ryanparker

I hope both teams do well in the playoffs. Raceland should be happy they are in the 1A district they're in this season. They go on the road but they play much easier teams. Russell plays at home but gets either Sheldon Clark, Belfry, or Pike County Central since they all ended up in a 3-way tie in their district. That's gonna be tough.

This was a good game. It was very evenly matched throughout. If these teams played 10 times, they'd probably win 5 each. Ok Ram fans, maybe Raceland would win 6. :-) The deciding factor in tonight's game? Of all things, Russell had no answer for Raceland's running game. Michael Litteral was undoubtedly the star of the game. He got a lot of those yards on his own with superb effort. I hope he's OK as he went off in the 4th quarter with what appeared to be a leg injury. For the most part, Raceland had no answer for Russell's offense either. They gave up several big plays on the ground and even a couple to Googie Hayes through the air. However, they toughened up when they had to, though, and stopped Russell at a few critical moments to win the game. Both teams have a lot of young players so this should continue to be a good rivalry for the next few years. Russell really needs to improve their strength and conditioning. Whatever in the world is causing Russell's players to drop like flies needs to be addressed. They already went into this game without 2-way starters Justin Davidson, Luke Bailey, and Troy Huffine. They lost 3 or 4 other starters during the course of this game and that was a huge factor. I think they need to do something about that if they want to return to having a top-notch football program. I agree with SpinDoc and LoyalDevil that Russell's tackling was utterly atrocious, but I give them a little bit of a pass because there were so many young players playing. Whatever the case, though, Raceland's domination of Russell in football continues for another year. Who would have thought we'd be saying that when the 2 teams renewed this rivalry a few years ago?

Agreed...and fortunately it looks like great football weather too.

I don't know any of the behind the scenes details regarding negotiations, but I personally think it would be a shame to see this rivalry go by the wayside. I think teams should fill their schedules with as many "big games" as possible. Both teams may fill the void on their schedules with similar competition, but they won't be able to fill it with games that match the crowd, intensity, and rivalry atmosphere that this one provides.

West Carter will win by a lot.

This should be a very close game. It's a big game for both teams as it will likely decide which team ends up with a winning record and which team ends up with a losing record this season. As SpinDoc said above, it comes down to Russell stopping Raceland's passing game and Raceland stopping Russell's running game. I don't have a lot of faith that either one will happen, so I look for turnovers and special teams to make the difference. Russell really needs to stop Raceland's winning streak over them. A win over Russell isn't a good reason to get out the fire trucks anymore.

Money-wise, no, Raceland doesn't benefit from Greenup and Boyd dropping them from their schedule. You just can't replace the attendance from the local games. Out of the teams you listed, which ones would bring big crowds to Raceland? Ashland doesn't play at Raceland. Paintsville, Nicholas, Pikeville, East Carter, West Carter, Lawrence, and Mason won't bring big crowds because they're either too far away or their programs don't have much support. That leaves 2 possible "standing room only" home games, Fairview and Russell. That's why I think it would be good to see them pick up Ironton or Wheelersburg if they could get them to sign up. Competition-wise, though, yes, it looks like they've already filled out their schedule with tougher teams than Greenup and Boyd. Adding Lawrence is a boost. Keeping Russell is good. If they keep Ashland and pick up Mason County, then it's evident that the Rams aren't gunning for any record win totals...but it certainly would be a challenging schedule nonetheless. :-)

That would be good for Raceland. Obviously, they'll have to play district opponents Fairview, Nicholas County, and Paintsville. That leaves 7 other games that need to be scheduled. Raceland only had 4 home games this season. Whatever happens, I'd try to at least schedule 5, even 6 if possible. Here are a few potential teams I thought of for Raceland to try to schedule next year (obviously some of these may already be scheduled - I don't know): Russell Ashland Johnson Central Lawrence County Rowan County LCA Mason County Belfry West Carter Boyd County East Carter Fleming County Lewis County If they couldn't find the right mix of those, then they'll probably have to go across the river (Coal Grove, South Point, Chesapeake, Ironton, etc.). The only problem with that is I think Ohio teams get playoff points based on the size of the schools they play so they may be less inclined to schedule Raceland.

I think that is a real shame. I wonder what the reason was? I have always thought that all of the teams from Boyd and Greenup County should play each other on a yearly basis. Since fans don't have far to travel, those are the games with the biggest crowds and the rivalries that make for the most exciting atmospheres. As a Russell fan, I'd like to see them continue to play Raceland, Greenup, Ashland, Ironton, Boyd, and even Fairview if they can start consistently fielding a team like this year. With only 3 district opponents next year, Russell and Raceland will have a few spots to fill. I hope they both can do it with exciting local games as much as possible. Like I said, though, it would be interesting to know the reason Greenup dropped Raceland from the schedule.

I agree. There isn't a lot to say about this week's Russell game. Russell has a lot of injuries, but they're still going to beat Lewis County by a lot. Next week's game should inspire a little more conversation.

Greenup will win and it won't be close.

I'm torn about the idea of Russell petitioning to move back to 3A due to geographical concerns. I like the idea of Russell having a rivalry with Prestonsburg, facing tough regional competition like LCA and Danville, and having only 3 district opponents so they can beef up the rest of their schedule with local rivals and better teams. That's much more exciting than what their previous district had to offer. These types of games are fun to watch and set the bar higher for the program. However, it is a long drive to these places so I can see the point of petitioning to be moved.

I must commend Raceland for being willing to take on games like this. My goodness, talk about increasing the strength of schedule.

I haven't seen LCA this year, but some of their results are impressive, particularly a 30-15 win over Breathitt County. From their stats, it looks like they have another do-it-all quarterback who is capable of throwing and running. As always, this will be a tough game for Raceland. I'm going to go ahead and predict a Raceland upset, though, because I'd like to see it and because I look for Tyler Farley to be on top of his game with this possibly being his last home game. Honestly, I think that's the only way for Raceland to win. He's got to play very well. Good post earlier by SidelineDoc about Raceland needing some of their players to get mean and step up to play physical football. I would imagine they'll find out a lot about who has "it" and who doesn't over these last few weeks of the season. Win or lose, that will probably help them looking forward to next year.

I think Mason County will win this game easily. However, even if they do, they're going to need to play better than they did last Friday at Russell. They won the game because they had more talent than Russell, but they need to play more disciplined. I'm pulling for the Royals to make a run at the 3A state title, but they're going to have to be a lot better than they were this past week.

Russell will win this one by a comfortable margin. The good news for Lewis County is that this is the last time they'll have to see Russell if the proposed district realignments hold.

Montgomery County is on a 4 game win streak, but the teams they have beaten are a combined 3-25. Ashland will be an enormous step up in level of competition. Unless the Tomcats' spirit is broken from another loss to Johnson Central, I look for them to win this one and still get a home playoff game.

Well, Ashland managed to put up some points on Johnson Central again, but still can't seem to stop their running attack. It's got to be a disheartening loss for the Tomcats considering how high everyone was on this team prior to the Ironton game, but hopefully they can get it back together, get the 2 seed, and put up a good showing in the playoffs.

Rough night for the Greenup County teams. Greenup, Raceland, and Russell all beaten soundly by their district rivals.

Good effort by Russell with Davidson and Bailey out. Mason County had a ton of holding penalties, though, that helped bog their offense down.

With a margin this big, it does simply appear that Fairview is the better team this year. Maybe the two teams can meet again in the playoffs, though?

This won't be a competitive game. Rowan County will win by a lot.

??? If Bracken County, Lewis County, and Paris survived, then I would imagine Raceland will too.

I listened to this game as well and just want to point out that the clearly biased Ashland radio announcers are the best in the area. In between criticizing the officials, they describe the game as well as anyone. They'll go over the top in heaping praise on the Tomcats if they're winning, but at the same time they'll be as critical as anyone of Ashland if they're losing. It makes for a great radio show. I can't imagine better high school football announcers in the state. I encourage all Johnson Central fans making the trip to Ashland to bring a headset radio and tune into 97.1 FM. You won't regret it!

This will be a very tough game for Russell and a good test to see if they've improved from their early season losses to Greenup, Ashland, and Ironton. Russell kept it respectable with Mason County last year losing only by 13. However, that was due in large part to a momumental one man effort from now graduated Travis Jones. He went for 195 yards and 3 TDs. Russell is going to need their best effort of the season to make this a game. Something tells me they will, though, as most Russell teams tend to show up and toughen up late in the season. It should be a good weather night for football. Hopefully Mason County brings a lot of fans. They have an impressive program and an impressive team this year that has a legitimate chance to compete for the state title. Due to the district realignment, it's a shame this will be the last installment in this good rivalry.