In the thread of tracking the unbeatens I noticed that Hart County is undefeated. Admittedly, I went down a rabbit hole and started to dissect their schedule. They are 10-0 but their overall body of work surprised me. This is a Class 3A program. They have beaten some really good teams en route to this undefeated season. Teams like Campbellsville, Glasgow, and Franklin-Simpson. They even defeated some decent teams like Green County and Adair County.

A program that I’m not too familiar with I began to look at their previous seasons. This is a program that has seen a lot of ups and downs over the years, mostly downs. To be 2nd in RPI and undefeated is a HUGE accomplishment going into the playoffs for any program but even more so for this program. Obviously we have seen teams in the past have undefeated seasons not amount much in the post season due to the lack of strength of schedule.
 

So all of that brings me to the question, how good is Hart County? Are they a real contender? 

Hart County is very good. They aren’t CAL, Central, or Lex Cath good, but they are as good as anyone else in 3a. 

If they are able to make it past Glasgow/McLean County in round 2, they will be the number two seed in the region, and will end up more than likely with Franklin Simpson or Union County in the third round. They could win that game, and after that it depends on the CAL and Central winner of what seed they end up with.
 

Unfortunately I don’t think they get away from Lex Cath or Central in the Semi Finals any way the games fall and I would say their season ends in the semi finals, which would be the best season in school history by far. 

13 minutes ago, GC-Dragons said:

Hart County is very good. They aren’t CAL, Central, or Lex Cath good, but they are as good as anyone else in 3a. 

If they are able to make it past Glasgow/McLean County in round 2, they will be the number two seed in the region, and will end up more than likely with Franklin Simpson or Union County in the third round. They could win that game, and after that it depends on the CAL and Central winner of what seed they end up with.
 

Unfortunately I don’t think they get away from Lex Cath or Central in the Semi Finals any way the games fall and I would say their season ends in the semi finals, which would be the best season in school history by far. 

Good assessment. Hart's a good team that's not in that top tier of CAL, Central, and LexCath. I also have a feeling they'd get worked over by Belfry.

They've got a tough path to Kroger. I'd love to see them make that run, but it's a reach.

1 hour ago, DevilMayCare said:

Good assessment. Hart's a good team that's not in that top tier of CAL, Central, and LexCath. I also have a feeling they'd get worked over by Belfry.

They've got a tough path to Kroger. I'd love to see them make that run, but it's a reach.

If they do make that run by some combination of getting hot and seeding; I would expect to see all 1,600 citizens of Munfordville to be in the stands.

I posted last week I watched some video of them for the first time and came away impressed.

I expected to see a decent team who had feasted on weaker competition waiting to be exploited.. but they have a very solid team.

Several solid skill guys, the defense plays very aggressive and very confident and flies to the football, they run the ball and their offense with very good precision, and it is clear the players are veteran and have played together for a long time because not only do they communicate with each other well... the coaches clearly trust them to read and react. Their Sophomore QB is not necessarily someone who strikes fear in you, but he runs the offense well and is very accurate when called upon to pass.

The comparison I came up with (although their offensive philosophy is polar opposite) is 2013 Wayne County who went undefeated and reached the State Finals before losing a heartbreaker. That Wayne County defense played tough football and the level of skill talent is pretty similar.

I also like that they have developed a pension for pulling out close games at the end.

 

The critiques with Hart County:

1. Their line is solid and plays tough/cohesive football, but it doesn't stand out as particularly big or dominating. They are suspectable to quickness and a team with a physically imposing Front 7 will give them some troubles.

2. Though they have four or five solid weapons, there isn't a single guy you label as "that dude" who can make you pay by turning a missed tackle into a 60 yard house call. Monroe and Rexroat in the running game and Trent in the passing game all have the ability and athletic prowess to get chunk plays, but I wouldn't label any of them as gamebreakers. Hart is going to kill you 6-10 yards at a time though and are content doing it, but when they face a team a little more bigger and athletic having that homerun threat is something they may lack.

3. They have beat some solid teams and won three times on the road against arguably the best teams on their schedule. With that said, this group has yet to see a true championship caliber program in a high stakes game. Glasgow, Franklin-Simpson, and Campbellsville are all solid teams... this is not meant to disparage them, but those are three teams who are not the animal that a CAL or Central is. The best case scenario though is Central does have to hit the road if they draw them. Central has not necessarily been a great road team outside of Jefferson County in recent history. 

 

In summary:

Do I expect them to win the Title? I would probably give them the fifth best chance and that is a distant chance over a CAL, Central, or LexCath.

Are they capable of making a run? They are your worst nightmare in 3A if you have a flaw. Motivated, Experienced, Cohesive, and control tempo. They can definitely make a run.

 

 

I would pick Hart over Central and Belfry. Those are good teams but they are not good Central or Belfry teams if that makes sense. CAL and Lex Cath are another animal. 

52 minutes ago, VF111 said:

I would pick Hart over Central and Belfry. Those are good teams but they are not good Central or Belfry teams if that makes sense. CAL and Lex Cath are another animal. 

Maybe you are right, but Central played CAL to the wire and all their losses were competitive games to 6A schools. Just looking at their schedule I am not sure we see enough evidence to suggest this isn't the same type of Central team as we are accustomed to. Central always collects multiple regular season losses because they play elite competition.

The question to ask is would Hart County have fared better I honestly don't think that answer is yes. I would probably take Central Hardin over Hart who Central defeated.

Belfry has a nice win over Johnson Central but I think Hart definitely has an argument when comparing to Belfry.

1 hour ago, ATLCat said:

Maybe you are right, but Central played CAL to the wire and all their losses were competitive games to 6A schools. Just looking at their schedule I am not sure we see enough evidence to suggest this isn't the same type of Central team as we are accustomed to. Central always collects multiple regular season losses because they play elite competition.

The question to ask is would Hart County have fared better I honestly don't think that answer is yes. I would probably take Central Hardin over Hart who Central defeated.

Belfry has a nice win over Johnson Central but I think Hart definitely has an argument when comparing to Belfry.

To the bolded, after seeing both, I don't see a scenario of Hart losing to CH. It's a game that will never happen, but my eyes tell me no. 

In its totality, Hart will have a chance to prove just how they stack up and I don't feel they will be an easy out for any team. Just have to win the games they are supposed to. 

No way Hart beats Central!

When you see Belfry behind Hart County in the RPI and BGP rankings it’ll make you raise a brow.. Just watched them play against Franklin Simpson in week 9 and I wasn’t impressed with either team, running the ball is important but as a one trick pony who isn’t loaded with talent it’s hard to see them getting to the final 4. With that being said I do hope the Raiders make a Cinderella type of run in the playoffs.

Hart County loses in the second round to Glasgow. Sharpie.