1997 Bowling Green

Opened the season against Hopkinsville, who had a guy named Artose Pinner at RB. Pinner would go on to play in the NFL. He was also too old to be playing HS football. BG was tied 14-14 with Hoptown when Pinner went down with an injury. BG would win the opener 40-14 with Pinner out of the game. 

Fast forward to the Regional Final and 12-0 BG falls to a Pinner driven Hoptown team. That same Hoptown team would lose a close State game with Cov. Cath. 

Remove Pinner and you have BG v. Cov. Cath in the Finals. That was a really good BG team that got snubbed by an illegal player from a chance at winning it all.   

59 minutes ago, VF111 said:

1997 Bowling Green

Opened the season against Hopkinsville, who had a guy named Artose Pinner at RB. Pinner would go on to play in the NFL. He was also too old to be playing HS football. BG was tied 14-14 with Hoptown when Pinner went down with an injury. BG would win the opener 40-14 with Pinner out of the game. 

Fast forward to the Regional Final and 12-0 BG falls to a Pinner driven Hoptown team. That same Hoptown team would lose a close State game with Cov. Cath. 

Remove Pinner and you have BG v. Cov. Cath in the Finals. That was a really good BG team that got snubbed by an illegal player from a chance at winning it all.   

Exactly how old was Pinner?

 

1995 Franklin-Simpson. Lost 2 regular season games, one to Portland TN who made it to the Tennessee 3A semifinals, and lost at Bowling Green 13-12, which was the Purples’ closest game that year on the way to 15-0 and the 3A state championship, which was their first. FS swept through the first 4 playoff games by a combined score of 164-7, giving up one score to a Derek Homer-led Fort Knox team. Led Breathitt County 14-0 early in the 2A title game before the Bobcats came back to tie it and eventually beat FS 42-35 in double overtime. Couple of questionable calls late in that game (FS recovered a late fumble by Breathitt but the ball carrier was ruled down, and one of Breathitt’s TDs, I think the one in the first overtime, appeared to be caught out of bounds) favored Breathitt Co., otherwise FS probably would have won. 

On 3/8/2023 at 7:52 PM, Pi said:

The 2002 Mason County team. Running clocked the AA state champs that year. Lost by 7 in a frigid battle in Ft Thomas for the semis.

We lost to Mason twice that year. Me my brother who was assistant coach at Ashland and Tony Love went the Ft Thomas game. It was always cold there with wind and snow flurries every time we played Ft Thomas. I kinda miss those days now but rather watch a game live streamed now than be on a press box roof in the cold?

43 minutes ago, tomcat1984 said:

We lost to Mason twice that year. Me my brother who was assistant coach at Ashland and Tony Love went the Ft Thomas game. It was always cold there with wind and snow flurries every time we played Ft Thomas. I kinda miss those days now but rather watch a game live streamed now than be on a press box roof in the cold?

That was a tough Ashland team.  Love Leon Hart. Wonderful man, friend. Excellent football coach. They were beating us going into the 4th quarter in the region championship. That might have been the best 4th quarter ever, that we had a team play. That was the loudest game I ever coached in. May have been the snow, but not near as loud at Highlands the next week. 

10 hours ago, snakesnot_2000 said:

Exactly how old was Pinner?

 

His birthdate is listed as January 5, 1978. So he was 19 going to turn 20 his SR year if I did the math right. 

On 3/8/2023 at 6:46 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

I watched that game, immediately following the 3A championship between Cov Cath and Bowling Green.

Two of Trinity's three scores came on big plays, starting with an 89 yard return for touchdown on the opening kickoff, and then with a 56 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter after both of the players in position to make tackles for Boone County were tripped up by the turf monster. Boone County had a more than legitimate shot at beating the Rocks. Trinity's offense spent most of the game on their own side of the field, while Boone's offense spent most of the game on Trinity's side of things.

Final score was 21-7 Trinity. Take away those two "oops" plays by Boone County, and you'd have had a nail-biter of a game. And I personally think Boone would have definitely won, had things gone to overtime. Obviously they didn't have that opportunity, though ?

Are you forgetting that the Trinity defense held Alexander to a career low in rushing yards, being stuffed for multiple no yards gained?

I'll go with the "Buffalo Hat trick" Male Bulldogs.

2019

2020

2021

2022

2 minutes ago, NLTanker1 said:

I'll go with the "Buffalo Hat trick" Male Bulldogs.

2019

2020

2021

2022

I would also say, other than 2020, they were probably favored heading into the game.

1 hour ago, NLTanker1 said:

Are you forgetting that the Trinity defense held Alexander to a career low in rushing yards, being stuffed for multiple no yards gained?

That was as many NKY fans know, one of Owen Haucks flaws, never getting a passing game evolved. He loved to run the ball and play awesome defense 

17 hours ago, ChiefSmoke said:

That was a tough Ashland team.  Love Leon Hart. Wonderful man, friend. Excellent football coach. They were beating us going into the 4th quarter in the region championship. That might have been the best 4th quarter ever, that we had a team play. That was the loudest game I ever coached in. May have been the snow, but not near as loud at Highlands the next week. 

My favorite quote from Leon was after the game and we’re outside the locker room and the boys are coming out some still sobbing and he looks at them and said guys the sun is still going to raise in the morning. It’s kinda stuck with me over the years next to losing to Bell Co a few years later 13-3 in a driving rainstorm at Putnam no other loss hurt as as much as that game in 2003. We had 2 chances to get a first down around your 30-35 yard line in the later part of the 3rd quarter and you guys stopped us that pretty much took a ton of wind out our sails. Tony and Leon had planned that if you was going to beat us it was because we forced Grutza to run the ball because we didn’t want torched by Lofton(might be wrong on his name but he killed us first game).

54 minutes ago, tomcat1984 said:

My favorite quote from Leon was after the game and we’re outside the locker room and the boys are coming out some still sobbing and he looks at them and said guys the sun is still going to raise in the morning. It’s kinda stuck with me over the years next to losing to Bell Co a few years later 13-3 in a driving rainstorm at Putnam no other loss hurt as as much as that game in 2003. We had 2 chances to get a first down around your 30-35 yard line in the later part of the 3rd quarter and you guys stopped us that pretty much took a ton of wind out our sails. Tony and Leon had planned that if you was going to beat us it was because we forced Grutza to run the ball because we didn’t want torched by Lofton(might be wrong on his name but he killed us first game).

Your strategy got me a little bit, but a great example of why we script our plays. Part of me wanted to force the ball to Chris (Lofton). Part of me thought it best not to overreact and stay with the game plan. Those runs scripted for Dustin(Grutza)... should have got to them quicker. But, those were prepped and planned going into the game. Didn't want to start the game that way. QB run game in November... needs to be ready, but if you can keep a lid on it, try to protect his body, especially in week 13.

Not sure, but I think Dustin may have had 6 TD's rushing that night... maybe 3 or 4 in the 4th.

We had an excellent defense that year. Earlier at Putnam, my ILB ripped the wristband off your QB's arm and threw to me on the sideline. I loved it, but told him, don't ever do that again.  Your offense was backed up in the endzone and your student section was getting after our guys. The atmosphere at Putnam is special. Love that place. Always enjoyed dressing in that old visitor's lockerroom with the ancient plays drawn on the brick. 

Chris had over 100 yards receiving in the first quarter at Putnam.  After that, I believe you used your FS to help with him, but I am not sure. You may have also widened your OLB. We both played that 4-4 and your FS was like an extra ILB. Very physical and really came down hard vs. run. 

Side note... the night I gave Dustin his shoulder pads, he was upset with me. He wore the same pad as our linebackers and defensive line. He also started DB. I told him, you will figure out how to throw in them. But, if I put you in a traditional QB pad, playing defense and as much as we ran him, he would have got hurt. And, the reality is that we were not even close to the same team without him.

His career, he threw for over 8,000 yards. I think he adjusted ok to the heavy pads. ?

I talked to a coaching friend of mine about this very subject a couple of days before I posted this topic.  I had been thinking about this subject for a couple of weeks so I asked him about some of his teams.  But to be honest, the 82 Somerset team was the inspiration for this topic.  I didn't want to bring them up but I'm glad somebody else did.  That team was a machine. 

On 3/9/2023 at 1:50 PM, Hatz said:

For Somerset, I would add the '82 team with Stephens, Neikirk and Sexton.  They beat Corbin handily but lost to Boyle by 1 and had to stay home from the playoffs.  I believe if they would have won they would have taken AA that year.  

I would definitely have listed them. But the original poster wanted to limit to teams that at least made the final four.  

20 hours ago, BEChargers said:

I talked to a coaching friend of mine about this very subject a couple of days before I posted this topic.  I had been thinking about this subject for a couple of weeks so I asked him about some of his teams.  But to be honest, the 82 Somerset team was the inspiration for this topic.  I didn't want to bring them up but I'm glad somebody else did.  That team was a machine. 

I would have mentioned them, but you didn't want teams that didn't at least make the semi-finals.  They lost only the one game, by one point to Boyle County.  Then they went to Corbin and beat the Redhounds, who went on to win AA, pretty easily.  

I think they would have won AA if they had gotten in to the playoffs.