scout

Mr Guru, my but aren't you the pot stirrer this year.

The answer to your question is yes. Big trouble? Maybe not, but they would be better keeping him on offense.

Coach Wirth has to be pleased overall with his guys. My observations:

1) The best hustle play I've seen in a long, long time was Brady Reese running down Travis Elliot on that 91 yd kick return. Outstanding statement about that young man's heart and legs.

2) Blake looked pretty good. He one obvious breakdown and one that floated on him, but for the most part he threw nice balls. Couple of nice plays where he pulled it down and ran.

3) Gabe is a stud. Can't say enough about how good he looked.

4) The O-line is huge and played well. A couple of false starts and a little fist scrimmage jitters but nothing that can't be fixed.

5) CCH gave up way too many big plays. That might be Achilles's heel this year.

6) I absolutely loved the run by Christian Howard late in the game. He took a stutter step that shook the jock strap off the Ryle defender.

7) Tackling was better than last year. I disagree with the earlier poster who said that Elliot ran all over CCH. With the glaringly obvious exception of the big plays, they contained Elliot better that I expected them to.

8) Talkers is a huge weapon, but the KO team can't assume he's gonna put it out of the end zone every time.

9) CovCath HAS TO GET DRESSMAN ON THE FIELD ON OFFENSE!!! Wide reciever? Blake had success down field last year with a tall wide out. Dressman is a waste sitting on the bench!!

10) A couple of great catches by McDowell The sideline catch was reminiscent of Robinsion and Connelly. That said, WAY TOO MANY DROPPED BALLS. Good efforts by the o-line and QB were wasted by drops.

11) They need some work in the secondary. Loosing the entire starting crew to graduation hurt. I think, however, that can be fixed, but they need to do it soon.

12) Is there anyone in the school who can play the beefy fullback? They need one to compliment Gabe. What happened to Lenkheit?

13) Ryle's safeties are big and fast.

14) The Ryle fans were very gracious hosts. Thanks.

The Cov Cath fans have been very, very quiet on BGP this year. What's up with that? Is it an intentional ploy by the PHM or just a coincidence?

Seriously,they couldn't find any receivers for this camp?

Very strong praise, indeed.

So with the changes in the defensive coaching staff, what changes can we expect on the field? I hope they are putting more emphasis on tackling.

The biggest holes left by last year's graduating class were in the Secondary and at Receiver.

On the way out, someone pointed out that three of the East's four TD's were scored by future Georgetown Tigers. Odom, Slabaugh, and Connelly.

That's gotta make the G'town coaches smile.

..... I was talking to some of the CovCath kids and they loved Dale and thought he was AWESOME. LOL.

And I am happy to report that those young men are doing well in therapy and should be de-programmed by the end of next week.

Seriously though, it was a positive experience for all the kids I spoke to. They enjoyed working with the kids from other schools and making new friends. They were all very complimentary of the coaching staff.

...oh and how I wish Arlinghaus had gone to CovCath!! Very gutsy game by Jerry who was put into very difficult positions.

A very entertaining and exciting game. First, as best I could tell no one was injured. Second, the kids seemed to have fun.

This wasn't the Highlands vs SK game that some, okay just one, predicted. Kids from Highlands & SK participated and played very well, especially on defense. This was truly a NKY all star game. RB's from Brossart & Ryle had great games. Zumdick from Dixie & Baldwin from SK played great at LB. Ritter, Sidel, Odom, Gregory, and all the East DB's did a great job. Both offensive lines did great. Wienel had a couple of really good punts and KO's (It seemed like the East struggled a bit holding the ball for a left footed kicker, but that is tough to master in so few practices). Imagine Kremer, Connelly, and Leonard on the same team. They might be good enough to make the SK squad.

The most moving part of the game was the half time presentation to the families of the two young men who gave their lives so we could argue about HS football. Outstanding stories of two men who learned to lead and follow on the football fields of NKY and used those skills to defend us. God Bless them and their families. Scout is eternally grateful for their sacrifice. I will never forget their stories.

Easily the most athletic performance I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately, too few take notice.

Bummer for the Colonels. Congrats to the Cougars.

Nope SK has brand new press box, brand new bleachers, concession stands on both sides of the field with grills its a lot nicer than Dixie's. Ryle's stadium is not that nice.

You, sir, have ZERO objectivity. In fact, you have less than I do, and that is saying quite a bit. That said, I look forward to the SK vs NKY gaime. Play on!

Was Bray from Lloyd the top overall performer?

The young man is very impressive that is for sure. Word is that he's also a great sportsman.

CovCath had nice showings by:

1) Austin Hudy. His win in the 300m hurdles was something to see. He edged out Bruns at the tape. Second in the 110.

2) Will Torbek winning the pole vault. He has really come on strong late in the season. He barely missed 13' 1".

3) Michael Bawdy. He came in third in the high jump. Won the long jump. Ran a very impressive first leg of the 4x100

4) Austin, Connor, Michael, and Thomas in the 4x100. Their handoffs were really, really good. They won by at least 20m.

5) Jake Henderson didn't qualify for state, but had a PR in the shot put. A great way for the big guy to end his season.

6) Cubby finished second in the high jump to Bray. He started the year strong, but has been in a post spring break slump. His jumps should give him some confidence. He needs to stop being so serious.

There were some other great performances that I am sure I missed.

I am most decidedly NOT a Highlands fan, but I will tip my hat to their girls. They are a well coached group of fantastic athletes. I enjoy watching them compete.

Well it's an old Looney Tunes cartoon, but I am pretty sure University of Pikeville was a better choice than Pikevill University. I think it was Foghorn Leghorn who graduated from old P.U..... Maybe it was Pepe Lepu

PHUNNY. Very Phunny.

For 2A, Saturday at Harrison County.

I hope that Mr. Aldridge is okay. That was a nasty looking hit he took when he lost his footing at the high jump pit.

Congrats to the CovCath 4x100 gentlemen. They have been pecking around that record all season. Great looking hand off's.

Color me inpatient. A weeks goes by and the last post is about Bruce Pearl? I don't think that orange jacket would make it on the sidelines, unless it was on one of the Crazies.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not being critical. They should take all the time they need. I am just impatient.

I think the administration IS serious. (well most of them anyway.) They have to be seeing the impact of bringing in a guy to develop the whole program on the football side of the house. That has to be a driver on the basketball side.

Panda, please mark the Diocese Meet, 5/10 at CovCath on your schedule. I'd love to see you skills put to use there.....

Color me inpatient. A weeks goes by and the last post is about Bruce Pearl? I don't think that orange jacket would make it on the sidelines, unless it was on one of the Crazies.

Considering that would be 9-10 yards better than the average distance for next year's top ranked punters nationally, he should be a D1 lock.

He had potential to end up averaging those numbers. Before he got hurt, he averaged around 43 yards on air with a great hangtime. I'm not sure what the exact hangtime was, but there were only two punts returned all year. One was against Ryle in the opening game and another against Campbell County I believe. Hangtime is key for a punter. He gets enough distance on his punts, but with his hangtime, no one has a chance to return it.

So McDowell doesn't really have a chance? I mean he did out-punt St. Xavier Louisville's punter who was nationally ranked. McDowell had a ridiculous average (and I mean ridiculous as in very good), but it's not published on any site or newspaper. They had it all down wrong. He also is very consistent with pinpoint accuracy (hence the Beechwood game if you got the chance to see the play). He best skillset is his hang time. He can average a 50 yard punt with no return. 50 net yards for a punt is outstanding.

Do you think there is any shot that they are good enough to go big D1?

What do you think about college futures for these two kids? Any futures ahead of them? If so, how far could they get?

After talking with McDowell, it seems that his injury status is improving at a very successful rate. He has had two previous knee surgeries and he got through them without any trouble. He seems to be very dedicated to getting back on the football field.