This topic/song cross my mind every year on BGP so I thought I would make it official.  There is always a lot of preseason hype, and rightly so, but the hype doesn't always reflect the results on the field. I am going to "address" one team in each class and would love to hear what each of you have to say about any teams?

1A - I am surprised at just how bad Newport Central Catholic has played.
2A - The Danville Admirals, wow, what a turnaround and pleasant surprise.
3A - How about them Juggs!
4A - Tilghman at #6?
5A - WoFo or BG, I can't decide which one surprised me more.
6A - Finally the inspiration for wake me up when September ends, the Ryle Raiders, disappointing so far.

What are your thoughts now that September has ended?

 

It's fair to have BG here in the Crystal Gayle Hour!

Just the perfect storm for them.  Start with a seasoned transfer SR QB that just didn't fit.  Switch to a FR QB with ZERO varsity experience.  Lose your best player on nearly the first kickoff.  Lose several more players after that.  Play good teams.  Were in position to still win some of those but didn't.  Are those excuses?  Sure, for the glass is half empty "I Hate BG Crowd".  But I'm glad they don't stop playing in September as I think BG will play better from here on out is my prediction.  Think they will be a tough out!

Curious how well South Warren is able to improve and sustain an edge given their final 5 regular season games are vs 2 lower class schools and 3 weak District teams. Then, a certain running clock blowout in Round 1 and a comfortable win in Round 2. That is 7 consecutive weeks of winning football games EASY. 

28 minutes ago, MBKT said:

Curious how well South Warren is able to improve and sustain an edge given their final 5 regular season games are vs 2 lower class schools and 3 weak District teams. Then, a certain running clock blowout in Round 1 and a comfortable win in Round 2. That is 7 consecutive weeks of winning football games EASY. 

7 weeks to simultaneously prep for the coming storm, being X/T.  

Taking a look at New Cath since beefing up the schedule in 2023 after a few years of a lighter schedule before that. I’m gonna post the results for the first 6 games.

2023 2-4, Finished 6-1, 3rd round exit

2024 3-3, Finished 6-1, 3rd round exit

2025 sit at 1-4 with pending game Friday to be either 1-5 or 2-4.  All other aspects pending. 
 

I think the tough schedule has payed off for them down the stretch and they are due for a big time win playoff time after falling short in previous matchups after leading most of the game in those.  I thought they looked solid in the Raceland matchup. 

8 hours ago, Purple88 said:

It's fair to have BG here in the Crystal Gayle Hour!

Just the perfect storm for them.  Start with a seasoned transfer SR QB that just didn't fit.  Switch to a FR QB with ZERO varsity experience.  Lose your best player on nearly the first kickoff.  Lose several more players after that.  Play good teams.  Were in position to still win some of those but didn't.  Are those excuses?  Sure, for the glass is half empty "I Hate BG Crowd".  But I'm glad they don't stop playing in September as I think BG will play better from here on out is my prediction.  Think they will be a tough out!

Is Barber out for the season?

New Cath.....Octobers biggest fan.

Danville....I can't help but keep respect next to their name in my phone book for some reason

Lloyd....Make November count

Paducah Tilghman....Wouldn't want to run into that 6 seed

BG.....No Cooper and BG rematch this year that's for sure

Ryle....unfortunately their window has closed....it may open back up in about 6 or 7 falls from now

 

 

9 hours ago, Statsdontlie said:

Is Barber out for the season?

Stats, he is not out for the season.  Rumor has it he "could" even suit up tonight vs Warren Central in limited duty with the hopes of being back 100% after fall break!  So that is good news for BG fans!

18 hours ago, Purple88 said:

Start with a seasoned transfer SR QB that just didn't fit.

This and people who know me know what I mean. It probably was a major reason that my Broncos did not have a shot at 1 or maybe 2 more state title appearances.

1A- I expect NewCath to get on a hot streak. Do not think they are a threat to make it to Thanksgiving though.

2A- Ditto on Danville... I love this redemption story. Stoney can Coach. I also want to remind everyone of this prediction from the 2025 Danville preview thread

3A-Not sold on the Juggs but not writing them off. Need to see them winning games beyond the length of the local FedEx route. When your best win is against essentially the 400th best team in OH then I just need a little more. Unfortunately I am not sure Bourbon County even answers that as well. Bourbon is also firmly in "wait and see" status. 

4A- Something feels off with Boyle. Tilghman's loss was shocking but I do think they have all the pieces to win a title. On the flipside, I see a scenario where a 6-4 CovCath team facing literally the most impossible path in the playoffs could still win the Title. 4A is going to be a lot of fun.

5A- Woodford may end up being the poster child of how the RPI fails it's purpose. Those guys have travelled the country and gotten the short end of the stick from the KHSAA for trying to represent KY. Bowling Green may be keeping receipts of those who wrote them off when they were banged up.

6A- I actually would be pro-Ryle with close losses to CAL and Highlands and an impressive win over CCH... the Cooper loss is just the tough one to stomach because I am not convinced Cooper is anything special themselves. If we switched Cooper with a meaningless 42-7 win over say Henry Clay I think the Raiders are still a short list contender to go deep... that one result has soured their season.

20 hours ago, theguru said:

This topic/song cross my mind every year on BGP so I thought I would make it official.  There is always a lot of preseason hype, and rightly so, but the hype doesn't always reflect the results on the field. I am going to "address" one team in each class and would love to hear what each of you have to say about any teams?

1A - I am surprised at just how bad Newport Central Catholic has played.
2A - The Danville Admirals, wow, what a turnaround and pleasant surprise.
3A - How about them Juggs!
4A - Tilghman at #6?
5A - WoFo or BG, I can't decide which one surprised me more.
6A - Finally the inspiration for wake me up when September ends, the Ryle Raiders, disappointing so far.

What are your thoughts now that September has ended?

 

I will give NCC a little bit of a slide because they schedule tough this season and they don't exactly look like an NCC team from the past. I will be interested to see how they match up with Campbell County tomorrow night! 

Obviously happy with the progress Danville has shown.  The schedule is much weaker than the last few years, which helps the win-loss record (and RPI), however that is a necessity to build confidence in the program that had fallen on hard times the last two years and seen numbers fall.  I know Stonebreaker has talked of resuming the Boyle series but only when Danville gets on a better footing, which IMO makes sense for both schools in their present form.

The Ads have a lot of young talent and in a few years could become dangerous in 2A again.  Stonebreaker is an A+ hire, especially in the community relations front as he has done a great job soliciting aid from former alumni, welcoming them back to games, and trying to get financial support from the community again.  They will need more weapons on both sides of the ball to compete with the upper tier of 2A like Beechwood, LCA, Belfry, Mayfield, etc. but I think they can get there sooner rather than later.  2A is already a beast of a class so a rejuvenated Danville will just add towards its reputation.

The mere fact that the Ads scored more points in their first game under Stonebreaker than all of the 2024 season was probably the biggest indictment of the old regime.  It's great to see the Ads moving the ball down the field again!

8 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

This and people who know me know what I mean. It probably was a major reason that my Broncos did not have a shot at 1 or maybe 2 more state title appearances.

Truth.