Very nice win by Conner. This sets up a big showdown next Thursday between Conner and Cooper. It should be a good one!

7 hours ago, Jack of all Trades said:

It is true that Rome was not built in a day and old habits die hard.  Very disappointed in how things have steadily gone downhill since the McNick game.  Seeing a lot of the same things that were evident the last few years.  Tackling is awful and special teams are non-existent.  The level of enthusiasm and hustle that were evident the first four weeks has fizzled.  There is work to be done and I might suggest rather than worry about CovCath, you start worrying about next game on the schedule.  CovCath has not been the team holding Highlands down.   As for tonight, why do you punt with 4 minutes to go in game down 8?  Why do you go for two when you score go ahead touchdown?  Why do you not load the box and take away the rpo?  Just some questions I have from the cheap seats.

From the outside looking in, this seems to be a fair assessment. 

8 hours ago, Bird Bath said:

I have some suggestions; all is fair game.  Simple suggestions you don’t punt on the team.  In districts you play your horses that got you there.  Some players were missing during key drives.  If you are getting pounded and your run stopper is on the sidelines, makes you shake your head.  I expect more and it starts with accountability and this wasn't a talent difference.  Noon hasn’t been up to snuff.  Tackling was terrible once again.  Some players were rested just sayin.

This sounds very similar to posts from last season. The coaching is different I assume. Maybe some of the opponents have good coaching, well conditioned ( many remember those comments), better players, and are not in awe of the Birds. They will always be Highlands.....but many of their opponents in NKY and out in the state are better than in prior times.

All those times I was told “Highlands has the talent” sure looking suspect…. 

Good thing they have the Penthouse.

6 minutes ago, 9068 said:

This sounds very similar to posts from last season. The coaching is different I assume. Maybe some of the opponents have good coaching, well conditioned ( many remember those comments), better players, and are not in awe of the Birds. They will always be Highlands.....but many of their opponents in NKY and out in the state are better than in prior times.

When Tiger Woods burst onto the golf scene, people had a choice.  Get better or get smoked every week.  

Few comments on a run stopper for the Birds not playing. Uhh guys, the closest thing to a run stopper on the entire team is Sam Robinson and as much respect I have for Sam and as good of a player he is, that’s not his game. 
 

Unfortunately, the facts of the matter (without Bluebird blinders) are that Highlands physically is so far out classed right now that teams can simply tee off on them. The skill guys are there; however, on both LOS the Birds are outclassed in size and strength.
 

Now, some may say that the Birds have always been small. That is 100% true. However, they were strong! You can get away with being small if you are strong in high school football; but not both. From what I have heard from very reliable sources, the numbers players are putting up in the weight room are flat out embarrassing. 
 

It is going to take some time to get the Birds to a place where they physically in a position to make up for their lack of size. 
 

Now the absolutely disgusting display of tackling? That’s an effort and coaching issue. 

10 hours ago, theguru said:

And folks outside of Fort Thomas.

Obviously this year is over for Highlands.  The question becomes what does next year look like.  For another thread of course...

Maybe they will finally remove the blinders and come back to reality!  1. Talent pool has been down.  2. Other programs have followed suite. They work hard and condition too. The run Highlands put together, was it 2007 to 2013? was a thing of beauty. It was fun! But times change, and other programs do too. In my opinion this is the worst Defense I've seen Highlands put on the field in years!  After the SK game, I knew it was going to be a long road.  Giving up over 600 yards a game is very concerning.  Good luck the rest of the season. Time to get back to the X's and O's. Ship has sailed this year folks! 

I don’t think the ship has sailed; nothing in 5A local tells me they can’t compete but some changes need to occur.  I agree that size, weight and strength has played a role.  Robinson is a fantastic athlete but he is not a difference maker in the backfield if you look at backs across NKY.  We don’t have one!  Second Welch out hurts in so many ways.  If he plays the have to cover man with safety.  Is Hinegardner back or not get the kid on the field.  I think that Dixie and Ryle play this week shows it is tough sledding in NKY and congrats on the recent success of those programs.  Hats off to the Cougars QB and RB they had great games.

Lastly the field goal kicker and kickoffs.  That was super impressive!

 

23 minutes ago, Harley67 said:

Maybe they will finally remove the blinders and come back to reality!  1. Talent pool has been down.  2. Other programs have followed suite. They work hard and condition too. The run Highlands put together, was it 2007 to 2013? was a thing of beauty. It was fun! But times change, and other programs do too. In my opinion this is the worst Defense I've seen Highlands put on the field in years!  After the SK game, I knew it was going to be a long road.  Giving up over 600 yards a game is very concerning.  Good luck the rest of the season. Time to get back to the X's and O's. Ship has sailed this year folks! 

Until very recently, HHS has been "the man".  Not just in Kentucky, but (along with Trinity) across the Commonwealth.  

But as Harley says, there are ebbs and flows.  Other programs rise (and eventually fall).  Fort Thomas doesn't have the population base to guarantee an abundance of riches from a talent perspective each and every year.  That's where the intangibles come in.  Coaching.  Conditioning.  Dedication.  Desire.  

Lots of folks aren't feeling too sorry for the Bluebirds right now.  Between a run of unparalleled success and a fan base that is - rightly or wrongly - viewed as entitled - this recent stretch has a lot of NKY football fans pretty happy.  But truth be told, Kentucky high school football is better off when Highlands and Trinity are relevant.  And T showed us something last night to get back into the discussion. 

HHS still has a chance to make a statement this season.  But it's looking less likely with each passing week.

Well this may be the most even district in the state   Well taking Boone out of the mix.  None of the 4 teams has established itself as the best in the district.  Honestly come playoff time the 4 seed would not surprise anyone by winning the district.  

I’m sure some folks got a little over the skis after the Bowling Green win. As should be expected. No one thought they were going to win that game. I think most honest fans, especially of Highlands, knew this wasn’t going to be a team that made a run at state. I think most expected an improvement over last year, but also that the staff was going to need a year to really develop kids, and their bodies. This off-season will really show the difference, and whether the new focus on packing pounds and muscle on to these kids bears fruit. It wasn’t going to happen as soon as coach Sphire walked through the door. And to be fair, as most in the know have already stated at one point or another, this is not a senior laden team, and the bulk of the talent lies with the underclassmen. Maybe even more so at the freshman level. Their day will come. 

2 hours ago, mcpapa said:

Until very recently, HHS has been "the man".  Not just in Kentucky, but (along with Trinity) across the Commonwealth.  

But as Harley says, there are ebbs and flows.  Other programs rise (and eventually fall).  Fort Thomas doesn't have the population base to guarantee an abundance of riches from a talent perspective each and every year.  That's where the intangibles come in.  Coaching.  Conditioning.  Dedication.  Desire.  

Lots of folks aren't feeling too sorry for the Bluebirds right now.  Between a run of unparalleled success and a fan base that is - rightly or wrongly - viewed as entitled - this recent stretch has a lot of NKY football fans pretty happy.  But truth be told, Kentucky high school football is better off when Highlands and Trinity are relevant.  And T showed us something last night to get back into the discussion. 

HHS still has a chance to make a statement this season.  But it's looking less likely with each passing week.

How is Kentucky football better off when Highlands is relevant? I don’t think Kentucky football was better off at all, when Highlands went on like a three year run of never losing or even being close to losing to a NKY team. It seems to me Kentucky football is better, when more teams are relevant and that seems to be the case now. Highlands is a good team this year, they simply aren’t dominant like they were just beating everyone. They have lost to other good teams that may just be simply better than them. That’s not a bad thing for Kentucky football at all IMO, and is better than when Highlands just was beating everyone. Just like CovCath not steam rolling everyone is better for Kentucky football, than it was watching them rarely even have a close game.

1 hour ago, futurecoach said:

How is Kentucky football better off when Highlands is relevant?

It’s not. People equate having nationally recognized programs to football being good in the state. Trinity and Highlands could each win 1,000 games in a row and it doesn’t mean football is better in KY. It means those two programs are really good. 

I think it is best when teams are cyclical. 

1 hour ago, futurecoach said:

How is Kentucky football better off when Highlands is relevant? I don’t think Kentucky football was better off at all, when Highlands went on like a three year run of never losing or even being close to losing to a NKY team. It seems to me Kentucky football is better, when more teams are relevant and that seems to be the case now. Highlands is a good team this year, they simply aren’t dominant like they were just beating everyone. They have lost to other good teams that may just be simply better than them. That’s not a bad thing for Kentucky football at all IMO, and is better than when Highlands just was beating everyone. Just like CovCath not steam rolling everyone is better for Kentucky football, than it was watching them rarely even have a close game.

That may be your best post this year that included Highlands as part of the post.