Logan County’s insurance on offense is paying dividends. It hasn’t mattered that three-year starting quarterback Tyler Ezell has been out with a foot injury since Nate Woodall has stepped in to get the job done.

Who starts at quarterback for the Cougars on Friday against Allen County-Scottsville remains unknown. Ezell, who suffered a bone bruise against Hopkinsville on Oct. 5, is a game-time decision, but Woodall has kept the offense rolling.

“Nate has stepped in and done a good job for us,” Logan County coach Todd Adler said. “He’s practiced at quarterback for us all year and stepped in to get two wins on the road and fill Tyler’s shoes enough for us to get a win. … Nate is going to be ready and prepared if his name is called and Tyler will be ready too if his name is called.”

Since starting the last two games, Woodall has completed 23-of-54 passes for 401 yards and six touchdowns. He threw two interceptions last week at Todd County Central.

Woodall is better as a pocket passer with different strengths from Ezell, who has a knack for escaping pressure and picking up big plays with his legs.

The Cougars’ offense probably fits Ezell better in that sense, Adler said, but Woodall has been just fine so far.

“Nate does some things better than Tyler and Tyler does some things better than Nate in a quarterback standpoint,” Adler said. “Nate is more of a tough, get you three yards instead of 30 yards type. He’s just a power guy that’s hard-nosed and not as fast as Tyler and knows that, but he’s not scared to tuck it and get yards as it is.”

Adler calls Allen County-Scottsville “probably the most well-rounded team” the Cougars have seen offensively this season.

Kelly Weger leads the Patriots (6-4) with 1,052 yards and 13 touchdowns, but isn’t the only threat the Cougars are preparing for.

“We’ve faced a good Madisonville team and a good Hopkinsville team and they’ve got maybe one or two guys that we have to try to defend or take away and ACS has three or four between (Jacob) Lightfoot, (Cayden) Ross and (Weger),” Adler said. “I think they’re the most well-rounded offense we’ve seen. They’ve been here before and it’s going to be a dogfight.”

Friday will mark the first time the Patriots and Cougars have met since 2014. Logan County is the No. 2 seed out of Class 4A, District 1 while the Patriots are the 3 seed out of District 2. The winner will play the Franklin-Simpson-Calloway County winner in the second round.

“They’ve got their horses,” ACS coach Brad Hood said of the Cougars. “We’ve got to make sure while we’re trying to contain (Gary) Hardy and Ezell, we don’t let the other ones run wild on us also.

“I like our grit. When times get tough they step up and give it everything they’ve got. I like the way that in close games, for the most part, we’ve found ways to win. Hopefully we can go out there and do some things perfectly and get some good plays from them.”

Kentucky Super Preps/Talk 104 Game of the Week: Hopkinsville at Warren East

Jeff Griffith is quick to warn his Warren East Raiders of falling into the trap of the status quo.

For the last two years, that’s meant a first-round playoff loss to Hopkinsville.

“Sometimes you all get in that rut of saying, ‘Oh gosh, here comes the same team,’ ” Griffith said. “It’s not the same team and I like our chances the way we match up with them a lot better this year in some ways than I’d say last year.”

Griffith’s Raiders (6-4) are picking up momentum by winning four of their last five regular-season games – most recently a double-overtime thriller at Bardstown.

But Hopkinsville (4-6) is on the rise as well with wins in its last three games while averaging 32 points per game in those contests. What the Warren East coach likes most about changing the postseason trend is the way his defense has progressed week to week.

Warren East allowed four touchdowns or more in four of its first five games, but settled below that mark in four wins outside of a 47-0 loss to Franklin-Simpson. In the middle of that defensive improvement was a shutout over Warren Central in Week 9.

“We’ve gotten better defensively and started to bear down on who’s playing what with some responsibility stuff defensively and that’s made us a better team,” Griffith said.

Senior running back Thomas Maxey will once again be the offensive x-factor Friday. Although he’s been limited under 100 yards the last two games including Bardstown holding him to a season-low 1.07 yards per carry last week, Griffith thinks Maxey can get going Friday.

Despite being limited the last two weeks, Maxey still leads all of Class 4A by at least 200 yards rushing with 1,676 yards and 22 touchdowns.{&end}