6 minutes ago, DevilMayCare said:

I expect a good game. Russell's defense is good enough to keep them in it, I just don't know that they can muster the offense to come out on top.

The Devils have made progress running the football as Kaiden Benge has rounded into shape. I think they need to get a push against Lloyd and establish the run. If the Juggs are stout in the front seven, Russell becomes very one dimensional and Lloyd can pin its ears back and go after Frasure. His mobility could play a huge factor.

Frasure's been very good this year, but Evans is dialed into a different frequency right now. He's the best quarterback Russell has seen. Evans played well against Russell last season. I don't see any reason why he won't play well again. 

As long as Lloyd puts four quarters together, I think they win somewhere in the neighborhood of 21-13.

Thanks for the reply. Looking at the stats, Russell looks pretty balanced on the offensive side of the ball. So I was just curious to find out what their bread and butter is. I didn’t know what kind of success that they had throwing the ball but according to the stats, it doesn’t appear they throw the ball too bad at all. Also, I’m sure you know Lloyd has been somewhat suspect on defending the pass this season. I will say one thing they have gotten better. Either way it’s going to be one heck of a football game.

There will be a live stream of this game by 859insider through hudl.

Stream of Russell vs. Lloyd Game

32 minutes ago, DRKARK said:

Thanks for the reply. Looking at the stats, Russell looks pretty balanced on the offensive side of the ball. So I was just curious to find out what their bread and butter is. I didn’t know what kind of success that they had throwing the ball but according to the stats, it doesn’t appear they throw the ball too bad at all. Also, I’m sure you know Lloyd has been somewhat suspect on defending the pass this season. I will say one thing they have gotten better. Either way it’s going to be one heck of a football game.

Russell graduated four of last year's five o-linemen and Benge missed the first few games, so it's taken them a while to establish a semblance of balance. The running game has only recently begun to produce, so I'm not completely sold that they can run on Lloyd.

They've got some receivers that run well and the whole unit has good hands. They've consistently hit the home run this season, so I'm sure keeping Russell receivers in front of them is a point of emphasis in Lloyd's preparation.

Ohhhh boyyyy...That get back is a......bad mamma jamma. The last time Lloyd lost a game was over a year ago vs this Red Devil's team. I think that loss burned through Lloyd's soul all offseason knowing that they let it slip through their fingers. Look where it's led everyone now.

Last year is old news. Both teams are looking for the future news to be that they are going to be playing in a state semi finals for a chance to punch their ticket to the big dance.

Russell is a well oiled machine. They play the game the way it is suppose to be played. They are well balanced. They set the tone up front in the trenches on offense and defense. They prefer to pound the ball on the ground but are perfectly capable of throwing the rock around.

They average 128 yards on the ground with a lead back in sophomore #28 Kaiden Benge. The kid is a load and is going to be a problem for years. Jr. #2 Jordan Rowe and So #33 Lane Osborne get touches with some misdirection plays and designs to keep defenses honest. But Benge is the head of the snake.

Russell's QB #8 Sr. Jaden Frasure has a real grasp on how to control the game for his team. 2nd on the team in rushing and his number gets called at any point they may need a play. 2,000+ yards overall and 26 TD's produced by him. Averaging about 151 yards a game through the air with 21 TD's to 2 interceptions, Frasure gives his team a chance to win whenever the ball is in his hands. His best targets are 2 playmakers in the Sr. Pennington boys Cayden #18 and #17 Jayden. They make plays when the QB calls their number and its usually for chunk yardage.

I hope #53 Zach Brown is okay and can play in this one. He is a hard nosed player who wreaks havoc on defense and his team surely needs him. 

So. #14 Kanenan Jacob's is a stud and is going to be a popular name for the years to come. The young kid is just a good all around football player who does whatever his team needs him to do to pick up a W. Wherever he is on the field on either offense or defense opposing teams better know where he is lined up.

Sr. #5 Grayson Kiser is a young man who has seen alot of good football at Russell and has a nose like a hound dog for the ball on defense. He will make his presence felt.

Russell's defense has dudes that take pride in hunting down ball carriers and QB's. Not much else needs to be said there. 

 

@DRKARK You got to remember the first 6-7 weeks of the season? I know @Breds82 @theguru@Al Bundy @BallinNKY remember when I said things like Lloyd was going to get smacked by NCC 31-6? I said that the Juggs didn't have any playmakers? I said they were weak in the trenches? I said that they didn't know how to tackle?  I said their MLB was a baby among men? " According to my calculations " the Juggs should have finished the regular season at best 5-5. How has that turned out? Lol.

So is my football IQ just like really really, really bad? Possibly. Or maybe, was there a slim chance I was being the " Devil's " advocate to a team that got burnt by the " Red " ones a year ago? Is their a possibility that I actually had an idea that this Juggs team was going to be pretty special and could be back in the same position they were last year but just wanted them to be down to earth? Doesn’t matter, the Juggs have let their play do the talking all year long by going and merking every opponent they have had. I think their message is getting pretty loud.

#15 Kaleb Evans is a baller, plain and simple. He has ice in his veins and the moment is never too big for him. He was born to win games playing the QB position.

#12 Alijah Griffin is a consistent producer whenever his number is called on either side of the ball, not much more teammates could ask of him except for him to keep being him.

#88 Billy Lewis Jr is a man child who has huge effects on the overall game without his number even being called, when it is called he is there to answer. The way he effects every game is immeasurable.

#6 AJ Curry has contributed in many ways and is a huge weapon with his leg. He changes the game with the way Lloyd covers kicks. That's a part of the game that has and will keep paying off for the Juggs during this run.

#14 LJ Herron has been tested in life in ways that many would concede to but that's not in him, he has risen above and doesn't take the game for granted. He won't be counted out. He has stepped up big for his team.

#5 Ryan Miller has done nothing short of punish footballs with his foot and  ball carriers and QB's with his pads all year. He has a knack for the football and benefits his team in multiple ways.

#34 Stanley Smith just loves contact and will sign up to go head to head with anyone. That's a player anyone wants on their team. #3 Andre Hall, #30 Brayden Schneider, #8 Bruce Reed, #11 Breyon Bradshaw and #51 Tyler England all show up to go to work everyday, never call off, and stay ready. That's how you lead by example. 

I am sure I have left some out but the list goes on and on with seniors who have paved the road for the route this Juggs team has been on. It started with the guys before them showing them the light and they have kept the torch lit for their younger brothers. That's what it's all about. Be your brothers keeper and the Juggs are an embodiment of that. 

Now...These Jr's and So's for the Juggernauts, phew!!! They don't even know what's going on. This isn't anything that's different to them. The biggest compliment I could give to them is, all they know is to just show up and compete. Athletic ability can only get a player so far. But when they know how to compete, that's where a difference is made. These young kids know nothing but to not be beat and it didn't just get ingrained in them overnight. When competing is ingrained in the DNA it gives you a fair shot with whoever you line up across from and this Juggs team has " it " and  isn't dodging smoke from anyone.

Need some time to think about a prediction for this one. Should be some good discussion about this game.

 

 

I need whatever you are taking. Ha ha the energy level is through the roof. I'm going with Lloyd this time around.

I think the stars align for Lloyd this year. 3A is not very competitive this season. The only thing that might be standing in their way is CAL come the State Championship game. No matter who CAL plays in that game, there is a strong chance for a running clock.

1 minute ago, Al Bundy said:

3A is not very competitive this season.

There was 3 or 4 undefeated teams and a couple 1 loss teams in 3A.

Bell County took the #1 ranked RPI team in 5A to overtime and really should have won. 

1 hour ago, Honey Badger said:

There was 3 or 4 undefeated teams and a couple 1 loss teams in 3A.

Bell County took the #1 ranked RPI team in 5A to overtime and really should have won. 

I'm saying that no 3A team comes close to CAL.

2 hours ago, Al Bundy said:

3A is not very competitive this season.

 

38 minutes ago, Al Bundy said:

I'm saying that no 3A team comes close to CAL.

That's two different sayings. But I get where your coming from.

On 11/15/2025 at 10:56 AM, MaddenCurse44 said:

Evans has 2025 yards 32 tds!

 

On 11/15/2025 at 3:27 PM, Honey Badger said:

That should be close to #1 in NKY for TD's. I think O'Hara is 1 now but Evans could surpass him now with Cooper being done.

Emmett Queen 34 TD passes.

Looking just at stats, Queen has more passing yards, more TD passes (34), fewer interceptions (2) and a higher completion percentage (72.7) than both Evans and O'Hara.

2 hours ago, Al Bundy said:

I think the stars align for Lloyd this year. 3A is not very competitive this season. The only thing that might be standing in their way is CAL come the State Championship game. No matter who CAL plays in that game, there is a strong chance for a running clock.

@Al Bundy Thanks for the Love! I do believe that the ones that are left in 3A are very top notch with CAL being extremely at the top. Lloyd will have their hands full for the next two games for sure and then hopefully get a chance at playing for a State title. No matter who the opponent is. I think there were probably 12 solid teams in the playoffs. I also believe that there’s some teams that are just top-tier. Just a few examples. Lexington Catholic beat Boyle county and Boyle County beat Highlands , Lawrence County beat Ashland Blazer and Ashland Blazer beat Russell 42-0 and Bell County does take 5A Pulaski County to double overtime and loses by one point. Pulaski County 5A is still in the playoffs playing West Jessamine and West Jessamine lost to Bourbon County 30-28. Sorry for being so long winded, but I just really was just trying to figure out the competition that is left. I think the competition from here on out is stellar. Sometimes I think the Juggs have a chance to get to state and times I think we don’t. I don’t think that the Juggs care who they are playing. I really don’t think they are intimidated by anybody. They are expected to line up and play hard, disciplined football. 

21 hours ago, DRKARK said:

Also, I’m sure you know Lloyd has been somewhat suspect on defending the pass this season. I will say one thing they have gotten better.

 

21 hours ago, DevilMayCare said:

They've got some receivers that run well and the whole unit has good hands. They've consistently hit the home run this season

Lloyd's only issue defending the pass is personnel. 

" Well duh, most teams that struggle defending the pass probably don't have the personnel to defend it. " Nope not the case here.

They get burnt. They adjust personnel and then no more issues. They switch personnel. Get burnt. Switch personnel and then no more issues...

Campbell started off hot vs Lloyd through the air. Lloyd tinkered with the CB's and their issues were solved. 

Bourbon didn't decide to throw the ball until about 10 minutes left in the game. Scored 2 touchdowns within about 5 minutes. Lloyd tinkered with the CB's and their issues were solved.

I said Lloyd should have won that game 30-7 if they played their best 11 defensive players more than a combined 6 minutes or so that was towards the end. And I stand on that. The only thing that can make it make sense is some type of load management but yeah I dunno. 

Since then from what I have seen is they have rotated CB's what seems like every series. But have not played a team that has any resemblance of a passing game. Just rotating to rotate? that's going to fix it? When the seasons on the line whose turn in the rotation is it? When the district title was on the 2 yard line, they made sure their best 11 available were out there then.

So in this one what happens? This goes back to me previously saying earlier this year I want to see Lloyd prevent the preventable. In the 3rd round and definitely beyond, you can't just give away TD's. That will cost a team. Teams are going to earn TD's so you can't just give them ones that should be prevented.  At this point, playa's gotta play.

If you fix something, do you take it apart to refix it? And then do it again? That's a wierd type of hobby to me.

So Lloyd's defense has been outstanding in the box and trenches so far up to this point in the year at stopping the run. They give up an average of 70 rushing yards a game. Their JV has given up probably around half of that in running clock 2nd halves, usually against opposing teams varsity. I don't know that a team has broke a run on Lloyd's varsity for more than 10 yards except Aiken's last touchdown which should have for sure been a sack.

Expecting Lloyd to maintain that vs Russell in the 3rd round may seem unrealistic but that's what I am looking for from them in this one, definitely under 100 rushing yards.

I questioned if Lloyd had the dawg mentality earlier in the year to really finish off a good team. I think they gave up some TD's late in games this year where players either relaxed, got bored, or lost aggressiveness due to a comfortable lead.

Due to them giving up a 20 point lead last year to Russell, I haven't liked seeing those TD's being given up late in games. I really wanted to see them put their foot on opponents throats and finish decent teams off how they should. I'm not counting 3/4 of Lloyds district games or Newport and Boone due to the competition level but they did straight up demolish those teams. 

Lloyd's varsity hasn't seen a 4th quarter in almost 7 weeks or even much of a 3rd qtr. So somehow since the Bourbon game where they were up by 15  late and won by 2, did they tap into that dawg mentality without being really challenged? I have seen glimpses but I dunno. They got to answer that Friday night.

I think this defense is hungry for an actual challenge and I think the Russell game could bring the dawg out of them. " Could " being a big question. A hungry dawg doesn't relax, get bored or lose aggressiveness. A dawg is most vicious when it's hungry. 

In between the hashes has been off limits to Lloyd's opposing offenses. If a team can take away the middle of the field that is huge. Russell is going to challenge them there for sure. Good RB's lead blocking for each other isn't something Lloyd has seen much of this year and Russell tries to make a living off of that.

I'm really curious if Lloyd's #7 can hold up in the middle for 4 full quarters. I have gave the kid a little praise and alot of harsh criticism this year. Let's see what he gives me to work with after this one. Dawg or not? Tomlinson and Conrad got the juice but they are going to need their 3rd compadre for 4 qtrs. The D. Peterson kid, if he really has " it " he better bring it on Friday. I need to see it Friday to make me a believer but more than that...his team needs it for them to pick up a W.

I haven't gave Lloyd an A grade yet this year. But that's not to knock them, that's because of the high standard I hold this team to with the way the roster is built. Sure would love to stamp an A on this assignment for them.

Bump.

Russell 17 Lloyd Memorial 14