ryanparker

Paintsville has had an odd season. They have not been involved in a close game yet. Their two losses were by an average of 41 points. Their four wins were by an average of 42.5 points. As you stated, their losses were to very good teams. However, their wins appear to have been against cupcakes. On the other hand, Raceland has had quality wins against Ashland, Fairview, and Lexington Christian...and has no losses! With that in mind, and the fact this is Raceland's homecoming game, I say Paintsville goes down to defeat by a considerable margin against the 3rd decent team they have played this season. Raceland 48 Paintsville 12

Russell began substituting in the middle of the 2nd quarter. We got to see a lot of what next year's Russell team might look like. That being said, there was some sloppy play with a few fumbles. I heard Drew Abrams injured his leg. Anyone have any info on his status?

Congratulations Raceland. This one went as expected.

I completely agree with you. Lawrence County is a good team. I hope they manage to not worry about their record, keep getting better, and hopefully win some playoff games this year. Their next 2 games against Rowan and Greenup are very winnable.

I pick Lawrence County in this one. They are a good team and they have lost enough. Rowan County is weaker competition than what they have been facing.

I directed my post towards Ashland, but it obviously applies to Johnson Central as well...who is actually the most likely #1 seed in the district when everything plays out. The presence of Covington Catholic and Fort Thomas Highlands in the district they have to play in the first rounds of the playoffs make their road to the state championship game nearly impossible.

I was curious the other day and did some research on the playoff scenarios for my area (Northeast Kentucky) teams and realized how bad Ashland has it compared to Raceland and Russell! If things go as expected, Raceland has a playoff road of Clinton County at home, the winner of Fairview-Campbellsville at home, either LCA at home or at Williamsburg, at Hazard, and then a state championship game playing Beechwood. Russell would play Magoffin County at home, Sheldon Clark at home, at Belfry, Breathitt County at home, and then a state championship game playing Louisville Central. Ashland, however, travels to Fort Thomas Highlands if they end up being the 4th seed in their district. If they get the 3rd seed, they get to travel to Covington Catholic. If they get the 2nd seed, they get to play at home against Dixie Heights in round 1 only to get to go to Fort Thomas Highlands in round 2 if they win. If they manage to really get on a run and get the 1 seed, they get Covington Holmes at Ashland, then likely Covington Catholic at Ashland, and then at Fort Thomas Highlands in round 3. OUCH! To tie this post to the subject of the thread, these next few district games are VERY important to Ashland in order to avoid a round 1 trip to Northern Kentucky. Any way you slice it, it stinks to be in the Tomcats district. Raceland and Russell have a huge advantage in this regard.

This is the same way they finished last season. They lost a close game to Simon Kenton at Russell, 42-41, in what was one of the most exciting high school games I've seen. They won a tough game at Mason County in overtime, 27-26. Then they beat Raceland 35-14 at Raceland to close out the regular season. I think these 3 games will all be tough again this season...with the only difference being I think that Raceland will at least come within 21 of the Devils this year. Just kidding, Ram fans! I think we all know who the favorite in that one is this year! I think it's good, though. Win or lose...it gets them ready for the battles to come in the playoffs.

I think a Raceland/Johnson Central matchup might be interesting this year. The Rams might be able to make it a game. However, I don't think it would be wise for Raceland to schedule Johnson Central regularly. This is Raceland's best team of all time and it is probably 50/50 as to whether they could make it a game or not. Over the long run, Johnson Central would be too much for Raceland in most years. That being said, I completely agree with the rankings.

Both these teams have played pretty tough schedules. Boyd County's losses have come to Russell, Breathitt County, and Ashland. Greenup County's losses have come to Russell, Letcher County Central, Wheelersburg (OH), and Raceland. Neither team has come close in any of these games, though. Since this game is at Boyd County and since they have Wilson, I look for them to pull this one out 34-26.

I pick Raceland by as many as they want.

Having watched all of Russell's games this year, I somewhat agree with what you are saying. Even though they are 5-1 and have won by margins of 36, 15, 35, 35, and 21...they still aren't playing up to expectations. Go figure. They lost one game to Ashland that was extremely troubling to us Russell fans because it appeared they quit...and thanks to the schedule, we haven't been able to see how they are going to respond the next time they are confronted with a challenge like Ashland presented because they haven't faced a team that good since. Unfortunately, they have one more "bye" week as they play Lewis County this week. After that, though, we will find out if they have what it takes in the final 3 games against Simon Kenton, Mason County, and Raceland. I agree that this Russell team doesn't seem to have the fire OR ability of the past few teams. They lost some strong players from last year's team in Tyler Jones, Toby Hicks, Adam Foster, Jonathan Cornwell, and Adam Bates. Many of those guys appeared to be key leaders as well. I know we want more as Russell fans. Heck...we want to be in the state championship with the way we are spoiled from the past few teams we have had. But perhaps this year's team IS playing to their abilities??? I don't know. It will be fun and interesting to watch the final few weeks, though, to see if they can rise to the occasion.

I know nothing about Woodford County other than they come in at 4-2 with their 2 losses being blowouts at the hands of John Hardin and Johnson Central, both undefeated powerhouses. Translated, they are probably pretty good! The only question I have in this game is how will Ashland meet the challenge? Ashland has been coming out fired up and steamrolling their opponents the past few weeks. They need to be prepared to keep their enthusiasm and effort high even when an opponent doesn't lay down. I don't think Woodford will lay down...so will the Tomcats fight through it? I go with what I hope happens and pick Ashland.

I, too, am a Raceland fan the rest of the year...except for Halloween at Russell. I think the Rams have a legitimate chance to bring another state championship to our area and that is always good.

Russell's schedule is weak...but look at the non-district games they have scheduled: Greenup County (county rival game) Boyd County (local rivalry game) Ashland (local rivalry game) Lawrence County (even though they are 0-6, a decent 4A team) Simon Kenton (a decent 6A school) Raceland (one of the best 1A teams in the state this year) Next year they add Ironton back to the schedule...so it is getting better. It is having to play East Carter, West Carter, and Lewis County every year that hurts...and it also hurts that Greenup and Boyd aren't up to standards. I think their schedule makers aren't doing too bad considering what they have to work with.

You are right. There is nothing to be gained in this game for Russell. The backup players should rightfully receive most of the time. I know it has to be played because it is a district game, but I wonder if having a lopsided matchup like this doesn't hurt a team like Russell as they get ready to go into the stretch run of the season. Their starters need the reps to continue to refine what they are doing, but not against this level of competition. If any starter is the least bit injured, they should not see the field in this game.

They certainly do. They say "utter and complete domination"!

The Ashland-Woodford County game looks like it should be a good one according to Woodford County's record (4-2). This should be a good test for the Tomcats. I will try to make it to that one. Unfortunately for you, though, it appears to be slim pickings in the area next Friday night. Russell is at Lewis County. Raceland hosts Paris. Both of the games should be over by the half. Greenup County at Boyd County might be your only shot at seeing a competitive game.

I go to the Russell games because that's my team, but I really do want to find a week or two to get to see Ashland play again this season. They are an impressive team that plays with a lot of fire. I really am excited for them to see how they do against the "elite" teams in their district in the coming weeks. Keep playing the way you are Tomcats!

This result was pretty much as expected. I thought Greenup might put up a better fight, but hey, Raceland appears to be dominant this year. Congratulations Rams! Your undefeated season rolls on.

Lawrence County is a good team with a very good quarterback. They are undoubtedly the best 0-6 team I've ever seen! I think they will be the favorite in both of their next two games against Rowan County and Greenup County. Keep up the effort Lawrence County because you guys really do have a good team. This was a close game (if that can be said about a game that ended with a 21 point margin). The last 2 touchdowns were sort of after the fact. Russell played a pretty good game tonight, though. Abrams is difficult to bring down. Bailey and Cordle also ran the ball well. The defense made stops when they had to. I think all areas of their game still need work, though. They are clearly not running on all cylinders yet...and it will take this if they want to go deep into the playoffs this year.

I really questioned my ability to judge if a team is good or not when I left the Ashland-Russell game this year. I had heard how Ashland wasn't very good again, but I really honestly thought the Tomcat team I saw on the field was really one of the better teams I have seen play in quite awhile. I am starting to think I'm not crazy as Ashland just seems to be getting better results every week. Very impressive shutout tonight of Boyd County. I would imagine it would be difficult to contain Wilson from breaking at least one run during the game. I can't wait to see how Ashland does in the upcoming weeks and on into the playoffs this year! I think they are going to surprise some people.

My only question in predicting the outcome of this game would be whether or not Lawrence County will suffer the effects of losing as many close games as they already have. It must be difficult for a team to take heartbreak after heartbreak and still come back ready to fight week after week. They have shown great character so far, though, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they come to Russell ready to play this Friday night. That being said, it will be very interesting to see how Russell responds to having the fight taken to them again. I say Russell will win by a score of 24-17 just for the fact that it generally takes a pretty good team to beat Russell at Russell and I don't think Lawrence is at that level. We'll come away from this game feeling bad for Lawrence County for another good effort gone unrewarded and still being unsure of which way Russell's season is going to go.

I don't know about Greenup having a high powered offense. They have scored 13, 6, 7, and 19 points in their 4 games this season. They have been beaten by 36, 61, and 28 points in the 3 games they lost. Their lone victory was over a 2-2 team by 1 point. I think all stats point to this being a Raceland massacre. Even with those statistics, though, I still somehow anticipate a good effort from them this Friday against their county rival. That's why I think they may hang around for a half.

I agree with the previous assessments. It won't be as easy as one would think from looking at the records, but I still say Raceland wins 38-13 pulling away in the second half. Greenup will likely come out playing on a lot of adrenaline given they have a chance to derail the Rams perfect season in Lloyd. Raceland may suffer a bit of the obligatory letdown after their great win against LCA. Emotion and adrenaline will only take the Musketeers so far, though. Raceland is the better team so Raceland wins.