CoachJ

Agreed. All of us have to do that whether at a county public school or a mega power city private. I'm in no way giving anyone a 'pass' -- but if the jimmies and joes just aren't quite the same as you're accustomed to at a perennial power, having somewhat different results on the field shouldn't be seen as a death knell for the entire program. It's still true that 'playing what you've got' you can eek out more from lesser talent with great coaching (as I've seen many years T and X had less talent than better 4A schools in Louisville but still dominated). So I guess what I'd be saying is based on the talent currently at HHS, are the coaches getting the most out of it on the field REGARDLESS of the wins and losses (b/c let's be honest, they do play a GREAT schedule)? My guess is that at HHS the kids are still getting coached up better than at 95% of Ky HS's. When at a 'county school' where you're not getting kids from outside your school's resides area EVER, we always judged our success at the end of the year (EVERY year, regardless of talent) on whether or not we won every game where we had a talent advantage, won a game or two when we were not the most talented, and that we were IN every game in the 4th quarter regardless of how overmatched we were. Sorry TA, but yes, I do believe the standard is different when you're at a school that attracts great talent beyond one or two feeder middle schools (so that goes for every JCPS public school as well as the perennially tough privates). ...and I'm implying nothing 'shady' being done at those schools who seem to always get kids from outside their traditional feeders -- most of that I feel is that success draws in the best. Part of what makes you successful or not at a school that attracts kids outside your normal feeders is how good are you doing at attracting those kids? Because look at the teams with perennial success in Ky HS football...there's basically one common thread: they have historically won with MORE than the kids who grew up in the elementary and middle schools that normally lead to those schools (that includes the one I played HS ball at, so I'm not talking out of school on this one).

A LOT of coaches do this...I don't think that kind of thinking can even creep into the mind of someone at a program like Highlands, Trinity, BG, etc.

Aren't the JV and Freshman teams still racking up big wins? If so, could it be that HHS is just experiencing what most of us out in the state who 'get what we get' year in and year out with two classes back to back that just don't have 3-5 stud playmakers? ...and that this bump in the road is a temporary thing?

Honestly, seeing the results of HHS games this year makes me feel I'm in some kind of Twilight Zone episode. It's as if all the best foods suddenly started tasting like dirt, the sun is green, and the grass has all turned red. I'm not being critical of anyone on staff, any fan, the kids, etc. I'm just saying it's...it's just like "is this real life?" I do know this: a proud program of this caliber won't be down long.

Okay. So for this week he should pass up Gunter. He only played 2 quarters of a blowout win (had 2 catches for 86yds and 1 TD).

Not sure why his coach turned in these stats for him then: Player School Gms Rec Yds TD YD P-GM TD P-GM Dante Hendrix Cooper 6 32 627 9 105 1.5

From 2

Gunter is statistically the #1 WR in the state, all classes. (I DO have a bias toward him...but that said, he is one of the smartest and SAVVY football players I've coached.) Not burner speed, but more important than that, he understands how to get open and then how to elude defenders. Most of his state-leading yards per game receiving are off screens and 5-yd hitch routes he turns into 60 and 70 yard TDs.

Mark is teaching at Ballard and just finished up his getting his Administration certificate. After coaching he started a successful youth sports company where he goes to elementary schools and teaches fundamental football skills.

I'm not sure this is right, Eagle_Pride!!. By that logic a ball-carrier running into a ref would be down but I know that's not the case. We have some good guys who wear stripes on Fridays and Saturdays on this board so I'm looking forward to reading what they say.

As to the matter brought up in the thread as whole, I've gotten to see many games in the Louisville area this year and have had to dissect each play as a color announcer. That has made me more aware of just how often these guys get things RIGHT when you consider the number of moving parts on each play AND the complexity of the rule book. Add in that a lot of these guys also officiate college games on Saturday -- with totally different sets of rules and enforcements -- and I'm even more impressed. Can't speak to the officiating throughout the state, but in Louisville it's seemed pretty good. (Might be saying something different if I'm the fan of a particular team hurt by a questionable call, but a good thing about the situation I'm in is I get to be 100% neutral.)

I think you're right that since the 2nd foul was dead ball then both should've been marked off, but it's a common misconception that ALL personal fouls are automatic 1st downs. That only holds true for the "roughing" fouls (passer, kicker, holder, snapper).

Obviously some good leadership at FC.

Central looked like "Central" in the first half. Waggener came on in the 2nd, but it was clear who was the better team. Central got much-improved play from its OL and the QB. Also, there are a few young kids that are emerging for Central I predict will be 'studs' you'll hear about for a few years after HS.

Thought this one would be close and even thought PRP might have a good shot at winning. Agree with the sentiments here that PRP will do extremely well in the playoffs...might even sneak back up on a team or two in their district who beat them in the regular season.

Not surprised. Beat them 48-24 last year with a Junior-dominated team. Those kids are seniors now and there are 35 of them. Knew it would be hard for the Eagles to keep this one close. Eastern will get back on track against J'town but it'll take a lot to overcome Trinity the next week. The Eastern/Butler matchup should be a very good one.

Not nearly as many big matchups this week that would affect the standings, but a few good ones nonetheless: Central Hardin @Bowling Green -- to prove they belong in this group of 10, would help their case to play BG tough, even if not a win. PRP @St. X -- Proved against Trinity they have the chops to compete against the best, but enough to actually beat one? X may be hitting their stride on their way to a huge matchup in THE game...but will they look ahead? Waggener @Central -- Our WBKI Game-On game of the week is the game pitting the top-dog of Louisville small division against the upstart from the east end. Central is known for getting 6A talent to play in the 3A division; Waggener is following the same blueprint and winning this game could be seen as their way to send a message to kids around Jefferson County about which small school to attend. Central won't relinquish their position as the small public of choice without a fight. There's no love lost between these two after a handshake line incident after last year's game -- but the kids on each team are known for playing hard and with CLASS. Will the emotions get the best of one of the teams and cause them not to play smart? Not if the two head coaches have anything to say about it...both stressed their kids WILL play with their emotions in check and put winning ahead of any other concern.

I think Coach J's source may have jumped the gun a bit. (wasn't anyone at Trinity, so I should not have made the conjecture)

What if there was a playoff between... before I can even contemplate what might happen on the field, I can only think of how ridiculously long the season would be for those teams.

Any good 'mainly passing team' I've seen needs to get very good at THEIR version of the run game -- Quick Screens. A blowout game can give you numerous opportunities to work on catch-snap-and-throw, blocking on the edge, linemen getting downfield, etc.

This is a GREAT week for matchups. Only a couple weeks until district games start so this is a week many programs put a "test" in their schedule that's a couple weeks before the games that really count. That gives you a game against a quality team that might expose a weakness or two that hasn't been exposed yet, and a "cushion week" to have any kids with minor 'dings' time to get healthy. Trinity at PRP (our WBKI-34 game of the week) Manual at Ballard -- a matchup that has literally come down to the wire 4 of the last 5 meetings. North Hardin at South Warren -- People are clamoring for NH to be in the club. They get a chance to prove they belong against the team that beat this week's #10. Fern Creek at DeSales -- DeSales wants to prove they belong in the 'big boys discussion' after the loss to Ballard. This would allow that. Fern Creek still has doubters despite a solid start -- a convincing win against a respected opponent really helps their case. Highlands at St. X -- Maybe not the luster it would've had 5 or 6 years ago, but this matchup oozes with tradition, great fan support, and two programs who just do football the right way year after year after year. John Hardin at Central Hardin -- SO many questions will be answered! Collins at Boyle Co. -- Boyle's not the Boyle of old, but they still are coached by a living legend. If Collins can pull this off at their place -- especially by a comfortable margin -- it says a lot about their place (potentially) in the metro Louisville pecking order. GOOD AND BAD for me as WBKI has determined which game I'll be attending. Bad that I won't get to take in a little bit of several of these games, but good that I'll get quite a savings in gas money Friday night! Lucky for you guys, you can catch part of a couple great games in person on Friday then watch the Trinity/PRP game Saturday night on WBKI-34!

We'll have this game on a delayed basis (Saturday night, 8:00pm on WBKI-34) so I've done some prep work on it. Coach Beatty at Trinity is VERY complimentary of PRP and the job Jason Hiser does overall. Said they are not the typical team he's faced with just good athletes that really don't understand how to put them in position to win. Knows PRP studies film and can find ways to hurt T like Male did. Coach Hiser said it's simply another great Trinity team. They won't beat themselves. They also have game-breaker athletes in an offense that knows how to set things up, move you around, then hurt you where they find an advantage. He knows his team must play a clean game turnover & mistakes-wise but then also must do some things to make big plays happen (as Male found a way to do). Coach Beatty was ADAMANT that this won't be a 'trap game' for his guys and that he knows people will think they're in a position for a let-down after an emotional game vs. Male that they pulled out at the end. On the contrary, he feels fortunate his team had to go through that, still figured out a way to win, but now has to rebound and play an "A-game" the very next week against a quality opponent. He says this is an OPPORTUNITY for his team to 'check off one of the boxes' of things a team needs to experience to become truly season-hardened. It's a non-district game so there are no playoff implications, but it's clear to me from talking to both coaches that this is an OPPORTUNITY game. For Trinity they get the chance to show they have the mental toughness to come back after an emotional win with the kind of intensity needed to beat a quality, athletic opponent they truly respect and for PRP, it's a chance to get one of those "Program Wins" that you talk about for years.

Incidentally, am fortunate not to have been on the wrong end of this situation but three times in a varsity game, but last year EVERYTHING went wrong for us in the 1st quarter against a pretty good Trinity team. They scored on O, they scored on D, they scored on SpTms. I believe they were even somehow able to score during a timeout! Running clock game very quickly. T continued to run their offense, which continued to score on our defense. They ran a double-pass for a score in the 3rd quarter. What was weird to me was that having rarely been in that situation in a varsity game, I was not in the least upset when they kept running their offense and scored. I remember the double pass specifically thinking, that's a play you need to work on against an opponent in case you need it in a tight game later. No better time to find out how your kids will execute something than in a real game. I do remember being upset ... but at our own effort/execution. Not one bit at Trinity though. By the way, they could've scored 100 if they wanted but obviously eased up on us in the 4th. Didn't expect that from stories I've heard from others about Beatty, but it was clear he let off the gas. Wouldn't have been upset a bit had they kept going...lord knows we needed the work!

Yes. To me that falls under what I called "we-could-score-100-if-we-wanted" -- to which I'd not want to demoralize the kids across the field. That being said, there is always work that needs to be done in the RUN GAME by our twos. If that's even scoring big, it's time for the freshmen. To me, taking a knee on first down is more embarrassing to the other team than scoring on them.

Conventional wisdom among coaches I think is: If game is definitely not in doubt, your 1's stay in the game til halftime and then ONE series in 2nd half (no other time really than a gameday to practice having your guys ready to pick things up coming out of a halftime break). Where coaches differ is what to have your 2's do once they're in the game. My personal feeling is as long as you have your 1's defense in against my 2's offense, the whole playbook is fair game. In one of those "it-could-be-100-if-we-wanted-it-to-be" games, the last thing I want to do is demoralize a bunch of kids -- even if part of another team -- and make a football game a source of embarrassment for them.