Lexington Catholic 2015

What does Lexington Catholic need to do to improve in 2015? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

Interested to follow LexCath as they move to 3A with a ton of offensive firepower.

Should be right in the thick of the title picture. From what I saw though I question their physicality up front and their Defnese has to improve. Look at the past 3A champs and it is very clear that high powered offenses seem to get cancelled out and it is the defensive juggernauts who win the trophies.

On offense they return one of the best running backs in the state in senior Jaylen Jones who is getting a lot of D1 attention.

The Knights will also have one of the best groups of WR in the state with SRs JJ Ogbogu, Donovan Morris, and twins Andy and Chris Thompson.

The Oline returns 3 starters ( Carpenter, Langford, and Tubridy) and 2 guys who played a lot last year.

Only offensive question mark is who will replace WKU signee Reese Ryan at QB. Through out the spring sophomore Greg Couch got the 1st team reps and improved considerably from the first practice to the last. But other contenders for the starting position did not participate. Andy Thompson plays baseball and Henry Clay transfer Legend Brumbaugh (son of UK dline coach) was not eligible yet. Everything I've heard says Brumbaugh will be eligible but as I have never seen him play I don't know what kind of impact he will have.

I will return with my thoughts on the defense when I gather them as that is a more complicated break down in my opinion.

Breakdown for the Knight in 2015:

On offense they have a lot of guys with big play ability. Through the air or on the ground they will rack up yards and score a lot of points. They did lose Ryan to graduation and I do not expect those shoes to be filled. The best thing about that is the Knights have better weapons this season and I expect the numbers to reflect that when the season ends.

On defense LC lost more. Graduation will hit us harder on this side. Not just the talent but the leadership of Mitchell, Couch, and Boling will hurt in the locker room and the field. Some of the players that saw time last season will be the permanent starters now. They seem enthused at the chance to play more so that is promising.

The season is based on injuries and depth. If Lexington Catholic is healthy entering the postseason then they will be in every game. Any kind of key injury this particular season then it could be an early departure. Simply don't have the numbers and the talent to replace certain players, and that would be devastating. If they are healthy they will win the state championship. If one of about 5 guys go down then all bets are off...

Offense will blow up the scoreboard, no doubt about that. On defense, even though they will be lacking leadership, they will have plenty of returning players that started several games due to injury and gained tons of experience. D-line ( Middleton, Boutilier, Carpenter ) Secondary ( Rowady, Hickey and Sotile ) and at LB ( Sharp, Pedroche, Foster ). So in my opinion Lex Catholic fans should have nothing to worry about on the defensive side.

Getting close Lex Catholic fans. I am curious and excited to see what this season of Knights version is going to be. High powered offense with Jones ( 1,600 plus ) on the ground, Ogbugo, Morris and the Thompson twins at WR and 3 returning O-line that has started since their freshman year and a QB that will surprise everyone. On defense, sure they will lack leadership with Boling, Mitchell and Couch to graduate, but like I mentioned at top, they have several returners in the secondary ( Rowady, Hickey ) and on the D- line... and in my opinion their LB crew will be stout with returning starters like Foster, Pedoroche and part time starter Sharp last season will all anchor the defense. Lex and Knights, Bluegrasscard, I am calling you guys out. What do you all think? But then again what do I know, I just a casual nerd fan that likes to read stats and occasionally attend games LOL.

Watched Catholic play 7-on-7 against Bryan Station and another team who I don't know who they were.

1st team offense played very well all day. Legend Brumbaugh got the vast majority of the 1st team reps and preformed very well. I could see some plays where his inexperience was noticeable but he is very talented.

I've said in the past that if the Knights had decent QB play this year then throw their name in the ring with Belfry, Boyle, and Central as favorites for the 3A crown. After today's 7-on-7 I think they will end up with very good QB play from Legend. Of course this was only 1 7-on-7 and a lot will change when the pads come on but I am very happy with what I have seen so far.

Bottom line is this team will be a strong contender for the 3A title.

I'm really trying to fly under the radar but I think it's impossible with the firepower that exist.

I can give what will be the strengths this upcoming season: On the ground or through the air pick your poison. Jaylen Jones should put up video game numbers on the ground in 2015. When teams stack the box I expect the signal caller ______ to pick the secondary apart with Ogbagu, Morris, and the Thompson Twins. I've said it privately and publicly this WR corp is better than last years group and I expect the everyone to agree around November. The offensive line will have Tubirdy, Carpenter, and Lankford returning as starters. You now get to sprinkle in Lark, Boutiller, and Ballard and you now have six strong kids that can rotate and play multiple positions on this uptempo offensive line. On defense I'd say the strengths will be LB corp and secondary. Hickey and Rowady are opportunistic players and will get their chances at picking off the football when tested. The LB were thrown in the fire in 2014 so this year they will play loose and enter each Friday with confidence. Sharp, Foster, Pedoroche, & Roden should fly all over the field and help shut down any ball carrier. The kick and punt returning will be another strength having Andy Thompson and Joseph Ogbagu to help with field position or take it to the house. One of my favorite plays of last season was 100 yard touchdown against Boyle county in the playoffs by A.T.

My concerns for the upcoming season is team depth. Any kind of injury to a key player this year and we are throwing a freshman or a sophomore to the wolves. Another concern is the DL generating a natural pass rush. If any QB gets time then we are in big trouble because you are asking guys to cover for way too long. I would say another concern would be having a punter to pin teams back if we are stalled on offense. Out of district schedule concerns me a lot. We have Ryle, Johnson Central, Covington Catholic, Cooper & Southwestern. Great opportunity and great test for us as a program. The Boyle games are always fun and electric.

A lot of people on here have said why do people think Lexington Catholic is going to do well at 3A? The last four years Lexington Catholic has played after Thanksgiving. The roadblock and bully that we couldn't conquer was Fort Thomas Highlands. I think we have to give them their credit. Besides them their was nobody that could beat LC. I know that it's not fair to think hypothetical but if Belfry or Central would've played FTH they would've got slapped like we did.

Overall preseason polls we deserve to be in the mix as a title contender. I can only hope we can back up those expectations of the polls and the ones we place on the young men that put on that uniform. Individual awards and records are a real possibility this season, but we want to take that next step and that's playing down in Bowling Green. A year ago the coaching staff hid something in the WKU locker room, I expect for them to uncover that this December. Yes I said that. Put in for a personal time off day for the first Friday of December Knights fans

Hard to add much to the excellent insight here.

Offensive will have all proven players at the skill positions and returning starters on the line.

Defense has the harder rebuild task this season. I think the defense will be able to stop the run as they have been doing the last few years. The teams that will be a problem are the passing teams with big receivers, especially if the the Knights continiue to favor the M2M coverage.