hockentucky

I was trying to make some 'nice' suggestions earlier, but sometimes a sledgehammer to the side of the head is more effective. None of the issues have affected the outcome of any of the games, and Ryle has been defeated fair and square by a better executing team. That being said, the field turf being bragged about is obsolete and no better that the rug I played on at Oklahoma, Iowa or Nebraska in the late 70s. If it was install 8 years ago then I am sorry but it is 70s technology sold in 2000. Opposing players should be strongly encouraged to wear shoes specifically designed for this type of 'sticky' turf, and frankly I'm not sure all opposing players coming to play understand the difference between the Dixie, SK or Ryle artificial turf they are going to play on. I will tell you the new field being installed in Cincinnati are all similar to the Dixie/Ryle stuff. The guard rail issue is now federal law and any inspector could easily determine that the back rail does not meet federal code. When someone falls off, you'll find out all about it. Schools are responsible for retrofitting to meet the code. (This would be an easy fix.) As for the sideline issues and little kids being run over, that can all be handled by a little crowd control as suggested above. HHS, you have a great team and tradition (and I'm envious), but things can always be improved!

I would like to query HHS players/staff/parents on the type of football shoes they are wearing on their home turf. We are losing a lot of ACLs to that turf (Senvisky last year -- but what a recovery!) but I suspect the age of the turf and the type is contributing to the frequent knee injuries sustained there. I believe Ryle players use the same cleats on all surfaces including last night, but that might be a mistake. This surface beckons back to Astroturf 1977 which was the type of surface that gave artificial turf a bad name. Back in the 'olden' days D1 coaches insisted on the use of more-or-less flat-bottomed shoes on these surfaces and regular cleats on grass. New turf allows use of cleats without the same 'twist risk', but I'm not sure the school trainers are up on these subtleties, or at least certainly there are no guidelines in place. Maybe there should be? What are the Bluebird kids wearing? And should 'regular' football spikes be allowed on this surface due to the high tack and so little slip (especially when its not raining?) I think if I am the coach I am looking into this unless I have a contract with Commonwealth Orthopedics.

BTW SK, just voted for you to win today. We need NK teams to win in OH as often as possible. It lifts us all.

UK#1fan and his posts are taped to the walls of SK key opponents' locker rooms!

Ryle needs to find a replacement for '09 Raider Trent Fugate to take more pressure off the dynamic duo. Also, a tight end that can catch in a rough crowd. Perhaps Ryan Smith? Regarding stadium safety, I'm curious whether the Bluebirds stadium has had a safety audit in recent years? The top back rail is certainly less than 42" above the seats that are just below them (that everyone stands on.) One of these days some tall, overly excited (or impaired) and top-heavy guy is going to fall over the back. Remember Matt James? I think these should be retrofitted (and by the way I do not sell bleachers.)

This was a sideline infraction called on Ryle -- a coach was probably outside the box -- the standards for team sideline etiquette have been increased and first infraction each game is a 'warning' after a penalty flag is thrown. I will say that the sideline for the visiting team is inadequate -- way too tight with the wall and spectators milling around behind the ropes.

Sorry, you are wrong. Watch the tape. If you were not on the field don't believe everything you read. Sometimes people get excited on here and don't quote all the facts as they actually happened. Ritter did have a lot of yards on KO returns though.

Congrats to ALL the Ryle players for their play this week and an impressive job by the O-line. I know they all set their sights forward at midnight Friday night. The good thing about this year's squad is that most of them have a lot of experience against a really good '09 Bluebirds team and have a very good idea about the type of performance they will need Friday night. Conner Hemple will work out the kinks in his arm this week and his vastly improved mobility, durability and Sr. confidence will be a decisive factor. Its an exciting time to be a Ryle Raider fan!

Ritter had a long KO return last year too but it was not a TD. Ryle's kicker ran him down.

Ryle has 4 potential PLACE kickers, one at each grade level and all on the soccer team. Craig Cleveland, a senior, has the biggest leg and appears destined to handle varsity duties. The junior and soph will likely split JV duties (includes soph Mead who will probably JV punt). Matt Pederson is the freshman kicker/punter. All will have their hands full juggling the expectations of both the soccer and football programs at Ryle, which really is near unmanageable until a kid is locked in as varsity kicker. Of course with Conner Hemple as the punter, Ryle is in VERY good hands -- a position he could easily play in college for any of the teams that have offered thus far. Punter/3rd base?

Quick eluded the best of the best at the AAA State HS 200 meter sprint championship AS A FRESHMAN! His time would indicate he could beat AC by about 20 yards. Sprinters of this caliber that can carry a ball and cut are rare, and the Sunday prediction is very realistic. Everyone else is in slow motion comparatively speaking.

In order to improve Ryle simply needs to stay healthy and remain steadfast to their ultimate goal. The O line improvement should be something to behold, as well as the confidence that will give Hemple against teams like Highlands. At same time they will need to figure out how to deal with Highland's speed, which never seems to go away.

According to CJ Kentucky's top kicker made 75% of PATs (36/48) and less than 50% of field goal attempts 5/11). Seriously?

What position is "ATH" ???

IMO Cooper continues to make great strides next year and moves past Boone and Campbell, possibly Conner. They will be a NKY Top 10 team next year.

Are we talking about SC?

The two best kickers in NKY this year, senior Erik Pederson of Ryle and Adam Weinel HHS didn't even get a mention? Would love to see the rationale on these non-choices. Pederson made 6 of 7 FGs (mostly long-rangers including 45 and 39 yarders against CovCath) 25 touch backs and 59/61 PAT's (actually only missed one - from 25 yards in the mud after a penalty) for a total of 76 points scored. His only FG miss of the season was from 43 yards against PRP and it looked good on end zone video. He came back and made his next two in state playoffs against PRP and St. X. He even got in on the defense making 3 TD saving open-field solo tackles on kickoffs and even recovered a fumble. What more could a kicker do? Is there some sort of 'quota' on how many players from various teams can be chosen? I don't get it...:confused:

to Brian Piccolo, any comments you perceived as derogatory toward your young QB were not intended in the way you took it and were based solely upon comparing him with Will Bardo, and this was then the basis of my opinion as to why Highlands late season was probably not as strong as St. X. IMO Highlands peaked earlier in the season when they beat St. X of Cinci and everything else is speculation. It appears the National and State computer power rankings support my argument. Bardo was that good, not that Towles is not good for a sophomore and that he didn't do a great job stepping in to some big shoes. Xavier was just that ferocious on D and IMO it would have been difficult for someone that lacked wheels to deal with. If there is someone from HHS that thinks there wasn't a drop off at QB after your Cinci St. X game and after that time I'd be interested in hearing their argument. Highlands is a great program. We strive to get to your level.:isurrender:

I would agree with imsays. HHS's sophomore QB would not have been able to deal with the speed of pass rush and tight coverage he would have encountered had they played St. X at the end of the season. I do not think he could have effectively run the ball like Lawrence of SK did. I just think he would have been too young, weak and slow and could have easily been injured had he tried to run. It boils down to the argument of skill vs power, and HHS IMO was the more skilled team up until Bardo was out at QB and that they likely would have been able to defeat St. X up until that time. But after Bardo was out at QB I not too sure. HHS would have needed the multi-dimensional offensive arsenal Bardo brought to the table to beat St. X, and relying heavily on the running game would not have cut it. The power and depth of St. X would have likely prevailed. Speed-wise, I found them to be quite similar.

Congratulations to the St. X Tigers from Ryle (and we're proud to have scored more points against you than Trinity!) You had a mighty and deserving team this year! From what I witnessed, the two best and most explosive 6A teams played at St. X on 11/20.

Any internet streaming video of this game?

NKUFan88, I'm not sure either of these stats are accurate, particularly the 4th in state in passing. I believe he was maybe 6th in NKY in passing. "Chad Lawrence who is fourth in the state in passing as well as having nearly 1000 yards on the ground." I think in order to be a consistently effective passer against X you have to throw swing passes for short yardage, have incredibly fast or tall receivers, or zip the ball in there with the velocity of Nick West (and have receiver that always catch the ball.) On the plus side, he is a good scrambler, but he will be pursued by considerably faster linemen and linebackers than he is accustomed.

NKU Fan, A similar statistical comparison could have been made between Ryle and St. X. The missing statistic is how to measure team defense against common opponents. That's all that will matter. I hope I am wrong and SK can spring Miles to the outside. That being said, these D-backs will be able to make the tackle and prevent the 10-15 yard sweep from turning into an 80 yard gallop. I doubt he will be able to break the big one. He's big and fast, but so are they.

St. X looks and plays at the level of a good JuCo team. Pretty tough for a run-of-the-mill HS to compete with that size, strength and speed. These boys are thick! I think HHS may have been able to match them when Bardo and Collinsworth were both healthy, but the way they are right now I don't think so. I just can't see X giving Simpson any space to operate. They're good gang tacklers.

If I though SK could execute in their passing game like they can with their running game, AND if I thought SK's defense was at the same level as their offense, then I think this would be a battle that would be in question. Now that I have seen what I consider to be 4 of of the top 5 or 6 teams in the state what stands out for St. X is their depth. NKY teams have plenty of talent, but they simply lack the depth when matched up against a team like X. They probably have 50 players on their roster that would start on a typical NKY 6A team, and certainly twice as many at that level as even an SK this year. That being said, Miles will be the best player on the field, but unless SK can move the ball down field without him, using him as a decoy, with Lawrence running and passing successfully, I am not sure they will be able to score as often as necessary to keep up. What struck me as one of X's biggest strengths was the skill of their D-Backs. These guys weren't there to bat down opponent's passes, they're there to catch them...and they do. And wow, those special teams! The pressure they put on the punter and their ability to set up a return was impressive. It may have been a better plan to punt out-of-bounds in every case even if it meant losing a few 'gross' yards to keep the 'net' in hand. Although our punts were very good our net yards were almost non-existent. Giving them a short field was not conducive to holding on to that brief but very satisfying 10 - 7 lead in the 2nd quarter.