52 minutes ago, Bigg Ike said:

Male's started four new starters on the offensive line this season, they took their lumps early but they have gotten better and better each game. 

And BE started 6 different OL lineups in their first 6 games due to injury including missing 3 starting OL in the Meade Co.  Game.  BE also started 3 new defensive lineman this year.  The only returning starting DL was #5.  It’s part of the game.  They too are finally starting to gel & getting better.  Sounds like 2 vastly improved teams ready to throw down & have a great game Saturday to me.

I think Male is playing better than they did against Male the first time.  But I also think BE is playing better.  Should be a good one.  

What a season it has been for our Chargers!!! Was brought back down to earth against Spencer Co. in the first game (L) and then made a huge commitment to improving weekly. Now look at what they have done throughout the season. They are on a roll and the train is not slowing down in the State 6A Championship game. Playing against Male is a tough challenge. They have weapons and they are a really good team. But you have to say the same thing about BE. Wins over Male, Manual, Central Hardin and Bryan Station have prepared them to finish strong on this awesome streak of wins. Travis Egan (QB) is one heck of a football player and a true athlete. Remember back a long time ago when there were Punt, Pass and Kick competitions. Travis is great at all of them and would definitely be the winner of the 6A competition if they had it. He is a true leader on this team and his teammates respond to him. Then the offensive trio of Mason Gauthier (RB), Cam Brogan (WR) and Nolan Davenport (WR) is Very hard to stop. Great stats from all three of them. Offensive Lineman Sabastian Esponza is a beast and is very effective in his position in opening holes for Mason, Travis and others. And Peyton Stafford does an outstanding job also on the OLine. Our Defense has improved tremendously and is a solid group led by Isaiah Hare (DL) and Ryan Still (DB/LB) along with several other strong defenders. Colin Elder is money on extra point kicks. These kids play for each other not worrying about who gets the credit.

The community of Mt. Washington is such a strong support group for this team. They pack out Egan Field and then always have a tremendous crowd at away games. Many times outnumbering the home team crowd. We also have a tremendous student group called the Red Zone Rowdies who help keep the team fired up. Making it to the Championship game has the town buzzing along with everyone in the BE School Building. 900 tickets were sold in about 30 minutes. And then all the others who will be there with a General Admission ticket will contribute to the enthusiasm that our crowd shows. The support last week was off the charts!!! Our kids respond to this which is a huge benefit.

But the deciding factor will be how each team executes on the field for the entire game. BE needs to come out strong early. They have to limit unnecessary turnovers on the offensive side and create them on the defensive side. And yes they will have to limit Sweeney's yards and Gainey's receiving yards. Then the offensive must continue to do what they have done all year long. Don't think Male can stop our offensive show. What a game this should be. Many around the state are supporting our Chargers in this game. The theme of this crazy ride is "WE BELIEVE" and will continue to be until the final horn. I wish nothing but the BEst for this tremendous group of kids. Oh yeah, we also have a tremendous coaching staff led by 1st year coach Keegan Kendrick. I know that they will have a great game plan for this final game of the year. Same district rivals (Unheard of) now playing for the Big Trophy. Looking for the Chargers to FINISH STRONG!!! WE BELIEVE!!!

 

 

Male is simultaneously the best and worst possible opponent for Bullitt East. They've beaten them once, providing them with the confidence and knowledge necessary to do it again. At the same time, this was a major physical and mental hurdle the BE program had to overcome. When you rid yourself of the albatross around your neck, it's behind you. You don't look back at it.

But here it is, squarely in front of them again. The final hurdle.

It's all mental from here on. They have the physical ability to beat Male again, it's just a matter of not getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of the occasion and the hoopla surrounding it. When they look across the line of scrimmage, they have to see Male as the same team they already beat, not Male, the blueblood with that 'been there, done that' swagger.

The paramount importance of execution is only magnified here.

This is where Egan's presence is so vital. He's got three year's starting experience and he's at the height of his powers right now. His calm, steady hand will be more important this week than his arm or legs. He doesn't have to throw for 300 yards and five touchdowns for the Chargers to win, but he has to continue doing what he's done for the last three months… make good decisions and take care of the football. Find Brogan and Davenport when they're open and don't force it when they're not. Take what the Male defense gives you, whether it's a check down or five yard scramble. If he does that, I think Bullitt East makes history. 

11 hours ago, Bigg Ike said:

Luck...Ballard and St.X are both top 10 in the state of KY...Luck, Male was leading most of the St.X game. Bryan Station wasn't that good. 

What else would you call the Male win over Ballard? Male scored their second TD against X on a reverse pass, and then ran another reverse lob pass on the 2 pt conversion. I could be convinced the Male win over X wasn't luck, but the Ballard win, yes was luck. 

If this game comes down to the end, I'd say Male has used up their playoff luck unless they have had some built up over the last 5 seasons that is just now being used. 

1 minute ago, LongTimeReader said:

What else would you call the Male win over Ballard? Male scored their second TD against X on a reverse pass, and then ran another reverse lob pass on the 2 pt conversion. I could be convinced the Male win over X wasn't luck, but the Ballard win, yes was luck. 

If this game comes down to the end, I'd say Male has used up their playoff luck unless they have had some built up over the last 5 seasons that is just now being used. 

To be fair, Male absolutely got in the endzone on the play before the fumble. All while thinking it was 1st down instead of 4th. 

3 minutes ago, wingt51 said:

To be fair, Male absolutely got in the endzone on the play before the fumble. All while thinking it was 1st down instead of 4th. 

Every angle I've seen has been difficult to tell if the QB crossed the goal line, so I can't say with absolute certain he was in or not. Weren't they in a "to goal" situation anyway, so they couldn't get a first anyway. 

54 minutes ago, LongTimeReader said:

Every angle I've seen has been difficult to tell if the QB crossed the goal line, so I can't say with absolute certain he was in or not. Weren't they in a "to goal" situation anyway, so they couldn't get a first anyway. 

Correct, but the down marker guy was told by the ref it was 1st down. So, the down marker was on 1st down.

Bryan Stations 41 points were the most given up all year by BE and it took their best offensive showing all season to overcome that. If Males defense can hold BE to around 24 or less points like in their last meeting then I believe they'll win. The Station RB had 26 carries for 182 and 3 TD's, Swinny for Male could easily replicate those numbers. But on the defensive side, Male is gonna have to do a better job of stopping the run as both the Rb and Qb had big rushing games in that game earlier in the season. BE definitely inoressed me with their speed and size. 

 

On a side note I would've loved to see BE and Station swap their regional championship opponents just to see if BE could've possibly blown out Trinity, just to see the kind of uproar that would've ensued in St. Matthews afterwards.?

Not buying it, Ballard not giving up 55 points to Bulitt East.

Edited November 29, 20223 yr by theguru

11 minutes ago, Bigg Ike said:

Not buying it, Ballard not giving up 55 points to Bulitt East.

Maybe so, but I know they gave up 35 points through 3 quarters to them.  I will also say Ballard isn't scoring anywhere close to 41 points against Bullitt East either.

 

For anyone interested in this game, it is a rematch:

 

This is a tough one to pick and I would like to see Bullitt East win because they are not a part of the Big 3, they are someone new, and they are a great story but I am taking Male.

8 hours ago, theguru said:

This is a tough one to pick and I would like to see Bullitt East win because they are not a part of the Big 3, they are someone new, and they are a great story but I am taking Male.

I picked Bullitt East but given the history of big class football hard to pick against Male.