Russell @ Ashland Predictions 9/9

[Watusi]

this one didn't:banana:

That warms my heart, GRD. :thumb:

 

I hope the Red Devils can pull another one off.

[Youngbloods]

Not that my opinion counts for much, but I think Adkins at QB is the right call. Not just for right now, but the next couple of years as well.

 

I'd be surprised not to see Ratliff get some snaps on offense at WR or out of the backfield. He's a playmaker with the ball in his hands.

 

I love this idea. I would like to see him take snaps in a wildcat formation. It was a shame that when Adkins was taking snaps, Ratliff was on the sidelines. He's too good an athlete to be on the sidelines. He needs to be on both sides of the ball at all times.

[GolfRev]

Heard Adkins will get the nod at qb, Ratliff will be in the defensive secondary, Brown and Roberts will be in the backfield with Love and Burgess back on the O line. Could get interesting this Friday at Putnam.

 

I would be surprised to see Will Adkins get the starting nod. Ratliff has had more varsity experience from last season, however, I would think he might be on a somewhat short leash. In spite of the pick he threw on his fist pass at GW, Will played with poise and patience, and he is gaining confidence. On the scoring drive at GW he did move the team downfield well - but I realize it wasn't against their first string defense, either. Whoever is at QB for the Tomcats will benefit from the return of Brown, and the injured Roberts and Love. I haven't heard for sure if Burgess will be back this week, or not, but we could sure use him. Ratliff would add depth and skill to the secondary if, indeed they use him there. The young man is a good athlete, and he needs to be in the ball game. It ought to be a good game, and much closer than that nightmare last Friday.

[Raider813]

With Ashland getting some key players back this Friday and the fact it's a home game for them, I think they'll squeak out a hard fought victory over Russell by the score of 27-22.

[JDEaston]

It's hard to predict an Ashland win at this point, considering how the season has started. But I'll go ahead and say it, Ashland wins this one. With the return of Brown and Roberts, Ashland will have a solid running attack for the first time this season. While I believe Russell has a solid team, they will be the 3rd best team Ashland has faced thus far, imo. I among others, would really like to see Atkins get the starting spot and find a way to work Ratliff into the overall gameplan as he is a great athlete himself. I just think Atkins is better suited for the QB position and believe it would show once he gets settled in. You can't waste Ratliff's talent though and I wouldn't just play him on defense, he needs to be involved in the offense in one way or another.

[LRCW]

That warms my heart, GRD. :thumb:

 

I hope the Red Devils can pull another one off.

 

 

:no: :no: :no: :no:

[DevilMayCare]

Does anyone else feel like this rivalry has lost its edge a little over the last several years? Ashland/Russell was arguably the best, most intense rivalry in NEKY for many years. Throughout the 80's, 90's, and 00's the series was a heated, back and forth affair with neither school winning more than 2 or 3 in a row, until 2008. That's the year Ashland began a six game winning streak in the series. Most of those wins were lopsided in the Tomcat's favor, especially a 61-7 shellacking in 2010.

 

I think the one sided nature of the series from '08 - '13 combined with Russell's slide into mediocrity during those years has taken some of the sizzle out of this rivalry. Here's hoping we see a classic at Putnam this Friday reminiscent of some of the great battles these two programs have waged against each other in the past, such as 2014, 2006, 2001,1998(my personal favorite), and 1993(the first year I actually sat and watched the game from start to finish).

[Watusi]

:no: :no: :no: :no:

:lol2::lol2:

[Cubster]

Mediocrity is a strong word to use for Russell from 2008-13. 2010 was a region finalist squad.

[DevilMayCare]

Mediocrity is a strong word to use for Russell from 2008-13. 2010 was a region finalist squad.

 

I suppose "mediocrity" is a relative term. Personally, I consider '08-'13 to be a pretty mediocre period for Russell compared to the six years that preceded them. They only won 56% of their games during that stretch and didn't win more than 7 games in a season.

[Cubster]

The teams prior to 2008 were really really good. The 2002 team was the best in the past 15 years at Russell.

[DevilMayCare]

The teams prior to 2008 were really really good. The 2002 team was the best in the past 15 years at Russell.

 

I tend to agree. That team let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers against Breathitt in the semis.

[Chaplain]

So, admittedly I am biased. Will Adkins is my nephew. I also live 1000 miles away in New Orleans so I do not get to go to the games to watch him play but I do listen on-line. I'm also the guy that talked them into letting Will come to the Manning Passing Academy here in Louisiana where he has progressed and been noticed each year for the last 3 years.

 

There is no question here... Will is a natural. He is an intelligent surgeon with an incredibly strong arm who makes great decisions. He rolls through his check-downs with vision and his passes are precise. As a Blazer grad myself I've never seen a more natural looking quarterback in that position for the to cats.

 

Please hear me say, I am taking NOTHING away from Ratliff. The young man is clearly a gifted athlete. There is no question that he should be on the filed during every play (on both sides of the ball in my opinion) He's just not a natural pocket passer. I can't for the life of me understand why both boys aren't on the field at the same time. With Will's arm and Ratliffs speed and toughness, along with the other offensive weapons (including a state ranked track star in Caines) I just feel like Ashland has the talent for strong and decisive wins if all the right prices were in all the right places.

 

But really, what do I know... I'm just a doting uncle who wished LSU would figure out that IT needs a strong natural pocket passer running the offense.

[Raider813]

But really, what do I know... I'm just a doting uncle who wished LSU would figure out that IT needs a strong natural pocket passer running the offense.

I also can't understand why LSU hasn't moved on from Harris yet. They have arguably the best set of skill players in the nation, sans the quarterback.

[JDEaston]

I'm with you @Chaplain. Both kids need to be on the field at the same time and while I'm no coach, to me it makes sense to put the pocket passer at qb, and find a position to also run the true athlete at. That said, I haven't been to any practices and I didn't get to see last Friday's game against GW, so maybe the coaches see something that obviously I haven't had a chance to see. But given everything I've heard about Adkins, I can't see how he's not the future qb for the Tomcats, so I see no reason not to go ahead and give him the majority of the snaps and find other ways to get Ratliff involved, just like Dowdy is this season.

 

 

One thing I should add though, is that with Kurtlen Brown having to sit out the first couple of games due to the transfer back to Ashland and Roberts being injured, it's possible that the coaches have given Ratliff the nod at the starting position since he is more of a threat when running the ball than Adkins is. As the season progresses I think things will work themselves out and we will figure out who will be the qb for the next couple of years.