ryanparker

It looks like the weather is going to be nice for this one. Maybe there will be a Putnam Stadium attendance record. I would imagine fans on both sides of the river are excited about seeing the game. The fact that both teams are undefeated should help draw out the occasional fan as well.

Is the Independent writing about this old classic this week because the circumstances surrounding this Friday's game at Putnam are very similar? Although there are no playoff implications, Ironton comes into Ashland as a heavy favorite much as Covington Catholic did. I hope the Tomcats can make this Friday's game another classic.

Russell started off the season with two shutout wins over East Carter and Greenup County. Then they nearly got shutout by their next two opponents, Ironton (OH) and Ashland. Now they return to more manageable competition once again. As long as Boyd County hasn't lost their will to win from being 0-4 and having the goal posts torn down on them last week, I think this should be a good game. Boyd County has always played Russell fairly tough even when Russell had the much better team. I think it's a close one, but I predict Russell gets back in the winning column by a score of 21-13.

Russell (2-2) visits Boyd County (0-4) this Friday. Who do you think will win and why?

I agree. A coach might be able to mix up formations and play calls with the best of them, but it's probably difficult to get a group of high school athletes to execute "multi-dimensional" game plans from week to week. It's kind of like being the jack of all trades and master of none. Russell's coach Ivan McGlone is who immediately came to mind when I saw the thread title, but as others have posted, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The proof is in the results. Keep it simple! :thumb:

I think the starters on the O-line are: 74 Brad Spoljaric T 6-3.5 260 76 Robbie Webb G 6-3.5 250 60 Chris Warner C 5-11 210 52 Taylor Barker G 6-0 285 72 Sam Cramblit T 6-0 265 The thing of it is, though, these aren't the type of linemen who just look good on the roster but show up fat, slow, and out of shape. They look better playing on the field than they do on the roster! They have a couple of "Alber-like" backs running behind them as well as a couple of speedsters. They also have an end named John Monning (#88) who is a terrific blocker. I really can't imagine that playing this team would be a whole lot of fun for anyone. Everyone has talked about the great speed of this year's Ashland team. I think it is pretty obvious that utilizing that speed to the max is the only way they can win this game. The SEC always beats the Big 10 every year for that very same reason, right? :-)

According to IrontonFootball.com, Ironton leads the overall series 42-28-3. Ironton has won the last 17 meetings between the schools, with Ashland's last win coming in their 1990 state championship season. While Ashland is fielding one of their better teams this year, Ironton is doing the same. Ashland does have a lot of speed and quickness on the field along with the power of Alber. Ironton has a lot of everything on the field at every position. Ashland won't face another team this good until they get to Highlands in the playoffs. This is a great test to see if Ashland can compete in their class. Good luck to the Tomcats.

I think that is exactly what he meant. Ashland did not run up the score in this game at all.

I will say that Ashland and Johnson Central are approaching this season from 2 completely different directions. Johnson Central has lost to 3-0 Boyle County, 3-1 Bell County (whose only loss was to Alcoa TN), 2-1 Sheldon Clark, and some team from Mississippi. Ashland has won over 2-2 Greenup, 1-3 Raceland, 2-2 Belfry, and 2-2 Russell. Strength of schedule leans heavily towards Johnson Central, but Ashland has had a chance to build some confidence. Is it a false confidence? We'll find out this week when Ashland plays Ironton (OH).

I saw some highlights of this on WSAZ last night. Coach McPeek was really showing some fire on the sidelines. It looks like Fairview wanted this one bad. I look for the Fairview-Raceland game to be quite a battle this year.

I've seen Ironton play and I think they are very good. They are a very strong football team, both figuratively and literally. I think it will be a great test for Ashland, though, at this point in the season since the teams they play only get more difficult towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. I think Ashland will need a kicking game and a passing game against Ironton and many of the other teams awaiting them. They need to develop both. I find it hard to believe that Ashland doesn't have a kicker, though. Their soccer team is always one of the best in our area and they are the biggest school in our area. I would think they could come up with someone who would be able to kick extra points. :confused:

The team Highlands beat tonight lost 67-6 last week to an Ohio team.

Not true!!! You can actually run the same 5 plays for 30 years. You just have to be good at running them. Look at Russell.

In tonight's Fairview win over Boyd County, it was reported that the Fairview fans tore the goal posts down. I've never seen this at a high school game before. I was just wondering if anybody else has ever seen it at a high school game?

In what used to be one of the weaker 4A districts, Rowan County and Lawrence County look to be pretty tough these days.

This game is on TV right now on Time Warner cable channel 24. I just watched 8 Ashland players tackle the Russell QB on a QB keeper. There really were literally only 3 Ashland players standing and watching. The rest were in on the tackle. Impressive. Oh...and there goes Alber again....ouch...

It's great for Ashland to see an opponent like Ironton, though, at this point in the season. It's probably the closest thing Ashland is going to get to the teams they will have to face come playoff time. If there are weaknesses, they'll know after this coming week. Let me add this, though. I know Ashland fans have sort of blown off the loss of Carter, but after seeing what he did down the road for Greenup this evening...my goodness, I can't imagine facing this Ashland team with both Alber and Carter! Poor Greenup in week 1! :-) That duo might have been able to do some special things even against the serious competition that 5A northern KY brings.

You called it, OldRambler. Russell doesn't have anyone who can tackle a back like Alber and that can be quite a problem in a football game. :isurrender: When he is in the game, he either gets the yards himself or creates them for Ashland's other backs because so much attention has to be given to Alber. No doubt about it, he's a tremendous player.

If you are serious, that is a classic moment for area high school sports. I don't ever recall seeing a high school team bring down the goalposts! :lol: Congratulations to Fairview and Coach McPeek, though, on a great win.

Unless big improvements are made, it's going to be tough for Russell to do a lot in the playoffs this year. Mason County is the top ranked team in 3A this year and they would see them early in the playoffs. Belfry and Breathitt are both better than Russell as well this year.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I said 2nd string. In all seriousness, Ashland did look pretty good on defense. I'd like to see that Ironton game next week. If the Tomcats can pull off a win against Ironton, then it may be worth the trip to Fort Thomas later in the year to see what happens!

I think you're wrong on the East Carter game. I think you're right on the LCA game. The Fairview and Russell games could go either way.

I still think Raceland will get it together. Barr comes back in a couple of weeks, although at this point, you've got to watch and not put too much pressure on him as the "savior" of this year's Raceland team. I think they are going to get it together, though, and get some wins over the next few weeks. It sounds like this was a tough rivalry game and Greenup happened to have the best player on the field.

My thoughts would be that Kentucky teams are better served to stay on this side of the river!

Wow. Congratulations to West Carter. I figured this would be a close game.