Details to come.

Senior night in Richmond, Indians led 20-0 at the half. Starters played 3 quarters and left the game with a 41-0 score. The MC JV tacked on the final score. Good game overall on a very sloppy field. MC was flagged for 10:1 on penalties to NL.

 

Turning point in the game was in the 2nd quarter when NL fumbles at the 1 yard line going in to score to make the game 13-7. MC goes 99 yards to score before the half.

 

MC TD's came from Ricky Rhodes (rushing and receiving), Chaz Hope, Chavez Dean, and others which I can't recall at the time.

 

Shawn Asher for NL is a great player. He would be a good fit for a school like EKU. Why Danny Hope and staff aren't recruiting him puzzles me. He is big, fast, and physical and has the frame to add some weight. It is a shame he doesn't have better blocking.

 

Big game next week with #1 seed on the line at Lincoln.:fight:

EKU since coach hope got there doesn't do too much recruiting from kentucky, they like the states of Florida and Georgia.

EKU since coach hope got there doesn't do too much recruiting from kentucky, they like the states of Florida and Georgia.

 

And we can all see that is working out really well for him.

Senior night in Richmond, Indians led 20-0 at the half. Starters played 3 quarters and left the game with a 41-0 score. The MC JV tacked on the final score. Good game overall on a very sloppy field. MC was flagged for 10:1 on penalties to NL.

 

Turning point in the game was in the 2nd quarter when NL fumbles at the 1 yard line going in to score to make the game 13-7. MC goes 99 yards to score before the half.

 

MC TD's came from Ricky Rhodes (rushing and receiving), Chaz Hope, Chavez Dean, and others which I can't recall at the time.

 

Shawn Asher for NL is a great player. He would be a good fit for a school like EKU. Why Danny Hope and staff aren't recruiting him puzzles me. He is big, fast, and physical and has the frame to add some weight. It is a shame he doesn't have better blocking.

 

Big game next week with #1 seed on the line at Lincoln.:fight:

 

The blocking is just a small part of the problem for NL, IMO they have much bigger problems to deal with and questions to answer.

Huge game versus Lincoln. Should be a battle.

The blocking is just a small part of the problem for NL, IMO they have much bigger problems to deal with and questions to answer.

 

What are those problems and questions?

North only averaged scoring 15 ppg last season. It has dropped off to 14.2 ppg this season.

 

North's defense kept them in many games last season giving up 22.4 ppg, and if it wasn't for the Mad Southern game, that number would have been far less than that. This season they are giving up 33.9 ppg.

 

Last year North only lost 2 games by more than 1 TD & PAT (Mad Southern & Lincoln County). This year, they have been beaten by 34, 32, 33, 18, 45 & 48 points in their 6 losses (an average differential of 35 points per loss). On the season, wins and losses combined, the Jags were outscored by 7.4 ppg last season while this year they have been outscored by 19.7 ppg.

 

North went into the last week needing only 1 more win to make the playoffs last season. This year, they enter the final week with no shot to make the playoffs.

 

Their 3 wins this season are against teams who are all beat NL this season, but all 3 of those teams are way down from last season (Leslie Co, Mad Southern and South Laurel).

 

The questions seem to be why the offense hasn't gotten better and the the defense has taken a step backwards giving up 11.2 more ppg. I think the questions are that NL seemed to be a program on the rise with 2 straight winning seasons & playoff appearances capped by a very competitive game when they nearly defeated Scott County, the eventual 4A state runnerup that season (2004) and since have gone 6-13 and will not make the playoffs for the 2nd straight season yet have more players now than the school may have ever had suited up on Friday nights.

 

I want this program to succeed, but they have to find a way to stop the bleeding. I think they can do it, but they have to find a way to get these kids to believe in themselves and get the program back on track.

MT, what do you think the problem is? What needs to be done to fix it?

I wish I had the answers. I know that Abbott and McWhorter love the game and are working their tails off to try to fix what ails the team right now. I have a few ideas, but don't want to get into too much detail.

 

1. The middle school program has to be an extension of the high school program. The middle school program is turning out record numbers every year and is very successful. 10-1 right now playing for their conference championship this week (8th grade) and have been very good for quite some time. This year the 7th & 8th made the playoffs and there is some nice talent (and has been for some time) coming from the middle school. However, while I see several of the high school coaches constantly at the middle school games, they don't seem to be running the same offenses, defenses or using all the same terminology. Chuck Smith built the Boyle Co program from the middle school up and his plan seemed to work out pretty well for he and the Rebels and what they accomplished.

2. Find an offensive scheme (terminology, sets, formations) and stick with it. You can tailor what you run from that based on the talent you have in any given season. Last year, the program paid someone to design an offensive scheme based on what they have, however, what they were handed was a scheme that was what that particular coach had run and took years to perfect due to the various reads necessary. At times it looked good but was inconsistent. Also, too often they would get away from what was working without forcing the opposition to stop it (eg. the Mercer and South Laurel games in 2005 were good examples of that). Find a balance.

3. Changes should be made in some of the assistant coaches. There are a few assistants who either cannot relate to the kids OR who don't know enough about the game to even be on a middle school staff there. Some never played past middle school and had never coached the game at any level and are now on a high school staff? IMHO, I think there were a few mistakes made in hiring assistants. To be the best, you have to surround yourself with others who know and love the game as much as you do as a head coach and that isn't the case with a few of the assistants. I am not going to mention which coaches as I don't think that is appropriate in a forum such as this, but I do think a few changes have to be made if they are to progress in the direction that they want it to.

4. Find a way to keep more of the kids from middle school all the way thru their senior year. This year's senior class had over 22 players as freshmen and now are at around 7-8 and until last season, they have never played for a team with a losing record. IMHO, you have to be able to keep at least 1/2 of those kids who are frosh to complete their 4 years. This year's frosh class has 34-35 kids and they have to find a way to keep close to 20 of them for the next 3 years so they can develop. You never know how a kid will develop. Cam Cornett (Jr WR) never got to play much the past few years but this year, due to his hard work, he has developed into a very solid receiver. Those are the kind of kids you have to keep as they can make or break your program.

5. The linemen HAVE to get stronger and learn better technique. They have to stay with their blocks and that specific part of the game has been lacking the past 2 seasons.

6. Get back to having fun. These are kids and they play the game because they love it. If the fun is gone from anything we do in life, we will not be as successful at it. For kids, it is that much more important. Last year, I remember the week of the Madison Central game that the kids I talked to had a great week of practice and they pulled off the biggest upset in the state last season. When I asked why, the comments were the same, .. the coaches were loose and relaxed and seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. They still worked their tails off I was told, but when the coaches seemed loose and confident, the kids believed that the coaches were confident what they were doing and it translated into the biggest win NL had come up with, possibly in the history of the school.

 

These are just my ideas (which combined with .50 cents will get you a cup of coffee). I believe Abbott and McWhorter can get it turned around, but the pressure will start mounting more next season as the 3rd year of a coaches tenure is where you get a better feel for what direction the program is going to take.

I agree with every point you have made Mountain Thunder. At the few NL games I have gotten to attend this year, I have heard parents and fans alike, talking about what they would change or what needed to be done. I think Coach Abbott needs to look at his entire coaching staff, what they bring to the team as a whole, (whether positive or negative), and make adjustments accordingly. I would love to see the NL football program a successful one and hope Coach Abbott takes what ever actions he deems necessary to get this program on the right track.

 

As for the defense allowing more ppg this year, IMO it is because they have been on the field much longer than the offense. I would like to see the time of possession stats for last year and this year.

I can't speak to the "what is wrong" per se. I will say this. When I saw NL play the first game (granted) of the year vs JC, they seemed to be lacking the speed guys to have a chance in 4a football.

 

I'm not saying that the problems laid out in 1-6 are not significant, but the talent just doens't seem good enough to expect too much.

MT, I saw a rumor on another site that one of the NL assistants may be leaving and joining his former boss at a school to the south. Have you heard anything about this?

MT, I saw a rumor on another site that one of the NL assistants may be leaving and joining his former boss at a school to the south. Have you heard anything about this?

 

I'm not MT, but I've not heard this one, and can't really think of who you might be speaking of.