ft bronc

Of course someone will beat Highlands eventually, but maybe a better question is what is the thought process going on at other area schools who have remained uncompetitive against HHS for the better part of a decade now? The last thing I want to do is add to the perceived Highlands arrogance here on BGP, but it really seems that many local schools have given up trying to compete - that they've made a conscious decision not to do what it takes. Ryle, Cov Cath & maybe SK seem to be the only schools that truly have the goal of being #1 in NKY.

Ditto to what both VOR & LN have said. Highlands' "program" right now may be unparalleled in the state, and it is the "program" that allows the school to continually overcome obstacles such as smaller student enrollment, perceived (& possibly real) less talented classes, etc, etc, etc. As far as I can see, there's not an area within their program (coaching, player development - mental & physical, feeder system, boosters, etc.) that's not working at peak efficiency. This didn't happen overnight. Dale and others have been at this for 15 or 16 years now, and they're reaping what they've sewn. If you want an example at another level, look at Boise State. That program has been on a decade-long roll despite disadvantages such geographic isolation, lack of talent compared to their larger competitors, cold weather to discourage recruitment, etc. They've developed a program that works for them - makes the most of their advantages, and minimizes their disadvantages.

Any word on what level they'll be playing at? My understanding is the league makes all teams new to the SWOL start in Continental, but that would be a shame for this group (IMO opinion, Continental is no better than D1 Knothole in the ages I've seen). They can definitely play in the American division. But if they must go continental, they can always supplement by playing American teams in tourneys.

IMO, the difference in level of play between HHS & the majority of their competition gets wider as the season goes on. Not exactly sure if it's due to Highlands rate of improvement being that much better, or that other teams physically decline some over the last half of the season due to being beat up, or some combination of these and other reasons? Not sure. Just an observation.

Ditto. :thumb:

It wasn't the size of the Bryan Station & Withrow d-linemen that bothered Highlands the most, it was their speed. HHS has shown consistently over the past few years that their lines can handle considerable size mismatches, but speed & quickness deficits have hurt them. There's no doubt that Withrow would win a lot of games in KY. They're a very good football team, and despite what I heard leading up to the game, I think they've improved since last year. I felt sorry for those kids Friday night - having played the way they have only to be 0-3. I doubt any of them are lurking around here, but if they are - keep up the hard work, it will pay off.

You need to be careful when analyzing HHS vs. Withrow and applying it to other Ohio schools. Withrow may not be a top 15 team in Cincinnati, but they have a LOT of speed, and it's pretty disciplined at that. HHS generally struggles against teams that can match their overall team speed & play with discipline (remember Bryan Station?), while they may not struggle as much against teams generally regarded as better than Withrow who aren't as fast. If you don't have speed all over, you have to be REALLY big to get up on Highlands.

Nice play all over the defensive side for the Baby Birds last night. I really like the way Harris moves side-to-side; kid has a nose for the ball (and he's not to shabby carrying it also). Offensively, another nice game for the Birds. I'd like to see Plau get a few carries with the first team and Hayes' number called a few more times on the sweeps, but definitely another nice game.

That's a pretty big blanket statement. So if you lost to the eventual state championship team in the second round, there's no possible way you could consider yourself a great team?

I won't wade into the differences between the three schools, but I'll ask you a question History: Are you better at your job today than you were 20 years ago?

Amen brother! :thumb:

Dale is good in interviews because he's sincere. He doesn't have to stay "on-message" because what he says is what he believes. Now, does he stretch it a bit in his preseason assessments of his teams? Sure, but that's who Dale is - positive, goal-oriented, always looking for the good in those around him. He didn't say those things about Coach Weinrich because that's what's expected of head coaches to say about their subordinates, he said it because he believes it to be true, and because he believes it to be ultimately what's most important. When I read the quote about his Mom it didn't surprise me at all. Dale is not your average football coach, and it continues to baffle me why so many coaches (especially youth coaches) continue to ignore the obviously successful example he has set in favor of the old-school demeaning methods.

Do you say this meaning they will be playing JV ball, or that they'll stop playing baseball? I sure hope they're not dropping baseball.

Everyone has slightly different ideas of what the west coast offense is, but if Manual's version allows their QB to scramble like he did last year (and it's the same kid playing the position), he will be difficult to contain (as he was in last year's game). I don't think he's the equivalent of Trinity's Quick, but he showed very fine athletic skills. Now having said that, even if their QB is effective at scrambling for yardage, I don't believe Manual can score at the rate Highlands has the ability to as seen in last week's scrimmage. HHS by 14.

I agree with the bolded portion of your statement, and I think it's worth looking at why it's true. A few years ago, Josh Conner was a truly great out-of-district football player for HHS (some considered him one of the top players in the state), and when he went down with a broken leg in the preseason scrimmage of his senior year, many were worried about the impact on Highland’s season. As it turned out, the machine rolled on to a state championship. Why did the loss of Josh for the majority of the season not have the type of impact that so many people worried it would? Because local kids, who had been there all along, who had been working their butts off for the past 4 years, were ready to step up and take over. The impact, while unfortunate, was relatively small considering the production HHS had received from Josh the previous season. Now I know there’s no way I can actually compare the net gain by Highlands with the net loss felt by Newport when Josh decided to attend school out of district, but I think we can all agree that Newport’s loss was greater than Highlands gain (not that it wasn’t a significant and appreciated gain for Highlands). And why is that? I submit it’s because his old school did not have the same type of local kids ready to step in as did Highlands. And why is that? Well, unless you subscribe to the Ft. Thomas-superior-gene-pool-theory, I know of no better reason than the kids truly do work harder (and by harder I’m including possibly working smarter). While I appreciate the contributions of the jr. league & community, I’ve yet to hear an explanation in this thread, or any other thread on this board, that leads me to question this belief.

I appologize in advance if I'm beating a dead horse here. I haven't been around the baseball board in a while.

I'm not trying to call anyone out here as I have no idea who is responsible for Meinken Field, but that infield needs serious attention. My son's summer team just finished a game there tonight, and it was hands-down the worst infield he's played on since the beginning of this year's high school season. The roughness of the infield directly affected the outcome of the game leading to at least 3 runs scored, and worse yet, one injury. In my opinion, it's not fair to ask kids to play serious baseball on a field in that condition.

Wow, did not expect this post to be controversial. Definitely not trying to spread rumors about the kid. I'll not say another word about it. I do not have a kid playing basketball, nor do I have a kid competing with Jaylen in any way. I am nothing but positive about this frosh class and agree wholeheartedly that they could be something very special.

Not trying to be smart - just trying to make sure I understand your point. You don't think Hayes will be a significant contributor carrying the ball? Sweeperboy - same thing, not trying to be smart, but I don't understand your point.

Both games last year were extremely hard-hitting affairs, and I can't wait for this year's versions. If Highlands comes into the second game having won the last 3 (including the 2 from last year) we could really see some sparks fly! :thumb:

Assuming Mr. Hayes keeps himself academically eligible & continues to work hard, I would be shocked to not see him carry the ball quite often this fall. He has the potential to go the distance every time he gets around the corner.

The bottom line is it's all speculation until the end of the upcoming season. I wish the kid the best (except for one game of course). I'd love to have another NKY product to watch on Saturday afternoons. :thumb:

Better watch out jpa. Keep posting recaps like this & people (like me) are going to expect it!

Anyone have more game details? Who pitched, etc?

No, one pitch-call is not more important than one foul in basketball, but a poorly called strike zone GENERALLY has a larger impact on the outcome of that game than does one penalty in basketball. There's just no equivalent in football or basketball of the pitch-call in baseball. Think about it. What percent of plays in any football game involve a called penalty? I'm not sure, but I'd guess between 10 & 20%. 100% of pitched balls are judged good/no-good. It's apples vs. oranges.