VF111

Think the 3-class era guys say the same thing? 😂

This one just came to me and I thought I'd float it out there. What is or was the best era of HS football for you. By era, I would mean, a 10-15 year period. Some that I have been familiar with... 2015-Present - The explosion of the RPO offenses and scoring. Fun to watch but crowds aren't as big or loud and parents as well as social media has taken some of the joy out of it. Recruiting is wild as well. 2000-2015 - Lots of variety with wishbone teams to spread teams. Passing seemed to really take off in this era. Crowds were so-so. I felt like the smaller colleges really exploded in terms of prominence during this period in terms of recruiting. Not so much social media sure was nice at the beginning of this era. I thought this was a great era for uniforms as well. The 90's - Fun time to play in. Crowds were pretty good. Lots of teams were still holding on to the ways of the 70's and 80's. I got to be a part of a State Championship and a pass was a trick play for us. Two-a-Days were still a real thing. The Heat Index was not. Some giants of coaching were finishing up and some were starting. The 80's - Amazing crowds and Friday night was a slugfest across the state. Shotgun snaps? You mean punt? Hardnosed football. The shimel jersey and forearm pads. RB's with lineman facemasks. The 80's were for me as a kid the apex of what HS crowds looked like. Maybe it was just me, but in the 80's the seniors all looked like they were 25 to me! That's as far back as I go... what are your thoughts on the best era or what do you remember from your favorite era?

I would argue that for the most part, since about 1990, turn over is pretty much a steady part of the profession. The advent of the internet and the attention that sites like this bring to the occurrence make it seem like a lot. Take the BG area for example. Desirable place to work and coach. Some of the better pay for teachers in both the county and city systems, good coaching stipends for the most part, and WKU with a wealth of young coaches and a teachers' college in the backyard. From 1990 to 2010, in the four High Schools (pre South Warren), the area saw 16 different HC's in a 20 year period. Take each HS and its 20 year span and you get 80/16 for an average coaching span of 5 years. 1990 to 2010 BGHS - Dan Haley, Kevin Wallace Greenwood - Virgil Livers, Greg Ulasiewicz, Mark Nelson, Greg Cavanah Warren East - Kevin Wallace, Randy Reese, Mark Spader, Mac Smith, Mark Gary, Ben Bruni Warren Central - Joe Hood, Rick Wood, Bill Cox, Mike Rogers Maybe I'm wrong about this, but wanted to share that take on the issue.

I would say that any and all teams in 5A that lose their starting QB are out of the running to win it all as long as some of the other teams keep their starting QB's. Cooper may have a nice backup but D1 offered QB's do NOT grow on trees and there is no replacing them. Cooper is where they are because of what has come to fruition by adding O'hara to a great mix of other guys. Minus O'hara, that great group of other guys is still a tough team... but not a title contender. Which is the same story for any of the teams with QB's named in the thread "The Super Six".

You'll find out a lot about the Purples right out of the gate. Those first three games are quite the eye opener. Fredrick Douglas, then Bryan Station on the road, then Owensboro!

Reading through these threads, should we go ahead and mail the trophy to Cooper? I mean, after going a dominating 1-1 against Highlands last year, it is pretty clear that Cooper is the new boss of NKY.

September 27th should be interesting...

It will be interesting to see the impact of losing those two ILB's. Cooper was particularly solid up the middle against physical runs, much in thanks to those two. While I know the Jags have lost very little, those two guys were some exceptionally nice blue collar grunts in the heart of that D.

I’m gonna go out on an limb, send a few folks into a frenzy, and say Highlands beats Cooper this year…

I would argue that this isn't the case. Both teams still had a few players that at least looked like they belonged on the field for Hoptown or CCHS... but that number was WAY down. That is what has been startling about both programs... the overall decline of talent and bodies. If you had combined Hoptown and CCHS last year you still would have struggled to win 6 games. That is an astounding statement to make but I stand by it.

You know how when the Titanic sunk it split into two pieces? The Hopkinsville and Christian Co. jobs are like opportunities to be the captain of one of those pieces…

To be honest, I was shooting from the hip so that's a mistake on my part. 🙃 Both are good jobs... Bardstown is the better of the two for the first 27 years of a career and then Bethlehem is the better for the post 27 years, if that makes sense! 😉

I would base my list on the following: 1. Good place to live - Some great football communities are hard to become a part of as an outsider; 2. Going to have players - self-explanatory; 3. Good school to be in - The school is good at more than just football; 4. Facilities and other tangible aspects of the program reflect a current and historical commitment to investing in football. - One upgrade or a proud but crumbling existence don't make the cut. My list: 1A - Bethlehem, NCC, Holy Cross, Pikeville 1A Maybe - Bishop Brossart (great location, but do they have players?) 2A - Murray, O-Cath, LCA, Beechwood, Somerset 2A Maybe's that will make people mad - Mayfield (not a fan of the location) and Danville (do they still have players) 3A - Franklin Simpson, Glasgow, CAL, E-Town, Lex Cath 3A Maybe's that will make people mad - Bell Co. (again, location) and Belfry (he's never gonna retire anyways and when he does, do you want to follow him?) 4A to 6A are much more full of jobs in bigger towns. So for these I'm just going with the dream jobs IMO 4A - Cov Cath and Boyle 4A Maybe's that will make people mad - Corbin, Tilghman, and Bardstown 5A - BG, Owensboro, and Highlands 5A Maybe's that will make people mad - South Warren, Scott Co., Cooper, and all of Pulaski Co. 6A - Trinity, Male, X Plenty of good jobs in 6A but other than the three above, you probably aren't gonna hoist the big trophy.

It was ironic that the absent whistle on the hacking of Ritter in the 2nd half ultimately doomed the Dragons as they looked up with 1:20 to go and had only one foul on the board, thus allowing BG and all their guards to run around and bleed the clock all the way down while Central had to get four more fouls.

A few times in my life I believe I was staring down the barrel of 2 "maybes" and 8 "uh-oh's"....