* District Seven – Ashland Blazer (down from 4A), East Carter (down from 4A), Greenup County (down from 4A), Russell.

 

 

I like the new district with Ashland and Greenup being Big rivals of Russell and not much travel for fans attending. There should be some good gates come from the games. The games should be even more intense now for Russell with Ashland and Greenup fighting Russell for 1st in the district. Not that the games weren't already intense but adding Ashland and Greenup County to Russell's 3a District adds a whole new Flavor to the district.

 

What are your thoughts on Ashland and Greenup County and East Carter Joining Russell's 3a District 7?

Edited February 21, 20188 yr by GOREDDEVILS

Anyone know how long it's been since Ashland and Greenup County were in the same district as Russell?

per Jason Frakes of Louisville Courier Journals twitter

 

THIS IS ONLY A DRAFT!!! Schools have a chance to respond, and the Board of Control will not finalize this plan until May. AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY A DRAFT!!!

If this is how the final alignment ends up looking, I love it. It adds a little something extra to some local rivalries. Russell and Ashland meeting on the field with district implications has an awesome throwback feel to it. It's also a dramatic shakeup for Russell. Gone are familiar district foes Fleming, Lewis, and West Carter. Although, I could see West being moved back into this district before it's all said and done. Not sure why they'd be separated from East Carter.

 

One of the things I like most about this proposal, for Russell's sake, is that it will allow Russell to do something that I've been wanting to see them do for years - beef up the schedule. By replacing five district opponents with two teams already on the schedule plus East Carter, Russell would potentially have four openings to fill. I'm hoping they'll follow the blueprint laid down by Central, Belfry, Boyle, LexCath, and Corbin. To get back in the mix in 3A, they've got to schedule up, imo.

Anyone know how long it's been since Ashland and Greenup County were in the same district as Russell?

 

The last time Ashland and Russell were in the same district was 1990. Greenup and Russell haven't shared a district since 1974. I'm not sure if all three have ever been in the same district at the same time.

I like the new district but I would like to see more schools than 4. Greenup, Russell and Ashland are going to be top 10 if not top 5 in 3A most years. This makes Scheduling 7 non-district games tough. Local teams may not want to add tough games to their schedules or potential playoff matchups to their schedule. This could mean some long travel times and tough in season opponents for Musketeers, Devils and Tomcats

I like the new district but I would like to see more schools than 4. Greenup, Russell and Ashland are going to be top 10 if not top 5 in 3A most years. This makes Scheduling 7 non-district games tough. Local teams may not want to add tough games to their schedules or potential playoff matchups to their schedule. This could mean some long travel times and tough in season opponents for Musketeers, Devils and Tomcats

 

It's easy for me to say this because I'm not an AD, but I think the scheduling flexibility afforded by this alignment will only serve to strengthen the programs in this new district. Like I said in my post above, the schools that I mentioned changed the landscape of 3A by scheduling a lot tougher. Central got the ball rolling a long time ago, then Belfry, then Corbin, Boyle etc. I believe in order to get on that level and stay there a while, the rest of us have to follow suit. Russell, Greenup, and Ashland could reach out to Wheelersburg or any of the big Huntington schools, even if it means taking some lumps at first. It'll be worth it in the long run.

 

As for the bolded, I hope you're right. But, even with Boyle County, LexCath, and Central moving up, 3A could still be crowded at the top. The two small private school powers from Louisville are moving up from 2A and the long shadow of Belfry still exists. Plus, E-Town is still there with all of their recent success and quality programs like Mercer County, Rockcastle County, and Glasgow are now in the mix.

 

It's exciting, though. I'm sure Ashland and Greenup are feeling pretty good about getting out of a district with Johnson Central. There's a little more room to breathe now.

If this is how the final alignment ends up looking, I love it. It adds a little something extra to some local rivalries. Russell and Ashland meeting on the field with district implications has an awesome throwback feel to it. It's also a dramatic shakeup for Russell. Gone are familiar district foes Fleming, Lewis, and West Carter. Although, I could see West being moved back into this district before it's all said and done. Not sure why they'd be separated from East Carter.

 

One of the things I like most about this proposal, for Russell's sake, is that it will allow Russell to do something that I've been wanting to see them do for years - beef up the schedule. By replacing five district opponents with two teams already on the schedule plus East Carter, Russell would potentially have four openings to fill. I'm hoping they'll follow the blueprint laid down by Central, Belfry, Boyle, LexCath, and Corbin. To get back in the mix in 3A, they've got to schedule up, imo.

 

Something doesn’t seem right on the West Carter end of all this? They are 2A and didn’t request to play up according to all the publications put out. Why would they move up to 3A and let Morgan County move down into a 2A District that could compete in every year with Bath, Prestonsburg, Eastridge, Sheldon Clark, and Shelby Valley. I don’t understand what has happened here. I’d love to see West Carter compete at the 2A level instead of playing up in 3A like they did last realignment.

Something doesn’t seem right on the West Carter end of all this? They are 2A and didn’t request to play up according to all the publications put out. Why would they move up to 3A and let Morgan County move down into a 2A District that could compete in every year with Bath, Prestonsburg, Eastridge, Sheldon Clark, and Shelby Valley. I don’t understand what has happened here. I’d love to see West Carter compete at the 2A level instead of playing up in 3A like they did last realignment.

 

According to the four year enrollment averages, West Carter should have been the 2nd largest 2A school, while Morgan County was the smallest in 3A. What that says to me is, West did petition to play up, which would explain Morgan being bumped down to 2A. I know that contradicts what you're hearing, but that's the only explanation I can think of. Geographically, Morgan County fits a little better into that 2A district than West Carter does, but I'm not sure that the khsaa would or even could move teams up or down on their own without school approval. Someone with a better understanding of how that all works would have to answer that.

 

The 3A district they're slated to be in is very manageable for the Comets. Also, the travel time is a little more favorable for West Carter in 3A, as opposed to what they'd have to deal with in 2A. Not a huge difference, but a noticeable one. Two good reasons to request to play up, assuming that's what they did.

According to the four year enrollment averages, West Carter should have been the 2nd largest 2A school, while Morgan County was the smallest in 3A. What that says to me is, West did petition to play up, which would explain Morgan being bumped down to 2A. I know that contradicts what you're hearing, but that's the only explanation I can think of. Geographically, Morgan County fits a little better into that 2A district than West Carter does, but I'm not sure that the khsaa would or even could move teams up or down on their own without school approval. Someone with a better understanding of how that all works would have to answer that.

 

The 3A district they're slated to be in is very manageable for the Comets. Also, the travel time is a little more favorable for West Carter in 3A, as opposed to what they'd have to deal with in 2A. Not a huge difference, but a noticeable one. Two good reasons to request to play up, assuming that's what they did.

 

West Carter never requested to play up in 3A. Final alignment has them in 2A where they should be.

West Carter never requested to play up in 3A. Final alignment has them in 2A where they should be.

 

They've got to feel pretty good about their new 2A district. If the new coach is able to build on some young talent, West Carter could have a good run over those four years. On the down side, it looks like their most difficult playoff paths will occur during Leetavious Cline's junior and senior seasons. Their region could be wide open in 2021 and 2022, though.

 

Consider me a West Carter fan after this season. You all are due for some sustained success on the gridiron.

Faraway, just curious, did Brian Brown retire as well or only Kevin?

Faraway, just curious, did Brian Brown retire as well or only Kevin?

Not Faraway, but I was told Brian did not retire from being the AD but I believe he is not going to be on the coaching staff this year.

Hate seeing that. If you searched the world over you would have a tough time finding 2 people with more class than Kevin and Brian.