CoachJ

Good points. I think original poster was basing things more on how they did against Male than the result against Western. But you're right; the tussle against Manual will be the true test. We lost to them on literally the last play of the game 4 of the last 5 times we played them. If this group really improved (and I think this group of seniors has made the true difference) you'll see a different outcome vs. Manual.

35 Seniors -- many of those kids played last year for their first year of varsity experience and they are no longer making those 'first-timer mistakes.' Add to it they've worked EXTREMELY hard this off-season. I love how they are taking to Coach Copley/Coach Morton's defensive scheme and when the QB (Terrance May -- strongest arm of any kid I've ever coached) gets more game experience they'll be even better. Only question will be the youth/inexperience of the OL/DL when they play teams with stout lines like Manual, Trinity, etc. Coach Engstrand's offense is such that he can scheme away from a weakness though and he's managed to do that very well since the 2nd quarter of the Male game. But, as I tried to tell people in the preseason, never underestimate a team with 30+ seniors who are ATHLETIC and got good first varsity experience as Juniors. I'm not saying they'll whip Trinity, but I see a 8-2 regular season at worst.

Ballard HS's campus in Louisville used to be farmland. The site of the football field and stadium is allegedly where the PIGS were kept. On very rainy nights, once things get 'churned up' a bit, you can start to get that little whiff of "agriculture" as the night wears on.

Also cool thing there is they have "headstones" with the names of teams they've beaten at the field you can see when you're playing there.

Agree with them being in "the watch list." Thanks for clarifying.

I think you make a really good point. Rationale is probably that FC ended up going much farther last year (state semi-finals compared to NH blowout loss in 2nd round), so their initial ranking was higher. Couple that with their one loss being to a team ranked in the top 4 (Manual) and I think that's why they started out much higher which would then lead to them still being higher than an initially-unranked NH. Just the nature of early season polls (and why I don't even think there should be a pre-season poll in any sport -- teams are almost always "new teams" compared to what they were the year before).

Whether a team deserves to be in the Top 10 of a group like this can't solely be based on record. Must look at the quality of their wins... Can't disagree about South Oldham being deserving, but they just haven't had a win over a quality opponent in the category of the teams ranked (I'd have said the win vs. Doss did that, but then PRP dismantled Doss so the win over Doss lost some luster). Shelby's loss against Garrard in game one then two blowout wins against winless teams doesn't merit them getting mention (yet) either. I think Collins has a good team again, but they have two relatively close wins against very average teams (Eastern and Bullitt East) who were both blown out in games against teams in the top 10. Every year around Louisville there are usually 3 distinct tiers: a top tier with usually 2 or 3 teams--1 of whom will likely win it all, a 2nd tier that is at the level of the top teams in the other classes, and a big gap between the 2nd tier and the next group down -- those are teams that wouldn't beat the best of 5A, 4A, 3A, (and even this year, 2A). To me, the only teams mentioned in any Top 10 should be those in the top TWO tiers (and by the way, I think South Oldham, Shelby, and Collins are good enough teams to eventually be in tier 2, but nothing about their resume so far bears that out).

I know the focus in this thread has seemed to be about downgrading Central, but I was there and this was 100% more about CAL playing well than anything about Central. CAL is extremely good up front and they don't beat themselves in any phase of the game. The TE/DE (Jake Paulson) who is committed to WKU makes play after play (especially on defense) and it seems effortless on his part. I'd watch this game on WBKI Sat. night from 8:00 to 10:30 if for nothing else to see Paulson, the Sophomore QB (6'3 Austin Carr), and a dominating defensive front who, by the way is huge and young (sophomores and juniors mainly). Oh, and don't count Central out of anything. They just ran into a buzz-saw. This is huge: as things started to go from bad to worse, I saw NO bad body language from the Central kids. No pouting, no excuse-making, no slapping their helmets after a frustrating play, no yelling at teammates. That is the mark of a head coach and coaching staff that coaches character as well as football. It's also the mark of a team that will use its mistakes as true learning material and improve from them. Watch out for Central (eventually) in 3A.

I see what you did there, guru. But I got to watch the film of this game and while DeSales looks to be missing a few of the difference-makers of last year, BALLARD's defense was SOLID. Coach Copley is a defense-mentality head coach & all he did was go out & get one of the best young defensive-minded assistants out there (Adrien Morton--formerly of Manual) as coordinator. The Defense played well vs Male (2 of their TD's were defensive) too. Once the Qb gets a little more experience, the offense will get clicking too (had an unknown emerge at RB last night after an injury to the original starter). Will be tough for anybody to compete w/ T this year, but outside that, Ballard can beat all the teams left on its schedule.

I've not had a chance to see PRP yet, but I'd say solely based on the re-cap of Doss's game against a tough SOHS team (and knowing some of the future D1 can't-miss athletes they have), I'd have to agree that Doss will give PRP a very good game. ...that notwithstanding, how great a job again did Bert do with those write-ups? Takes a good amount of research and time to write and re-write to get those the way they come out I'm sure. BGP has always been a fun 'fan-site.' But the last couple of years it's produced some good quality writing.

There is only one HS "stat" more inaccurate and misleading than "tackles"... ...40 time.

The score makes this game appear more lopsided than it was. If you watch, you'll see that Male jumps out to a good lead, but Ballard swings the momentum completely their way. ...then, ONE BIG PLAY late in the game turns the tide back to the Dogs. People should tune in to see that drama, but also to check out * The "Rebounding Male" -- I won't say 'rebuild' -- they're not the kind of program that has to rebuild after losses; too much talent and too good a staff. * Ballard with a different system on O and D -- and if you watch you'll see why Ballard's D (especially their front 7) was not the issue for the Bruins * And--one of my favorite occurrences--an underrated player becomes THE difference-maker in the outcome (and maybe a performance to propel him in the eyes of college coaches?). Last week it was Kenneth Jones of Manual...tune in to see who it is this week.

:laugh: Consiglieri. Love it! Great job, Bert...and he said WAY too much about me. Bert is KILLING these write-ups. When/if I get back into HS coaching, can only hope I have stakeholders as passionate as he.

8pm

Without a doubt. Manual will win some games because of a dominating DLine (Sean Cleasant has FEET and a MOTOR while also basically being a MOUNTAIN of a person), but I was impressed also with the closing ability of their LB corps. Central -- as expected -- is NOT just about game-breakers and talent...they had an immense amount of GRIT when most teams would've folded and mounted a great comeback. I LOVE their ILB (Doolin) and came away more impressed with the RB (Corey Johnson) than I was going in. They must develop a passing game to complement the run (which they will over time) but when they do, watch out. We were a whisker away from an epic overtime -- there was game-ending drama people will want to see even knowing the score.

Great game. Everything you'd expect about a 1st game -- some turnovers, some 'feeling each other out,' some '1st-game-mistakes.' But it ended up being a tale of two halves, a big play from a big-time player for Manual when needed, and a heartbreaking finish for Central. Definite D1 talent on display too.

Had our production meeting last night to talk through things and there are some interesting 'stories to be told' in this game that might make it worth watching Saturday night even if you know the outcome. Central -- as always -- has no fear of playing an opponent from a higher classification. Ty Scroggins has always believed playing a tough schedule seasons his team for the toughest competition out in the state in their class. Will Manual present the challenge they have in recent years? Randy Whetstone has a great feature on Central's strength -- its run game. But with Stephen Jones--1/2 of a great 2015 rushing duo--gone can Corey Johnson shoulder the load single-handedly? ...which sets up nicely against what Manual will hang their hat on -- its tough D Line (led by Sean Cleasant, Jr). Both teams are Senior dominated. That usually means experience rules and mistakes are less-frequent...but since it's a first game of the year and Kentucky only allows one scrimmage for teams playing Week 0, will this game be played "clean" due to senior experience or be decided by the team that makes the fewest mistakes? Shapes up to be quite a matchup...as most Central vs. 6A matchups are!

Got to speak to both Coach Scroggins at Central and Coach Carmony at Manual today at their practices. Both teams look primed for their first official contest coming off scrimmage tests in Central Ky (Central vs. Scott County and Manual vs. Tates Creek). Both these teams are going to be senior-led, but the similarities likely will end there. Central, as usual, despite playing a bigger-class opponent, fears no program and has big play potential on either side of the ball on any play--they have the rings to prove this approach works. Manual will be the image of what made Coach Carmony successful at every other stop he's had: hard-nosed defense and a ball-control offense. Most first round matchups between proven programs usually come down not to strategy or tactics as both teams will still be trying to figure out their true identity. Both coaches basically said the same thing as to what will decide this early-season battle: neither team will play mistake-free, but which will play the 'cleanest' game?

This Saturday night at 8:00pm on Louisville's CW affiliate -- -- will air the replay of the matchup Bert has tagged the Louisville area game of the week: The Manual Crimsons vs. The Central Yellowjackets Longtime pro Garry Gupton will handle the play-by-play while novice beginner CoachJ will be on board to add color commentary. We are also very proud to team up with Bluegrasspreps.com to highlight during the broadcast the BGP Louisville Area Power Rankings (many thanks to BERT for all his behind-the-scenes work on the rankings and to The Guru for proposing the promotion). I will add on a personal note, please Private Message me with any suggestions on how I can improve as I truly am a "novice beginner." My goal is to provide a fairly nuanced technical explanation of what teams are doing tactically while also trying to explain some of the more subtle parts of the game (rules, etc.) that may not be obvious to most fans. I am still working to get an answer about whether this replay will be streaming online but I hope to have that in the next couple of days.

The freshman quarterback was a very impressive runner. Not sure I saw him try to throw much, but was slippery and seemed to have very good vision.

What time does that start Jo-Jo? We cover both those teams on the air this year and I'd like to get a sneak peek if possible. Also, it's at EASTERN, right?

I haven't heard anything about that...but I'm not a guy who'd really be in the loop after football. I'll check on it though. By the way, what's up with that sport with a ball that bounces funny? I mean if you drop it it comes right back up to you. That doesn't seem as much of a challenge to me.

Have (and did even before last season) a LOT of respect for the job they've done out at DeSales--who wouldn't? Love how gritty and determined their kids play. And the coaching is right on point with not trying to do too much but maximizing the strengths of their personnel. No idea the outcome, but I know one thing is for sure on the Ballard end: their kids will NOT overlook DeSales! Not that they were coached toward that last year either, but sometimes a good butt-whoopin is the only medicine for a kid or two who doesn't quite believe what his coaches preach to him. Fortunate for the Bruins, any of the kids who would've been prone to overlooking a lower-division opponent are graduated. Going to be a great one to watch for me -- the kids & coaches at Ballard are family to me and I LOVE the offensive system at DeSales. Great matchup early in the season for real football fans to go see.

Sorry -- didn't mean to be critical of YOU at all. Meant to say the 'sleeping on Ballard' was being done more widely since you were basically doing a compilation of others' opinions. (Thank you, by the way, for taking the time to process those opinions and produce such a listing!)

Okay, I'll start. I know I'm a little biased, but people are sleeping on Ballard. Only going 6-5 last year vs. a tough schedule was not what we were accustomed to, but that was a sophomore/junior-dominated team (and those juniors are now a 30+ member senior class). A lot will think a head coaching change will hurt, but while the systems on O/D are new, they are going to be EXTREMELY scheme-sound. The discipline, off-season commitment, and focus on proper fundamentals has not changed one bit. I strongly believe that in head-to-head matchups against the teams mentioned above, I'd feel very comfortable picking the Bruins in at least 8 of the matchups without even seeing any of them play a game yet.