It was a great game. Ashland is MUCH better when Thomas is in the backfield and #3 is under Center. They came out that way in the second half and ended up taking the lead. The go ahead drive for Russell Ashland committed a personal foul and (I think) unsportsmanlike conduct and spotted Russell 30 yards. Some dumb penalties on both sides of the ball.

 

It was great to see Russell come out and play with some emotion tonight. And it was nice to see there is still some fight left in the Tomcats...even if their mascot got chased away by a bunch of rowdy Russell kids! :ylsuper:

 

BTW, any other Russell fans notice the "flop" on the last gasp drive? :sssh:

Gosh, that wasn't Dicky Martin also was it? I was obviously listening to the wrong station!

Gosh, that wasn't Dicky Martin also was it? I was obviously listening to the wrong station!

 

LOL! No let's just say with the Tomcats out of timeouts in the closing seconds they completed a pass and the clock kept ticking when suddenly the wind tweaked someone's knee causing an injury timeout. :thumb:

It was a great game. Ashland is MUCH better when Thomas is in the backfield and #3 is under Center. They came out that way in the second half and ended up taking the lead. The go ahead drive for Russell Ashland committed a personal foul and (I think) unsportsmanlike conduct and spotted Russell 30 yards. Some dumb penalties on both sides of the ball.

 

It was great to see Russell come out and play with some emotion tonight. And it was nice to see there is still some fight left in the Tomcats...even if their mascot got chased away by a bunch of rowdy Russell kids! :ylsuper:

 

BTW, any other Russell fans notice the "flop" on the last gasp drive? :sssh:

 

That was my first thought. I don't know though he got hammered many times by Tyler Jones tonight. He may have actually been injured.

I sure hope Ashland fans are proud of your team now. They played hard.

Good high school game , Devils learn more about themselves and still get the W ... Thomas looks more at home at tailback ... Ashland is on a path to win some games .. Much improved , much less dazzle and good soild play ...

 

You made a great point here about Russell. They seemed to have struggled tackling tonite (except for Jones, 3 definite sticks tonight) and was out of place on a couple of big plays by Ashland.

 

Happy Ol' Dad has every right in the world to suggest that Matt Thomas is better suited at tailback than quarterback and makes Ashland a better team when he is there.

 

Ashland coaches did an outstanding job in putting together a game plan for Russell, and Coach Morris rose to the occassion in another big game.

 

Definitely a "flop" at the end of the game, but then again I saw a couple of players from both teams receive their "weekly" injuries.

 

Jones is the best player in the region (I have not seen JC play yet).

 

I would have loved to listen to what Dickie was saying tonight, but I think it was a fair called game (good & bad) for both sides.

 

Ashland is a much better team than their record suggests!! What a great 6:30 min drive to start the 3rd quarter and I believe around 9 min vs. 3 min in the 3rd quarter alone.

 

It was funny to watch both sides of ADULT fans fall to the wayside when their kids needed them the most! Everyone was involved in the last of the 4th quarter, but Ashland did not bring the fans they say they always do and Russell fans sat on their butts during the 3rd quarter and halfway into the 4th.

 

Student sections were rocking on both sides.

 

Darnit, I missed the "cat chase" from those rowdy Russell kids.

but Ashland did not bring the fans they say they always do

 

This is something that was definitely noticed. Lots of empty seats over in the visitors bleachers tonight. And no band? Greenup can bring their band to Russell but Ashland can't?

 

I told my wife it was nice to see the students involved tonight. Really that's the first time this year I have seen the Russell kids in one place and making a lot of noise. Ashland's students were extremely loud as well. You could hear them like they were next to you up where I sit.

 

The atmosphere tonight was excellent all around.

 

Darnit, I missed the "cat chase" from those rowdy Russell kids.

 

That was the best part of the night! :ylsuper:

 

Jones is the best player in the region (I have not seen JC play yet).

 

Jones is a monster. He was still limping after the game, I hope he okay. It looked he got his knee twisted there. I thought Cordle did a great job in relief of Jones as well, he was able to keep very calm and protect the football.

Players of the game!

Russell's offensive line (coming through with Jones injury and time off clock in 4th quarter) and Russell's Band. I noticed that too! If they had a band there with their momentum in the 3rd quarter, then they may have a better chance to keep it longer into the 4th. As foolish as it sounds, the band made a difference in the outcome.

I was excited to see the Tomcats show some signs of life. They looked excited to play and it showed in their performance. Matt Thomas, Ryan Bonner, and Rashard Carter were all over the field on both sides of the ball. Ashland should have some more members of the O-line back next week. 3 out of 5 were still out tonight. Hopefully that will help things turn around. I was also disappointed with the turnout by the Ashland fans. I believe that if you go to all the games when you have a "good" team then it is your duty to support your team through tough times. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. There is nothing worse than a fair weather fan. I left this game tonight feeling proud of the performance by my Tomcats, win or lose.

Russell really dominated the first Half. The 14-0 score was not indicative of how dominating it really was.

 

Carter and Thomas carried the Tomcats to that 3rd quarter explosion. Both are so explosive. Teams cannot give them any open field to work with. Russell only ran 5 plays in the 3rd quarter thinks to those two, some sloppy tackling by Russell and a costly fumble on a kickoff return that led to Ashlands third TD. Ashland showed alot of heart coming out of halftime very determined after being dominated in the first half.

 

Russell then showed alot of heart and composure comming back and controlling the 4th quarter, scoring two TDs and eating up most of the clock despite Ashland stacking the box and blitzing to stop the run. A big part of that final drive (83 yards) with Jones injured and on the sidelines. Cordle did a fantastic job coming in late at QB.

 

It sure seems like Russell plays with alot more intensity and purpose once they feel threatened. Never take anything for granted.

 

Players of the game.

 

Rashard Carter for Ashland. He was like the energizer bunny. He just kept going despite take some monster hits from Jones and Abrams. Really showed some toughness. I'm not sure he knew who or where he was at the end of this game.

 

Tyler Jones for Russell. He is a hitting machine and don't try to arm tackle him. He is so strong. You may lose and arm. Also looked very good passing the ball. Something Russell could have done alot more of.

 

Honorable mention.

 

Drew Abrams and Adam Bates. Ran very hard picking up hard earned yards.

 

Also Russell's offensive line. Took control late in the game and looked to wear Ashland's defense down.

 

Other observations.

 

Both teams got hit with some stupid penalties. Russell and Ashland bothing picking up personal fouls for late hits and giving up field position.

 

Despite Dicky I thought the game was very well officiated.

 

The low turnout from the Ashland faithful was kind of suprise.

 

Yes it was a flop. There was not another player around him.

:thumb: Dickey Martin went ballistic on the last drive. I couldn't make out a lot of it.

 

 

What do you mean? About what?

Maybe somone will comment on it, it was something about a referee that should not have been on Russell's sideline or something. I am not sure, if I am wrong I apologize but that is what I think it was about. Anyway, whatever it was about he was going nuts! :laugh:

 

 

I don't think it was the official because I know the official on his sideline and he has no ties to Russell at all and he's a very good official. He called the state championship 3A game last year.

It was a great game. Ashland is MUCH better when Thomas is in the backfield and #3 is under Center. They came out that way in the second half and ended up taking the lead. The go ahead drive for Russell Ashland committed a personal foul and (I think) unsportsmanlike conduct and spotted Russell 30 yards. Some dumb penalties on both sides of the ball.

 

It was great to see Russell come out and play with some emotion tonight. And it was nice to see there is still some fight left in the Tomcats...even if their mascot got chased away by a bunch of rowdy Russell kids! :ylsuper:

 

BTW, any other Russell fans notice the "flop" on the last gasp drive? :sssh:

 

 

 

OH YEAH, THAT WAS HILARIOUS. I saw it on the replay on TV. He was walking just fine, looked at the clock, and just went down and tried to get the officials attention. That was a classic flop.

I am not sure but I think tht it is Bill Heaberlin.

 

 

Bill Heaberlin is the new assigning secretary for the 16th region and he's done a fabulous job thus far. Dickey commented on the local association and badmouthed the officials for "hiring" Bill as our assigner. Dickey obviously has no idea of the way an assigner is hired. It has nothing to do with the local association. The association gives a recommendation to the Regional Policy Board. The recommending just started 2 years ago, before that started the officials had absolutely no influence. The Policy Board then hires who they want to assign varsity games in our region. The local officials and the local association has no vote or any say-so in the hiring. It would really be nice for Dickey to do his homework and know what he's talking about before he badmouths a whole group of people who give countless hours of their time so that he can come to Putnam and do his job and enjoy a HS football game.

Boyd is no match for Ashland, getting beat as bad as they did by PC..................

 

Careful Now...Personally athlete for athlete for you are correct, No Matchup....We would pound you.

Careful Now...Personally athlete for athlete for you are correct, No Matchup....We would pound you.

JD is a Belfry fan.