Purplepride

E'town wouldn't meet either team until the Final Four. I agree.. if the BG/Ballard game happens in the Elite 8.. could be a showdown!

Nice job! Interesting enough, I’m told the Purples are down two starters still and beating these teams with no problem. Huddleston and Cooper are both recovering from surgeries. I think Cooper is expected to return in a few weeks and Huddleston in about a month. Can’t wait to see them play a strong defensive team in the guard area... they haven’t seen that yet!

I agree.. they have 2 starters out and seemed pretty sloppy. Of course, that’s to be expected for the first game of THIS year! One thing that stood out, seemed like Buttry and Mason weren’t on the same page there for a bit in the 3rd quarter I believe it was. Mason was NOT liking Buttry’s shot selection on several trips down the court and tried walking off. I did see less facilitating from the point guard standpoint for BG!!! Could just be this game, but seemed to be score first on Buttry’s mind. He did make a ton of free throws.. so there ya go! Probably frustrates teammates tho. Sherrill will straighten that out real quick! Intensity was high most of the game.. which I loved! I’m sure a lot will smooth out over the coming weeks. Once Huddleston and Cooper are back, they’re going to be DANGEROUS! They bring so much added dimension to the team! Happy for Sherrill!

I believe his Junior year, BG ran a 2-QB system with Cooper and the Senior QB. BG is known for “waiting your turn” football. Even though Cooper was outperforming, and almost the entire team voiced that they would prefer him as their QB, for some reason, a decision could never be made on a “STARTING QB”! I believe at one point Cooper even tried to go to Defense just to be on the field more. That’s what athletes do! And sometimes all it takes is for one certain school to recognize a kids talent, offer them, and the offers take off from there. It’s like a domino effect! We see it happen all of the time! I have to commend him honestly for not settling. I think he believes in himself and wants to play at a higher level with a scholarship! He’s a super smart kid... he holds an offer from Centre ( they don’t just offer anyone) I like kids that are willing to push themselves to achieve what they want!

Covid limited his summer , like others, from getting to camps, etc. They said he had never focused a summer on football, and this was his summer to do that. Then I believe with his injury in Game 2 of the season, he wasn’t able to get the film out that he wanted to or needed to early enough to the schools he feels confident he can connect with. He’s looking at going into recruiting as a DB/ATHLETE! Playing QB at BGHS, you aren’t going to have the opportunity to have film at that position to show colleges. I actually think this is a very wise decision for Cooper.

They said Conner Cooper (BG QB) has played with a broken left wrist since the 2nd game of the season. Happened during the PRP game. Scheduled for major surgery at Vandy on Tuesday. Absolutely insane to think about what that kid has done with this team and has kept that under lock and key. It does answer some questions about why he tries to go to the right side more often. I’m actually blown away at that information. I have to say I’m impressed from the QB standpoint especially!! Wishing him a great, speedy recovery!

Any insight on the officiating from today?!?! How has it been? Pretty fair? Have they been flag happy or letting the boys play a little?

I think if you ask BG.. I don’t think they’d trade Cooper for Humphries in a million years. Sometimes it’s way more than a cannon that makes the team gel and become the beast that they are. To hear the chatter from the team and the fans.. Cooper brings all of that.. Including the hard, dig-down -deep grit about him. He don’t put his teammates down, he encourages them to get better. I’ve never seen him come off the field even yelling at his center for multiple bad snaps ( not to say he didn’t get in his ear) but there’s just respect from his teammates that you can feel from our sideline. Again, it takes more than a cannon on a QB to make a team unbelievable. They have to want to play for you too. I just hate to hear that being said when a kid has led his team to a state final! I believe if Cooper would have focused on football rather than basketball, his offers would be running off the books as well. He’s never even attended a camp. RARE for a QB in such a top notch program!!

Hmmm.. I don’t think Daviess County can hang with BG at all. Again, when you look at who BG’s offense is having to put points on.. it’s VERY different than Ohio Co., Marshall Co. Warren East, etc. They’re having to put up points on the best defenses in the state. Cooper, Bunton, Dingle, Burwash, etc didn't even play past the half in the Christian County and 2 Greenwood games. To me, it still seems like the strength of schedule is so lopsided , other than Freddie D, that BG has the clear advantage. That’s why it’s hard to compare stats.. IMO!! Also, OCTOBER 23rd, is the last away game Owensboro has played?!?! WOOOW!!! Almost 2 months. Great benefit of the RPI, we’ll see if that hurts in the long run!!!

Other than Freddie D.. who has Owensboro faced that was a Top Defensive or Offensive Threat? Also, when is the last time Owensboro played on the road?

They were talking in the stands saying that he played on 2 Adidas Gold Gauntlet teams during the summers and traveled all over the states. Actually stated that he gave up baseball to travel for basketball. Said he had never attended a single QB camp or football camp of any kind. That’s rare from a QB standpoint. He’s just an all around athlete. It shows him as the 2nd leading scorer on BG’s Bball team. They will be VERY good this year!

Couldn’t agree more! Our offense is playing defenses that aren’t allowing many points a game. The level of competition again isn’t 2A and 3A teams. I don’t know about you.. but I don’t care if we score on the ground or in the air.. as long as we score. Believe it or not, until you talk to the players, there’s a lot that we as fans don’t see and tend to just blame on the Offensive Coordinator or the QB. A few players admitted to running wrong routes last Friday .. that takes away that pass that forces Cooper to scramble and “tuck” the ball quicker and run. Fortunately, his speed and agility has tremendously helped the Purples in the Playoffs. He has kept so many drives going with his legs when we were 3rd and 12 or more that I can’t even count. I believe if you go back and watch film, Bunton dropped 3 passes that he had a wide open lane to run. Fortunately, the boys don’t nit pick like we do. They go out and just get it done. Im with you as well, Dingle has started to play a different role postseason. He’s became a blocking machine. Honestly, during season, he dropped a lot of open-field passes. Plus, they know there’s other weapons they can use. Forcing him the ball for the fans sake is definitely not going to win us the State Title. It seems at this point, these boys are doing what they have to do against some amazing competition. Every game might look different, and that’s ok. The ones were criticizing the most are the ones that have pulled us on this journey with them. I gotta thank them for this exciting ride. But hey, we wouldn’t have anything to write about if they were perfect! Lol I think they are going to ride their heavy hitting horses that got them here.. and that’s ok. Everyone on Kroger field may not touch the ball on Saturday.. and that’s ok too. As long as we’re up at the end.. that’s what matters. GO PURPLES!

Just curious.. Do you think they are one dimensional because that’s what they relied on to beat CC?? Have you watched them all year? When you have lots of weapons on the field, you may need to beat a team mainly through the air, solely on the ground, or come at them from both sides. That’s what you do to WIN! So ONLY a pass heavy team can win a state title in 5A????

Great win for the Purples. COV CATH is not a team to sleep on. Their offense struggled tonight but their defense continued to hit hard and make plays all night long. I also have to say, several continue to dog the BG offense about how terrible they look or they better get their act together game after game. I think they find away to put up numbers against some of the best defenses in the State every Friday night. They don’t play anyone except 6A schools during the season along with their own district games. Now they are playing the top 5A schools in the State and doing what they need to do. If you look at the offensive stats over the last 5 opponents.. The numbers aren’t too shabby! It may not be pretty to some, but looking at the stats , they are handling business! I think the Offensive Coordinator started playing conservative tonight but they were switching defenses non stop all night long. It’s Survive and Advance now!! The offense and defense are feeding off of each other and doing whatever it takes to WIN! Can’t wait for next Saturday! What a great matchup!!

Any final predictions on how this game might play out? Anyone not playing in this game due to injury that has played most of the season? BG has been told ALL WEEK long that they have NEVER beaten CC!!! Pretty sure they want to change that statistic on Friday night.. 🙂