Jared's World

Mercer was thinking upset minutes after beating Lincoln County last week, but the Titans didn’t have the firepower to take down the Maroons in the mud.

Mercer County came into Pulaski County with one win, a chance at a district upset and a better seeding for the upcoming playoffs.

Titans lose to Pulaski 25-47. For more information pick up a copy of your local Harrodsburg Herald.

The Lady Titans continued their dominant late-season streak, blowing past Garrard County in two double digit match wins.

Midway through game one, the Lady Lions were able to climb back within reach to a 12-10 deficit. but Mercer would soon leave them in the dust.

For a complete report on the Lady Titans in the post-season, along with a full feature on the team’s growth during the season, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

Sophomore Isaiah Burrus had a big part in the win with plays on every side of the ball.

Burrus came through on the big stage on senior night with two receiving touchdowns, one rushing score, an interception and a 46 yard punt return score that was called back on penalty.

Mercer coach Bill Mason said Burrus has been showing that ability on the practice field and Friday’s breakout was due.

For more details on Burrus and coach Mason’s impressions from the game, check out this week’s Harrodsburg Herald.

Mercer took their homefield for the last time this season, picking up a win to keep their playoff dreams alive and well.

The Titans (1-8, 1-2 district) overcame some blows and exploited Lincoln’s miscues en route to a 35-9 win.

It was the Titans’ own mistakes they focused on early this week in the film room.

“We made it a point to point out where we didn’t do the things we were supposed to and ask, ‘is that acceptable?’ Here they are juniors and seniors, or whatever, and they are not doing what they’re supposed to and its costing their teammates,” head coach Bill Mason said.

The look in the mirror apparently worked as the Titans finished on top for the first time in 2009.

For the complete report on the game, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

With the Titans looking to answer back and tie the game at 14 late in the third quarter, a Southwestern defender ripped the ball away from Jamel Taylor in the endzone for a pivotal turnover in Mercer’s 19-7 loss last Friday.

Southwestern’s Dustin Powell was electric for the Warriors, with 24 rushes for 186 yards.

For the complete game report, including pictures, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

The Burgin Bulldogs set out to make their name among the Lexington-area schools and did just that with a win. Last weekend’s 2009 Dunbar Invitational at Masterson Station Park was Burgin’s sixth win in seven races.

Burgin now has bragging rights over the city’s boys cross country squads, having beaten every Lexington school at least once.

While the cold, rainy weather might be enough to keep casual runners indoors, Mercer and two other teams braved the conditions Tuesday night for a meet.

The Titans hosted Casey County and Madison Southern and dominated the field for the most part. The Titans boys counted for three of the top five finishers, including a winning performance from Bryant Qualls with a time of 20:00.
Mercer’s Tori Gray came in eight seconds behind the leader, finishing second in the girls run at 25:06.

For more info on both teams, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

Tuesday, October 6: The Lady Titans picked up their fourth win in a row with a decisive victory over the visiting Burgin squad 2-0 Tuesday evening.

Burgin was shorthanded with several absent due to sickness or vacation and Mercer was able to take advantage of the short-staffed Lady Bulldogs for their third district win in the past two weeks. Mercer won the two games 25-14 and 25-9.

“Everyone is pushing themselves harder than ever to try and make up for those not here or not feeling up to par.”

“They made an admirable effort against Mercer tonight, and I hope we will be at full strength when we meet them again at the District Tournament on Tuesday,” Burgin coach Maggie McKnight said.

The district tournament schedule is now clear, with Mercer County hosting this year’s competition next week. It begins on Tuesday with Mercer facing Burgin at 6:00 p.m.

For a complete report on both teams, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

The Titans were one play away from a fourth quarter lead, but after lucky bounces through the game the luck swung back toward Marion in an eventual 35-15 loss.

Marion County (4-2) used a varied rushing attack proved to be too much over four quarters, while Mercer’s big-play ability kept them in the running.

For the complete story and a scouting report on this week’s opponent Southwestern, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

Mercer’s pair of middle school boys runners stood out from the pack in the conference’s marquee meet. Eighth graders Jacob Crowell finished second and Dean Tyler finished fourth place, both earning spots on the CKC middle school boys all-conference team.

For Burgin, Alex Beckerson took a seventh place finish in the 5K run to lead the boys varsity cross country team to a sixth place finish in the Franklin County Invitational held last Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

For more details on both teams, check this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

This article originally appeared in the September 24 edition of The Harrodsburg Herald

It’s no secret that the Titans are 0-5.
They’ve been beaten by an impressive selection of talent from around the state in what a fellow journalist opined was a murderer’s row of a non-district schedule. Those five games are behind them and now Mercer has bits and pieces from each that they can use to put together a good run through what I call the second season, their district games.

The Titans learned the importance of sound special teams after costly return scores against Breathitt and Tates Creek. They hung with Anderson County for a half of football before the Bearcats hit their rhythm. They were shut out at home against Boyle, but kept fighting for drives. Can the team take these lessons and put them together? The next five games on the slate will tell.

As coach Mason said before the season, due to the uncertainty during the early summer, this team had to learn its lessons on the run. The 21 new starters on both sides of the ball, and a returning quarterback adjusting to new targets, isn’t an excuse for the losses. It’s more of a reason to expect improvement in the coming weeks as these players grow into their roles and take on more equal competition.

Mason told The Herald after he was hired as head coach that he believed in playing the toughest of schedules.

“It doesn’t look great in the win-loss column. But when you get to the playoffs, you can tell your kids that you played the best in the state and this is nothing,” Mason said.

Looking to the playoffs, the Titans will have to make it through a wide-open district narrowly led in record by Pulaski County 3-2. Mercer’s four district opponents have an 8-11 combined record in 2009. Compare that with the 16-8 record of Mercer’s first five opponents and it’s hard not to see room for improvement in the second half of the season.

The high school football season can almost be split in two. Mercer has emerged from it’s non-district gauntlet without many major injuries and could secure a playoff spot with a string of wins in the districts.

Overall record aside, it’s the next five games that could determine what kind of memory this year’s Titans leave behind.