Terrific atmosphere!! I am very proud of both players and coaches. We have had a tremendous season at Johnson Central and the future is looking great. Cov. Cath.......WOW...... Just AWESOME!! Very Classy bunch of young men. Good luck in championship game.

Just getting in from Paintsville. Some random throughts:

 

1) Great atmosphere for a high school game. The fireworks and Blooming Onions were a nice touch. Big crowd.

2) The radio guys on the Painstville station did an excellent job covering the game.

3) When Johnson, the fullback/linebacker, went out the momentum seemed to swing to CovCath. He was consistantly getting 6 yards on first down belly dives, setting up 2nd and shorts.

4) Don't know how many Eagles went both ways, but they did seem to tire some in the second half.

5) CovCath offense with the stretch plays really hurt the Eagles.

6) The measurement in the second quarter was REALLY close.

7) The QB for JC was excellent at hiding the ball. There were many plays when I was watching the fullback, only to have the halfback pop out the other side with the ball.

 

I was impressed with the Eagles. They were big and physical (how about the hit on Blesar, ouch!) and did not back down. They had CovCath's D off balance with Johnson and Grim for the first half. Not sure how many seniors JC had on the roster, but they appear to on the rise and a team to watch in the coming season.

Great game and even better to hear that the JC kid is doing ok, that was a sad and scary way to end the game.

 

Very even game in the 1st half that had us CCH folks scared to death. CCH just wore them down in the second half and JC could not stop either the run or the pass. Nice stadium ,nice fans and great burgers !!!!!

I have some great news Grimm was up and walking at the hospital they said that it was just a stinger and they say he will be ok.

 

 

Good news. This kid impressed me, reminded me of Kramer from Highlands.

Also impressed with the o-lineman from JC and his rendition of the national anthem.

 

The performance of My Old Kentucky Home was solid as well.

Very, very happy to hear the Grimm young man is okay! That was an awesome atmosphere and the JC fans were top knotch! We were all mixed together on the far side of the field...everyone presented a first class attitude! Lots of cheering for both sides, no disrespect by anyone I was around. JC is and should be proud of a great fb team and a great community of support....Regarding the game: JC does bring it as stated a couple of days ago on here...the big 48 going down hurt them, but I think the game and control of the line was swinging in the Colonels favor already, JC appeared to be getting a little worn down...JC would have scored at least one more with him in there...but he would not have changed the final win loss imo...Regarding CCH: This team has earned every inch in these playoffs. I am very impressed and proud of their mental and physical toughness these past weeks...one more week!

Just now got home. Boy that was a long drive, but it was worth it. Just a great high school game. Very scary to see Grimm go down, hope he is okay. I think JC could have given themselves a much better chance had they passed more often. The quarterback looked good on the few times he passed so I was a little puzzled to see a team that is fighting to play in the state finals run the ball so much, especially in the second half when they were losing and CCH had been stopping the run alot better than they were in the first half.

From the looks of it, these 2 teams really respected each other. Each team was very classy after the game. I also want to say- great game by the CCH o-line. They were protecting Bleser and getting a push on just about every play.

Just got back to Pikeville after many stops...

Didn't even want to be at this game, because my Panthers should be alive...

BUT...what a great game and atmosphere...been to many semi games, most of them Pikeville...but I will tell you from an impartial view later...

 

GREAT GAME...GREAT TIME...

 

Haven't read the threads, but anyone coming out of this game with any negative feelings of any kind is missing the point of what a state semifinal game is all about...

Haven't read anything giving CCH credit for having such a great crowd. 1/4 as big as JC crowd and 4 times more into the game...best crowd I have ever seen on any level...

Glad to hear that Shawn Grimm is doing okay and that JC played a good game. Best of luck next year to them and good job for having a good season this year.

From the Ashland Daily Inpendent:

 

Injury, depth do in Golden Eagles

 

PAINTSVILLE — With 81 players on Covington Catholic’s roster without a freshman, Johnson Central coach Jim Matney thought depth would play a role in Friday’s Class 3A semifinal.

 

What he didn’t plan on was a knee injury to his senior fullback/linebacker Blake Johnson in the third quarter.

 

The Golden Eagles couldn’t overcome either one as the Colonels came from behind and outscored the home team 28-0 in the second half to advance to Friday’s state championship game with a 38-14 win in front of a juiced up crowd of about 8,000.

 

The Golden Eagles led 7-0 early in the first quarter and 14-10 at halftime. They were in the thick of things — down 17-14 with the ball — when Johnson was helped off the field with a twisted knee at the 8:19 mark.

 

“When Blake went out we were driving again. He twisted his knee and that was it,” Matney said. “I think it made a difference offensively and defensively. Once we got behind, they took us out of our element.”

 

Johnson Central, which had its first loss of the season in 14 games, was having success with its ball-control offense. The Golden Eagles had 72 plays to Covington Catholic’s 47.

 

With Johnson out of the middle of Central’s defense, the Colonels got moving on the ground. Senior Brandon Brown had 97 of his 102 yards in the second half.

 

The Colonels (11-3) went up 10 when running back Brent Buckley scored the first of his two rushing TDs with 2:43 left in the third quarter. They took command with 10:14 left in the game when quarterback Josh Bleser found tight end Alex Sutton on a 48-yard scoring pass over the middle.

 

“I thought it was big when we went up three scores,” said CovCath coach John Rodenberg, who said Johnson’s absence clearly had an impact on the game. “With the type of offense they have I thought it would have taken them a long time (to catch up).”

 

Buckley’s second TD came with 2:25 left and Shane Popham’s fifth extra point made the final score.

 

Despite the final, the game was anything but comfortable for the powerful private school from northern Kentucky.

From the Cincy Enquirer:

 

Colonels finish strong

 

PAINTSVILLE - Covington Catholic had some tense moments early Friday night but prevailed with a 38-14 victory over Johnson Central at Eagle Field in the Class AAA semifinals.

 

The Colonels advance to the state championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. The Colonels will battle defending state runner-up Bowling Green, a 21-14 winner over Louisville Central.

 

Johnson Central struck on the opening drive with a 57-yard touchdown run by junior Shawn Grim. James Barrett's PAT gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead just less than three minutes into the ball game.

 

"They had me nervous," CovCath coach John Rodenberg said. "If you can't get up on a team like that, they can play the power game and keep the ball away from you."

 

The deficit didn't last long.

 

The Colonels answered on the ensuing drive when Kurt Bovard hauled in a 37-yard TD pass from Josh Bleser.

I couldn't attend the game (but I listened to it on 1050 AM who did a superb job) but I still have some questions.

 

1. Did Johnson return from his injury during the game and, if no, how is he now?

 

2. How is Grimm doing and is he a junior?

 

3. Did CovCath stick with the 3-3-5 or put more in the box?

 

4. For an NKY fan (preferably non-HHS to be unbiased) how does Grimm compare to Jordan Kramer (they sound similar)?

Congrats to JC on a great season, I love a team that goes down fighting till the finish. You never abandoned your strategy of run it up the gut, which worked so well for so many games, and I can respect that. I look forward to hearing about Johnson Central at the top of 3A (well now I guess 5A) football for the next few years.