I generally agree with your posts but we will just have to agree to disagree on this one. HHS definitely had a chance to win this game. They were not facing monumental odds here. Elder is good but not great. I am not saying the HHS defense was not trying hard but they did not get it done IMO. The good news is that they will not face a team that can run it like that the rest of the year.

 

I said before the game that Highlands needed to play flawless offensively b/c you cannot rely on this year's defense to hold a team like Elder under 20pts. The offense needed to match scores. They did well for 3 qtrs. The momentum took a dramatic turn in the 4th but McCoy passed the ball down the field to get within one td. Despite the end result, this was a fantastic game. It was so fantastic I saw many fans clapping and cheering on the Birds even after the game.

Highlands would fit squarely in the middle of DIII with roughly 300 male students in top three grades (252 to 350 is Ohio DIII designation) To put both a local and statewide benchmark out there, Turpin is #2 in state ranking and Cincy Northwest HS is number 5 statewide. Both went into tonight undefeated.

Don't expect that you will see either of those teams looking to come to Ft.Thomas anytime soon.

 

Highlands’s current 4A alignment is based on 419 boys (2yr avg - Grades 9 thru 12). If their average was 417 boys they would be in 3A. They are the smallest 4A school and are ranked 110th in the state for the number of boys.

 

The number one ranked HS in Kentucky is St X with 1,453 boys and Trinity is second with 1,357 boys (grades 9 thru 12).

 

Trinity beat Elder 45 to 21

 

Ohio considers grades 9, 10 and 11 when making divisions – Cincinnati St X has 1,164 boys (Grade 9 thru 11), Colerain has 822 boys, Elder comes in at 714 boys.

 

Highlands would be in Division III in Ohio based on the number of Boys (grades 9 thru 11) and how they are classified.

 

Highlands loss to Elder 38 to 24 given Elder's size and pool of boys to draw from made me proud of the guys playing for HHS tonight.

Highlands’s current 4A alignment is based on 419 boys (2yr avg - Grades 9 thru 12). If their average was 417 boys they would be in 3A. They are the smallest 4A school and are ranked 110th in the state for the number of boys.

 

The number one ranked HS in Kentucky is St X with 1,453 boys and Trinity is second with 1,357 boys (grades 9 thru 12).

 

Trinity beat Elder 45 to 21

 

Ohio considers grades 9, 10 and 11 when making divisions – Cincinnati St X has 1,164 boys (Grade 9 thru 11), Colerain has 822 boys, Elder comes in at 714 boys.

 

Highlands would be in Division III in Ohio based on the number of Boys (grades 9 thru 11) and how they are classified.

 

Highlands loss to Elder 38 to 24 given Elder's size and pool of boys to draw from made me proud of the guys playing for HHS tonight.

 

I am glad Dale didn't pull a Johnson Central in the 4th to try and keep the game respectable. He aired it out, managed the clock well, and played to win, regardless of the field position.:clap:

Is Ohio football that much better than Ky? I don't know what Elder was ranked but they beat Ky's #2 team by 14.

 

Yes, there is a big disparity.

It would be foolish for Ohio teams near the size of Highlands to schedule Highlands because much more often than not the Ohio team would lose.

 

In case anyone doesn't understand, Ohio teams only schedule KY teams (or any out of state team) when the Ohio team is almost certain they are going to win the game.

 

Wrong, then why do many gcl teams seem to play teams like Trinity and Indianapolis Cathederal? Can't be because it's an easy win.

Guru,

 

Well, I think your statement implied that all OH schools intentionally program a "soft" OOS schedule. I think the two schools mentioned above (Moe and X) are not properly susceptible to that criticism. They have scheduled some tough OOS competition. But, I acknowledge that if the standard for a non-soft OOS schedule is calendaring games with teams that are likely to beat you, X especially would have a hard time meeting that standard, because there are not many teams in a given year that are likely to beat them. And if you judge the intentional "softness" at the time the games are scheduled (usually a year or two in advance), it would be nigh impossible for Cincy X (and a handful of other national "powers") to meet the standard, because they would need a very reliable crystal ball to identify the (maybe) half dozen teams in the country likely to beat them two years hence.

Edited October 20, 201213 yr by 81rock
Clarity

Anyone have offensive numbers for Run DMC or Harris?

I don't know Joe Frank. Is he the guy that was referenced earlier as a CCH guy?

 

Nope, had nothing to do with my reference. I dont think he is a Blueboy is he?

Just a veterean White Hat that gets all of the BIG games in NKY involving Highlands and it has finally ran its course.

So that was Joe Frank. That's a real shame there.

 

Did anybody hear the Birds chant after Dale spoke with them on the field after the game. Got to love it!

Let me guess................REDDOG!!!!!!! Beat Raiders.....................:thumb:

My take is Highlands got absolutly worked on defense. Elder said they were going to run the ball and Highlands wasn't going to stop it and they were right. The offense couldn't keep up. There were a fee key plays in the game. The first was the highlands interception in the endzone on Elders first drive. Another was Highlands missed fg at the half time buzzer. The last was the mccoy interception. Elder was a lot better.

Is there a JV game between these two on Saturday?

 

21-0 Birds 2nd quarter..

It would be foolish for Ohio teams near the size of Highlands to schedule Highlands because much more often than not the Ohio team would lose.

 

In case anyone doesn't understand, Ohio teams only schedule KY teams (or any out of state team) when the Ohio team is almost certain they are going to win the game.

 

Then what is your rationale for Elder having played Trinity?

I generally agree with your posts but we will just have to agree to disagree on this one. HHS definitely had a chance to win this game. They were not facing monumental odds here. Elder is good but not great. I am not saying the HHS defense was not trying hard but they did not get it done IMO. The good news is that they will not face a team that can run it like that the rest of the year.

I would say you are not being completely realistic in your expectations. They faced a team that was MUCH bigger with a heck of a lot more depth. The fact that they came close to defeating Elder at all -- and almost pulled it off -- is a true testament of how great they played and the amount of focused effort they put into winning that game. Suggesting they just "didn't get it done" is a a really unfair put down in my opinion. And I'm usually the first one to criticize the team or point out their weaknesses. And if you don't believe that, just ask Blue Kool-aiders.

I would say you are not being completely realistic in your expectations. They faced a team that was MUCH bigger with a heck of a lot more depth. The fact that they came close to defeating Elder at all -- and almost pulled it off -- is a true testament of how great they played and the amount of focused effort they put into winning that game. Suggesting they just "didn't get it done" is a a really unfair put down in my opinion. And I'm usually the first one to criticize the team or point out their weaknesses. And if you don't believe that, just ask Blue Kool-aiders.

 

It was 17 - 17 going into the 3rd quarter. Highlands was right there. After Elder scored following the McCoy pick was the key moment of the game. Highlands has never been under pressure in the 4th quarter. How would they handle it? 3 and out.

 

Highlands just lacked the experience of being under pressure. Had they responded to that score, I believe they would have won.

Highlands is a great team no doubt. But in a prior thread we foreseen this. If Highlands would have won everybody from there would be on top of the world but if they lost the excuse was gonna be they should have blah blah. From what I am reading it's simple don't make excuses make improvements. Highlands finally met a team just as good as them well in this case maybe a little better.