It hasn't been easy since Cov. Cath for this team.....

I'm not 100% sure, But I think they remain 5A

 

Thanks for the updates.. You did a great job!! Good luck to the Bears next year..

Congrats Birds... time to fight for the trophy!

Also, kudos to HC for a great season and thanks again to Warrior32 for the updates!

So will Highlands be coming home through West Virgina or over Pine Mountain?

 

Congrats to Highlands, good luck next week.

Warrior32 you are a true fan. Thanks for the updates for those of us who didn't make it to the game. Best of luck to the Bear next season. The future is very bright for those young men.

What class will Harlan Co. be in next year?

 

 

 

HC will still be in 5A next season. Congrats to Highlands. Best of luck in the finals...........

Congrats to the Birds.

 

To answer an earlier question HC will stay in 5A.

 

Now to the game. After we finally settled in (at 14-0 with 8 minutes left in 1st) HC played well the rest of the first half. McMallian took one 72 yards to pull the score to 14-6. HC had the ball in the red zone two other times including a 4th and 6 inches on the 3 we couldn't convert. HC amassed 206 yards rushing in the first half. The bird defense bent but only broke once.

 

The opening drive in the second half Highlands took it 55 yards right down our throats. HC hung tough for a while then the track meet broke out.

 

Some observations:

 

Personally I thought we could block Highlands and we did pretty well in the first half, but not so well in the second. The HHS is as fast as advertised and handles agressive blocking very well. Linebackers fly to the football.

 

I also thought we would be able to put pressure on Towles and we did but not the kind of pressure we have been able to bring earlier....that said I think HHS blocked us better than I expected. When we got there we just had a hard time finishing off Towles.

 

HC simply ran into a better team. No excuses and honestly no suprise HHS outplayed us. That's what they generally do.

 

Finally I got to talk to several HHS fans throughout the night. Very polite, respectful, and courteous. EXTREME class act. Something I noticed after the game was in hand the PA announcer said "Let's hear it for our Bears, we're proud of them", looked over and several Highlands fans were applauding...Outstanding sportsmanship.

 

Go get #20 Birds....This HC fan will be pulling for you. :notworthy:

Congrats to the young men of Harlan County. What a great season. What a great thrill to play after Thanksgiving against a traditional powerhouse.

 

I said in the prediction thread that I thought the Bell Co shutout against HC was telling and caught a little flack for it. My point then which was proven tonight is that a really good D is going to shut down Harlan County. There aren't many of them but Highlands is one of them especially against a run-only team. There was no slight intended. I've just seen this movie quite a few times.

 

Congrats to the Birds.

So how did Towles play? Was he hurt ? Normal night?

It hasn't been easy since Cov. Cath for this team.....

 

Cmon man!!! Highlands will win the programs 20th State Championship next week and you will say they are struggling. Give it a rest. Go Birds 20n10

So how did Towles play? Was he hurt ? Normal night?

 

He played..He isn't a 100%, but who is at this point in the year?

He played..He isn't a 100%, but who is at this point in the year?

 

I didn't get a chance to listen and I haven't seen a box score. Any stats?

So how did Towles play? Was he hurt ? Normal night?

 

 

 

Towles is very impressive.........he's strong and tough to bring down. He doesn't panic in the pocket and throws a great ball. He's probably the best high school QB i have watched since Tim Couch. Just my opinion........

Towles is very impressive.........he's strong and tough to bring down. He doesn't panic in the pocket and throws a great ball. He's probably the best high school QB i have watched since Tim Couch. Just my opinion........

 

It's going to be interesting to see what his options are by this time next year.