ft bronc

I can tell you from first hand experience after living in Arizona for 3 years that this is definitely true. If it weren't, football would be a winter sport there, not fall. I'm not saying that even as a native out there you can't get into heat trouble, but you are definitely more acclimated to it. And don't give me that "it's a dry heat" garbage. 108 is 108 no matter how you look at it.

JV Birds played very well. Pretty much a replay of the 3rd & 4th quarters of the varsity game. Too many kids playing well all over the field for me to try to list them out. Keep it up guys!

Then you better inform CNN, msnbc, abc, cbs ...... Sorry, thought I was on the politics forum. Nowhere on BGP this year have I heard anyone mention the improvement Towles made in the off-season. His footwork, throwing mechanics, accuracy, timing and every other qb metric I can think of is vastly improved. He has become a very polished QB. After last season I wasn't completely sold on his ability to be a top flight D1 QB, but after the first two games of this year there is no doubt in my mind - especially if he can continue to improve at the rate he has over the past 12 months. And there's another part of Towles I wish more people could see: how good he is with the little kids around the program. The child mangers obviously idolize the guy, and with them he has the patience and temperment of a individual much older than his actual years. Bodes very well for his future on and off the field. Disclaimer: I am not a coach.

No disrespect, but this quote shows me you haven't paid very close attention to the Highlands program over the past 5 or 6 seasons. While injuries always hurt (no pun intended), the ability to replace injured players both in & between games has been a strength of the Birds for some time now. Loosing players the caliber of Josh Conner & Will Bardo would be an excuse for many teams to not reach the ultimate goal, and yet state championships were won in both instances.

Saturday, 9/24, 1:00 PM at Cov Cath. Can't wait.

First observation: Where was the crowd from Dixie? That might have been the smallest local 6A visiting school crowd I've ever seen at HHS in non-freezing weather. Not even a student section. I know they'd lost a couple games coming in to last night, but not a good reflection on the state of their program. Next: Speaking of that, it's about the program. You can talk talent all you want, but it's about the program. Put the Dixie kids in Highlands' program for three years & see how talented they are come their senior season. Not saying God-given talent isn't a factor, but year-in, year-out, its the program that wins. Last: Dixie is 6A. They should be able to put good teams together in the three major boys sports without any one negatively impacting the others to any significant degree. The success of Dixie's baseball program has not caused the football team to open the season 0-3.

That's a pretty bold statement right there raider. As another more well know BGP'er likes to say, the only thing predictable about Dale, is his unpredictability. It's still very early in the season, but I'm with jpa on this one. Houliston has shown some guts & nice poise twice now against Trinity, and if he continues to fill out over the next year, I don't think the QB spot is a no-doubter.

ABC2 - Not sure if it's you or me :confused:, but that is completely the opposite of what I meant. What I was trying to say is let's all leave the kid (and his teammates as well) alone & let him play. They all read this board & IMO they don't need to see either other or their coaches put under the microscope before they even feel like a part of the program.

It hasn't gotten too bad yet, but I think we can all see where the QB discussion is headed. Not to get on a moral high-horse, but I'd like to remind all of us Bluebird fans that the young frosh kids read this message board, and that it would be nice for all of us to give them some space for at least the first few games. Go Baby Birds!

Name?

Majority on the nose, but you'll see him at end also.

Truer words may never have been spoken. However fast Devin was last year, when I saw him out of pads this summer I knew opposing offensive lines were in for big trouble. Whatever few lbs had been lingering around the midsection last season are completely gone, and he is quick with a capital Q. How this kid wasn't identified in the local preseason watch-lists is beyond me (not that they mean anything anyway.).

I don't know exactly what my opinion is on girls playing football, but Nicole played on my daughter's soccer team a few years back, and I can tell you she is one heck of an athlete.

Was the temp of the helmet surface 154, or was that the temp of the air under the helmet?

As for Western, we'll find out on 9/1 when they come to DCM for a 7:30 game (unless there's multiple Westerns that I'm not aware of). And for JC, it's three years now if I remember correctly. The two games held @ JC were both great, with the 2010 version an awesome example of high school football.

Not sure how they'll do this season, but Scott's frosh last year won the "small" school NKY frosh championship. Technically speaking, I know they're probably not a small school, but still good for a program that's been struggling for some time now.

It will be televised, but I don't recall exactly which TV organization is doing it.

Based on everything I've heard about him, I'm really excited to watch this kid play. Sounds like the likelihood that I'll be able to watch him on future Saturdays is good also - and how awesome is that for a fan! However, (you knew there was a however coming) I've seen a lot of good two way players neutralized by Highlands and their two-platoon system over the past few years, and if not neutralized, at least relatively contained the first three quarters before they finally ran out of gas in the fourth. This will be a big test for Zach & the other 2-way players right out of the box.

This is indeed a good point. I've also noticed slower starts the past few years, most notably that first game against Ryle two or three years ago. However, I think you also have to look at the quality of this year's new starters - on both teams. Highlands' sophs last year were very strong, and the frosh team was brutal. Nothing against the classes in front of them, but I think the new starters from these two classes will make the adjustment to varsity more quickly than we've seen recently. As for Boyle, I'll guess we'll have to wait and see how their new starters work out. If last year's frosh game is any indication, the advantage - at least with respect to new starters - has to go to Highlands. Boyle fans - how do your new starters look? Sorry if it's already been covered - I'm too lazy to look back through the thread.

Did Zach pitch as UC's closer this year?

If the kids are indeed from Hamilton - they take their baseball pretty seriously up there. Hands down, the best youth baseball team I've ever seen was a SWOL U13 team from Hamilton a couple years ago. They were beyond impressive & absolutely clobbered my son's team.

Why Meinken? Isn't there a gravel parking lot available somewhere?

We'll never settle the specialization vs. multiple sport argument on this blog, and I agree with those on both sides that have said we as parents need to let our kids decide for themselves, and then back their decision. As for the bolded above, truer words may have never been spoken on this site. We all have regrets about decisions we've made in the past & wish we could do certain things over again, but that's what life is - a series of decisions. Help your kids decide what is most important to them, and then help them make it happen.

I'm so tired of these discussions I can't believe I'm replying again, but here I go. There is no consensus that any one thing or item is "the problem" with Highlands baseball. The consensus is that most of the things mentioned in this and other previous threads all add up to the current status of the program. Spring break, feeder system, talented kids not continuing to play baseball, increased talent levels in other counties, no Brett Hamblin-type kids in the program at the moment, and other factors all contribute to the disappointing finishes of the past couple years. I also believe that consensus exists between those people actually involved with the program, that the program as a whole, under the current coaching staff, has made fairly significant strides forward that will bear fruit in the not so distant future. A well known football coach made a statement that received quite a bit of attention during the rebuilding years of his program, "that we're a winning team waiting for it to happen." I think you could make that statement about Highlands baseball. They're doing the things that winning programs do, but it will take some time before winning with regularity becomes the norm.

There is no doubt that, overall, the talent at the private & public schools in both Boone & Kenton counties has gotten better over that past few years. You have to look at what youth programs are feeding the schools. The Southwest Ohio League has exploded in popularity over the past 6 or 8 years, and the majority of the NKY kids playing in that league feed Boone Cty, Dixie, Cov Cath, Ryle, Conner and Cooper High Schools (and probably a few others). If I had to make a guess, I'd say that at least 75% of those schools varsity rosters played at least their last 3 years of youth ball in the SWOL. It's really only been in the past year or two that ANY kids from Ft. Thomas have played in the SWOL, and at least half of them didn't play their first year in that league UNTIL they were in high school. This is a major difference between the varsity rosters of Highlands & other area schools, and leaves Highlands at a significant disadvantage. When you look at the records of previous Highlands coaches, keep in mind that back then a much higher % of the competition's players came out of Knothole, the same league that has been Highlands major feeder to this day. It won't be until '13 that a significant portion of Highlands' varsity roster will have a decent amount of SWOL experience.