SHELBY COUNTY (12-1) AT SOUTH WARREN (13-0)
Rockets in state semifinals for first time since 1993
Kickoff: 8 p.m. EST Friday.
Next week: Winner will face Johnson Central-Wayne County winner in Class 4-A state final.
* Shelby County enters with a seven-game winning streak after knocking off John Hardin 44-14 last week. Michael Perry (154 yards, two touchdowns) and Malik Manica (124 yards, two TDs) both had big games on the ground. Coach Todd Shipley has lauded an offensive line that didn’t return a starter from last season. The new line is senior left tackle Lloyd Janes, senior right tackle Ben Greenwell, senior left guard Will Janes, senior right guard Trenton Jesse and junior center Hayden Tedford.
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* South Warren, located in Bowling Green, opened in 2010 and quickly has become a football powerhouse. The Spartans reached the Class 3-A semifinals last year, falling to Central 16-14, before jumping to Class 4-A this season. South Warren beat Franklin-Simpson 34-7 last week. Junior quarterback Ryder Litten makes the offense go, as he’s passed for more than 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 13 scores. Junior Kayron Namvong (1,034 yards) leads the rushing attack.
Quotable: “(The offensive line) was the biggest key going into the season, because we just didn’t know, because the line we have this year was the line we had last year on the (junior varsity),” Shipley said. “But they’ve jelled together this year.”
The pick: South Warren 34-28.