I look for a standout defense in 5A - not sure I see any.  BG,Owensboro immediately standout as not up to par for their expectations.  South Warren 38 to North Hardin, 28 to Gibson Southern, 159 in total. Highlands 50 burger to Cooper.  Did shut down Raceland.  The last 3 champs had dominant defenses (BG in 20, SW in 21 and FD in 22).  In other classes, Beechwood is a great team as is CovCath but both uncharacteristic high points given up.  St X gives up 45 to a down Trinity. Male given up a high of 20 and appears to be the best defense in the state.  Maybe Corbin gives them a run - solid so far.  Freddie D very good when considering in state opposition.  Boyle good but probably not to their standard.

I am only looking at top tier teams and to me defenses are down.  Defenses not up to the standard this year?

It probably comes down to how modernized the offenses are now. Lots of spread and hurry up and emphasis on scoring points. I do think we have some really good defenses but some really good athletes on the offensive side of the ball with offenses designed to have big plays = lots of points

I can't speak for all of the teams, but specific to Beechwood and Cov Cath, in particular (both were mentioned in the original post), I think those two are just a matter of coincidence. Both programs generally have a solid bank of "big men" on D to turn to, and both programs do have some solid players up front on defense and in their respective linebacking corps, but Beechwood and Cov Cath also both graduated several multi-year starters from their defensive front and linebacking corps this past May and are working with some younger starters.

Purely from observation, too, I think they also don't have the physical size they have had in recent years. I don't really think that's much of a product of anything in particular or indicative of anything so much as it is just the way things have shaken out for now.

I think the rules favor offenses. You see too many pass interference calls in the games now. Which are cheap first downs with the offenses. I also think the spread over the last 25 years has evolved that you have to cover the whole field. Before then you covered a 15 foot box pretty much. 

Another factor are RPOs. People run them now and defenses play man behind it to  stop it. Creates matchup problems.

I see the same in basketball games teams scoring 80 points for 8 minute quarters? 

 

I think modern, ever-evolving passing-oriented offenses that are run up-tempo combined with smaller rosters/less depth (as kids are choosing to play other sports/not play football) are part of the reasons why you're seeing higher scoring. The run-heavy days that bleed the clock are gone, along with the low scoring that came with that style. You've also got much better playing surfaces with turf that are immune to bad weather and poor late season condition that we used to see with natural surfaces. 

Offenses, as mentioned earlier, have evolved to very complex systems. High school coaches have to spend an inordinate amount of time on offense which, of course, leaves less time to spend on defense. Defending against these schemes requires more time, not less. 

11 minutes ago, rerun said:

Offenses, as mentioned earlier, have evolved to very complex systems. High school coaches have to spend an inordinate amount of time on offense which, of course, leaves less time to spend on defense. Defending against these schemes requires more time, not less. 

Not to mention it's very difficult for defenses to get really good looks in practice at game speed due to lack of depth. Teams with more depth and fewer two-way players certainly have an advantage in this regard.  

4 hours ago, TimeWillTell said:

I think the rules favor offenses. You see too many pass interference calls in the games now. Which are cheap first downs with the offenses. I also think the spread over the last 25 years has evolved that you have to cover the whole field. Before then you covered a 15 foot box pretty much. 

Another factor are RPOs. People run them now and defenses play man behind it to  stop it. Creates matchup problems.

I see the same in basketball games teams scoring 80 points for 8 minute quarters? 

 

As a long time ( retired) official I was talking with an official I know that has done HS and college. He told me that those 14-7, 21-14 games we enjoyed doing as he broke in years ago were a thing of the past. He was so correct!!

The only team that comes to mind to me this season is Corbin who have only allowed 22 points in 5 games.

As many have mentioned before, offenses are evolving to more complex, veritable schemes. Along with that, there is a large diversity of offenses in the state now regardless of what region/district you are in. Even as recently as a decade ago, there were entire regions that ran plays exclusively out of the wishbone/flexbone (triple option, etc.). Now, you would be hard pressed to find a district where offenses are consolidated. For example, Week 1 your team may primarily play the spread, Week 2 the wishbone, Week 3 the flexbone, Week 4 the pistol with an H back, etc. 

It's difficult to adjust to the variety with only four days of practice; especially in schools with lower numbers where many guys play both ways. In my opinion, that is the biggest contributor to higher scores.

1 hour ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

The only team that comes to mind to me this season is Corbin who have only allowed 22 points in 5 games.

Those 22 points were allowed in their first 2 games of the season which they have followed with 3 consecutive shutouts. If I remember correctly they had 6 consecutive  shutouts last season. I also expect more shutouts as they finish the regular season.

Corbin is a top tier D no doubt.

4 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

The only team that comes to mind to me this season is Corbin who have only allowed 22 points in 5 games.

Exactly what I was thinking. 

7 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

The only team that comes to mind to me this season is Corbin who have only allowed 22 points in 5 games.

Nice to have 2 UK commits fall in your lap 

Corbin added great talent up front, and has a defensive minded head coach.