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Roane County's Nathan Reynolds sprints to the outside as Magnolia defender Traeh Keller closes in. |
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“Big D” has picked up another big honor. Derek Hardman, a senior offensive tackle at Eastern Kentucky University and 2005 Roane County High grad, has been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District football first team.
Hardman is a solid NFL prospect (more on that next week) who earned his bachelor’s degree last fall and is working on his master’s in business administration. He is now in the running for the Academic All-America team that will be announced on Nov. 24.
In Saturday’s season finale at Jacksonville State (Ala.), Hardman is scheduled to make his 46th consecutive start for the Colonels.
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A final note on the RCHS football season, which ended Friday with a 57-8 loss at undefeated Magnolia: Don’t be surprised if history repeats itself.
In its two previous appearances in the Class AA playoffs, the Raiders have lost to the eventual state champion. That was Wayne in 2006 and Bluefield in 2007.
Magnolia is big, strong, experienced and well coached. And did I mention that they have the best overall team speed and special teams play I’ve seen this season?
Several teams seem to have the stuff to win AA, including the aforementioned Wayne and Bluefield, among others. But if anyone is better than Magnolia, I’ll be surprised.
Now that I’ve offered my humble prediction, that sound you hear is everyone getting up to place a bet on Keyser, Magnolia’s opponent this week in the quarterfinals.
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Raider golf coach James “Bubba” Kendall plans to revisit to his old stomping grounds Saturday to watch West Liberty (10-1) host Edinboro (9-3) in an NCAA Division II playoff game. Edinboro beat the Hilltoppers, who went on to win the WVIAC championship, 42-30 in the season opener.
Kendall will join several former Hilltopper players from 1986-89 to cheer on their alma mater. Kendall was a punter at West Liberty in 1987-88 before a knee injury ended his career.
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An athlete with local ties had a big role in leading her college soccer team to the finals of a conference tournament.
Lacey Hersman, a sophomore at Marian University in Indiana, scored with 31 seconds left Thursday to send her team’s semifinal match with Grace College to overtime and then assisted on the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
It was the sixth goal and fourth assist of the season for Hersman, whose team fell 2-0 Saturday to Indiana Wesleyan in the Mid-Central College Conference finals in Indianapolis. Marian, an NAIA school, finished its season with a 17-2-1 record.
Hersman is the daughter of Romie Jr. and Jennifer Hersman. Her grandparents are Dotty Hersman of Spencer and the late Romie Hersman and Jack and Betty Brabham of Billings.
