St. X State of the Program

[GOTGFan]

We had a patch work O- Line all year and many underclassmen were able to play. I believe we will have 7 of the 10 lineman back that played. But we do lose some big pieces. I believe X loses a lot as well.

[Larry Linville]

Trinity loses 3 o-lineman but should see the return of 2 preseason 1st teamers who missed the whole year due to injury. It will be the 3rd consecutive year that they will have a new QB and while they lose Moore and Strothman there are plenty of guys with experience at receiver. Both Smith and McGuire return at RB. They also have the advantage of a coaching staff that is masterful at adjusting the offense to the strengths and weaknesses of the personnel.

 

Defense will be a HUGE question early. Lots of opportunities there for talented youngsters to find minutes.

 

Trinity’s freshmen ran the table this year and many of those kids will see substantial minutes next year. Then there are always the unheralded freshmen that contribute. Nick Bohn wasn’t the starting QB as a freshman.

 

I’m not going to predict that Trinity will run the schedule unscathed next year but you never know. I didn’t think we’d go undefeated the last 2 seasons either.

[Bert]

I’m not sure that the X program has deteriorated. Trinity has gotten better. The string of losses didn’t start when Coach Wolford was hired, it started after the tip of the hat. That was Coach Glaser’s last win. I don’t know what X does to catch up. My guess is wait for Coach Beatty to retire.[/QUOTE]

 

Unfortunate for St. X, this is probably the truth. Love him or hate him, Beatty is an unbelievable coach who has put together a program (especially since 2011) that exceeds any other era in Trinity football despite those eras being lead by Hall of Fame coaches like Dennis Lampley and Jim Kennedy. Beatty has just been a coach who can make other really good coaches look very average. So X will probably have to wait. I have no doubt Trinity will hire another great coach, I just don't think we can expect the next coach to dominate a program like St. X like Beatty has since 09 and to make not winning state each year seem odd.

[Auburn]

It’s absolutely time to panic.

 

Being the year in year out 2nd best team (most years)in all of KYHSFB should cause extreme concern.

[NLTanker1]

Let me ask you-What do you define as much? MR Football, the best completion QB in the history of U S high school, A division 1 offered WR, a lot of your offensive line and linebackers, at least 2 of your starting Dbs but that is not "much"?

 

Correct. All those questions were answered with this year's team. This squad was expected to lose 4-5 games pre season. So after what they accomplished, no the Rocks aren't losing much.

[jimmyref]

Trinity loses 3 o-lineman but should see the return of 2 preseason 1st teamers who missed the whole year due to injury. It will be the 3rd consecutive year that they will have a new QB and while they lose Moore and Strothman there are plenty of guys with experience at receiver. Both Smith and McGuire return at RB. They also have the advantage of a coaching staff that is masterful at adjusting the offense to the strengths and weaknesses of the personnel.

 

Defense will be a HUGE question early. Lots of opportunities there for talented youngsters to find minutes.

 

Trinity’s freshmen ran the table this year and many of those kids will see substantial minutes next year. Then there are always the unheralded freshmen that contribute. Nick Bohn wasn’t the starting QB as a freshman.

 

I’m not going to predict that Trinity will run the schedule unscathed next year but you never know. I didn’t think we’d go undefeated the last 2 seasons either.

I don't quite get the comments about Nick Bohn on here from the Trinity faithful. " He didn't start freshmen year" "less than d1 arm strength" wide open receivers underthrown for an interception" . You realize that his year was the best completion % not only for Trinity, not only for KY but the highest completion % EVER in the United States High School! NOt just better than Brohm, Brohm, Stein, and Petrino but Couch, Montana, Marino, Unitas, Favre, Elway, Michael Bush, Chris Redman, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel, Everyone ever in history that has played high school QB! Show him the love because he took the projected 4-5 losses to undefeated. Trinity had about a 2 to 1 in passing versus running. St Xavier tried to shade Rondale in the regular season and Nick threw 4 TDS to 4 different receivers. Show him the love!

[Larry Linville]

My comment was in no way trying to lessen what Nick accomplished this year. It was simply a response to your post implying they Trinity wouldn’t be able to overcome their losses this year. I made the statement about Nick not starting as a freshman to illustrate that at Trinity you never know who the next hero will be and that even someone who wasn’t the best player at his position as a freshman can be a star later.

 

For the record as far as I’m concerned Nick was the best QB in the state this year and it’s not close. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone.

[LongTimeReader]

X is a very good program with rich tradition, and it's frustrating to see a team dominate them they way they have the last 20 meetings.

 

Based on what I've seen from them over the years this what needs to take place to compete on a more competitive level with T:

 

Schematically, what they do offensively is fine. They have a big OL with tough RB so line up and run the ball. That's good, but that can't be it. X has to develop not only a passing game, but a passer. Their passing concepts are basic and easy for a defense to prepare for. They have to come up with ways to make a defense defend the entire width of the field, not just between the hashes. X has had solid QBs over the years, but development of them as passers always seems to be lacking.

 

Defensively, Bruner does a good job with the front 7 and making sure they're in position to be successful. The biggest concern is the secondary. They're very predictable and I would be willing to bet every school that has played against X knows what coverage they're going to get based off their formation. They have to do a better job of disguising coverage to cause more confusion for opposing offensives.

 

It's difficult to see what's taking place on Shelbyville Rd., but it's not insurmountable as some might believe. The players are there and coaching is just as good as that of anyone else, yes even T's. If I'm Wolford from this point I do is about beating T. From the winter through the summer and then through the Fall season, ever action has to be done to beat T and cause them problems. Not sure if that's being done currently.

[bruin66]

In answer to my own questions:

 

Schematically, the offense does not utilize the players it currently gets effectively. The lack of production in the run game against teams like Trinity and Cincinnati St. X makes it hard to win solely based on the pass. This past year, the Tigers had one of their biggest O-lines in school history, yet they rushed for less than 100 yards in each of the Trinity games. That is not taking advantage of the talent currently available. The 100% spread offense concepts do not give them the best chance to run the ball, although I have no problem with them doing that a times. There is still a time and place, even in current football, for and under-center attack with one or more TE’s mixed in with some spread concepts. In high school, the offensive scheme must be tweaked and adapted to best fit the talents of the players while retaining its core components. That has not happened in recent years.

 

Defensively, the scheme with the Front 7 has been effective. However, the pass coverage concepts have been exploited in recent years more than ever. The lack of mixing up coverages has hurt at times.

 

On special teams, the Tigers have done a continued good job of developing kickers, punters, and long snappers. Special teams units have continued to be solid.

 

Overall, as far as the program and the head coach, I think the school made a mistake by hiring a coach who is not a regular member of the faculty and is not in the hallways of the school building on a regular basis. I think it makes it tough to develop the relationship with the players and the school community that is needed to make the program the best it can be. I do not fault Wolford for this, though. He simply took a job that was offered to him. I just hope that whenever the school decides to hire the next coach, whether that be soon or in the distant future, that they admit their mistake and do not repeat it.

[gchs_uk9]

We have solid underclassmen but no program changers.

 

This seems to be a regular problem from my admittedly limited viewings of St. X. They never seem to have game breakers or tons of speed, at least compared to Trinity. St. X is never worse than about the fifth best team in all of Kentucky but they're never higher than second. How do they bridge that gap between themselves and Trinity? Not sure there is an answer.

[Trinity alum]

X is a very good program with rich tradition, and it's frustrating to see a team dominate them they way they have the last 20 meetings.

 

Based on what I've seen from them over the years this what needs to take place to compete on a more competitive level with T:

 

Schematically, what they do offensively is fine. They have a big OL with tough RB so line up and run the ball. That's good, but that can't be it. X has to develop not only a passing game, but a passer. Their passing concepts are basic and easy for a defense to prepare for. They have to come up with ways to make a defense defend the entire width of the field, not just between the hashes. X has had solid QBs over the years, but development of them as passers always seems to be lacking.

 

Defensively, Bruner does a good job with the front 7 and making sure they're in position to be successful. The biggest concern is the secondary. They're very predictable and I would be willing to bet every school that has played against X knows what coverage they're going to get based off their formation. They have to do a better job of disguising coverage to cause more confusion for opposing offensives.

 

It's difficult to see what's taking place on Shelbyville Rd., but it's not insurmountable as some might believe. The players are there and coaching is just as good as that of anyone else, yes even T's. If I'm Wolford from this point I do is about beating T. From the winter through the summer and then through the Fall season, ever action has to be done to beat T and cause them problems. Not sure if that's being done currently.

 

The bolded items would seem to contradict each other. Schemes, player development and predictability are all coaching. Coaching is more than just knowledge. It is also the ability to teach that knowledge and more importantly (and this is Coach Beatty's biggest strength) it is the willingness to demand that everyone involved in the program from coaches to players to support staff do whatever is necessary to prepare. I watched the replay last night. I couldn't get over how many times Bill Ransdell commented that the X quarterback threw off the wrong foot. I don't doubt that someone had taught him how to throw. I don't doubt that he knows how to throw. I do doubt that anyone ever demanded that he keep doing it over and over until he didn't know any other way to throw and if he didn't, next man up.

 

There is another thread asking who was the best quarterback in the final twelve. I didn't see most of them so I won't comment. I also don't know who has the most potential in college. What I do know is that I saw one quarterback in the 6A game that had put in the time with his coaches and teammates to be an OUTSTANDING high school quarterback and the best on the field.

 

Another thread asks if the outcome would have been different if Rondale Moore had changed teams. I doubt that, but I am sure that X would have won if the teams changed coaching staffs.

[LongTimeReader]

The bolded items would seem to contradict each other. Schemes, player development and predictability are all coaching. Coaching is more than just knowledge. It is also the ability to teach that knowledge and more importantly (and this is Coach Beatty's biggest strength) it is the willingness to demand that everyone involved in the program from coaches to players to support staff do whatever is necessary to prepare. I watched the replay last night. I couldn't get over how many times Bill Ransdell commented that the X quarterback threw off the wrong foot. I don't doubt that someone had taught him how to throw. I don't doubt that he knows how to throw. I do doubt that anyone ever demanded that he keep doing it over and over until he didn't know any other way to throw and if he didn't, next man up.

 

There is another thread asking who was the best quarterback in the final twelve. I didn't see most of them so I won't comment. I also don't know who has the most potential in college. What I do know is that I saw one quarterback in the 6A game that had put in the time with his coaches and teammates to be an OUTSTANDING high school quarterback and the best on the field.

 

Another thread asks if the outcome would have been different if Rondale Moore had changed teams. I doubt that, but I am sure that X would have won if the teams changed coaching staffs.

 

I don't believe X's staff is doing anything that is hurting the foundation. What they do is sound from a big picture. Are there little details that need to be cleaned up, yes, but that's true with every program, even at T.

 

I guess if you've won 17 out of 20 you're a better staff, but I don't think the gap is as wide coaching wise as many suggest.

[TheDeuce]

Trinity had about a 2 to 1 in passing versus running.

 

Trinity had 404 rushing attempts and 401 passing attempts.

[bruin66]

Trinity had 404 rushing attempts and 401 passing attempts.

Where did you get that information? I am not sure it is accurate on the passing stats.

[Trinity alum]

I don't believe X's staff is doing anything that is hurting the foundation. What they do is sound from a big picture. Are there little details that need to be cleaned up, yes, but that's true with every program, even at T.

 

I guess if you've won 17 out of 20 you're a better staff, but I don't think the gap is as wide coaching wise as many suggest.

 

The little details ARE the difference between great coaching and good coaching. X may not be that far away but it is far enough. It is funny that we are talking about how close a 17 point win was.