By: Amber Pennycuff
Head coach Bobby Petrino was 8-0 in season openers before Saturday night, and it looks like he’ll be adding another “W” to the record books. The Hilltoppers traveled down south to Nashville as they took on the Kentucky Wildcats at LP Field on Saturday night. New head coach Bobby Petrino made his debut for the Tops kicking-off the season 1-0 with a 35-26 win over the Wildcats.
Father Ryan’s own Sean Conway has started every game for three seasons with WKU, and this year will be no different. The red-shirt senior is all of 6’3” and 305, playing center for the Tops. Making the 2013 Rimington Trophy Watch List and 2013 Preseason All-SBC, Conway has certainly had success in his collegiate years.
Another Father Ryan alumni, Prince Charles Iworah is a red-shirt sophomore for the Hilltoppers and made his debut last year against Kentucky and had two tackles against the Wildcats. We can look to see more from him this season.
For Kentucky’s roster, sophomore Landon Foster averaged 42.9 yards per punt as a freshman last year. The Independence alumni had 237 yards by the end of the third quarter for the Wildcats. He will be a very valuable asset and see playing time on the field this year for Kentucky.
The Hilltoppers will take on Tennessee as they travel to Knoxville this upcoming weekend.
The Vols kicked off its season against Austin Peay with new head coach Butch Jones. Tennessee swept the field winning 45-0.
The Volunteers had zero penalties the entire game and a couple of Williamson Counties own were able to contribute to the big win.
Red shirt senior Alex Bullard is a Brentwood Academy alumni and Notre Dame transfer to Rocky Top. Bullard started 12 games in 2011 and will be replacing Dallas Thomas this year.
On the roster, LB Logan Cavendar graduated from Fairview High School and recently transferred from Tennessee Tech this fall. Also, the red-shirt freshman and Punter Ryan Ault walked-on with the Vols in 2012 graduated from Brentwood High School.
On the other side of the Rocky Top sidelines last Saturday, some of Williamson Counties own will be fighting for the Govs’ this year. Spring Hill high school alumni Nathan Sanders finished last season as a starting left guard and will be competing for the position this fall.
Fairview is representing over at Austin Peay, as well. Junior WR Hunter Branch is on the roster for this 2013 season. Branch saw action in ten games last year and set records at Fairview catching 62 passes for 918 yards and three touchdowns in his senior season. Freshman Julian Franklin and Deondre Moore will also be joining Austin Peay’s roster from Fairview this 2013 season.
Ravenwood’s Ben Stansfield started all 11 games last year for the Govs’ and allowed just 10 sacks the entire season. He will be a major player to watch for in the rest of Austin Peays season. The Govs’ will travel over to Nashville to take on the Commodores this Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt started off the season with a loss to Ole Miss, 39-35. A close game, the Rebels came to Nashville to kick-off the season.
Independence’s Scot Aiello is a junior at Vanderbilt, who will be contributing to its success this year. The DB saw action in two of the Commodores games last year as a sophomore. Brentwood Academy’s Derek King is a red-shirt sophomore for Vanderbilt. King was a three-year starter for Brentwood Academy and helped the Eagles to achieve a 10-3 season his senior year.
The Auburn Tigers won its season opener on Saturday 31-24 against Washington State at home. Williamson County represents well down in Tiger- Country.
Junior Trent Fisher is a CPA (Christ Presbyterian Academy) alumni and was the backup safety in 2012. Fisher had five tackles against Texas A&M, three tackles against Georgia, and had the seventh longest intercepted touchdown in Auburn history last season.
Also on the Tigers roster, Ravenwood’s Kyle Bolstad is a red-shirt freshman OL. Bolstad was captain as a senior and a four-year football letterman at Ravenwood. Auburn will be at home this Saturday and face Arkansas State. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m.
Traveling a little further down south, Gator-Nation started off the season strong with 24-6 win against the University of Toledo. On Florida’s roster, Max Staver hails from Brentwood Academy. The six-foot-six, 238- pound young man certainly will be an asset in the Gators future. Listed as a QB, Staver passed for 1,715 yards with four touchdowns and rushed for 265 yards with six touchdowns in 2012.
The Gators will kick-off in Miami Gardens, FL at 12:00 p.m. against Miami on Saturday.
Here is the rest of your SEC rundown schedule for this upcoming week:
-After winning its season opener 35-10 against Virginia Tech, Alabama will be idle this week, but we will see them over at Texas A&M next week at 2:30 p.m.
-Ole Miss will travel back down to The Grove this Saturday to take on Southeast Missouri State University and kick-off at 6:00 p.m.
-Arkansas kicked-off the season last week to take the “W” from Louisiana last Saturday, 34-14. They will take on Samford this Saturday in Little Rock at 6:00 p.m
-Kentucky will head up to Lexington to take on Miami at 12:00 p.m. ET this Saturday.
-After losing its season-opener over at Clemson (38-35), Georgia will be back in Athens to face South Carolina at 4:30 p.m. this Saturday. South Carolina won its first game of the season against North Carolina 27-10 last Thursday on ESPN.
-LSU beat TCU over in Arlington at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, 37-27. They will travel back down to Tiger Stadium on Saturday to take on UAB at 6:00 p.m.
-Mississippi State had a 3-21 loss against Oklahoma State last weekend. They will face Alcorn State in Starkville at 2:30 p.m. this Satruday on CSS.
-Kicking-off the season with a win against Murray State (58-14), the Mizzou Tigers will be at home again this week and take on Toledo at 2:30 on ESPNU.
