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The other guy was being sarcastic. He knows Garry is a great coach, so he does not want to lose him to some other school. It was actually a compliment.

If anyone doubted Coach Morris' ability before this final game, they are believers now. Red Devil fans have known he is one of the best Coaches in the state and this game will undoubtedly make believers out of all others. I am sure Coach Morris would be the first to point out that RHS has an awesome coaching staff that works together very hard week in and week out. In addition, the players have to execute the game plan. However, this takes us back to the coaching staff at RHS which does a super job at relating to the players. We have a program and Coach Morris is a big part of it. And by the way, he is a first class person and an even bigger asset to our Middle School as an administrator. He is adding to growing proof that some good things can come out of W.V. (like Coach McGlone and LKG).

Congratulations to the Titans and the Red Devils for a tremendous effort today. Mercer Co. has a great team and RHS has a great program. Coach Jaggers will probably build a great program if he sticks around. He seems to be a very good coach with regard to both football knowledge and relating to high school athletes as evidenced by his excellent management of players from different schools. Certainly, the merger has helped to jump start his efforts. Programs do not settle for moral victories, as RHS got today. We do however, take tremendous pride in the awesome effort our players and coaches put forth this week, culminating in Friday's battle. I am admittedly biased, but I feel the Red Devils outplayed the Titans. But I must give the Titans credit for hanging on down the stretch and making big plays on defense. Also, I feel compelled to address a few other topics. #1- The previous question of how much did the merger improve Mercer Co.?? They were beating teams so bad that I thought perhaps Mercer Co. would have been awesome without the HHS influence, but I have definitely changed my mind. I cannot imagine Mercer Co. alone beating the Devils. I do not say this to take anything away from the Titans achievements. #2- I was in the end zone during the phantom TD and was shocked at the officials call and the length of time it took to make it. Although we will never know how this might have effected the outcome of the game, as a RHS fan I would like to have found out. If I were a Titan fan I would probably feel the same way in that my team had the opponent pinned on the 1 yard line and that is usually not good (unless you are RHS vs Estill Co. in 2004). Most likely, Titan fans would rather their players make a big play than the officials give them one. That way, instead of old guys like me complaining about the officiating I could be commending a Titan linebacker on a blitzing 2 point safety or perhaps a 99 yard run by Beekman for a TD. #3- I think we did not ride the running game with Clark because he was not playing at full strength. I am not making excuses- programs do not make excuses, they find solutions. #4- The Red Devils proved that sometimes playing a weak schedule that you cannot control (in Russell's case with an 8 team district), doesn't always mean you are over-rated. Either RHS was significantly under-rated or the Titans were over-rated. I would like to think we were under estimated. Finally, both communities should be very proud of their teams for a great season and a lot of fun and good memories. Thanks to all the coaches, players, administration, and support staff from both teams for a trmendous effort all year long.

As an avid Russell Red Devil fan, I would like to tip my hat to the coaches and players of the Tomcat football team for achieving significant success this year. Certainly, after the Raceland loss most people wrote off the Tomcats. But the players and coaches regrouped and had a solid season with some big wins. I think this is a testimony to Coach Hart and his leadership. I want to especially congratulate the team on thier effort against JCHS. I predicted another steamrolling by JCHS over Ashland, but I was wrong. Again due to tremendous strategy adjustments by the coaches and execution by the players. Definitely something of which to be proud. Good Luck next year in all your games but one!!! Go Red Devils--all the way back to the carpet.

I was present for the 04 and 06 cheering sections during the CovCath games. They were both off the chart AWESOME. I find myself rooting for CovCath even though I live 2 hours away.

TBF, I think most all Russell people on this site knew exactly where you were going with this. I totally agree that GCHS was underrated by many fans including myself. Certainly this victory today by GCHS makes RHS look a whole lot better and posters from other 16th region teams are probably not so sure they would actually want a piece of GCHS. My problem with the RHS performance was our lack of inspired play and unforced errors. For heavens sake, our first trip in 34 years should be inspiration by itself. It seemed our kid's didn't mind for the season to be over. That is disappointing to me, not the point total.

Out of respect to the program, I do not feel this is the appropriate place to discuss many of these issues. In addition, as a fan of BGP, I do not want to break any rules.

Gold Star, winning some basketball games( and even a region title) doesn't earn everyone's PRAISE and RESPECT. It is certainly exciting to win the region title and I am very happy for this team. However, the wins do not change the major issues that are present within our boy's basketball program. I enthusiastically gave money after the region title to help pay for a well-deserved celebration dinner for our team. My support is for RHS, the players, and students. My support has nothing to do with being on or off the Steve Dodd bandwagon!!! As you can hopefully surmise, my issues with our program are not tied into wins and losses. Therefore, saying that both sides are in agreement is INCORRECT. Both sides are excited to have won our first regional title in 34 years, but this does not make us in agreement.

Sorry, but this schedule does not impress me. No disrespect for the great season NCC had in winning the 1A title, but my impression was that 1A was down a little this year. But it really does not matter, NCC was the best in 1A and you should be very proud as we are at Russell of our title in 2A. Most likely, year in and year out, a game between 1A and 2A champs would be very competitive with very few if any blow outs either way, including this year!!!

Congratulations Devils on an awesome season capped off by the ultimate prize that has eluded us for 27 years- STATE CHAMPS!!! It is days like today that make living in a small community priceless. A heart felt thank you to great local fans from rival schools that supported us today. We will remember this and be there when it is your turn. Some game observations. The Devils coaching staff is incredible from top to bottom. Gary Morris and staff did a great job preparing for the Aces as we knew they would, with a little free help from the Rams. Coach McGlone mixed the wing-t and the power-I to perfection. The Aces had no answer for the power-I. We definitely were more physical than the Aces, which apparently had not happened to them to this degree in the West. I believe several OC fans on this site underestimated our physical play. They also over-estimated the hurry-up no huddle offense causing fatigue. Certainly, OCath had some nice drives but had significant problems in the red zone with a short field. I thought their no huddle took FOREVER on many occasions. This had nothing to do with time-outs. A lack of platooning seemed to help us stay in the flow of the game. I'll be surprised if a 2A school that platoons 10 or 11 players as the Aces did will ever win a title, but that is just my opinion. I think it is too hard at the 2A level to have that many championship caliber players. Some Red Devil players to mention. Great performance from our line on both sides of the ball. This is where games are won and lost. Awesome game from Kasey Clark on the biggest stage in high school football. His 44 TDs in the season not only give him the record for most TDs and points in a single season at RHS, but also put him in the KHSAA record book. Last but not least was the stellar play of Nick Lewis, Aaron Beekman, and Tyler Jones. All 3 of these guys made some HUGE plays on the way to the win today, and they will all be back next year (Lord willing).

Homefield advantage is not just about the size of your crowd. It goes much deeper than that. It is about being in your Hometown all day on game day and seeing, hearing, and literally feeling the support all day. It is about eating what and when you want all day. It is about using your own bathroom. It is about driving 5 minutes to the field and dressing in your on locker room. It is about drawing on the tradition of past players, some of them good friends and some of them idols. It is about your walk down a familiar path steeped in tradition on your way to a field where you know every blade of grass. It is about your PA announcer shouting "here come the Devils". It is about the added confidence your home stadium gives you.............. I could go on and on. I truly believe we adults are kidding ourselves if we do not think this is a factor. This is human nature. The KHSAA asks football teams to overcome this every year. I strongly feel that homefield advantage should be taken out of the equation after the region final.

I was in attendence for last years 2A final, rooting for the Pirates believe or not, and I was impressed with the Aces offense. Certainly we have " not seen " YOUR offense this year but we have had some very big games in the last several years with teams that run what sounds like similar styles including Breathitt Co., Mason Co., and Flemming Co. Our coaches know how to defend this, but if your players are so much better than ours it will not matter. The hurry up/no huddle offense should not bother us. Russell has run the Wing-T since McGlone came to Russell and everybody on both sides of the ball knows what is coming, but executed properly it does not matter. After nearly 30 years our execution is generally pretty good. This is no different from your hurry up spread offense which probably relies more heavily on execution. I expect a great game from two worthy opponents, even though you do not. I would imagine most Ace fans are expecting a devil of a fight, especially the coaches and players.

Great win for the Devils last night. A tale of two different halves with Russell dominating the 1st half and Belfry the 2nd half. Both teams benefited from mistakes of the other team. However, I felt Russell was significantly more dominant as evident by the total yards gained and points scored. Russell certainly got a big break early with the fumbled kick-off, but moved the ball easily regardless of field position. The Pirates deserve a lot of credit for making 2 big plays to save 2 more 1st half TDs which would have put it out of reach. The Belfry fans should be very proud of their teams no quit attitude. Russell then lost a little focus and gave Belfry a very short field on the INT from a poorly thrown ball to an open receiver and a personal foul followed by a very poor punt. At this point it was game on. Neither team was impressive to me with Russell penalties and Belfry fumbles, but the Devils came up with the big play. As I predicted, we held Maynard to 89 yards with a few big plays but just as many big losses. I think home field advantage was again a big factor with Russell playing with more confidence. The home winning streak now stands at 22. Congratulations to Belfry on an awesome ride the last 3 years. It would not surprise me if these two great football programs meet again next year, although I am sure there are several teams in both regions that would beg to differ. Finally, a big pat on the back and maybe even a warm bear hug to the players and coaches of Russell who have kept knocking at the door and this year at long last got it open. We are very proud of you!!! You guys know you have more work to do and we will be behind you all the way.

Game time is drawing near and the excitement is rising as the temperature is falling. The community support is going to be awesome for both schools. No matter the outcome, we should all count ourselves fortunate to be a part of the excitement. All but 16 schools would be happy to trade us places. Russell wins tonight. I say this for several reasons. Mostly, like fans from both sides, it is because I want it to be!! Most of us don't want to admit it but it is true. However there are several differences from last year that I believe will make the difference. The most obvious is the loss of Jones and Howard. I realize both teams lost several great players and that the new backfield for the Pirates is very good, BUT it is a rarity to have 2 players of that caliber in 1 backfield and both be seniors. We had 1 last year and Clark is turning into that player before our very eyes, but I am talking about 2 great senior running backs playing at the same time. In addition, Maynard is not the kind of runner that has given Russell problems in the past. Certainly he has had a great year and is capable of big numbers, but the Devils usually have trouble with power backs like Matt Johnson of the Ashland Tomcats. I know Belfry has 2 other bigger backs, but I'll be surprised, to say the least, if they turn out to be better than last years backfield. I would freely admit that Russell lost a lot from last year in the backfield, but they have replaced the losses with seniors and Clark is a year older. They have replaced Gross' numbers by committee. I also worried about Brown replacing Mullins' leadership, but to my pleasant surprise, Tommy is rising to the occasion. Most importantly, Russell is relatively injury free. They absorbed a potentially devastating loss with the season ending injury to Justin Potter and have had their share of minor bang ups. Last year this team was marred by injuries all year with particular problems to key players in the Belfry game. Coach McGlone does not complain nor make excuses so this wasn't emphasized last year. I believe this was a tremendous factor last year and is the main reason we appeared to wear down. This is not the case this year for Russell. If I am right Russell wins tonight and I would love to see a healthy 2004 Red Devil team play Belfry. We might still lose but I would expect it to come down to the last possesion. There is more! Homefield advantage is often over-rated, but with two teams with such rich tradition it does make a difference. Russell has that advantage this year. I also take comfort in the fact that P-burg, who gets beaten by a region 4 team starting with a B, who then goes on to win it all, DID NOT HAPPEN. THIS IS RUSSELL'S YEAR!!!

Russell gets revenge from last year in the friendly confines of Henry R. Evans Stadium and wins 31-21!!! The Red Devil faithful proclaim, while clicking their heels, " there's no place like home".