What does Prestonsburg need to do to improve in 2008? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

I'll take a shot at this.

 

As always, the o-line seems to be the first place they need to look.

 

Seniors Nathaniel Stephens, Darrin Lawson and Matt Blevins are gone. Seniors to be Zack Bragg, Daulton Faulks, and Justin Trout will have to anchor the line. From there, they have a pretty strong group of Sophomores to choose from and a couple of them will have to step up. Michael Burchett should continue to grow into the QB position which he had to fill the last third of last season. He will have a good selection of targets to pass to including Austin Gearheart, Matt Swords and Josh Craynon. The backfield is set with Alan Craynon, Seth Setser and Blake Meade. That is not to say that others won't get a shot at the ball, those are the first three that come to mind.

 

Stephens will be missed on the defensive side of the ball as well, where he has anchored the middle at linebacker for the last couple of years. Look for outstanding defensive performances from Seth Setser, Blake Meade and a Sophomore, Michael Crowe, to make the difference. Even with some losses in the secondary as well, I look for the Blackcat Defense to be even quicker and stronger against the run. Look for the younger Craynon brother to be burr in the secondary.

 

With a large group of seniors who have been together for many years and have a sense of destiny, absent complacence, I look for the Cats to take at least one more step toward a title. (Easy to say in February).

 

Look for the district to be improved, with Shelby Valley and Bath County returning strong teams as well. Even Morgan County should be competitive. They played hard with a very young team last year and should benefit from finally having some stability in coaching.

 

I agree with those who argue 2A is the most competitive class. Corbin, DeSales, and of course NCC will be very strong again.

 

GO CATS!!!!!

Nice post, BnB !!!

 

Although I'm not 100% certain this thread was created to be a Prestonsburg preview...

Thanks for the edits, guys...

I'll take a shot at this.

 

As always, the o-line seems to be the first place they need to look.

 

Seniors Nathaniel Stephens, Darrin Lawson and Matt Blevins are gone. Seniors to be Zack Bragg, Daulton Faulks, and Justin Trout will have to anchor the line. From there, they have a pretty strong group of Sophomores to choose from and a couple of them will have to step up. Michael Burchett should continue to grow into the QB position which he had to fill the last third of last season. He will have a good selection of targets to pass to including Austin Gearheart, Matt Swords and Josh Craynon. The backfield is set with Alan Craynon, Seth Setser and Blake Meade. That is not to say that others won't get a shot at the ball, those are the first three that come to mind.

 

Stephens will be missed on the defensive side of the ball as well, where he has anchored the middle at linebacker for the last couple of years. Look for outstanding defensive performances from Seth Setser, Blake Meade and a Sophomore, Michael Crowe, to make the difference. Even with some losses in the secondary as well, I look for the Blackcat Defense to be even quicker and stronger against the run. Look for the younger Craynon brother to be burr in the secondary.

 

With a large group of seniors who have been together for many years and have a sense of destiny, absent complacence, I look for the Cats to take at least one more step toward a title. (Easy to say in February).

 

Look for the district to be improved, with Shelby Valley and Bath County returning strong teams as well. Even Morgan County should be competitive. They played hard with a very young team last year and should benefit from finally having some stability in coaching.

 

I agree with those who argue 2A is the most competitive class. Corbin, DeSales, and of course NCC will be very strong again.

 

GO CATS!!!!!

 

I agree with a lot of your post, only thing I disagree with is the overall improvement of Shelby Valley, Bath County, and Morgan County. Saunders has Valley on the right track but they lost their entire backfield, quarterback, and most of their line. Bath County didn't lose as much as SV did but they'll still struggle this season as they lost their best player at halfback and a few key linemen. Morgan County just isn't good enough to compete with many teams in the entire state, let alone the other three teams in the their district. Don't get me wrong, I wish the best for each school but I'm just stating my opinion.

 

Expect Prestonsburg to sweep the district once again. Prestonsburg's tough schedule will have them ready for the playoffs as they play 3A power Breathitt County, 1A power Beechwood, and the new consolidated 6A school, Cooper.

 

Oh yeah, don't forget about incoming freshman Joseph Jamerson, he went to state in hurdles as a 7th & 8th grader and done a real nice job as a freshman in the 7-on-7's. I'm sure the coach John will give him a lot of playing time at both wide-out and safety.

 

Go Blackcats!

Prestonsburg also added former Paintsville head coach Jim Tom Allen and his assistant Joe Chirico. Chirico played for Marshall during the Tim Brown days when Marshall won the national championship.