RM, despite what is alledged, the KHSAA monitors financial aid very closely to make sure that member schools follow the rules. I strongly believe that all of the schools follow the rules and I know that Trinity does.

This thread started off with a reasonable question. Of course it got sidetracked easily.

 

Back to the original question.

 

Historically, St. X has been #2 power long term but never by much. And that goes for the time before Trinity benefited from the demise of Flaget. From 1959 to 1971 St. X won 2 State 3A Championships. Flaget won 3. Trinity won the Championship in 1972 and 1973 and St. X in 1974. So in that stretch Flaget/Trinity wins 5, St. X wins 3. With Flaget closing in 1974 many alumni would be faced with a decision of what school to send their children to since as noted sons often follow fathers in Louisville.

 

First hand knowledge verifies that the majority of the Flaget alumni are now Trinity backers. And that by itself has given Trinity a boost in the area of football.

 

Who were some famous Flaget football graduates? Just Howard Schnellenberger and Paul Hornung.

 

Moving ahead to 2009. Trinity was not a national powerhouse and is even a little 'down'. But their coaches and parents said - the sophomores of that year were special. How special? #1 in the nation as seniors. Not bad. So the pendulum not only swung to Trinity - it swung far more than usual. It will swing back. St. X, Trinity and Flaget have great traditions, alumni and supporters. And they have always been the measuring stick of the highest level of football in Kentucky from the 1950s forward.

Let me add that Trinity won the State in 1968 also, their first State championship.

I believe I brought up the costs and financial aid. Let me clarify, the only reason I brought it up was to see if there was a difference cost and aid packages between X and T. I was in no way saying there is anything shady going on. I was thinking if it was significantly cheaper to go to one school compared to the other, that would be an advantage.

Let me add that Trinity won the State in 1968 also, their first State championship.

 

My apologies, I missed that going through the KHSAA list. That was an interesting run - 1967 - Flaget, 1968 - Trinity and 1969 - St. X. Butler disrupted the run in 1970. But the next 4 years went Flaget, Trinity, Trinity, St. X. Of course 'the fix' to this run was to create an additional class in 1975.

 

Also, the list of Flaget football names should include All State quarterback Oscar Brohm who played at Flaget.

177-19 in the last 4 meetings.

 

The gap is not shriking folks.

The gap is large now, as evidenced by T's national ranking. The talent gap grew enormously with this year's senior and junior classes, but it ends there. Those two classes beat St. X Freshman by an approximate combined score of 70+ to 7. The current sophomore and freshman combined for dead even scoring, with Trinity taking the freshman game in 2010 and St. X winning in 2011. Coaching philosophy and access to a full time weight lifting and speed coach (I am sure saint x won't spend the money on a specific faculty position in this area, while trinity does) might come into play regarding the outcomes of future varsity games, the actual "gap" has evened back out, regarding talent. Not too often does a high school field college level trenches in one senior class and then back it up with D-I Running backs, receivers, QB, defensive ends, linebackers and secondary...not to mention multiple prospects that are coveted by the likes of Alabama, Florida, USC. It was/is a very rare combination. Although I am an admitted Tiger fan, I have enjoyed the Rocks success (from a national perspective). However, I do believe that St.X will be competitive next year and will compete to win in 2013. I think those senior rocks on offensive and defensive lines are severely overlooked, due to the stellar specialty players who are juniors. Those lines are what makes the Rocks go and next year they won't dominate other teams in the trenches, as they did this year. Do I think Trinity will be bad next year? Absolutely not. But I do believe that the trinity staff will have to do a yeoman's job of piecing together the trenches, if they want a shot at an undefeated season. The rocks will probably start the season in the top 5-10 teams based on this year's junior class, but the trenches might have to develop as the year goes on. That's my take on the 'gap'.

BGP, Very well thoughtout about next year. There will be some line players sorely missed. The schedule won't get easier.

By stats it is perceived but reality is the needle has moved in T's favor. For now and maybe the next few years. I do believe that X will be back in due time. I hope that this is sooner than later. I miss and want to see exciting X/T football games again.

Perceived. I think many X families and students are not that focused on football as they are playing many other fall sports and winning state titles. X's excellent other fall sports have lowered the talent pool for football. It really is unfair to blame the X football program for its decline given that the reason it has gone down is because of the school's other fall sports success.:sssh:

ttt....

 

Real for now!

T has simply had an incredible run of exceptional athletes who have been well coached. FB does not suffer because of cc or golf. Maybe some from soccer, but not noticeably. Quick apparently took his test at X, but went to T. Maybe if he goes to X, we're not having this thread. T has the titles this decade, but actually X has had successful seasons, with some runnersup. There has been a pendulum in this series, and I expect it to happen again. Other than being disappointed in the lack of titles, I can't complain.

Overall, our sports programs are competitive and succesful. BBall will get there. You simply acn't gauge an entire program by one sport. I am satisfied overall.

CentreRocks does bring up an interesting point but it's not other fall sports that are detracting from the football program, and I am in no way saying this is The Reason, but it does provide insight pertaining to the cause of 'the gap'. The basketball and baseball teams at saint Xavier have been the beneficiaries of many talented athletes who now 'specialize' in their respective sports. Instead of being a multi-sport athlete, many of saint x's best freshman players now 'specialize' in basketball (mostly) or baseball. Saint x's center for the basketball team this year would have been handed a major D-1 football scholarship on size and speed alone, as a defensive lineman. Instead, he decided to hoop it up on the hardwood. There are 6-8 players who weren't good freshman football players and decided to not play beyond freshman year...they were the top players (talent-wise) on the freshman rosters. Throw in a transfer to Central and a transfer to Jeff in Indiana and that's roughly 10 starter-quality players who didn't progress in the program. I don't know why that has been a trend but it has been trendy to specialize instead of participate in multiple sports. I don't think the wins and losses would have changed between the two programs over the last two years but it would have changed the lopsided scores into closer games, which is what the original 'gap' question was seeking to examine