ATLCat

So how about this coming week: - It is Belfry's time to take center stage in the moving day sweepstakes. Though Belfry has another subpar RPI game against Shelby Valley in direct head to head, this is kind of Belfry's make or break week for contending for the 2 or 3 seed and helping their ability to avoid a long road trip. East Carter, Johnson Central, and Pikeville all have games that Belfry needs a win in. Johnson Central and Pikeville will be favorites in both of their games, but are both playing teams capable of winning (Ashland and Hazard respectively). East Carter vs. Russell is a huge one. Basically, Belfry's margin of error to get a 2 or 3 seed requires all three of these teams to win out and East Carter is the least likely to do so (but they do have more than a fair chance as well). If all three teams win I expect Belfry to jump Danville and be neck and neck with Mayfield coming out of this week.. - Mayfield really doesn't have a lot of opportunities for BIG moves left, but the Cardinals are in the position of having a lower ceiling but a higher floor for how their RPI shakes out. The good news for Mayfield is they have some 5A and 6A wins that are starting to rack up wins and boosting Mayfield in the process with bonus points each time. This is a lowkey important week for Mayfield as they might not se a sweeping move up the standings, but this is the week they could either solidify their positioning or slip up and see others pass. In other words, 6.5 hours separate Belfry and Mayfield. These two teams may not have to experience that drive, but if they do there is a chance this week could play a big hand in who ends up having to make that trip and who doesn't if it occurred. Key Games This Week: 1. East Carter at Russell- As previously mentioned this is the big one in terms of impact this week. East Carter stands as Belfry's best win as a 3A bump who keeps winning. The Raiders get their stiffest test since the Belfry game travelling to Russell for the District Title. These two have been pretty tightly contested in the recent past. A win further strengthens Belfry's best victory and makes Beechwood's margin of error zero in terms of getting wins from their help. 2. Ashland at Johnson Central- One of the things keeping Belfry in the race is their best loss is to one of the top teams in 4A in RPI. Johnson Central enters as a favorite but this rivalry has been very unpredictable. This game has a two-part tie-in as well. Belfry and LCA are linked by Ashland in OOWP. Ashland ends their year playing Lexington Catholic, arguably LCA's best win. If Belfry has any hopes of passing LCA they really need an Ashland loss against JC and an Ashland win against LexCath as their best path to make up some ground directly. 3. Prestonsburg at Martin County- This one will decide District 7. Pburg is probably a noted favorite in this one, but Martin County has the chance to play spoiler and ruin the Blackcats' undefeated season. The Cardinals have not lost since their season opener and have two of the most underrated players in Class 2A in QB Devan Maynard and RB/LB Crayson Lafferty. Maynard will probably hit the 1000 yard passing and 1000 yard rushing mark this week. 4. McCracken County at Henderson County- Mayfield has a must win situation in a game that should be competitive that could have a big bearing on their RPI fortunes. McCracken has turned into Mayfield's best win and Mayfield's best path to all things homefield hinges on the Mustangs closing out the season with two wins. The final showdown against Graves County is a winner either way for Mayfield, but anytime you have two teams playing you want the higher class to win. This one is big for Mayfield, they need McCracken to hold off Henderson for a big 6A vs. 6A score. 5. Pikeville at Hazard- Don't look now but Belfry's win over Pikevile has turned into a very good RPI score for the Pirates. Pikeville has went from a team in the teens of the initial 1A RPI to a team with a very likely path to finish 3rd and maybe even 2nd depending on a couple pivotal final week games. Hazard is a tough team and capable of shocking the Panthers and really hurting Belfry. It's also worth noting that for teams like Breathitt and Pburg who are still in contention in the East, or even Somerset who has some upsets on their mind to the Semi-Finals, a Hazard win and a worst case scenario finish for Belfry is their easiest chance to make up ground or even hosting Belfry at some point. Simply put, a Belfry loss to Letcher Central (who Breathitt beat) couple with a Hazard win over Pikeville (PBurg beat Hazard) firmly puts both of those teams in the race for hosting a 3rd Round game and sending Belfry on the road. Other Games of Major Note: Great Crossing at Campbell County- Beechwood's hopes and dreams stay alive but they are all tied to their playing up bonus wins over Simon Kenton and Dixie Heights and their pending game against 6A Campbell County that everyone expects the Tigers to win. Great Crossing is a low hanging fruit that has to be picked off to strengthen these wins. Campbell County has that opportunity and Beechwood really needs it. Owensboro at Madisonville- One of the most critical games in the entire state tactfully speaking but this one also has a 2A RPI component. Owensboro Catholic is sitting in the catbird seat already but they can all but shut down the competition if Owensboro wins this game and cements the Aces' lone loss as an elite loss. Remember the story in 2A is four of the top five teams will all share one loss and then LCA has multiple very good losses. LCA may be the only team with even a glimmer of hope to catch OCath but a massive OWP win here shuts that door. Manual at North Hardin- I think most would be very surprised if North Hardin wins, but they do have a chance. OCath is going to be very had to catch at #1 especially after Apollo got a surprise win. LCA needs a lot of help and the first pace to find that help would be a surprise upset from their 6A win against the Trojans. Hopkinsville at Christian County- It's the end of a rivalry that has at times been very significant in the Kentucky landscape. Neither team is exactly a powerhouse this year, but this does have an impact on Mayfield. The Cardinals could really benefit from a Christian County upset. Is it likely? Doubtful.. but what better way to end this series then digging deep and shocking everyone? Muhlenberg County at Graves County- We mentioned Mayfield needed Graves to get a win against Marshall and now Muhlenberg. The Eagles should oblige them and this will give Mayfield a boost. How I think it stands after this week (excluding Danville): 1. OCath- Almost untouchable. 2. LCA- Firm grasp with a 6A game left. 3. Mayfield- By a hair. 4. Belfry- In position to overtake Mayfield. 5. Beechwood- Biding their time and hanging back but waiting for a 6A score to end the year. 6. Prestonsburg- Chasing the pack but generally happy where they are with an undefeated mark and adding distance on Breathitt. 7. Breathitt County- Narrowly ahead. 8. Somerset- Wishing they beat South Laurel so bad and wondering how Southwestern can't win anymore.

So how did everything we discussed play out this past weekend? - We predicted this would be the week LCA beat Danville and made the move to #2. That happened. - Everything went right for LCA this week. - We predicted that even though Somerset vs. Monroe was huge in terms of strategic winning of a district, that from a RPI standpoint the fate of that District's winner is pretty well sealed. That appears to be in place as expected. - We predicted that Beechwood still needed help to stay in the race and they got that help as Dixie Heights got a win and NewCath keeps winning. Ultimately the race between Belfry/Mayfield/Beechwood is a tight one.. there are still paths for all to get to the 2 seed but it is going to be very hard to pass LCA without some help. - Mayfield needed a Graves win and they got it. - Breathitt/Pburg is going to be tight until the end to determine who plays Belfry and who plays Beechwood. - The one result most didn't see coming was Apollo knocking off Madisonville. This only strengthens OPCath's spot at the top more.

Thought the staff did a good job tonight for Belfry coming off the BYE. Outside of two long throws where the coverage was there and the DB mis-timed their jump Belfry looked sharp. Defense was hitting hard and flying to the ball. Belfry clearly worked hard over the past two weeks on some different looks on Offense and doing some things with tempo. Belfry even threw the first HB pass I can remember in my lifetime that went for a long TD to Cayden Varney.

I mentioned on another recent thread that Ashland vs. JC may be the most underrated rivalry in the State when you consider the stakes, competitiveness of the series, and that both sides genuinely don't like each other. Dicky Martin is right in the heart of of this rivalry. He was the gasoline to that fire. I 100% agree that Matney and him probably are having a good laugh about it because what made everything Dicky said work more was the fact that Jim Matney's #1 favorite coaching tool and his absolute favorite motivation tactic was always playing the "Disrespect" and "Underdog" card. Matney could be playing winless Rowan County and the Vikings could be ravaged by the flu and he would find a way to convince his team that nobody believes they can win and that the only reason they have the flu is to try and give it to them. All that to be said, Dicky gave Matney absolutely his favorite junk food and I am sure Matney lowkey thought it was entertaining and funny even if that's not what he told his team and parents.

1. 2003. Belfry 33 Elizabethtown 27 (OT). This game may actually be one of the more underrated State Championship games of all-time. This was the year Belfry got over the hump and won their first State Title in dramatic fashion. A back and forth game it looked like Etown was in the driver's seat but Belfry got a massive sack and strip to put them in position to tie the game. In OT Belfry intercepts the ball and then on a 4th and Goal David Jones punches in the walk-off winner. Why is it so underrated? Belfry was not a household name at the time. They were just a very good program finally getting over the hump, but this set off a run over the next 15 years that made them an elite program. Etown was kind off under the radar that season and had lost twice in the regular season so there was not a lot of fanfare of being two dominant teams.. but the truth is this one of the more talented Finals rosters to ever take the field. You had four different players who would go on to start in the SEC and have a cup of tea if not more with the NFL: Brandon Deaderick (Alabama), Chris Todd (Auburn), Zipp Duncan (UK), and David Jones (UK). You also had Doug Howard who is still a Belfry legend. 2. 2004. Belfry 28 Owensboro Catholic 21- The following year's 2A State Championship which was Howard and Jones's Senior year. Belfry was undeniable that season and had a legendary rushing attack that went off in the State Finals for over 500 rushing yards with Howard and Jones putting on an absolute show crossing the 200+ yard each. With that said, Zac Bernard kept the Aces' in the game and had the ball with a chance to tie late when Chris Varney got a huge INT to seal the game Belfry the re-peat. 3. 2013. Belfry 3 Wayne County 0- Symbolically this was the confirmation that Belfry was a Championship PROGRAM and not just the beneficiary of a single great team. Belfry had previously had four State Runner-Up losses to Central including three in a row. Belfry won the 3A Title over an undefeated Wayne County team of destiny and it kicked off a dynasty. The game itself did not play out the way most expected. Wayne County had lit the scoreboard up all season and Belfry had a very solid offense as well. Horrible weather made passing and field conditions less than ideal for both teams who struggled to get any Offense going. Ultimately it came down to the leg of Freshman Austin Woolum who made a FG and the Belfry defense finished the deal. 4. 2016. Belfry 42 Corbin 17- You may ask, why would you put this game? It was a blowout and wasn't even the State Finals? Well for starters, I have to have a game to honor that 2016 team on the list but it is hard finding one because almost every game they played was a big win and between the 2015 & 2016 seasons they laid waist to numerous teams who went on to win State Titles or finish Runner-Up. More importantly, the score of this Semi-Finals game did not tell the story of what this game actually was like. Justin Haddix's Corbin team had been outclassed in the 2015 Semi-Finals at Belfry but the 2016 edition was veteran and only had a 35-34 loss to Mayfield on their resume and had otherwise been dominant en route to setting up a #1 vs. #2 matchup at Campbell Field. Corbin came out well prepared and had Belfry firmly on the ropes with a 17-0 lead. Belfry got a late score to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the Half. I won't get into the rumors of what specific changes Belfry made top adjust for let's call it "Scouting and Prep" that Corbin had done, but Belfry made those adjustments and then RayQuan Horton took over. The Belfry DL legend wreaked absolute havoc on the Redhounds in the 2nd Half beating numerous double and triple teams for sacks, TFL's, and forcing turnovers. Belfry scored 35 points in the 2nd Half to win. 5. 2021. Belfry 33 Paducah Tilghman 28- The Isaac Dixon game. One of the more unexpected State Finals games as it featured two teams who entered the playoffs with losing records. Belfry had played an absolutely brutal schedule and was a flawed team who battled key injuries. Haywood got the Pirates right for a playoff run and found some secondary weapons to take the load off Dixon who had already established his Belfry legacy as an All-Timer. What happened this day was what made Dixon THE All-Timer in Belfry lore. Tilghman exploited a vulnerable Belfry defense to grab a lead but Dixon put the Pirates on his back and legs for probably the single greatest rushing performance ever seen in the State Finals (or maybe in any game of this magnitude). 41 carries, 376 yards, 5 TD's including the game winner in the 4th. Oh.. just for good measure he also made like 7 tackles on defense as well. This game would propel Dixon to being Mr. Football.

First of all Thank You! Just trying to add some content. I think you can see some AD’s and HC’s who have taken the RPI factor seriously. Kentucky Country Day immediately jumps to mind. Their schedule was an RPI dream schedule. It is important to note also that for 90 percent of teams the RPI will usually not matter. It only picks up Round 3 so a lot of programs just wish they could build to be able to play that deep and will schedule for what best allows that. I do think you are seeing more and more RPI consideration from the more consistently strong programs. A lot less out of state games unless absolutely necessary. Ultimately the rub is teams still have to fill a schedule and fill the stands. I am sure if you are a 3 win 5A team or 3 win 6A team there are no shortage of schools ringing your phone to play. If you are a powerhouse smaller school you probably aren’t getting called a whole lot.

One extra tiny caveat that probably won't matter much, but does have a direct head to head impact on Belfry vs. Beechwood RPI. Both teams have two district games to get through that won't necessarily help them much in RPI and on the whole kind of balance each other out. Beechwood has one of the very worst RPI teams in Gallatin County and a decent RPI team in Bracken County. Belfry has two teams firmly splitting the middle of those in Shelby Valley and Betsy Layne. So let's look at Bracken County. The Polar Bears have a respectable .58820 score which puts them ahead of any Belfry District win by a decent clip. The caveat is who bracken plays to end the Regular Season. A non-district game against Pikeville. Pikeville started off with a bad RPI ranked amongst the teens in 1A but they are slowly growing every week and have two games that should help them make a noticeable jump. The Panthers are up to the #5 RPI in 1A and if they beat Hazard and a class jump game against Bracken County they have a chance to have the 3rd best RPI in the class. Belfry's win playing down against Pikeville has gotten better each week That Pikeville vs. Bracken County game turns into a situation where Belfry benefits a good deal more of Pikeville beating Bracken County than the other way around. Once again, this isn't make or break.. but as tight as this race is it could prove a difference if Belfry gains an OWP boost from a class jump victory while Beechwood takes a OWP hit from a class drop loss as well as their best District win gets a little weaker on the WP side.

Get back to me after the Madisonville game. Right now that is too big of a puzzle piece to even look at anything without being in place. There are four absolute monster games in 5A the next two weeks between Owensboro vs. Madisonville, Scott County vs. Woodford County, South Oldham vs. Collins, and North Laurel vs. Pulaski County. 2A is pretty predictable how the Districts will shake out but 5A could look completely different in two weeks.

Depends.. Campbell County has a winnable game against Great Crossing but they are only sitting at 2 wins and have a base RPI score of .44267. Their OWP score is decent right now and playing Beechwood helps that score. If Campbell beats Great Crossing they probably come in with a better RPI value, if they lose it will drop as their WP is already very low. As I mentioned earlier, beating bad 6A teams is RPI candy though because of the bonus multiplier. Letcher Central has a pretty solid .60948 RPI score right now and it should be a hair higher once they beat Powell County. Belfry gets one level of bonus. I would say these will be pretty similar scores once everything balances out and maybe a tick higher for Beechwood. For both teams, those games probably aren't their most important paths. Beechwood needs Dixie Heights to beat Boone County, Campbell County to beat Great Crossing, and Simon Kenton is the x-factor. The OWP and OOWP of these weaker 5A and 6A teams is fairly average and won't vary a ton, but with Ryle playing two teams and Campbell County playing Beechwood it should get a tick up but nothing major. For Beechwood they need the WP to increase on all three of these teams so that bonus multiplier factors more heavily. Back to Simon Kenton... all it takes is one upset of either Cooper or Ryle and I think Beechwood gets the little bump they need to pass Belfry. Belfry really needs East Carter to continue rolling and beat Russell and Raceland. They would get more from that result substantially increasing in value. Belfry also needs to make sure their lone loss Johnson Central finishes the drill undefeated with a massive RPI score so their loss remains a very good loss. Belfry's loss to Johnson Central is much better than Beechwood's loss to CovCath in the eyes of the RPI. Both teams are the same class but Johnson Central has around a .18 value higher than CovCath and that value may grow to .2 by the end of the season. I cannot stress enough how important CovCath beating Cathedral was. An out of state loss is brutal in the RPI.. Beechwood is relying heavily on bonus points from beating these weaker 5A & 6A teams because the base RPI of Belfry's non-district wins are higher value, but Beechwood's bonus is helping to keep them in the mix. Belfry simply doesn't have the 5A and 6A bonus points... but the worst case scenario for Beechwood that I already mentioned is if Southwestern upsets either South Laurel or Rockcastle County. They almost got North Laurel this past week. Right now Southwestern's WP is really low. Both of these teams will help their OWP and OOWP values because they have great records, so an upset in either game will be a significant bump for their overall RPI. Long story summarized: We all expect Belfry and Beechwood to finish 9-1. Beechwood should pick up a little ground because Campbell County's bonus value being 6A should slightly make that win better than beating a 3A team with a lot more wins and a better base RPI value. Ultimately for Beechwood to pass Belfry they need help as any game Simon Kenton, Dixie Heights, or Campbell County wins gets amplified. Belfry's best hope lies in East Carter, but the Raiders are high risk high reward. If I had to make a prediction... I think East Carter drops the game to Raceland. I don't think either team gets a surprise upset. I think Campbell gets that third win over Great Crossing, I think Dixie beats Boone. I predict Beechwood sneaks ahead by the thinnest of margins as a result.

Belfry 48 Betsy Layne 14

Let's put it this way: OCath- Very good chance they play at home until the Finals. Big fans of Bowling Green and Owensboro. LCA- Best chance to play at home until Finals outside of OCath, but they don't want any upsets of teams they have played and they want the three teams chasing them to not get any big wins from their opponents. Mayfield/Beechwood/Belfry- Too close to call. They all need help to host Semi-Finals. Mayfield is cheering for McCracken County and Graves County. Belfry is cheering big for East Carter. Beechwood- Wants any 5A or 6A team they beat to win. Somerset/Monroe County/Pburg/Breathitt- Too close to call, probably heading on the road anyway so it doesn't matter a ton.

Obviously this is completely unofficial and purely a guess (Math probably doesn't even math) , but if someone asked me to throw percentages of the 8 expected District winners amongst the Top 8 seeds in RPI (Excluding Danville even though they will have a higher RPI than a bunch of these teams but I don't expect them to win their District) 1 Seed OCath- 70% LCA-20% Mayfield- 5% Beechwood- 5% 2 Seed LCA- 45% OCath- 20% Mayfield- 15% Beechwood- 10% Belfry- 10% 3 Seed LCA- 30% Mayfield- 25% Beechwod- 20% Belfry- 20% OCath- 5% 4 Seed Beechwood- 30% Belfry- 30% Mayfield- 25% LCA- 5% Field- 5% 5 Seed Beechwood- 35% Belfry- 35% Mayfield- 20% LCA- 5% Prestonsburg- 5% 6 Seed Prestonsburg - 40% Somerset/Monroe Winner- 30% Breathitt County- 25% Belfry- 5% 7 Seed Somerset/Monroe- 35% Breathitt County- 35% Prestonsburg- 30% 8 Seed Somerset/Monroe- 40% Breathitt County- 40% Prestonsburg- 20%

Thoughts heading into this week: - Beechwood got the clutch week they needed. CovCath's win over Cathedral didn't necessarily help move Beechwood up a ton but it 100% helped avoid a very negative potential path. They got a 6A OWP boost from Simon Kenton beating Great Crossing and Dixie Heights beating Conner, NewCath won as well. As long as Beechwood beats Campbell County they should be safely placed into a 3rd Round home playoff game and should be able to avoid an early game against Belfry as long as Belfry doesn't slip up as well. - LCA is sitting in prime real estate. Despite the losses essentially their entire schedule is nothing but RPI darlings who just keep winning. They still have a weak 6A team to finish the year but even weak 6A teams are RPI candy. More on this week's game below. Week 10 will be pivotal for LCA as OWP will be their make or break. No team has a more straightforward path to the 2nd overall seed as long as the teams expected to win continue winning for them. - OCath remains sitting very pretty at the top. Now that Bowling Green is in District play each week only makes OCath stronger. Even if Owensboro takes an L vs. Madisonville it is going to be very hard to knock OCath out of the 1-spot at this point. They have plenty of that weak 6A RPI candy that has helped them. - Sub Tier.. but that Prestonsburg vs. Breathitt RPI score is a tight race to watch. Does it really matter a ton? Probably not... but it will determine who goes to Belfry and who goes to Beechwood and I am sure Pburg geographically would much rather prefer the short trip for their fans to Pond Creek. - Big picture.. still a ton of variables to consider and none of this matters at the biggest picture more until we see how Round 3 shapes out... but if we assume OCath is pretty tough to move from #1 assuming they handle their business.. the next big question is what are the biggest risks for teams having to travel half the state if not longer. To that point, Belfry to me is the most vulnerable of the group having to go to OCath or Mayfield. Belfry still has a very clear path that may even get them to being the 2nd best RPI but they need help and without a 6A winnable game the final week unlike Beechwood and LCA it makes their path even more uphill. Looking at this week's key RPI games, it is all about LCA.. this is the week for the Eagles to make their biggest move: 1. LCA vs. Danville- We all love the Danville storyline and love Danville being firmly in the 2A picture as it feels natural and right. With that said, Danville is kind of a prime example of how the RPI is flawed. I don't think anyone would concede the Admirals are close to being the 2nd best team in the State but that's how the CPU clearly views them. LCA has a chance to get a big RPI boost by beating the Admirals head to head. Don't be surprised to see that win be enough to move them to #2 next week. 2. Lexington Catholic at Bardstown- A booster for LCA's rise could be the OWP bonus from a play up win against 3A LexCath having a chance for a nice RPI score against Bardstown. Bardstown took a surprising loss to Garrard which tempered this a little but as OWP wins go that aren't washes from common victories, this is the best chance for an impact. 3. Graves County at Marshall County- Graves County as a 5A win for Mayfield is a variable they need to payoff. The Eagles have not done their part only winning once but this is a chance to help the Cardinals out as Marshall is a step down in competition to what they have seen all year. Mayfield needs Graves to finish with wins against Marshall County and Muhlenberg County. Christian County and McCracken play each other so Mayfield gets those points regardless this week. 4. Dixie Heights at Boone County- The Colonels did Beechwood a big solid taking care of Conner, now they get one more chance against Boone County. If Dixie wins then they probably go down as Beechwood's most important RPI victory to date. 5. Southwestern at South Laurel- It has been clear that Belfry's 5A win over Southwestern was going to be difficult to pay off in OWP wins, but the Warriors almost pulled a shocker by taking North Laurel to the very end. The Warriors get one more chance to find a signature win that helps their 1st Round playoff chances and would definitely help Belfry's OWP and OOWP. OTHERS: Campbell County at Simon Kenton- This may have a short term gratification for Beechwood but ultimately this will be a wash game as long as they defeat Campbell County to end the year. Worth noting, Beechwood's best chance to make a big jump rests on the shoulder of Simon Kenton. The Pioneers have two opportunities left for big upset scores with Cooper and Ryle after this. An upset against either gives Beechwood a big unexpected bump in OWP and OOWP.. don't bank on it.. but stranger things ahve happened. North Hardin at St. X- From an impact standpoint this could be absolutely massive for LCA if North Hardin won, but let's be honest none of us expect that to happen so it gets tempered. With that said, this will help LCA's OOWP regardless as the RPI really likes St. X in 6A. Monroe County at Somerset- This is a big game tactfully as it will undoubtedly be the District Championship but not an especially big game in terms of RPI. Long story short, both teams need other teams to drop an unexpected game to have a chance to avoid being the 4th seeded District Representative coming out of the West.

I think he hits the prestigious 5,000 yard club. Won't be easy, but EC has four regular season games left and I expect him to play 4 Quarters of three of those. I expect 2 playoff games minimum. I think he can get there in six games.

Underrated Rivalry= Johnson Central vs. Ashland They really don't like each other and the series has been very unpredictable at times.

You guys do a great job with this. A few topics I would love to hear your perspective on: 1. Should Kentucky have Neutral Site playoff games in the Semi-Finals (or even Round 3) if they plan to stick with the RPI based system? 2. Unlocking Video Streaming of Games. Would love to hear one of you defend why streaming is necessary for programs trying to keep up with the times and would also love to hear one of you take the side of why streaming is harming programs. In terms of something personal to me that I would be very interested in hearing on the show and I am sure others out there may also wonder: How can I best be involved in helping my program change for the positive if my kid is just starting to play football? My personal scenario around this: My son will be eligible to start playing football in 3rd Grade next Fall. The school he attends is a 1A sized school and not a football powerhouse and it never has been. With that said, the school has used it's academics and expansion of a new K-3 program to become an appealing option in the community and as a result they are getting more and more students. They have began offering flag and tackle football prior to Middle School for the first time and it has been off to a very successful start. As we transition to Football next year what advice would you give for parents of first time players who want to become invested in the growth of a program? Obviously volunteering to Coach is a given, but what are options in addition to volunteer coaching that promotes a successful culture or chemistry among classmates? Does this advice change for a parent who never played football or sports but still wants to invest? You both built programs from the Feeder System up from a low point to a very successful level, what would you consider the key moment you achieved that allowed your program to change that culture from losing to winning?

Martin County has two really good players but if I were handing out a #10 I would choose Breathitt County. Breathitt has two losses against two quality opponents in undefeated Middlesboro and Hazard. They have a decent win over Letcher Central. I would take Breathitt by a firm TD or 2 TD margin if those two teams were playing this Friday. If I were finishing the Top 10 and into the next 5 I would go: 10. Breathitt County 11. Bracken County 12. Martin County 13. Caldwell County 14. Hancock County 15. WEB Dubois

Running clock. Central is showing improvement but they won't have enough gas in the tank this year to slow down the CAL offensive juggernaut for four quarters. CAL 49-6.

This one won't be easy for Danville. I think they can and will win, but this is a game they cannot get ahead of their skis. Danville has used some good athleticism to beat teams this year, WEB Dubois will be able to negate some of that advantage much like Washington County did. Danville needs to play a clean game but also play a patient game. I'll take the Admirals by 12 in a game that is nip and tuck for a while. A home playoff game is right on the tip of their fingers, they have come too far to blow it now.

You have an argument but my joined by date on my profile pre-dates AI and proves I am just someone who has been on here way too long LOL

I have always like Calpreps. It goes a little too heavy on rewarding margin of victory (KHSAA don't want that as a factor) but the out of state component is a VAST improvement over what the RPI offers. I also like the fact Calpreps identifies outlier results. The only real critique I have with Calpreps once the season plays out is it does skew favoritism Nationally to California schools and some of these 8-man and Independent Private School Organizations mess up the metrics a little, but that really doesn't effect KY teams any. If you told me we were using Calpreps instead of RPI I would have a hard time arguing against it as being a quality CPU ranking.

Raceland vs. East Carter to end the year may be a game everyone needs to highlight. If East Carter beats Russell this could be a RPI goldmine for Raceland. If KCD wins their district they will be tough to catch, but if that East Carter game turns into a battle of 8-1 teams then this will be Raceland's chance to cement a home playoff path.

They still have a lifeline but last week was kind of a worst case scenario week and a worst case scenario repeat this week as I outlined could be really bad. Having three 6A victories if they beat Campbell County is their saving grace potentially. Each time those teams beat another 5A or 6A team an angel may not get it's wings, but Beechwood gets some bonus points. They need Dixie, Simon Kenton, and Campbell County to win any game they possibly can from here on out. I don't think any of those teams will beat Ryle, so that leaves essentially five games left where they play other 6A/5A teams that are not each other (2 X Great Crossing, 1 X Cooper (not easy), 1 X Conner, 1 X Boone County). No other 2A team has three 6A victories on their resume. That's the good news for Beechwood, but they need those 6A teams' OWP bonus points desperately. NewCath needs to win out as well at this point. I mentioned it previously but it would have been better for Beechwood if Campbell County won that game against NewCath because Beechwood's win over NewCath is viewed as playing down compared to if Beechwood beats Campbell County it is the max playing up bonus.

I still don't know if Lloyd is for real or not. No doubt they are a quality team, but this game did nothing to convince me if either they or Bourbon are capable of taking down the better teams in their class or not. I do know this was a big win though logistically. This should keep them from a road playoff game at Russell or East Carter and now firmly puts them in prime RPI position in the east to host Round 3. More importantly it reduces the chance if they reach the Semi's of having to draw CAL on the road. Lloyd definitely has a shot at the 2nd overall RPI seed if they win out. Probably will need Bell to slip up against Pulaski, but that 5A Boone County game to close the regular season gives them a chance at some RPI points that Murray doesn't have left as a luxury.

IMHO, this one is one of those "lazy" things about the RPI that could easily be fixed. You can't do anything groundbreaking, but it would be super easy to apply a bonus factor for road and neutral site wins vs. home wins. It also would be easy to give an easy factor for "Close Loss" "Close Win" "Notable Loss" "Notable Win" "Large Loss" and "Large Win". Would just need to be a fractional multiplier for each but anything with a margin under 8 points should constitute "close", anything 9-20 points should be notable, and anything 21+ points should be "large". I get the KHSAA is trying to avoid score run ups so I think capping at 21+ is the way to go.