:lol: Are there not enough threads to satisy your need to bash the Golden Eagles?

 

A weak schedule does make it hard to gauge a team's strength. My point, which is on topic and on target, is that the Watterson, DeSales, and Elder games are not necessarily good measuring sticks for Covington Catholic and Highlands, because it is really not that clear just how good those three Ohio teams are this season. Those fans who suggest that the winner of next week's HHS-CCH game should leapfrog over BGH in the rankings, in part, because the two teams have combined to lose 5 games to good Ohio teams is laughable.:lol:

 

Highlands and Covington Catholic both have excellent teams, but this is not one of Highlands best teams and it is not one of CovCath's best teams, past state championships notwithstanding.

 

Who's bashing the Eagles? What's good for the goose is good for the gander. You want to question the strength of schedules, I'm simply stating that if HHS or CCH wanted to go undefeated every year they could schedule some cupcakes. It's been debated before and I'm sure it will be again, but the general consensus is that Ohio football is on a different level than most of the football being played in KY. Playing some traditionally strong Ohio programs is better for both teams than playing some "marginal" KY programs.

I have no idea whether Highlands and CovCath are among the top three 3A teams...

 

...I would also rank Highlands and CCH in the top 3...

 

 

Color me confused...:confused:

Who are the Eagles?

Is Elder not a Division I school with an enrollment of 1,035 boys? Is your point that the loss of one key player explains why Elder beat two of the elite high school football teams in the commonwealth of Kentucky but was shutout by 3A Bishop Chatard, which has a boys enrollment of less than half that of Elder? Is your point that had Elder not lost one key player from the team that beat CCH and HHS that Chatard would have fallen as well? If so, I am not convinced. A top notch program should not be decimated by the loss of any one player - at least not beyond the game in which that player was lost.

 

Teams like Watterson, Elder, and DeSales schedule Kentucky teams because they look down upon them as easy wins that will pad their playoff rankings. Like it or not, in most cases the Ohio teams are right in that regard and like it or not, getting thumped nearly every year by Ohio teams does not change the fact that CCH and HHS are still Kentucky teams.

 

I have no idea whether Highlands and CovCath are among the top three 3A teams in the state and the losses to Watterson and DeSales provide no clues. IMO, it is wrong to simply dismiss the losses to Ohio teams each year as if they did not happen. If Watterson, DeSales, Bishop Chatard, Cathedral, and Roncalli are all better than either Covington Catholic or Highlands this season, then maybe, just maybe, this is the season when Lexington Catholic, Franklin County, Louisville Central, and/or (gasp!) Johnson Central are too.

 

That being said, I would also rank Highlands and CCH in the top 3, but if one of those teams beats the other convincingly next week, then I would slide them down several places. The gap between NKY football and non-NKY football is not the gulf that some NKY fans imagine - at least not this season. However, I hope I am wrong and neither team is a top 5 team this season:D

 

Parity would be a welcome change in Kentucky football.

 

I will take that as a no you didn't realize the difference between Elders first 4 games and the rest of the season. :banana:

Who's bashing the Eagles? What's good for the goose is good for the gander. You want to question the strength of schedules, I'm simply stating that if HHS or CCH wanted to go undefeated every year they could schedule some cupcakes. It's been debated before and I'm sure it will be again, but the general consensus is that Ohio football is on a different level than most of the football being played in KY. Playing some traditionally strong Ohio programs is better for both teams than playing some "marginal" KY programs.

I didn't question anybody's strength of schedule - you did. What I am questioning is whether Watterson and DeSales are the world-beaters that some want to portray them and whether those losses should be totally dismissed when considering whether either the 'Birds or the Colonels should be the state's top-ranked 3A team. I don't think that a good case can be made for either team regardless of who wins on Friday, barring an extremely unlikely loss by Bowling Green to Franklin-Simpson. I also don't think that the Desales-Watterson game offers any insight into the Highlands-CovCath game. Either team is capable of winning, but Highlands is clearly the favorite to do so.

I didn't question anybody's strength of schedule - you did. What I am questioning is whether Watterson and DeSales are the world-beaters that some want to portray them and whether those losses should be totally dismissed when considering whether either the 'Birds or the Colonels should be the state's top-ranked 3A team. I don't think that a good case can be made for either team regardless of who wins on Friday, barring an extremely unlikely loss by Bowling Green to Franklin-Simpson. I also don't think that the Desales-Watterson game offers any insight into the Highlands-CovCath game. Either team is capable of winning, but Highlands is clearly the favorite to do so.

 

I agree with this.

I will take that as a no you didn't realize the difference between Elders first 4 games and the rest of the season. :banana:

Take it however you want to take it. I believe that the injury to 4-4 Elder's quarterback has been used as an excuse before by fans of the teams who lost to the Panthers. The wheels do not simply fall off of an elite football program that has more than 1,000 boys from which to pick. The main reason that Elder has been losing lately is that they have been playing much better teams than they played early in the season.

I agree with this.

I am a realist, Oldbird. Nobody can deny that both Covington Catholic and Highlands have elite football programs by Kentucky standards. They are the type of programs that similazr sized schools like Johnson Central hope to build.

 

Highlands has been the most impressive of the two teams so far, and I think that it will be a mild upset if the Colonels win next Friday.

I am a realist, Oldbird. Nobody can deny that both Covington Catholic and Highlands have elite football programs by Kentucky standards. They are the type of programs that similazr sized schools like Johnson Central hope to build.

 

Highlands has been the most impressive of the two teams so far, and I think that it will be a mild upset if the Colonels win next Friday.

 

 

Mild upset time!

Is Elder not a Division I school with an enrollment of 1,035 boys? Is your point that the loss of one key player explains why Elder beat two of the elite high school football teams in the commonwealth of Kentucky but was shutout by 3A Bishop Chatard, which has a boys enrollment of less than half that of Elder? Is your point that had Elder not lost one key player from the team that beat CCH and HHS that Chatard would have fallen as well? If so, I am not convinced. A top notch program should not be decimated by the loss of any one player - at least not beyond the game in which that player was lost.

 

Teams like Watterson, Elder, and DeSales schedule Kentucky teams because they look down upon them as easy wins that will pad their playoff rankings. Like it or not, in most cases the Ohio teams are right in that regard and like it or not, getting thumped nearly every year by Ohio teams does not change the fact that CCH and HHS are still Kentucky teams.

 

I have no idea whether Highlands and CovCath are among the top three 3A teams in the state and the losses to Watterson and DeSales provide no clues. IMO, it is wrong to simply dismiss the losses to Ohio teams each year as if they did not happen. If Watterson, DeSales, Bishop Chatard, Cathedral, and Roncalli are all better than either Covington Catholic or Highlands this season, then maybe, just maybe, this is the season when Lexington Catholic, Franklin County, Louisville Central, and/or (gasp!) Johnson Central are too.

 

That being said, I would also rank Highlands and CCH in the top 3, but if one of those teams beats the other convincingly next week, then I would slide them down several places. The gap between NKY football and non-NKY football is not the gulf that some NKY fans imagine - at least not this season. However, I hope I am wrong and neither team is a top 5 team this season:D

 

Parity would be a welcome change in Kentucky football.

 

I don't have a dog in this little debate, but wanted to point out that Elder lost much more than their starting quarterback for a large part of their season. They also lost their best receiver, their best defensive back, and one of their starting linemen. I don't remember the position, but they had a fifth starter out with an injury also. That's five starters out. Even a school with Elder's size has problems when you have five starters out. Their best runner (but not the starter admittedly, but to me still their best running back) number 38 (Battle) also missed a couple of games I believe, for reasons I'm not sure of. At one point in the season, 3 of their 4 captains, were out for several games. If captains are selected for leadership qualities, as they generally are, having 3 of the 4 of them on the sidelines and not on the field leading has an effect at any level of football. Just want to provide additional info if your premise was based on Elder only having their starting qb out.

Something interesting to look at that I noticed at the time:

 

In 2003 I believe, Cincy St. X defeated Trinity 24-17, and Trinity went on to win AAAA Kentucky state title after this 0-4 start. Cincy St. X failed to make the Ohio DI playoffs.