Elizabethtown 2017

What does Elizabethtown need to do to improve in 2017? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

Everyone is talking about the perennial heavy weights Belfry, Central, Boyle, LexCath and they are talking about rapidly trending Corbin.... but I am here to tell you the team that looks downright dangerous on paper in my eyes in Class 3A is Etown.

Panthers have reached back to back Semi's under Coach Brown and gave Central all they wanted last year. They return everything.. like 9 starters each way... including basically every key skill player.

After starting 2-3 the Panthers rattled off 8 straight wins including blowouts of Adair County, Tilghman, and Caldwell County before the narrow loss to Central.

IMHO there is no way I don't rank Etown as a Pre-Season Top 3 team and truth be told they may open as the best 3A team in the State in September until Belfry and Corbin can fill some holes.

Etown will probably run thru their schedule and be sitting at 10-0 or 9-1 at end of season

Etown will probably run thru their schedule and be sitting at 10-0 or 9-1 at end of season

Who do you see at the possible team to beat them to make them 9-1?

Franklin-Simpson game will be a battle. It's at FS too.

E-town also plays North Hardin, a 6A school who is always very talented, and CAL, a state champion, at CAL. It will be very hard for them not to lose a couple of these first three games.

I'm glad to see Etown playing a good opening schedule. The past 2-3 years it's been pretty soft with Marion, East/West Jessamine, and North Oldham who had 2 really bad years. Bardstown has been decent, but not the Tigers of old. This will be a challenging schedule I think. Panthers should have a nice team.

I don't see E-town being able to take down a very talented Franklin Simpson team on the road or being competitive with CAL and could start 0-3 with North Hardin sandwiched between these 2 games. They should run the table vs Bardstown, Edmonson County, Hart County, Adair County, LaRue County, Thomas Nelson, and Glasgow to finish the season. Wish they would bury the hatchet and add John or Central Hardin to their schedule in the coming years, renewing a once great cross-town, rivalry game.

I don't see E-town being able to take down a very talented Franklin Simpson team on the road or being competitive with CAL and could start 0-3 with North Hardin sandwiched between these 2 games. They should run the table vs Bardstown, Edmonson County, Hart County, Adair County, LaRue County, Thomas Nelson, and Glasgow to finish the season. Wish they would bury the hatchet and add John or Central Hardin to their schedule in the coming years, renewing a once great cross-town, rivalry game.

E'town needs to play John Hardin and Central Hardin -- both bigger schools with more athleticism -- about as much as DeSales needs to play St. X or about as much as Ludlow needs to play Highlands or CovCath or Ryle. Sure they're nearby and you get a decent gate out of it, but you're going to get beaten physically (and possibly mentally or on the scoreboard).

Plus, people know why the Central Hardin-Elizabethtown rivalry was scrapped. The apology (or lack thereof) behind it was laughable. Granted all of those involved (player wise) are out of school now, there are certain coaches/families that are still involved. Until a better apology or a house cleaning comes (which I'm doubting any time soon), this ain't happening.

People forget the Fort Knox-North Hardin rivalry is much older than John-Etown or Central-Etown. LaRue-Meade use to happen as well. Nice gates with local rivals, sure, but not much for Knox or LaRue to gain, either.

Plus, some of those Central Hardin-E'town games toward the end were straight-up routs from the opening kickoff. Do we REALLY need to go back to that, crowd be darned?

E'town needs to play John Hardin and Central Hardin -- both bigger schools with more athleticism -- about as much as DeSales needs to play St. X or about as much as Ludlow needs to play Highlands or CovCath or Ryle. Sure they're nearby and you get a decent gate out of it, but you're going to get beaten physically (and possibly mentally or on the scoreboard).

 

Plus, people know why the Central Hardin-Elizabethtown rivalry was scrapped. The apology (or lack thereof) behind it was laughable. Granted all of those involved (player wise) are out of school now, there are certain coaches/families that are still involved. Until a better apology or a house cleaning comes (which I'm doubting any time soon), this ain't happening.

 

People forget the Fort Knox-North Hardin rivalry is much older than John-Etown or Central-Etown. LaRue-Meade use to happen as well. Nice gates with local rivals, sure, but not much for Knox or LaRue to gain, either.

 

Plus, some of those Central Hardin-E'town games toward the end were straight-up routs from the opening kickoff. Do we REALLY need to go back to that, crowd be darned?

Your argument holds no water when KHSAA set up playoff games that are jokes too! To my knowledge, on the CHHS side there are no families /coaches still around from the situation you refer to! Again, I believe you have sour grapes toward CHHS. My opinion!

What do OPTIONAL regular-season games (which are limited and come in 2-year deals) have to do with playoff games, exactly?

Playing E'town is NOT going to prepare Central Hardin for the 6-A postseason. Central Hardin gains NOTHING (other than decent gate and bragging rights) by playing Elizabethtown. And heaven forbid a Central Hardin player get hurt in a rout against a 3-A school. That would NOT go over well.

Central Hardin has grown by leaps and bounds as a program the last few years. It does NOT need Elizabethtown to survive (and grow more).

You don't build your program by thumping smaller schools.

Heck, Elizabethtown's having a hard time with North Hardin and you think it needs to play Central (which has had North's number for a while now)?

Central Hardin can fill -- and has filled in the past -- that game with a more competitive team and still get a decent gate. E'town, in turn, adds a game it might win (instead of realistically lose most years) and not get physically beaten black and blue.

The state of the programs, especially Central Hardin's strong upswing, has changed the last few years.

ADMIT IT: Central Hardin has outgrown Elizabethtown (or else it better have if it is half the program it thinks it has become).

If Central Hardin REALLY needs to play Elizabethtown, it has NOT taken as many steps forward as you think it has.

Is Elizabethtown for sure playing Thomas Nelson on October 20? The KHSAA site has Thomas Nelson playing both Central and E-town that night. I'm guessing there is a mistake, but every team in Class 3A - District 3 has posted full schedules and that's how it turned out.

Is Elizabethtown for sure playing Thomas Nelson on October 20? The KHSAA site has Thomas Nelson playing both Central and E-town that night. I'm guessing there is a mistake, but every team in Class 3A - District 3 has posted full schedules and that's how it turned out.

The Elizabethtown-Thomas Nelson game has 3 options:

1) Stay the same date (with TNHS shifting some things around).

2) Move up a week (with TNHS shifting some things around).

3) Play Aug. 25 weekend (with TNHS shifting things around).

Thomas Nelson is working with Bardstown, Elizabethtown, Louisville Central, Nelson County and Frankfort to examine its option to fix its schedule.

Barring massive injuries or some unforeseen problems, I fully believe E-town ends their season in Bowling Green.

Barring massive injuries or some unforeseen problems, I fully believe E-town ends their season in Bowling Green.

IF -- Big IF, as the region final and state semis would be far from a cakewalk -- Elizabethtown does advance to the state final, how many coaches have taken THREE different schools to a state final. Mark Brown has done it with two (Nelson County, John Hardin) and Elizabethtown would be the third.