ryanparker

You're right. The Belfry/Russell matchups have been something to look forward to. I just hope Russell can (1) win that 1st round game to get there this year and (2) put up a better fight than they did last year at Belfry! :-)

Sorry I included the word "conveniently" for some reason. I certainly didn't mean it the way it came out. I know that the incident wasn't planned. It's just something that must have happened between a couple of teams that REALLY dislike each other. I just was trying to point out that Belfry will likely beat East Ridge no matter who is suspended, but Sheldon Clark might not be so lucky with Pike County Central. That would leave Russell with a 1st round home game with a Sheldon Clark team chomping at the bit to have a rematch at Belfry the next week, not exactly the sort of 1st round playoff game you hope for! I apologize, though, as I meant nothing deragatory about Belfry at all. They are always a good team, they have a great coach, one of the nicest stadiums I've been to, and it's usually a good matchup when Russell gets to play them.

Is the regional championship game the 2nd round of the playoffs? I believe Ashland will have to play at Highlands in the 2nd round since they are going to be the number 2 seed in their district.

I'm surprised at how few posts it took for this one to already get snippy! :-) I'm with Ram in that I enjoy the environment for games like this more than anything. I think it's a good rivalry. For example, I went to the Raceland-Fairview game a couple weeks ago and sat on the Raceland side. They announced the 1st half score of Mason County 28 Russell 0 and I heard several Ram fans around me comment in approval. Conversely, they announced the 1st half score of LCA 35 Raceland 0 last night at the Russell game and I heard several Russell fans around me comment in approval. That sort of summarizes how these teams feel about each other. When these 2 teams renewed this rivalry a couple of years ago, the teams were thought of as possible state title contenders. This year, neither team has had those sort of expectations and quite frankly, neither team has shown any signs of being state title contenders. However, this game should be a pretty evenly matched contest and great preparation for the playoffs for each side. I know it sounds cliche, but I think the winner of this one will be the team that "wants it more". I hope both teams are at full strength for what should be a great game.

I'll be the one to go ahead and start this much anticipated thread.

East Ridge won't pose a threat to Mason. They are 3-5, but their 3 wins came against weak teams. Every game they've played against a solid team has resulted in a blowout. Lawrence Co 62-7, Sheldon Clark 63-28, and even Pike Co Central 62-0. I think a Fleming County-Pike Co Central game could be close. Fleming has some good athletes and a big line so they might be able to pull it out. I think Sheldon Clark will beat Fleming, though, if that matchup transpires. That would set up a rematch from last year when Sheldon Clark beat Mason County in the 2nd round of the playoffs. After this week's Sheldon Clark-Pike Co Central game, we'll know what to expect.

Here are the way the brackets look: East Ridge @ Mason County Fleming Co @ Pike Co Central/Sheldon Clark Winner Pike Co Central/Sheldon Clark Loser @ Russell West Carter @ Belfry You would guess that Sheldon Clark would be the winner of their game next week against Pike Co Central, but they reportedly will have a few major players suspended due to a fight last night @ Belfry...so it might go either way. In any case, Mason County gets the 1st 2 games at home and then I believe has to travel to Belfry for the 3rd round unless Russell could pull off a 2nd round upset down there. In that case, Mason County would host Russell in the 3rd round. After that, I think they'd likely have to go to Breathitt County or Somerset for the state semifinal game.

Congratulations to Ashland for getting back on track. I think they should roll through their final 2 games, particularly after seeing the gap between Johnson Central and Woodford. Then they'll likely get to host Dixie Heights again in round 1 of the playoffs. I agree with you, Graybeard, about Trent Hardy. He stands out on the field in the games I've seen.

:laugh: That's my favorite famous press conference moment. Sounds like a lot of people on here are saying the other part, too. "Go ahead and crown them". I think LCA should at least make the finals this year. Then against Beechwood or Mayfield, who knows?

I'm a bit surprised that Boyd County beat Greenup as bad as this, but not at all surprised that Boyd got the win. They are a solid team that has had a lot of bad breaks this year. Every team they have lost to has a winning record and they would have probably won a couple more games had it not been for injuries and the flu. Unfortunately for Boyd, they face 2 more teams with winning records to close out the regular season and those are the best 2 teams on their schedule, Lawrence County and Ashland. At least they've clinched the 3rd seed in their district, though. As for Greenup, they get to play an early "playoff" game against East Carter next week because the loser gets to stay home in a couple of weeks.

Lewis County put up a good fight with very impressive performances from their QB Cooper, wide receiver #2, and fullback. They ran for over 200 yards, passed for over 200 yards, and won the time of possession battle going away. Lewis County's program is definitely headed in the right direction. Between Fleming County, West Carter, and Lewis County, the once "weak" district that Russell and Mason County typically dominate is getting a bit stronger. Lewis County's main problem was a couple of fumbles and their complete inability to stop Russell's running game. Every time they would make a great offensive drive to get back into the game, Travis Jones or Will Rice from Russell would be headed to end zone shortly thereafter to keep the Lions at bay. All in all, it was a good game by Lewis County, though, and a good win for Russell. I'll say it again, Travis Jones has gotten better and better every week to the point where I now think he's right up there with Josh Gross and Kasey Clark. The guy is good.

Good win for Fleming County. They are a very talented team who is going to pose a good challenge for either Sheldon Clark or Pike County Central in the first round of the playoffs.

Conveniently, Belfry plays East Ridge next week so they can likely breeze through that game with half a team. However, this could affect my Russell Red Devils as Sheldon Clark plays Pike County Central next week who has played some teams tough. A Pike County Central win means Sheldon Clark is visiting Russell in week 1 of the playoffs. That's not the 1st round game either team was looking for.

Lawrence County is back and the real deal this year. They won't lose until the Bell County and I look for them to give them a fight as well.

Wow...was it an all out YouTube worthy melee???

Congratulations to Mason County on another win. The margin makes me think that West Carter came to play. Congratulations to the Comets as well for putting up a fight against one of the top teams in 3A this season. West Carter could be a tough out for Belfry again in the playoffs this year!

I'm not surprised by the outcome of this one and I don't really understand those who are. LCA is the same team they were last year with an additional year of experience. Raceland is Logan, Denton, Carver, Boyles, and a giant Swede away from being what they were last year. The gap is wide between these teams right now. The only surprise I see is that Raceland didn't score at all and that LCA didn't score more. Old Rambler is right...LCA should compete for the 1A title this year. Anything less than at least making the title game would be a momumental disappointment with the talent they have. As for Raceland, there's nothing to be ashamed about. You've got a good game to look forward to next week in what should be one of the best environments of the season.

I think this will be a very close game. Is there some question as to whether Carter is playing this Friday? If he plays, I pick Greenup to win. If not, I pick Boyd. Either way, I think it's going to be a good game.

Well said preview. The good thing is, though, that Raceland has nothing to lose in this one. Keeping the game close would be a great accomplishment. Winning it would be worthy of breaking out the fire trucks.

That's the way the Greenup radio announcers described it. They said it was just a momumental mismatch on the line. They said the Lawrence County linemen were simply tossing Greenup's linemen to the side. Evidently, Lawrence County's commitment to the weight room is paying dividends. This is probably good for Greenup's young line, though. The players they saw looking across at them against Lawrence is what they are going to need to look like next year and in years to come if they are going to build the type of program they want. It's got to start as soon as the last game this season is over, though. It can be done and this year's Lawrence County team is a evidently good example of that.

Russell's win over Fleming was sort of like tonight's Mason-Russell game...the snowball effect. Russell's Travis Jones returned the opening kickoff for a TD. I think Fleming fumbled the ball. Jones ran it in again. Every time you looked up, Fleming was either fumbling or allowing Jones to tear off another long gain. Fleming County got it togther in the 2nd half and played Russell well. It was too late, though. West Carter is a good team, too. Again, they just had a bad 1st quarter against Russell, giving up a quick 14 points. They got things together a little faster than Fleming, though, not allowing Russell another point the rest of the game. Both of these teams are decent teams with the potential to be good teams if they execute well. If Mason County lets down, either Fleming or West Carter has enough good athletes to be able to pull off a momumental upset. It would require some considerable Mason County mistakes, though.

Congratulations to Fleming County. Both of these teams are pretty talented. Assuming all goes as expected, this means Fleming gets to visit the loser of Belfry-Sheldon Clark in the first round of the playoffs while West Carter gets to visit the winner of that game.

Good game story...and perhaps the quickest game story I've seen posted!

I'd say they'll be good!!! As a Russell fan, I want my team to compete, but Mason has a real chance to bring home a state title these next couple of years. I know it takes a lot of things to fall into place and some luck along the way, but it sure seems like the talent, coaching, and support are all there.

I'm glad I got to go to this game as I chose not to make the rainy drive up the AA to watch Russell. I thought this was a really good game that was clearly won by the Raceland defense. They stifled Fairview the entire game. They stopped Fairview's running game and they pressured the QB the entire night. About all that happened positive for Fairview on offense all game long was the TD pass in the 2nd quarter on the short field given up by the Rams. On offense for Raceland, I still think the quarterback looks great when given time to stand in the pocket. When he has to scramble, though, I think he simply needs to go ahead and tuck the ball and run 9 times out 10. He seems to be a pretty decent runner, but he doesn't seem to complete a lot of passes while being pressured. The Raceland running backs were pretty much bottled up for most of the night as well. I expected more explosiveness from the running game. There were also some penalties that stopped drives. Those obviously need to be cleaned up. However, credit should go to the Fairview defense as well. They didn't budge a whole lot, either. All in all, this was a good old fashioned defensive battle decided fittingly by an extra point and an interception taken back for a TD. To sum it up, special teams for both teams weren't bad. Defenses for both teams looked good, with Raceland just a little better. Offenses for both teams were spotty, again with Raceland just a little better. Congratulations to the Rams on the win and Fairview on the hard fought game.