Not claiming to be the expert here, but as someone who played against the '98 team, and somebody who's been following NKY football for over 20 years, this team was easily better than the '98 team.

 

I wish I could have this argument about the program I played for LOL.:popcorn: Give me a good reason why this years team was better then the '98 squad. I am not a big fan of Highlands, but that '98 Highlands team was one of the best teams I have ever seen in High school football field in all most 30 years of beening a part of the game football.

I wish I could have this argument about the program I played for LOL.:popcorn: Give me a good reason why this years team was better then the '98 squad. I am not a big fan of Highlands, but that '98 Highlands team was one of the best teams I have ever seen in High school football field in all most 30 years of beening a part of the game football.

 

Agreed:thumb: I should be impartial to this years team since I have a Nephew who started on the defense but I just think the 98 still has the slight edge. They were scary good......50 plus ppg scary good:scared:

Agreed:thumb: I should be impartial to this years team since I have a Nephew who started on the defense but I just think the 98 still has the slight edge. They were scary good......50 plus ppg scary good:scared:

 

Yes they were but this year's team could have avg 50 plus if Dale wanted.

Yes they were but this year's team could have avg 50 plus if Dale wanted.

 

And well, they didn't..... You know as well as I do that Dale pulled his starters in 98 the same as he did in 09. The 98 squad was lucky to play any 4th quarter games as well as the 09 team. Not really much difference!! IMO

And well, they didn't..... You know as well as I do that Dale pulled his starters in 98 the same as he did in 09. The 98 squad was lucky to play any 4th quarter games as well as the 09 team. Not really much difference!! IMO

 

Yup, they both are phenomenal teams !!!

And well, they didn't..... You know as well as I do that Dale pulled his starters in 98 the same as he did in 09. The 98 squad was lucky to play any 4th quarter games as well as the 09 team. Not really much difference!! IMO

 

I have a feeling that Dale may argue that the '70 team was better than both '98 and '09.

I have a feeling that Dale may argue that the '70 team was better than both '98 and '09.

 

I have to believe the regular season schedule of 09 as was 07 more challenging than the 70 team when Dayton, Newport, Newport Catholic etc were probably on the schedule. Dale has scheduled up recently due to local teams not wanting to schedule Highlands. Also, when your talking about "team" I doubt the 70 team had the depth for a 2 platoon system along with the 98 team.

I have a feeling that Dale may argue that the '70 team was better than both '98 and '09.

 

I'm sure he would.....Dale is only human!!!!

I wish I could have this argument about the program I played for LOL.:popcorn: Give me a good reason why this years team was better then the '98 squad. I am not a big fan of Highlands, but that '98 Highlands team was one of the best teams I have ever seen in High school football field in all most 30 years of being a part of the game football.

 

I'm not trying to dis-credit the '98 squad. After all, why would I want to downplay a team that beat my own by 44 points? (For my sake, I should logically try to argue that they're the best Kentucky football team ever to play the game.)

 

However, I think when you go down through the starters, player for player, you're going to see more talent on the '09 roster than the '98 roster. The '98 team was based largely on passing with Lorenzen, Smith, and a fairly talented receiver corps. Their run game wasn't weak by any means, however, it was based around a 250 lb quarterback who could roll over tacklers, and it relied heavily on QB draws and option plays. Their kicking game backed things up as well with Jones

 

This year, Highlands had an offensive line that was even more dominant up front than 98's line. Often times, the holes Collinsworth was running through looked more like lanes on the expressway. They were able to run absolutely anywhere they wanted with Bardo, Collinsworth, Streeter, Towles, Abner...anybody they felt like sticking in the backfield. They also had receivers the likes of Buten, Roller, Fennell, and Drennan to open up the passing game every bit as much as '98.

 

I think when you add difficulty of schedule on top of all that, the '09 team handily surpasses '98.

I'm not trying to dis-credit the '98 squad. After all, why would I want to downplay a team that beat my own by 44 points? (For my sake, I should logically try to argue that they're the best Kentucky football team ever to play the game.)

 

However, I think when you go down through the starters, player for player, you're going to see more talent on the '09 roster than the '98 roster. The '98 team was based largely on passing with Lorenzen, Smith, and a fairly talented receiver corps. Their run game wasn't weak by any means, however, it was based around a 250 lb quarterback who could roll over tacklers, and it relied heavily on QB draws and option plays. Their kicking game backed things up as well with Jones

 

This year, Highlands had an offensive line that was even more dominant up front than 98's line. Often times, the holes Collinsworth was running through looked more like lanes on the expressway. They were able to run absolutely anywhere they wanted with Bardo, Collinsworth, Streeter, Towles, Abner...anybody they felt like sticking in the backfield. They also had receivers the likes of Buten, Roller, Fennell, and Drennan to open up the passing game every bit as much as '98.

 

I think when you add difficulty of schedule on top of all that, the '09 team handily surpasses '98.

 

Huh!!!!:confused:

Did you forget the 1968 team too young to remember:laugh::laugh::laugh:

I have a feeling that Dale may argue that the '70 team was better than both '98 and '09.

Huh!!!!:confused:

 

LOL!!! Thought the same thing but hey, he is an outsider. Maybe he knows something about next year that we don't. :lol:

Huh!!!!:confused:

 

Oops... :notworthy:

I spoke with Dale at the Bengals game Sunday and he was all smiles and couldn't be happier about his team's accomplishments.

 

We had about a half hour conversation about nothing but his players and what to expect next year. (Surprise, surprise)

 

But the one thing that we agreed most on is that all of this success starts in the FTJYFL. While the teams in that league would likely be beaten by other teams in the NKYFL and BCYFL, the reason it is so good is because they focus more on fundamentals than other leagues and don't worry about winning. The most important concept of their league is to make sure the coaches develop each and every player and give them the proper training to compete once they get to the high school level. By the time these kids get to high school, they already know the system and what to expect. The tradition is there which motivates these kids each and every day. No one wants to be apart of the class that didn't win a state championship in a particular year. These things combined are why you see the depth and talent at Highlands every year.

 

BTW, Dale said his kids can do what they want to. "We're going to start working out on January 4th and if I tell my kids we're going to run to Cincinnati and break in to Paul Brown Stadium to run steps, that's what they'll do. These kids just want to win so bad." Typical Dale. :taz::lol:

 

Gotta love his enthusiasm though. The guy is always smiling and never has anything negative to say. I can see why kids love playing for him.

Did you forget the 1968 team too young to remember:laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

Dale was only an eigth grader in '68.:bunny: