^ I have to agree.

I really think this thread is ridiculous. Beach went D-1, where's Blume going?

I agree, but the gap between Beach the high school player and Blume the high school player was not the wide gulf that some Ashland fans are portraying it. Obviously, Beach was a much better D-1 college prospect than Blume because of his size, but the impact that each player had on their team and the stats that they compiled while playing against similar competition as seniors were pretty similar.

 

Damon Bailey and Steve Alford were much better high school players than many players who had went on to enjoy great NBA careers, but that did not mean that those players were retroactively better high school players. Likewise, hopefully Arliss Beach will have a long and distinguished NFL career, but his NFL success or lack thereof will neither diminish nor enhance his high school accomplishmentsl.

 

One thing that I remember about Beach is that he had a great stiff arm that he used on the rare occasions when a JC tackler got within striking distance of him. Blume may have been just as elusive in the open field, but he was also very good at patiently finding holes when his blockers were stood up on the line. Johnson Central did not really stop Beach in the backfield or at the line, even temporarily, so I did not get a chance to seem him perform in traffic.

Fact from the JC scouting report when Arliss played: "#3 is an average runner and not that fast hit'em and he'll go down". I'm just not blowing steam "we" all saw it from a scouting report that was in the stands after the game????? Yes, I'm serious we found the JC scouting report after the game and the staff at the time did not respect Mr. Beach....To be honest I've never seen a back be MORE elusive than Arliss showed that night. I'm not sure how many tackles he broke that night but it was impressive and it was that night "we" knew we had a special back.

 

On a side note I understand that JC had hired a new coach that didn't work out, but the guy they got now is A+

I asked my son, who played on that JC team about the scouting report, and he said that JC's entire game plan was aimed at stopping Beach. The coaching staff was inept in many other regards, but the scouting report that Ashland fans reportedly found following the game sounds bogus.

 

The players who started most of the season at inside linebacker did not play a down at that position against Ashland. One of them, who started every other game during the season and was named an honorable mention on the All Area Team (behind two D-1 recruits), did not even get into the game (he was healthy, had been practicing very well, and was not subject to any disciplinary actions at the time).

 

The other linebacker, a junior who also started at RB, had played poorly in a couple of scrimmage games, so the coaching staff decided to let him watch Arliss run at will from the bench. The period between Bill Musick's tenure and Jim Matney's hiring was a nightmare for JC players and fans.

 

I am not trying to diminish Beach's performance, but the truth is Ashland probably had several other backs who could have shredded the Golden Eagle defense that night. He was a great back against formidable opponents, but JC was not a formidable opponent and Ron Blume was not part of that team.

 

It would be unfair to compare Beach's performance against a weak, poorly coached Johnson Central team to Blume's performance against the strong, well coached Tomcat team of 2005.

I asked my son, who played on that JC team about the scouting report, and he said that JC's entire game plan was aimed at stopping Beach. The coaching staff was inept in many other regards, but the scouting report that Ashland fans reportedly found following the game sounds bogus.

 

The players who started most of the season at inside linebacker did not play a down at that position against Ashland. One of them, who started every other game during the season and was named an honorable mention on the All Area Team (behind two D-1 recruits), did not even get into the game (he was healthy, had been practicing very well, and was not subject to any disciplinary actions at the time).

 

The other linebacker, a junior who also started at RB, had played poorly in a couple of scrimmage games, so the coaching staff decided to let him watch Arliss run at will from the bench. The period between Bill Musick's tenure and Jim Matney's hiring was a nightmare for JC players and fans.

 

I am not trying to diminish Beach's performance, but the truth is Ashland probably had several other backs who could have shredded the Golden Eagle defense that night. He was a great back against formidable opponents, but JC was not a formidable opponent and Ron Blume was not part of that team.

 

It would be unfair to compare Beach's performance against a weak, poorly coached Johnson Central team to Blume's performance against the strong, well coached Tomcat team of 2005.

 

I don't think anyone is comparing just those games, they're comparing careers. As far as the scouting report found being bogus, well it's not. Trust me. Now, I think JC coaching was doing what coaches do, trying to give their players confidence. Not many coaches tell their players that the other team is unstoppable or that the RB is unstoppable. So, you have to take it for what it's worth.

I don't think anyone is comparing just those games, they're comparing careers. As far as the scouting report found being bogus, well it's not. Trust me. Now, I think JC coaching was doing what coaches do, trying to give their players confidence. Not many coaches tell their players that the other team is unstoppable or that the RB is unstoppable. So, you have to take it for what it's worth.

My son was an integral part of that JC team and he told me that the coaches entire defensive focus leading up to the game was to shutdown Beach. Obviously, whatever the details of the plan were the plan failed miserably. \

 

The actual scouting report did not understate Beach's role in the Tomcat offense. Maybe what your fans found was part of some sort of silly disinformation campaign, but it was not reflective of the focus that the coaches placed on stopping Beach in the practices that led up to the game. I remember how bitterly disappointed my son was for not getting an opportunity to defend against a future D-1 running back.

 

Trust me, Johnson Central respected Beach's ability, they could simply not do anything to slow him down. The heat, humidity and the cramps slowed Beach down a little bit, but they were no substitute for good coaching. I don't remember Beach getting hit in the backfield all night long, and he was just too elusive to turn loose into the secondary.

........ Maybe what your fans found was part of some sort of silly disinformation campaign, .......

 

 

First, I am not a Tomcat fan. What I was trying to say was that I'm sure the JC coaches knew the abilities of Beach and respected him greatly. But coaches will tell their players things even if they do not believe it themselves. They will say " Hey, we can shut this guy down completely", when they know in their hearts that they haven't got a prayer of doing it. That's what I think they found. I know they found something like that. I don't think it was a coaches gameplan, I believe it was a study sheet that coaches give to the players during the week, it's a guide of assignments for that weeks opponent. It's just propaganda for the players to get them ready for the game. That's all I was saying.

First, I am not a Tomcat fan. What I was trying to say was that I'm sure the JC coaches knew the abilities of Beach and respected him greatly. But coaches will tell their players things even if they do not believe it themselves. They will say " Hey, we can shut this guy down completely", when they know in their hearts that they haven't got a prayer of doing it. That's what I think they found. I know they found something like that. I don't think it was a coaches gameplan, I believe it was a study sheet that coaches give to the players during the week, it's a guide of assignments for that weeks opponent. It's just propaganda for the players to get them ready for the game. That's all I was saying.

I understand what you are saying. However, I have two sons who played on that team and the coaches did distribute scouting reports to them to study. Both of my sons agree that the Johnson Central coaches did not downplay Beach's ability and that pre-game practices focused on stopping him. It would make no sense for coaches to water down a scouting report for players, and then spend all week emphasizing how dangerous of a running back Beach was.

 

I do not remember reading that particular scouting report, but it was not the practice of the coaches to hide the other teams strengths from their own players. Unfortunately, compiling scouting reports was one of the few strengths of the coaching staff at that time. I just doubt that anybody found a bona fide scouting report that referred to Arliss Beach as an average running back, but I doubt that anybody has a copy laying around to deliver the final word on the subject.

 

If the scouting report had overlooked Beach and JC had focused its defensive practices on the wrong player, Beach's 300+ yard game would have been more excusable. Sadly, that was not the case and only leg cramps limited him to the yards that he got that night.

Why even compare the two?

Sorry Woddy I haven't been on here in a while. But what I am trying to get at is that if you were UK why not take one more chance like ou have in past years, and give this young man a shot. Seeing the work ethic and the speed and all of the stats that Blume put up why not get him and have him in the return game or something. I would take Beach in the back field and Blume as a return man or even at WR.

Blume is fast but on film it really doesn't look like he has many moves its just pure speed and good defenses can shut that down. This kid is not as good as Josh Gross of Russell, Mike West of Lawrence, or Shawn Robbins of Bell County and thats just in recent memory.

Blume is fast but on film it really doesn't look like he has many moves its just pure speed and good defenses can shut that down. This kid is not as good as Josh Gross of Russell, Mike West of Lawrence, or Shawn Robbins of Bell County and thats just in recent memory.

 

You are correct!

I'll have to go with Beach, the Blume is good and had a great defense helping him out. Beach made his own holes to run through, he's got the foot action. Both boys are great and deserve big pats on the back.

Let me rephrase, I''d rather have beach at 50% than Blume at 200%. :thumb: :lol:

 

 

If you really believe that, then you are looking at this comparison with blinders on.

I've said it before and I'll say it again......Blume doesn't belong in a Top 5 EKY RB equation.

 

It's Beach, West, Howard, Jones, & Gross, in no order.....then the rest...argue away.

I've said it before and I'll say it again......Blume doesn't belong in a Top 5 EKY RB equation.

 

It's Beach, West, Howard, Jones, & Gross, in no order.....then the rest...argue away.

:thumb: