Pirates Open Season on Saturday in Mt. Sterling
August 23, 2019 – Bradley Charles – Bluegrass Sports Nation
High school football is back! On Saturday night, Powell
County will travel to Mount Sterling to face the Indians in the 72nd Montgomery
County Recreation Bowl.
Last season, the Pirates had the sixth best record in Class
3A, going 9-3 in Josh Kincaid’s first season at the helm. This season begins a
new era for Powell County Football. For the first time in nearly half a decade,
Jon Brooks is not the quarterback and Nate Skidmore is not in the backfield. In
the last two seasons, the Pirates have lost 13 players who started on both
offense and defense, while also losing several other players who were one-way
starters. Last season, Powell County ran the ball 487 times, only 34 of those
carries went to players currently on the roster.
We are officially in the next era of Powell County football.
Senior Chimaobi Ajuonuma will be a big-time receiving threat for the Pirates
this season. Expect to see a lot from seniors Justice Harmon, Austin Campbell,
and Jacob Watson to name a few. Moving forward, several players including Stephen
Norris, Braxton Ledford, Holden Townsend, and Tyler Wrenn will play big roles
in the team’s success.
As for Montgomery County, the Indians went 9-3 last season
under head coach Jamie Egli; however, the Indians have lost several key pieces
from last year’s team, including Justin Korossy, Pharoah Davis, and Ty Eads.
Korossy was the team’s leading rusher, averaging over 9.5 yards per carry to go
with 25 rushing touchdowns. Pharoah Davis was the team’s leading receiver, hauling
in 42 of the team’s 51 receptions last season. Davis finished the year with
1,021 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns. Ty Eads led the Indians in
fumble recoveries and was second on the team in interceptions.
The Indians do return starting quarterback Trey Ishmael and
full back Josh Wheaton. Ishmael threw for over 1,200 yards last season with 16
touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 12 games. Josh Wheaton led the Indians in
rushing attempts last season piling up over 1,200 rushing yards and 17
touchdowns in 11 games.
With it being the first game of the season, both teams will undergo a feeling out process as they establish their identities. Adjustments will be made as players step up to fill the voids left by last year’s seniors. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. BSN will be there providing in-game updates and will have a post-game article recapping the game along with a game photo gallery by Morganne Robinson.
