UNDERTHEBRIDGE

Agreed, the family is very excited about him going there and many people at NC State from what I was told, are excited about him coming.

I agree Newton could be big w/ his outside shooting. I wasn't impressed w/ him handling the ball against Scott Co. because he forced too much and made silly passes but it was one game so im not sure if that was just an off day or what. The big men will be crucial to the team and getting them the ball is important. Thepeopleschamp, while I agree Scott Co. is still the favorite, the Knights beat them at Lex Cath but I felt proved they could hang w/ them. I'd say the margin isn't too wide. This region has a lot of solid teams w/ potential to upset anybody on a given night.

It will depend on who stays at Lexington Catholic but I know that many of the assistants on the offensive side of the ball have been w/ Sphire ever since he switched to the West Coast style play and they have all helped run it. I think that could be a big help to Coach Letton in helping move the offense along w/ this transition of head coaches. He definately is blessed to have a stud running back next season.

Right, on the Ashland game that is what I thought though from reading how bad Ashland had been this year it still sounded like a lethargic game. Still the Scott Co. game had to take a lot out of the guys.

Looks like besides a down game against Ashland Blazer the Knights have gotten back on track after a bad start to the season. Still they are in a competitive Region that will make winning it very hard.

This move doesn't suprise me much, many people were happy w/ how Coach Letton ran the defense this year. Sounds like the school got a good coach.

Well from the article in the Herald Leader it looks like Sphire is going to North Gwinnett High School. Can't say im real suprised, a lot of parents at Lex Cath felt he might leave after this season w/ Burke gone and his best chance at a 3A title for awhile being this year. Congratulations to him and I hope he does well down in Georgia.

I don't know about Catholic lacking athletes, this may be the only game I've seen this season but they looked like they had enough players who can handle the ball and keep up w/ the athletes Scott Co. had. Reid Brown is definately a force in the paint for the Knights. Hewitt has been in a funk shooting lately but tonight he looked pretty solid. The Knights biggest problem is this game was trying to move the ball up the floor too quickly and making bad passes. If they can get a little control there I think this could be a tough team to beat in the 11th. Also Freak, don't forget about Lafayette.

#14 for Scott Co. hit some big threes tonight, I hate this, i wish I knew who all the guys were by name but I've kinda gotten behind in my high school basketball knowledge. Scott Co. didn't really have any one star for this team but a bunch of guys who collectively played well and got the points when needed. For Lexington Catholic Hewitt played a great game and recieved great help from Reid Brown, Nathan Novosel, Zach Newton and others.

Pretty good game tonight and physical throughout on both sides. I don't know what other people will say but I felt both teams definately played rough tonight and the refs for most of the game let them get away w/ it. I think it was the Hundley kid for Scott Co. was ejected midway through the first for throwing a punch at Brian Hewitt of Catholic. Pretty intense the whole way. I know there are some great rivalries in the state of Kentucky but I have to say that this is one of the best I think. Both teams are usually pretty talented and ranked near the top of the state and they have high tempo games which make for lots of running up and down the court. This game had a good crowd and was a fun game to watch. The Knights ultimately won w/ swarming defense and a few nice baskets but to be honest this was anyone's game. The Knights had gotten down early by about 10 or 11 points but fought back at the end of the first to trail 6 or 7 going into the 2nd quarter. From there this game involved a bit of sloppy passing and mini runs by both teams.

I'd say Lexington Catholic won't be a favorite going into the season. Despite returning two of the best offensive players in 3A and maybe the state, the loss of Burke will be huge and they are going to need to find a QB to replace him. Also a lot of senior leadership was lost on the defensive side of the ball and they will need to get a few guys to step up there. I believe they have Jacob Locknane though to at least help out seein as he was a leader of the defense this season. A lot will be riding on Israel coming out and performing well early until the passing game gets on track.

I'm and alum of LC, to be honest the program just kinda built up based upon early success coupled w/ problems in other programs, mainly being the whole Frankfort area high school teams. Early on, ecspecially that first state title team, I can't think of a girl on the team who anyone could make a great case for not belonging on the team. That really jumpstarted the program as more girls came. Obviously Todd coming over was a huge factor for Chowning though I can't say Lex Cath really had an influence in her moving there but she ended up at the school. Other girls who were very talented surrounded her. Lexington Catholic does have AAU teams and Middle School teams (at least now only fed by schools identified as privates affiliated with Catholic) and its run very well really building skills. With the second title the Knights suddenly attracted a lot of talent outside Fayette Co. as well as in and with places like Franklin and Frankfort having its problems that didn't hurt much. So basically that is at least now why LC is so strong. How this is different from other schools? Well most county schools can't go out of county for girls like Lex Cath can which helps their draw. Otherwise, the most talented girls come to them and being in a bigger area anyways that just increases advantage. Obviously I like to think my alma mater doesn't illegally recruit, and while I know we have now been found to have broken KHSAA rules, none have been given enough detail to prove to me that Lex Cath's violations were meant for athletic purposes completely and not just trying to help someone out. I do admit though that some circumstances seem to have just been handeled the wrong way. Oh well, that is some speculation from me, whether im right or not, who knows???? :confused:

I agree with you here that there is some bias. Basketball at least lately is most definately being dominated by private schools when it comes to girls sports, however because it isn't a boys sport, little is said about it. Soccer for girls isn't as private dominated, I actually think lately its been split between private/public pretty evenly but still if a sport like that were dominated by privates it still wouldn't get much talk. Guys sports just seem to get the most attention so yes there is a prejudice. We definately would have heard more shouting if boys basketball was dominated by private schools, just look at Lex Cath's 90's run, that coupled w/ the Henry Clay upset in football were the main factors in the Fayette Co. boycott of us.

Add teams like Boyle Co., Bourbon Co., Lexington Catholic, Danville, Mayfield, and wasn't Bardstown's title in 2A? Either way, that group of teams in 2A I think make it tougher in a 15 year span. The '99 and '00 Boyle and Lex Cath teams were both pretty good.

To be honest, I always thought Willie Graham meant more to Lex Cath and the 2004 team than Green at times. His ACL tear in the first round of Region may be the only thing that kept Lex Cath from winning state that year. They definately would have made the sweet 16.

To be honest I think a lot of you questions may be unanswered for awhile, at least till the second or third game. A lot of people I asked didn't really know what to think of next year and who will be QB. A lot of skill players will still be around though. Israel will definately be needed early.

Last!!! So your saying every team ahead of them would have played Lex Cath better and done as well all season as they did. They had one bad game, while I think Catholic proved they were better I feel Bowling Green had an off game which hurt them.

Your right Defenses win Championships, that is why the Knights are champs, their D dominated Highlands all night in a 17-0 win where Burke was apparently limping and appeared hurt most of the game from every account I heard. Than they held strong in the second half against Rockcastle to end up rolling over them. Finally 2 Defensive TDs and four total turnovers forced really crushed Bowling Green whose D was considered the best in state. I think you shortchange the Knight's D some.

When this thread was started the question referred to football however. So many responses are keyed to that.

Senior leadership and heart really played a huge roll with this team's success. The defense was really energized by guys like Davis Page, Patrick Schwendman, Will Osborne, Zach Jeter and others really getting after it the past few weeks. Having your star player on O be a senior also helps leadership. Im still stunned the Knight's D was so good early saturday, definately the key to such a huge win.

Being the first game early and not many people besides LC fans really caring about Lexington Catholic, the number doesn't suprise me much. It didn't seem like Bowling Green had a large following either which did suprise me some.

By the way do I really have to post this again? 4A since it was started has 31 titles, 21 given out to Private schools all claimed by T or X. 3A since '59 has given out i guess 46 titles, 14 to Private, of course when it began only Jefferson County schools competed in it and Flaget, St. X, and Trinity claimed 8 total I believe. Cov Cath has 5 but none since '97 I think. Lex Cath's title was the first time since than a private even competed for the title. 2A-1A 92 titles given, only 2 claimed by private schools both NCC, '81 and '05. So 4A is only true domination with 3A dominated early but both really controlled by two teams w/ Cov Cath enjoying some late 80's early 90's success. So question really is why do T and X dominate football.

Waking up an hour late saturday Cost: Missing a quarter of this game Four hour Drive from St. Louis to the 'Ville Cost: 40 dollars in gas Getting pulled over and recieving a warning for speeding Cost: Delayed 10 Minutes Parking, finally Cost: 5 dollars Game ticket Cost: 10 dollars Standing on the sideline for the last 5 minutes watching Lex Cath win their first State Title and shaking off 14 years of failed attempts Cost: PRICELESS :dancingpa IT WAS AMAZING

It may have been slightly public school biast but I felt the Private school guys came out looking better. I just don't get what they expect Private schools to do in football. Split into two groups of eight and have playoffs like that? I can't see O'boro Cath, NCC, LCA, or CAL being able to consistently compete w/ Trinity, St. X and Lex Cath or Cov Cath at times. Heck even Cov Cath and Lex Cath will struggle to keep up w/ the bigger two. I'm still hoping some compromise comes about.

I'd say the Highlands win for the fact it was finally after 6 failures, our first regional championship. The Louisville Male a few years ago was huge at the time because we knocked off a defending 4A champ. In 15 years this program has definately beat some good teams but for now the Highlands win this year is biggest.