What does Ashland need to do to improve in 2016? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

It's going to be tough for Ashland to have a better season than they did last year. They lost a lot of seniors, including two Division 1 stars in Baker and O'Bryan.

 

One thing they do need to do is become more than a one dimensional offensive team. It will be interesting to see if there will be a QB battle come Spring and Summer.

I agree with LRCW on all points. I do think they can have an equally good season, but a lot of that will be dependent on line play and how the qb situation works out. If the line is solid and qb play is improved, I think the Tomcats could have a great year. Those are certainly two big question marks at the moment though.

Brown leaving hurts a lot. Replacing the entire o line and d line hurts a lot. Losing a massive amount of talent to college and graduation hurts a lot. I believe Ashland will take their lumps this season until they start to gel and buy in to what the coaches are selling. QB situation will definitely be a big question. I've heard already from reliably sources, stating that Dowdy will be at receiver, and Ratliff will be calling the plays. I wonder if there will be a qb battle at all or is it already settled?

I had no idea Kurtlen left, where did he go?

I had no idea Kurtlen left, where did he go?

 

Went back to Spring Valley. He's been having some issues. Hopefully, he will take care of who he needs to take care of.

Went back to Spring Valley. He's been having some issues. Hopefully, he will take care of who he needs to take care of.

 

Thanks for the info. Hopefully he can get things straightened out.

I saw that there is an opening for an assistant football coach. Who is leaving, or is there just an added position?

My knee jerk reaction is to say that the loss of Baker's big play ability on offense, O'Bryan's playmaking on defense and the overall leadership of a talented senior class will set Ashland back a little next season.

 

But after thinking about it for a bit, maybe that leadership rubbed off on the younger kids. They saw first hand how much work the 2015 seniors put in during last off-season. If that work ethic trickles down, Ashland should be fine, because the cupboard is far from bare.

 

I agree with the above points about the offense. With the graduation of Baker and the sudden departure of Brown, Ashland likely will lack the home run ability of last year's running game. Some balance on offense is a must if Ashland hopes to duplicate last year's results. Developing all new offensive and defensive lines will obviously be crucial as well.

What's schedule look like?

 

Ashland Paul G. Blazer 2016

8/26 H Raceland

9/16 A Ironton (OH)

10/7 H East Carter

Ashland Paul G. Blazer 2016

8/26 H Raceland-Worthington

9/2 H George Washington (WV)

9/9 H Russell

9/16 A Ironton (OH)

9/23 H Rowan County

9/30 H Boyd County

10/7 H East Carter

10/14 A Greenup County

10/21 A Johnson Central

10/28 H Tates Creek

Ashland is Ashland, they will always put o good team on the field. Some years better than others but they always have athletes that can play.

Good luck to the Tomcats :thumb:, with the one exception of your home opener. I do hope that you lose that one.

Ashland Paul G. Blazer 2016

8/26 H Raceland-Worthington

9/2 H George Washington (WV)

9/9 H Russell

9/16 A Ironton (OH)

9/23 H Rowan County

9/30 H Boyd County

10/7 H East Carter

10/14 A Greenup County

10/21 A Johnson Central

10/28 H Tates Creek

Wow ! 7 home games, how did they work that out ? I realize their game w/Raceland is at Putnam every season but 7 @H, only 3 away is one heck of an advantage. Kudos to them, I sure wish that Raceland could work out a schedule like that.

Wow ! 7 home games, how did they work that out ? I realize their game w/Raceland is at Putnam every season but 7 @H, only 3 away is one heck of an advantage. Kudos to them, I sure wish that Raceland could work out a schedule like that.

 

It's nice, but that usually means in the other year of the two year cycle you've only got 3 home games.

The KHSAA site doesn't show a location for the GW game. Last year GW came to Putnam, so I would guess Ashland's hitting the road to Charleston in 2016.

 

Ashland almost always has six home games because Raceland goes to Putnam every year.