ryanparker

My goodness...you don't come back from 20-1. They did something similar to Russell earlier in the year.

Win or lose, it's always enjoyable listening to Ashland's announcers. They are hands down the best radio crew in the area.

Ashland seems to have had a very up and down season to say the least. Congratulations to Rowan County. It's good to see them get a win like this.

There are going to be some very exciting 16th region basketball games in the coming weeks. The only problem is that none of the exciting games will have any impact on teams going to the state tournament. Elliott County is far above the rest of the pack. All the exciting games will be just to see who gets to say "good game" to Elliott in the 16th region finals. And you know, that's not a bad thing...this is the first time in a while that the 16th region actually has a team capable of winning the state tournament. It's been good to see a team from around here do so well.

I agree with that. Both opening round games (Raceland/Lewis and Greenup/Russell) should be intense matchups if nothing else.

What seems to make it difficult for Russell is that teams are generally physically stronger than them at all 5 positions. This makes Russell have to work hard to get players open on offense. It also seems to give teams a lot of drives and baskets underneath where Russell can do little to stop them. Russell does have a bunch of pretty fast players, though. I'd like to see them get better at taking some charges. The district game against Greenup should be a good one. Even though Greenup is good, I think Russell has what it takes to make it a close one. If they do that, maybe they'll get the ball to bounce their way in the end. They are certainly due for some breaks.

Maybe the rest of the Raceland players are better than they show when Boyles is out there. Sometimes when a team has a player like him, the rest of the team can fall into the habit of just watching and waiting for him to take care of things. This is a really good win and should give them more confidence heading into the districts.

I'm not that surprised by this. Greenup is a very good team.

I haven't seen Rose Hill play, but I have heard they are among the top teams in the region. I have seen Raceland play and the fact they won this game without Boyles is a huge surprise. Did Rose Hill have all of their players?

Russell played what I thought was their best game of the year. They are getting much better at handling the physical play they so often see. They just went cold in the 4th quarter of this one. Another very good game, though.

You make a good point, OldRambler. You read a lot about transfers on here and half of what you read may not be true!

It's good to see Russell get another win. I, too, thought Boyd County was much better than the first time these teams played. They exhibited an all out effort from beginning to end. They sort of reminded me of Russell in that way. They are young and undersized, but they played hard the whole time. Congratulations to Russell on the win, though. I hope they keep up the exciting games at home! They've had some good ones this year.

I've noticed a lot of comments in a few threads on here about Greenup County players transferring to Raceland. How many players on Raceland's 2009 team are transfers? How about on last year's Raceland team? I'm just curious.

At least the game film and scouting reports will be easy to obtain! I really think that Raceland, Russell, Greenup County, Fairview, Boyd County, and Ashland should all play each other every year if possible. It's good to have these types of games.

Russell has been playing teams pretty close at home lately. They beat Boyd County earlier in the season. The only 3 games Boyd has won this year were at Raceland in the Raceland Derby Classic. They come into this one on an 11 game losing streak which has to be the most momumental in school history. During the streak, they are averaging 54 points per game while giving up 83 points per game. This isn't your typical Boyd County team. I think Russell wins. We'll see how they play as favorites.

There should really just be a thread kept alive called "Elliott County vs. [Any 16th Region Opponent]". I think all the predictions are going to be just about the same no matter who fills in the blank. If this team loses a game in the 16th region this year, it might be the biggest upset in 16th region history.

My goodness...Georgetown College is getting some outstanding linemen in Seth Harvey and Robbie Logan.

Raceland certainly has the ability to be good again this upcoming season, but I don't see how they can match the 2008 team. I wish them the best, but the fact is you don't lose guys like Logan, Carver, and Denton and be just as good. Those guys were very special players. That's not to mention the loss of Tyler Boyles at quarterback! I didn't realize it so much watching them play football, but Boyles is a tremendous athlete. I just watched Raceland play basketball the other night and he clearly stands out as the best athlete on the floor. You simply don't lose that kind of athleticism and talent without a little drop off. I don't mean that to come across as negativity as I hope they are successful again next year...I just think the seniors they lost were really, really good. I think the Raceland schedule is outstanding. Really, it's the best they can do as the only "weak" games on the schedule are district opponents who they have to play. The Ashland, Greenup County, Fairview, LCA, Boyd County, and Russell games should be enough to get the Raceland fans excited and should prepare the team for the playoffs. The biggest obstacle I see for Raceland this year is LCA, though! Judging from what I saw in the playoff game last season, the guys they have returning are tremendous. They are essentially what Raceland was in 2008...a team full of experienced players, several of which have the ability to play at the next level. That being said, I think Raceland has an excellent coaching staff who will make the most of the talent they have returning. I look for them to have another successful season. I just think there will be a few losses along the way this time.

The most glaring need I see for Russell this year is size on the line. They have some very good skill position players returning, but without a few brutes on the line things could get difficult. Replacing Drew Miller, Mike Dillon, Drew Abrams, and even Storm Burgess will be their most difficult task as they lose a lot of strength in those guys. I would expect this year's team to have very good senior leadership, though, in 3 year senior starters Will Rice and Kamron Smith. On offense, I would expect Rice to get to the bulk of the carries with other guys like Travis Jones and Jesse White running the ball as well. Max Rogers should be the primary receiver when they go to the air. The quarterback should be either Brandon Sparks or sophomore Logan Dehoff. Russell actually has a few sophomores that will contribute this year. I think Russell's best chances of being good this year, though, rest primarily on their defense. Rice and Smith have been terrific linebackers for Russell for the past 2 years. Steven Stapleton came on strong last year as a 3rd linebacker. I even think the secondary will be strong as they have some athletic, fast players taking the place of the graduating seniors. I think Russell will have the speed to match every team on their schedule. My main concern is the teams that will line up and run it right between the tackles. This could wear this undersized team down somewhat. Another loss is the kicker Jason Dolly. He did a great job on kicks, kickoffs, and even punts some last year. Finding suitable replacements here will be important. With all that being said, here's a preliminary guess at how I see their games going: East Carter (H) - Russell has enough skilled players returning in their system to win the opener at home. Greenup County (H) - This will be interesting since Greenup has a new coach this year. I think Russell should have a good shot of winning, though, based on the fact that they have a bunch of skilled players who have been in their system for a long time and it would surprise me if Greenup matches their execution in the first or second game of a new regime. Ironton, Ohio (A) - Now this one looks to be tough! :-) Ashland (H) - It's always good to have Ashland at home, but I think Ashland is easily the best team in our area this year on this side of the river. Boyd County (A) - It has been difficult for Russell to win at Boyd County when they had the far superior team. This will be a hard fought win. West Carter (A) - I would anticipate a win here. Fleming County (H) - Russell picks up Fleming County in their district again this year. I don't really know what they have this year...so who knows? Mason County (A) - It's going to be tough for Russell to win their district this year because Mason County has some good young players and a program headed in the right direction under an excellent coach. Lewis County (H) - Russell should win this one. Raceland (A) - This should again be a fun atmosphere and a good game. I think the overall talent level on the field for both teams will be down as compared to the last 2 years, but I think both teams drop off about the same this year...so the game will be close.

Congratulations. It's great that a few players from our area get to continue playing football for a few more years. If anyone on this year's Russell team deserved to keep playing, it's Drew Abrams. He worked very hard all season long and developed into a really good player.

I think Raceland has the best player on the floor but Fairview has the better group of players...so I'll go with Fairview in this one.

That's great...and I agree with Old Rambler in that there isn't any shame in playing a lower level of college football. The fact is that it should be all about the education anyway...and if the players are good enough to get that paid for, then all the better! We don't have too many NFL players coming through our area anyway, so whether it's D-1, D-2, NAIA...it's all the same in 4 years when they have that degree in their hand and go out into the "real world". :-)

I agree with all of you. Lights should be the top priority. Then bleachers. Of course, I say this from the perspective of a fan who likes to sit in comfort and see the game. :-)

I was thinking about the crowd support and I have to post a little more about it... Whatever happened to the days where schools would have big student sections at these local rivalry games like this??? Is school spirit out of style these days? Back when I was in school, Russell would have one corner of the gym filled up and Greenup would have the opposite corner filled up. Each side would be trying to outdo the other throughout the entire game. That really made for a fun environment. As I looked around at both of these games at Russell the past couple of nights, both sides of the gym (Russell, Greenup, and Raceland) seem to have more adults cheering loudly than students. I just wondered if there are any schools in our area that still have the tradition of a student section?

As for the district tournament, I would have to say that Greenup is the favorite. I think they have the most collective talent of any of the teams. As I said, though, Boyles is the kind of player who is capable of winning a game by himself...and Lewis County has proved to be tough at times as well...and if Russell is hitting their 3's...I guess you're right! It is going to be the best district tournament in awhile. :-)