyota Classic at Scott County. The Cardinals (14-4) were scheduled to open play in the eight-team event against Covington Catholic on Thursday night, but the game was canceled because of inclement weather. The tournament is scheduled to resume Friday night at Scott County, with Clark and Covington Catholic (12-4) meeting at 7:15 p.m., followed by Boyle County and Christian County in the second game at 9 p.m. Clark is coming off a 73-55 win over Harrison County on Wednesday night, extending its winning streak to five games.

The Cardinals returned to the diamond for the first time this week and came away with a 10-0 shutout over Pendleton County Thursday in Falmouth. Pokey Harris led off the game with a home run and Logan McQuerry connected on a two-run dinger that set the tone for the Cards in the opening inning. Anthony Withrow started and threw the first four innings. The senior ace struckout five batters and gave up one hit. Billy Hatmaker relieved Withrow in the fifth inning and retired the side.

The George Rogers Clark boys golf team opened the season with a ninth-place finish in the Five-Star General Invitational over the weekend at Picadome Golf Course in Lexington. The Cardinals posted a 318, while West Jessamine captured the tournament with a 1-under-par 287. St. Xavier Green was second with a 297, followed by school's Gold squad with a 304. Blake Cartwright paced Clark with a 3-over-par 75, followed by teammate Jacob Omohundro with a 77. Ross Todd fired an 81 and Jett Clarke finished with an 85. Matthew Omohundro had an 86 and rounded out the Cards' five entrees in the one-day event.

The George Rogers Clark boys soccer team dropped its second loss in the past three games with a 2-0 setback to West Jessamine Tuesday night at the Cardinal Soccer Complex. The Cardinals (6-9-1) managed just two shots on goal, while goal keeper Conner Blankenship collected 12 saves to keep the score close. “It was a tough night,” Clark coach Patrick Fitzgerald said. “Conner had a great night in goal and really kept us in the game.” Fitzgerald added that his team is still searching for consistency in the final week of the regular season.

Matt Ginter wasn't worried after George Rogers Clark opened the season with seven consecutive losses. “We had to test some kids to see who could play where and what we could and couldn't do,” the first-year Clark coach said Wednesday. “When you go over (and play teams in the) 11th Region, it will expose your weaknesses very quickly and it was very helpful for us as coaching staff to see what kids can and can't do and what we needed to work on.” With an early schedule that featured teams such as Bryan Station, Henry Clay and Dunbar, the former George Rogers Clark standout and Major League pitcher figured the Cardinals would come around following the first month of the season.

Bopper Stenzel won't be a stranger when he steps on the court at Rupp Arena Wednesday night. He will be in familiar territory. Stenzel, a senior, was a starting guard on the Cardinals' state tournament team last season and returns to the Sweet Sixteen to conclude his prep career. His brother Robbie Stenzel, now at Eastern Kentucky University, played his final game for Clark at Rupp Arena last year. During the past couple of days, Stenzel has been offering advice to a cast of newcomers who will step into the limelight after watching the prestigious event from the sidelines last season.

That's “hard to get a win,” not impossible. The Patriots claimed a victory in one such venue Tuesday night as Lincoln traveled to Wayne County High School and held off the host Cardinals 73-66. “It's a tough win, a great win because any time you come down here and get a win, you've done something good,” Jackson said. “This is a tough place to win, and you've really got to work to earn it. And the kids earned it tonight.” Lincoln relied on a 25-16 second-quarter run to open up a close game and take a 10-point halftime lead.

The George Rogers Clark softball team won three games and dropped a pair over the weekend in the Western Hills Invitational in Frankfort. The Lady Cardinals finished in the Top 4, with host Western Hills winning the tournament with a 4-3 victory over South Oldham. Clark coach Matt Puckett praised his team's defensive effort in the five games. “We really played well on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “(The defense) kept us in games all weekend.” Clark opened the two-day event with a 2-0 win over Bishop Fenwick (Ohio)

George Rogers Clark football coach Steven Collins and the Cardinals are on the same page. A year ago, Collins and the Cardinals were getting used to each other and forming a bond. This time around, the team's emphasis during spring workouts has been strictly football, sprinkled with becoming more familiar with each other. “It takes a year for that transition to (kick) in,” Collins said earlier this week. “The kids understand what we're about and what we expect of them as a program.

CHICAGO - On the court, Andrew Harrison is an intense competitor - a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Deandre Liggins type. Off the court, he's just as intense and not afraid to voice his opinion. Not only did the future Kentucky point guard say that he though the McDonald's All-American Game - he had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting,  four assists, two rebounds and one steal in 18 minutes in Wednesday's game here - was a more prestigious event than the upcoming Jordan Brand Classic, but he's already tossing verbal barbs at Louisville.  He admitted he had picked Louisville to reach the Final Four, but then told media members, "I hope Michigan wins (the national title)

The George Rogers Clark High School baseball team chalked up another learning experience following a 7-1 loss to Woodford County Friday afternoon at Cardinal Field. The loss was the sixth in a row for the Cardinals, who have played mostly top-tier teams in the 11th Region since opening the season with wins over Mason County, Letcher County Central and Fleming County. During that stretch, the Cardinals (3-6) have played three teams - Woodford, Dunbar and Madison Central - ranked in the preseason Top 25 poll released by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association.

The George Rogers Clark High School baseball team returned to the diamond following a five-day break and suffered a 4-1 loss to Scott County Thursday at Cardinal Field. The loss was the fifth in a row for Clark, which opened the season with three consecutive victories. Clark's scheduled road game against Henry Clay on Wednesday was canceled because of inclement weather. Scott County, which defeated the host Cardinals 9-5 last week in Georgetown, scored two runs in the third inning, before Clark closed the margin to 2-1 when Steven Davis scored on Luke Sharrock's sacrifice fly to center field in the bottom of the fourth inning.

LEXINGTON - Peyton Siva showed how to dominate a game without scoring in the first 20 minutes Thursday. The Louisville point guard did not got his first bucket until there were 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half. But by that time, he had already collected five assists, had three steals and helped the Cardinals force 14 turnovers and take a 16-point halftime lead. He finished with six points, eight assists and four steals in 26 minutes as the top-seeded Cardinals rolled over North Carolina A&T 79-48 in their NCAA Midwest Regional opener at Rupp Arena.

Matt Abner has worked his way up the coaching ranks and will embark on a new journey this fall. Abner, longtime youth soccer coach and administrator in both the Winchester Youth Soccer League and FC of Kentucky before taking over the boys and girls soccer teams at Clark Middle five years ago, was named girls soccer coach at George Rogers Clark High School Wednesday. “They've had a good (feeder) program over the past few years and the FC of Kentucky really helped advance our girls and be successful,” he said.

The George Rogers Clark High School girls softball team opened the season with two victories Friday afternoon. In the season opener, the Lady Cardinals scored four runs in the third inning and tacked on three more in the fifth frame in a 7-2 win over West Jessamine. Senior pitcher Whitney Conkwright went the distance and threw a six-hitter. Conkwright struck out seven and walked three. Kolbi Mitchell, Erin Carrus and Madison¿Norton paced Clark with two hits each. Conkwright, Skye Skinner, Meg Terrell, Peyton Skillern and Alexis Hardeman added one hit each.

Coach: Matt Ginter, second season. Last year: The Cardinals finished the season strong and went 20-14. Clark won the 40th District Tournament at Cardinal Field and advanced to the 10th¿Region semifinals, where the Cardinals suffered a 2-1 loss to Bishop Brossart at Whitaker Field in Mount Sterling. Top players lost: Logan McQuerry, Pokey Harris, Wes Lawwill, Hunter Osborne and Robert Hatler. Top returnees: Derek McKenzie, Scotty Turner, Brent Stoneking, Luke Sharrock, Aaron Parrish, Steven Davis and Jordan Williams.

Last September, Winchester Sun sports editor Keith Taylor invited me to speak to the Winchester Kiwanis Club. During the speech to club members, I touched on how I got started broadcasting George Rogers Clark High School football and basketball games on the radio in 1987. From 1960-67, my mother, step-father and I lived on a farm near Mays Lick in southern Mason County. As an only child, I had few friends to play with after school. I spent hours shooting hoops at the goal on one of our barns.