OC, OC, OC. Direct shots of pepper spray to the face, followed by running between stations and basic martial arts techniques. Romanian soldiers and U.S. Marines volunteered to do all this during a non-lethal weapons training exercise in Bulgaria this week. The feeling of OC spray can be accurately described as somebody kicking sand in your eyes and the inability to counteract that pain immediately. They learned how the chemical can control rioters without causing permanent damage. Seeing the value of the lesson, I decided to give it a go. I found the temporary blindness made it difficult to run, or to perform simple takedowns. I started to ask myself, why on earth do we do this? To be on receiving the non-lethal weapons allows them to work through the pain, therefore if a real-life situation arose where they are accidentally exposed, they'll know what's going on and for the most part be able to fight through any type of effects. How come I can't breathe? That's not a problem. For Marine Forces Europe and Africa, I'm Sergeant Russell Midori.


Mountaintop Sports made its way to Lexington on Friday night for high school football action. Pikeville finished with nearly 700 yards offensively and the Panthers outscored host Henry Clay 58-41 in a matchup played in Lexington on Friday night. Receiver Zach Lockhart holed in 17 passes for 388 yards and 7 touchdowns as the Panthers improved a 3-0 and won at 17th straight game. He had touchdown receptions of 55, 56, 26, 17, 8, 13 and 54 yards. Quarterback Isaac McNamee passed for 419 yards and 7 touchdowns all to Lockhart. Running back Blake Birchfield rushed 18 times for 133 yards and 1 touchdown and running back Nate Collins added 129 yards rushing on 13 carries and 1 score. Pikeville led throughout the first half before Henry Clay 0-1 took their only lead at 28-25 early in the second half. The Panthers will travel to Campbell County next Friday night. In other games on Friday night, Martin County slipped past Bath County 14-10, Prestonsburg escaped Eastridge 29-26, Belfry bounced McGoffin County 59-20, Paintsville trounced Hazard 54-0, Pike County beat Floyd Central in a shootout 70-50, West Carter upended Shelby Valley 53-14, Johnson Central defeated Simon Kenton 47-17, Phelps beat Betsy Lane 54-26 and Willing Central blanked man 19-0.