Mitch Rapp

If you can afford it, I would pass on a Chromebook unless your daughter will not be using it off network. For a young student, I would strongly consider a compact notebook computer with a solid state drive (128 GB minimum) with a minimum of 4 GB RAM (preferably expandable to 8 GB) running Windows 10. A lightweight laptop with a long battery life and short boot up time will see much more use than a heavier machine will. The downside to going small is that you may need to get an external DVD drive for convenience when installing software. As for brands, I have had the best luck with Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba. I would steer clear of Asus, HP, Samsung, and Gateway (if they are still in business, I am shocked). I have had quality control issues with all of those brands.

My point is that now that the shoe is on the other foot, Highlands is being criticized for not doing what Johnson Central did to give its team the best chance of winning. Matney has always platooned as much has possible, given the depth that he had. He has also, despite criticism to the contrary by many Highlands fans, always developed depth by substituting as much as possible during the regular season, with an eye on the playoffs and future seasons. It is easy to criticize other programs for not platooning when your own team is two or three athletic players deep at every position. A good coach develops talent by platooning as much as possible to maximize his team's chances to advance in the playoffs, but that does not always mean platooning at every position all of the time. He also adapts his offensive and defensive schemes to match the athleticism and talent that he has on hand. My post was not really aimed at your comments and I agree with what you said. What I am saying is that many Highlands fans have criticized Jim Matney and other good coaches in the past for doing exactly what they say Highlands' coaching staff should be doing in response to the talent that they have now and in the pipeline. When Johnson Central did not have the depth to platoon, Matney gave his team its best chance of advancing in the playoffs by shortening the game with the goal of dominating the time of possession and minimizing his opponents' offensive opportunities. Now that the Golden Eagles are not at a disadvantage depth-wise in most games and he has a young quarterback whose strength is passing the ball, the focus has shifted to "playing fast," with a more balanced attack.

I remember back in Highlands' heyday many posts by their fans explaining why Johnson Central would never be competitive unless they platooned like Highlands did and copy the 'Birds balanced offense. Now that Highlands no longer enjoys the depth that they once had, I am enjoying the posts by Highlands fans complaining that their coach has not been playing their best athletes both ways. It is enough to make a Johnson Central fan wonder what might have happened to the Golden Eagle's program if Jim Matney had followed the advice to go to a strict platoon system, without regard to depth, and scrapped his offense.

Johnson Central's lost to Belfry was more impressive than Franklin-Simpson's best win. Hopkinsville's narrow loss to Christian County may be the most impressive performance that any western Kentucky 4A team has turned in this season, but the rest of their schedule has been very weak.

Franklin-Simpson squeaked by a South Warren team whose lineup was depleted by injuries to key players. If those players are fully recovered and South Warren survives long enough to allow those players to shake off the rust, then I don't think will be a stronger 4A team in the west. That is a big if. Looking at the strengths of schedule, I don't think either FS or Hopkinsville's schedules have been strong enough to prepare them for a team like Johnson Central. Hopkinsville's close game with Christian County shows that they are capable of playing a good team competitively, but one game is not much to judge a team's strength on. John Hardin has played a stronger schedule, but the strong teams have blown them out and they have blown out most of the weak teams on their schedule. That kind of schedule does not build much player confidence and does not allow a team to gain any momentum for the playoffs. If I were Coach Jim Matney, I would be more concerned about facing a healthy South Warren team than I would any of the other potential representatives from the west. OTOH, Coach Matney would welcome a shot at a rematch. But there are a few games to play before worrying about matchups in BG. Rockcastle County has played a solid schedule and is 9-1. They have been very underrated most of this season, IMO.

Belfry and Capital. Belfry's line are bigger and faster than any team Johnson Central has ever faced, IMO. Their lineup includes at least three D1 recruits, and junior fullback Wellman, who just returned from an injury, was very impressive against Johnson Central. Capital features the top recruit in West Virginia and has committed to WVU. If you want to watch Johnson Central and Belfry for yourself, the replay is available now: EKBTV |

We shall see how powerful those western Kentucky teams are soon enough. Johnson Central will not face more athletic teams than they have already faced in the regular season. They are not unbeatable, but they are much, much better than you are giving them credit for, and so is Belfry.

Yes. I believe that both Johnson Central and Belfry would be favored over PRP this season. By this time of the season, computer rankings such as Calpreps are fairly accurate. Calpreps has both JC and Belfry ranked among the top six teams in the state in all classes. PRP is ranked 19th and Christian County 16th. Even if you believe that those rankings are upside down, to simply assume that Johnson Central would lose to both PRP and CC based on their 2015 state championship game performance would be a mistake. Johnson Central's best teams in the past gave a couple of outstanding, very athletic Highlands state title teams their most competitive playoff games and this Golden Eagles team may well be their best ever. Johnson Central enters the playoffs this season much healthier than they were last season and the team has played a much stronger schedule to prepare.

Ashland is destined to meet Johnson Central one more time this season. In beating Tates Creek, the Tomcats showed that their district is not quite as weak as Johnson Central has made it look. Ashland would hold its own with any 4A team in the state, with the exception of JC, and they enter the game with Mason with some momentum. JC cannot afford to take a second win over the Tomcats for granted.

Saw their best last season. Most people from your neck of the woods are picking somebody else to represent the west this season because it is very difficult for a team to regain top form after suffering so many key injuries so deep into the regular season. SW is the west's best hope of denying JC its first title, IMO, but they have a tough row to hoe to get to BG.

I will bookmark this post. :lol2:

I had PRP and CC switched. CC barely beat Hopkinsville and PRP's best wins were over John Hardin and Central. I think that you may feel differently after watching the 4A finals this season. Western KY 4A is way down. I don't see anybody with the possible exception of South Warren having much of a shot against Johnson Central this season and they will have to play much better than they have so far.

4A #4 Hopkinsville only lost to PRP by 4 and John Hardin, which is not a top 6 4A team is Christian County's best win. Johnson Central would be favored over both PRP and Christian County and a solid underdog against BG, along with almost every other team in the state. A game between Franklin Simpson and PRP would be a toss-up, IMO, and they would have a fighting chance to upset CC. John Hardin has had a very disappointing season and it is very unlikely that they will put together more than a couple of playoff wins. It is tough to go an entire regular season with little sign of improvement and suddenly catch fire in the playoffs. They needed a strong performance against CC to start the playoffs on a positive note and they didn't get it.

Knox County Central over Mercer Co. Greenup Co. over Harrison Co.

I have been reading posts all season touting what a talented team John Hardin has, but the scores seem to indicate that either they are less talented than advertised, or their talent is being squandered. With the regular season over, it seems unrealistic to believe that a team with zero momentum will suddenly get hot and make a deep run into the playoffs. Has John Hardin performed better than expected in a single game this season - because it seems like each game has been followed by excuses for JH under-performing. The simple explanation would be that they were overrated from day one of the season. I would say that JH is very much a long shot to make it to the 4A finals.

I hope Ashland wins but Tates Creek is better than either Raceland or George Washington, and both of those teams own wins over the Tomcats already. TC should beat Ashland by 2 or 3 touchdowns.

1. Johnson Central 2. Franklin-Simpson 3. South Warren 4. Rockcastle County 5. Wayne County 6. Knox Central 7. Hopkinsville 8. John Hardin 9. Shelby County 10. Ashland John Hardin might have the talent of a top tier team, but they sure have not played like one this season.

Ashland struggled with Greenup County for more than a half. Johnson Central will struggle with Ashland for less than a quarter. Johnson Central's line is too big and too fast for the Tomcats on both sides of the ball. Ashland has got some speed in the backfield and at WR but will not get much of a chance to use it. The margin will be whatever Coach Matney decides to make it.

I give the nod to Ashland because of the Johnson Central shellacking of Greenup County last night...but Greenup County will have a good opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs - win or lose.

Pack kicked four field goals in four attempts against Ashland. I believe that all of them were from over 30 yards. He also holds the state record for the longest FG at 60 yards, and the second longest at 58 yards (tied with Aaron Pettrey).

The future looks bright for Ryle. I will exit this thread so that Ryle fans can enjoy the aftermath of their team's victory and discuss the game without the distraction of a tangential debate over Highlands' past.

No answer for the scores that were posted above I see. Nobody is surprised. There is no point in debating or denying the obvious. :lol2:

It certainly does, you jumped in quickly to lend Raiderbird some support. This is the kind of post that we non-Highlands fans have come to expect from folks like you two.

When one cannot dispute the facts, name calling often follows. Everybody seems to be aware that Highlands has run up scores for years except for some Highlands fans.

Exhibit 1. Thank you for your testimony. You may step down. :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: