Good win for the Tomcats. Now the season really begins, just continue the hard work.

Prestonsburg just could not cover the kick off. I think this is probally the best Pburg has looked all year though. They had a few passes fall short. If they could have made it down feild this game could have been interesting. In all honesty i wasn't that impressed with Ashland. They are going to have alot of trouble out of JC this year. JC would probally name the score on the team i watched tonight.

 

 

Ashland may very well lose to JC this year, but tonight's game didn't impress me either. This Ashland team is a lot better than they showed tonight and should have won this game by a much larger margin than it did. And I don't see JC naming the score of that game not taking away from JC.

P-burg threw everything they had at the T-cats, but it just wasn’t enough on this night. :cry: Like others have said – I’ll happily take an 18 point road win any time.

 

However, I have some concerns about Ashland:

 

• In the last 2 games (P-West and P-burg) the T-cats haven’t played hard enough early, they seemed to wait till late in the game to put their opponent away.

o It’s good that they play hard in the 4th quarter

o But, it would be good to see them put someone away early – show a killer instinct, especially on the road.

• Up till this game the team has shown steady improvement each week – I didn’t see it this week. We’re not good enough yet.

• Our passing game was off

• Our pass defense was not good – just lucky we didn’t get hurt a couple of times

 

The bright spots I saw:

 

• Mat Thomas is running hard – quickly becoming a premiere running back (may challenge Russell’s Clark for best in the area this year).

• O-line continued playing strong

• Run defense played well

• Fields Davis and Josh Cordle both are running like men

• Big play capability – a must have for this team

o But, I would like to see more sustained drives – we’ll need them against better teams.

 

I’m glad that Coach Hart wants to end this series – it doesn’t do anything for Ashland. We need to be playing teams our size or larger to get us ready for play-off games. If we’re going to play 2A schools, we need to stay with the top programs like Russell and Belfry. IMO we need to look for central or northern Kentucky teams to play – because that’s our road through the play-offs next year.

 

Just one posters opinion,

Graybeard

 

 

 

I agree with you Greybeard,Tomcats played flat with no emotion and still won the ballgame.

Congrads Tomcats:thumb:

Good JOB Matt Thomas,Davis,Cordel give these guys a hole and its katie bar the door:thumb:

I wonder why no Ashland fans have brought up the gift call they got when Thomas clearly touched the football late in the second quarter on the punt return ? P-burg comes up with the football at the Ashland 20, down 7 points with 2:00 left in the first half, only to see the "POOR OFFICIATING" crew give the ball back to Ashland !!!!!!

Seems like it may have been close at that point huh ?

 

 

You are correct in that it did appear that Thomas touched the ball on that play, and that the back judge may have blown the call. There were several instances during the game where I wondered what in the world were the officials watching, because it didn't appear that they were watching the game.

I am so happy for Matt Thomas. I don't know what has gotten into him these past few weeks, but it appears as if he is finally playing up to the expectations and lofty standards Ashland fans had made for him. It couldn't happen to a nicer or more deserving kid. I'm sure some of the credit goes to an outstanding o-line in front of him, but the Matt Thomas I saw at the Russell game was the one I had been waiting to see. He was hitting the holes without hesitation or dancing around. And he knew when to turn on the jets and when to showcase his moves. It appears as if he has continued this, with multiple 200 or close to 200 yard games. This kid is a junior, and if he keeps this level of play going and his confidence strong, he could very well go down as the great running back we all thought he could become.

 

I like the way Ashland is playing right now. Hopefully I'll be able to get back in town and make it a couple more games this year.

:thumb:

(IMO)If the o-line will gives Matt a seam hes gone,and yes Matt could be one of the best running backs to come out of Ashland (imo):thumb:

Congratulations on a good win.

You are correct in that it did appear that Thomas touched the ball on that play, and that the back judge may have blown the call. There were several instances during the game where I wondered what in the world were the officials watching, because it didn't appear that they were watching the game.

 

Thomas never touched the ball...Yes, he was close and to be honest might have touched it if he hadn't have been blasted away from it by a P-Burg defender.

Thomas never touched the ball...Yes, he was close and to be honest might have touched it if he hadn't have been blasted away from it by a P-Burg defender.

 

 

 

Thanks for the info onetoya. That's why I said it appeared he touched it and that the official may have blown the call. I'm glad to hear the official made the correct call. :thumb: I'm sure you'll agree with me on the flagrant foul on Michael Walters though, and how it should have been handled.

sure you'll agree with me on the flagrant foul on Michael Walters though, and how it should have been handled.

 

 

Lets keep this peaceful and I'll say yes...And to be honest "these" are the reasons Coach Hart will not play P-Burg agian.

Congrats to the Tomcats on another win and I hope that your team stays on a roll through the playoffs.:thumb:

My impressions of the ballgame echo much of what has already been stated. One of the more significant points from my perspective was what appeared to be a lack of intensity at the beginning and through much of the ballgame. I realize there are ebbs and flows throughout a season and its probably not possible to systematically maintain peak emotional levels for every single game...but…as one poster already mentioned, we had an opportunity to put this team away early and didn’t.

 

Our passing game seemed way out of synch all evening…for whatever reason(s) some nights just aren’t your night. The running game however kept on rolling. I particularly liked the power game displayed by Davis and Cordle, not to mention the amazing and continued improvement of Matt Thomas. Thomas is quickly pulling away from the pack as our regions premiere running back.

 

Defensively we stood our ground much of the night but had a couple of noticeable lapses in our secondary coverage. McDavid’s pick and return for six was nothing short of sweet though.

 

As for this being the final game with the Blackcats, it appears this series should be put on hold for awhile. There are other teams out there which may better prepare us for the AAA(A) playoffs.

 

So…what game will we attend next Friday?,,,I really dislike these bye weeks.

Ashland has to start Starting games and not just finishing them. I think they would find that would make things much easier. As sloppy as this game was, defense and offense, we still ran the ball. Thats one of the most promising things Ashland has done in the last couple of years. We've made good runs in the playoffs these last 3 or 4, and those with virtually no running game. All of Ian Holbrook's teams had to rely on the pass, maybe that wont be the case come playoffs, it certainly hasnt been the case thus far since Russell. By week hopefully equals more improvments for the Cats. Good Win, and good luck to Prestonsburg in the remainder of the season.

 

Keep it on the Ground,

Yoter

My impressions of the ballgame echo much of what has already been stated. One of the more significant points from my perspective was what appeared to be a lack of intensity at the beginning and through much of the ballgame. I realize there are ebbs and flows throughout a season and its probably not possible to systematically maintain peak emotional levels for every single game...but…as one poster already mentioned, we had an opportunity to put this team away early and didn’t.

 

Our passing game seemed way out of synch all evening…for whatever reason(s) some nights just aren’t your night. The running game however kept on rolling. I particularly liked the power game displayed by Davis and Cordle, not to mention the amazing and continued improvement of Matt Thomas. Thomas is quickly pulling away from the pack as our regions premiere running back.

 

Defensively we stood our ground much of the night but had a couple of noticeable lapses in our secondary coverage. McDavid’s pick and return for six was nothing short of sweet though.

 

As for this being the final game with the Blackcats, it appears this series should be put on hold for awhile. There are other teams out there which may better prepare us for the AAA(A) playoffs.

 

So…what game will we attend next Friday?,,,I really dislike these bye weeks.

IN OUR REGION? I don't think some people in the BLACK and GOLD would agree with you. He may be good, he may be the best, but I don't know if he is even the best inthe district, let alone the region. Shawn Grimm from JC averaged over 20 yds per carry against LC. It's hard to pull away from that.

IN OUR REGION? I don't think some people in the BLACK and GOLD would agree with you. He may be good, he may be the best, but I don't know if he is even the best inthe district, let alone the region. Shawn Grimm from JC averaged over 20 yds per carry against LC. It's hard to pull away from that.

My grandmother could average 20 yards a carry against LC, and she's in a wheelchair.

My grandmother could average 20 yards a carry against LC, and she's in a wheelchair.

Grimms stats will be better or comparable to any ones in this district for the year.