PrepNation preseason poll released

[Henry521]

OR, possibly some of us could get out of our state and see some other regions in our nation play football. Texas for one, and then see that perhaps there's some really good football out there. Or Highlands fans can play the Rodney Dangerfield act and use it as fuel for another terrific season in the Commonwealth.

 

I was never really a big fan of Rodney, although I did like him in Caddy Shack.

[History]

I don't see how you can call it weak.

 

Ryle will be top 5 in 6a this year and they're playing them swice.

 

Manual is a very good Louisville team.

 

Withrow is a very good Cincy team, and would easily be a top 5 team in nky.

 

Covcath should return to form this year and be one of the better teams in 5a.

 

Beechwood is always a 1a state title contender.

 

Highlands schedule is tougher than you're giving it credit for. Name another team in nky that would go undefeated against that schedule or win 8+ games, outside of maybe Ryle.

 

Let's see I give no credit for playing CovCath as they are a district foe. Beechwood will be dominated by Highlands-no comparison in those two teams. Boone County will be third in the No.Ky 6A district that has never won a state championship. Ryle-I will give you, but I probably give as many props to the Raiders playing Highlands twice as to Highlands playing Ryle twice. Withrow would not be a top 5 Northern Kentucky team. Manual is a top 5 Louisville school, but just like in Northern Kentucky-there is a top tier-1, and then a huge drop. In Louisville-there is a top 2 and then the drop off of the cliff.

 

Are you saying this is a tough schedule? Are you saying this is a schedule where you would rack up points in a Top 10 in the country?

 

Highlands problem is that they dominate the Northern Kentucky schools, but generally struggle with the GCL schools in Cincinnati. They are way better than teams their size in Kentucky, hence they win state crowns, but when looking to play up in Ohio it can cause losses, which they don't want.

[jbwill2]

Highlands problem is that they dominate the Northern Kentucky schools, but generally struggle with the GCL schools in Cincinnati. They are way better than teams their size in Kentucky, hence they win state crowns, but when looking to play up in Ohio it can cause losses, which they don't want.

If what you say is correct about playing Ohio teams causes losses for Highlands that they don't want, then how do you explain the fact that HHS played two Ohio teams last year (St. X and Withrow), one OH team in 2008 (Colerain), one OH team in 2007 (Trotwood-Madison), two OH teams in 2006 (Elder and Columbus St. Francis DeSales), two OH teams in 2005 (Colerain and Columbus DeSales) and one OH team in 2004 (Elder)? Why didn't Dale Mueller just pack in a bunch of KY games and really rack up the wins? Heck, HHS has won 44 or their last 45 games... if they hadn't scheduled Colerain in 2008 the 'Birds would be knocking on the door of Trinity's state-record 50-game win streak.

 

In the OH games I listed above, HHS won THREE of the NINE games... you don't think Dale Mueller could have scheduled differently and picked up five or six more wins?

 

Oh, and one more thing... don't use the excuse that HHS only schedules Ohio games when they expect to have a really good team. Highlands played Colerain in 2005 after the 'Birds lost a TON of talent/experience from the 2004 team. That 2005 team was by no means a very strong HHS squad. Also, HHS lost a lot after the 2007 season, and yet scheduled Colerain in 2008.

[75center]

If what you say is correct about playing Ohio teams causes losses for Highlands that they don't want, then how do you explain the fact that HHS played two Ohio teams last year (St. X and Withrow), one OH team in 2008 (Colerain), one OH team in 2007 (Trotwood-Madison), two OH teams in 2006 (Elder and Columbus St. Francis DeSales), two OH teams in 2005 (Colerain and Columbus DeSales) and one OH team in 2004 (Elder)? Why didn't Dale Mueller just pack in a bunch of KY games and really rack up the wins? Heck, HHS has won 44 or their last 45 games... if they hadn't scheduled Colerain in 2008 the 'Birds would be knocking on the door of Trinity's state-record 50-game win streak.

 

In the OH games I listed above, HHS won THREE of the NINE games... you don't think Dale Mueller could have scheduled differently and picked up five or six more wins?

 

Oh, and one more thing... don't use the excuse that HHS only schedules Ohio games when they expect to have a really good team. Highlands played Colerain in 2005 after the 'Birds lost a TON of talent/experience from the 2004 team. That 2005 team was by no means a very strong HHS squad. Also, HHS lost a lot after the 2007 season, and yet scheduled Colerain in 2008.

 

Now, now-don't confuse a good argument with facts.

[Henry521]

Now, now-don't confuse a good argument with facts.

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[History]

If what you say is correct about playing Ohio teams causes losses for Highlands that they don't want, then how do you explain the fact that HHS played two Ohio teams last year (St. X and Withrow), one OH team in 2008 (Colerain), one OH team in 2007 (Trotwood-Madison), two OH teams in 2006 (Elder and Columbus St. Francis DeSales), two OH teams in 2005 (Colerain and Columbus DeSales) and one OH team in 2004 (Elder)? Why didn't Dale Mueller just pack in a bunch of KY games and really rack up the wins? Heck, HHS has won 44 or their last 45 games... if they hadn't scheduled Colerain in 2008 the 'Birds would be knocking on the door of Trinity's state-record 50-game win streak.

 

In the OH games I listed above, HHS won THREE of the NINE games... you don't think Dale Mueller could have scheduled differently and picked up five or six more wins?

 

Oh, and one more thing... don't use the excuse that HHS only schedules Ohio games when they expect to have a really good team. Highlands played Colerain in 2005 after the 'Birds lost a TON of talent/experience from the 2004 team. That 2005 team was by no means a very strong HHS squad. Also, HHS lost a lot after the 2007 season, and yet scheduled Colerain in 2008.

 

Okay so let me get this straight winning three of nine is good for Highlands against Ohio teams the past few seasons? I thought we were talking about Highlands, not Boone County. Not quite worthy of national #1 ranking talk. Ohio football is better, and size doesn't matter when considering the best teams in the country. I never said Dale was ducking anybody. Highlands is in a tough spot. They are either playing teams that are overmatched by the Bluebirds, or they are overmatched by the numbers, size and or strength of their opponent.

If Highlands wants to be a top team in the country, then they need to play a much better schedule. Ditch Boone County and Beechwood, and yes Withrow.

[uk#1fan]

I don't see how you can call it weak.

 

Ryle will be top 5 in 6a this year and they're playing them swice.

 

Manual is a very good Louisville team.

 

Withrow is a very good Cincy team, and would easily be a top 5 team in nky.

 

Covcath should return to form this year and be one of the better teams in 5a.

 

Beechwood is always a 1a state title contender.

 

Highlands schedule is tougher than you're giving it credit for. Name another team in nky that would go undefeated against that schedule or win 8+ games, outside of maybe Ryle.

 

Ryle will be lucky to keep this game even close.

[jbwill2]

Okay so let me get this straight winning three of nine is good for Highlands against Ohio teams the past few seasons? I thought we were talking about Highlands, not Boone County.

I think you missed my point. You made the assertion that Highlands did not schedule more Ohio teams this year because they were worried about losing games.

 

You're right, a record of winning 3 out of the last 9 games against Ohio competition is not stellar, which proves my point. Despite losing so many of those games, Mueller and Highlands kept scheduling them. If HHS only cared about accumulating wins, Mueller and Co. could have arranged a schedule so that they'd be banging on the door of 50 straight right now. The truth of the matter is that they didn't do this... instead, the put teams like Colerain, Elder and Cincy St. X on the schedule. That 2008 Colerain game (you know, the one that "messed" up HHS' win streak) was at Colerain. How many home games has Colerain lost in the past decade? Not many.

[History]

I think you missed my point. You made the assertion that Highlands did not schedule more Ohio teams this year because they were worried about losing games.

 

You're right, a record of winning 3 out of the last 9 games against Ohio competition is not stellar, which proves my point. Despite losing so many of those games, Mueller and Highlands kept scheduling them. If HHS only cared about accumulating wins, Mueller and Co. could have arranged a schedule so that they'd be banging on the door of 50 straight right now. The truth of the matter is that they didn't do this... instead, the put teams like Colerain, Elder and Cincy St. X on the schedule. That 2008 Colerain game (you know, the one that "messed" up HHS' win streak) was at Colerain. How many home games has Colerain lost in the past decade? Not many.

 

No jbwill2-others have told me that Highlands can't travel much due to high expenses, and I offer that traveling to Cincinnati, or having the better Cincinnati schools travel to Fort Thomas shouldn't be that much of a cost. Again, not saying Dale is trying to keep any sort of winning streak alive. I am simply saying that finding good quality opponents isn't as hard as many folks on here believe. All of the GCL schools are ALWAYS looking for good quality, competitive opponents, which is what it sounds like Highlands wants too.

 

I amgoing by what Dale says himself, and that is the #1 goal is to win the state crown. More often than not that is in the bag for Highlands, especially with the watered down six classes. Now he adds the national championship point to the discussion, and I offer that I will buy in if the schedule improves dramatically. Playing Beechwood isn't tough. Would Louisville St. X playing NCC be a test? No. That is a 6A school playing an always competitive 2A school. Same differential. And Boone County-give me a break. Let's just say that final score is 49 to 0 now and save the Rebels the humiliation.

[jbwill2]

History, I think you and I are debating two different issues. I'm not saying anything about whether Highlands deserves or doesn't deserve to be ranked nationally. There are about a skillion high schools that play football in the US and I know jack squat about approximately 99.99% of them. So, who am I to say they are 1st, 3rd, 100th, 1,000,000th? It does make me happy to see that they receive national attention, like they did in the USA Today last year. You may not agree with the USA Today, but the fact remains that USA Today has been in the business of nationally ranking teams since 1982, which is longer than anybody else has been doing it.

 

I agree with you that Highlands' schedule this year is not as strong as it was last year. Literally, the ONLY difference between last year's schedule (which earned Highlands a 3rd-place national ranking) and this year's schedule is one game - Cincy St. X. All the other games are the same. It has already been discussed why the HHS-Cincy St. X contract was not for two years. Highlands replaced Cincy St. X with Louisville Eastern. I don't know what other options Highlands had in filling out its schedule. Maybe they had a lot and maybe they didn't. I am sure that Eastern is no Cincy St. X, although they do have a player many believe is the best prep football player in KY right now. It is what it is.

 

The only point I was trying to make in my previous posts is that I disagree with your statement that Mueller does not schedule games against Ohio teams because he doesn't want to lose games. As I have said before, if he only cared about the wins/losses he would have scheduled differently than he did over the past several years.

 

And one last thing: you seem to be making the point that Highlands should load up their schedule with Cincy powers, in order to prove their worth. Do me a favor and take a look at defending national champion Alabama's 2010 football schedule. Why are there games against San Jose State, Georgia State and Duke on that schedule? Why not dump those and go with Texas, Ohio State and USC? That way, they'll REALLY prove just how good they are, right?!

 

I suspect most successful coaches are at least somewhat selective in scheduling games.

[thenamerobdigity]

History, I think you and I are debating two different issues. I'm not saying anything about whether Highlands deserves or doesn't deserve to be ranked nationally. There are about a skillion high schools that play football in the US and I know jack squat about approximately 99.99% of them. So, who am I to say they are 1st, 3rd, 100th, 1,000,000th? It does make me happy to see that they receive national attention, like they did in the USA Today last year. You may not agree with the USA Today, but the fact remains that USA Today has been in the business of nationally ranking teams since 1982, which is longer than anybody else has been doing it.

 

I agree with you that Highlands' schedule this year is not as strong as it was last year. Literally, the ONLY difference between last year's schedule (which earned Highlands a 3rd-place national ranking) and this year's schedule is one game - Cincy St. X. All the other games are the same. It has already been discussed why the HHS-Cincy St. X contract was not for two years. Highlands replaced Cincy St. X with Louisville Eastern. I don't know what other options Highlands had in filling out its schedule. Maybe they had a lot and maybe they didn't. I am sure that Eastern is no Cincy St. X, although they do have a player many believe is the best prep football player in KY right now. It is what it is.

 

The only point I was trying to make in my previous posts is that I disagree with your statement that Mueller does not schedule games against Ohio teams because he doesn't want to lose games. As I have said before, if he only cared about the wins/losses he would have scheduled differently than he did over the past several years.

 

And one last thing: you seem to be making the point that Highlands should load up their schedule with Cincy powers, in order to prove their worth. Do me a favor and take a look at defending national champion Alabama's 2010 football schedule. Why are there games against San Jose State, Georgia State and Duke on that schedule? Why not dump those and go with Texas, Ohio State and USC? That way, they'll REALLY prove just how good they are, right?!

 

I suspect most successful coaches are at least somewhat selective in scheduling games.

 

That has always been my arguement... Why have the hardest schedule when you don't need to to have a high national ranking (see Highlands last year).

[woodyccrr]

Ryle will be lucky to keep this game even close.

 

I'm convinced :lol:

[tdyballgame]

TTT!!!

 

Ok, here goes. Most everyone knows I played and graduated from HHS. Let me be clear in that I think it's a great thing for a/any program to be "Nationally ranked" not only for the school, the community, the bragging rights, and most importantly for the kids to get exposure for College. I have a nephew on the team this year that this is only going to help him get noticed. Heck, our team was the first HHS team to be Nationally ranked in 1982. I brag about that all the time.

 

Buuuuuttttt, not for one moment do I or any of the other "many" HHS faithful truly believe there isn't 30 teams in either Texas, Florida, California,..... that would beat HHS pretty handily. Heck there might be one in our own State every once in awhile that can and does beat the "almighty Birds". Not often but it happens.

 

With that said, it is fun to have the bragging rights to say your school is a top National team. Finished #3 last year in USAToday. So for the Historys and Spindocs of the BGP world, we are not in denial. We just love to brag!!!!!!!!!!

 

Go Birds!!! 20n10!!!!!

[Birdsfan]

With that said, it is fun to have the bragging rights to say your school is a top National team. Finished #3 last year in USAToday. So for the Historys and Spindocs of the BGP world, we are not in denial. We just love to brag!!!!!!!!!!

Jeez! Now how are we supposed to have any fun? :ohbrother:

 

 

[John Anthony]

Highlands at #19 in the Midwest would make them a legit contender for the D4 crown in OH assuming they would be D4.