Little Ram

Of course, no stats to prove or disprove the following statement. I heard from someone who told me they watched the film from the PRP/Trinity game (grain of salt) that PRP ran a total, total, of 7 varsity offensive snaps. Is it true? No idea.

I’ll further go on with this argument by saying since the Raceland/TJ Maynard era ended and the McGlone/Russell era ended and the Raceland/Russell rivalry renewed from 2015-2022, the rivalry between Raceland/Russell was 4-4. Greenup hasn’t beaten Raceland since 2010, no argument can be had there. I personally think it’s a facade argument to cover a deeper underlying conversation—one to be had elsewhere.

Some would argue it’s not players at all, and primarily the administration. Some…dare I say. Unverified information, though. I will even back it up with the fact that Raceland has zero Greenup County transfers that play football, and three Russell transfers in the last 4 years. AND, Greenup has received 2 transfers from Raceland and Russell has received 1. My point is this: it’s not about players. Have the discussion as you wish, but I would make a strong argument that it isn’t as much about the programs as it is about administration and adults.

Highlands Johnson Central Manual Glasgow Belfry Total Points: 53

Though football is certainly better in the county when all three schools play, the issue of Russell and GC not playing Raceland goes further than the football programs themselves. There are many tribulations between the administrations between each school (and I’d say school choice isn’t one of those).

Russell travels to Greenup County on Friday for another matchup in the Backyard Brawl. Greenup boasts a three-game winning streak over their cross-county rivals. Russell is coming off a 20-8 victory at home against Coal Grove (OH). Greenup hosts the Red Devils following a 37-6 victory over Pike County Central. Russell had a strong defensive showing last week and an offensive showing that showed some rust. Twice, the Devils got into the redzone and failed to score. Russell's defense will be tough for any opponent this season, but can their offense catch up to the defense's progress? Greenup enters this week after a well-balanced attack on offense, though had many penalties. Greenup's defense looked much improved against Pike Central where they really stopped any run game from the Hawks from developing and had one interception. Can Greenup match Russell's physicality this week? Just like any other game, and especially in this one, the team who wins the line of scrimmage has the best shot at winning this game. If anyone follows Coach Maynard and Coach Jones, the run game will be alive early and often from both teams. Game will be streamed on MyTownTV: https://www.mytowntv.com/

Greenup struggled early up front with a lot of penalties. GC has to clean up their offense going into week 2 against Russell. Greenup started slow on offense but really picked it up through the air in the second half. PCC looked like they wore down after halftime and really struggled to get any momentum on offense. The GC defense really performed well but gave up a lot of out-breaking routes. PCC had virtually no run game, though their DL seemed like their strongest unit on defense. Overall, looks like Greenup's defense has improved, but how much? It will be a good test in Lloyd this week against a better opponent, both offensively and defensively. Greenup's OL needs to improve in the run game some but primarily the false start penalties. Greenup's aerial attack looked sharp; GC's defense played fast and tackled well. Can they bring the physicality to Russell next week? Good game brewing for next week!

The Horns are back for Season 100.

Bell County Apollo South Oldham Ashland Ryle Tiebreaker: 41

It, indeed, did occur. I saw it, with my own eyes. Couldn't but had to...

I really think this game could go either way. If this game were at Raceland, I would certainly lean to Raceland's favor. It should be a very good game. Exited to see it!

Coal Grove was a tough team last year and should be roughly the same this year as they return a lot of key players. I am unsure of names for Coal Grove, but I do know #34 is a 3-star edge player and (I believe) #14 is a wing back for their wing-T system. #14 got hurt early in the year last year with a shoulder strain and missed 3-4 games and still ended up with over 1,000 yards rushing. I venture to say Russell will struggle in the beginning keeping Coal Grove's offense off the field but will get better throughout the game. Coal Grove's defensive secondary is porous but the front seven are strong. It is a relatively simple question: who will stop the opposing team's run game? Whoever can limit the running game will win this game. It is a game of defense more than offense this Friday night.

Head Coach of the Hawks, Scott Grizzle, travels back to his home county this Friday night. Grizzle, a Raceland graduate, coached at Greenup County from 2016-2019 where he coached the Musketeers to a 23-22 record. Last year, Grizzle finished 4-7 in his first year at helm for the Hawks. Entering his third year as head coach of the Musketeers, Travis Jones brings in a young, inexperienced squad that has scrimmaged Fairland (OH) and Lewis County. Fairland put up a better fight against the Musketeers than Lewis County, but was also a young and inexperienced squad. Greenup struggled early defensively against Fairland's air attack but rebounded well against a not-so-good Lewis County squad; The scrimmage against Lewis may as well be overlooked. GC looks to bring a heavy dose of the run game into Week 1. The passing game needs work, specifically the short/quick game. QB Jasper Davis certainly has the arm strength to throw it downfield but seems to struggle with his reads or identifying coverage. Nonetheless, the running attack should be good enough to make a case at winning this game. Pike County Central scrimmaged against Paintsville, Fairview, and Estill two weeks ago and scrimmaged Clay County this past Friday. Fairview struggled to do anything against the Hawks and Paintsville could not stop anyone at their scrimmage. The couple series against Estill were much more even with PCC, probably winning a game if it were such. The Hawks lost their best player in Ethan Carter (RB) on the second or third play of the scrimmage against Clay County. The injury looked like a knee or leg injury but unsure of his status. Without him, I am not sure that PCC will be able to compete offensively because their run game will be next to none. Freshman Brett Adkins will be the bulk of the screen game out wide. The Hawks look big and physical up front. If the Hawks can win the LOS, then who knows what will happen. Greenup County/Pike County Central will be play Friday, 8/22 in Lloyd in Greenup County at 7:30 PM. The game will be broadcasted on My Town TV at https://www.mytowntv.com/

This is a hard pick this year because there are some unknowns about Ashland and what they return while Raceland returns a lot. Ashby and Davis will be the primary work horses for the Tomcats, that is for certain. Stiltner, Waller, and Ison will be the work horses for the Rams. Because it is at Putnam, I am going 21-20, Tomcats in OT with the Rams going for two and failing. I think it can go either way, but my heart falls here.

I believe the other nicknames in contention were the Bats and Aces. Color patterns included 1) blue, silver, black, white; 2) purple, black, white; 3) blue, white, black. I believe the third option was chosen, but unsure.

It is quite notable, in all honesty. The school has began to invest in athletics more than they have in the past. New bleachers on the football field three years ago and an indoor athletic facility for basketball, softball, baseball, wrestling, and archery (of course other sports can use it as well) last year. The academic focus hasn't necessarily been about academics as much as it has been about personalized education, or so it seems. They have a Local Accountability Model that they hold themselves accountable on rather than worrying about state test scores. It seems like the community is much more involved with the school than ever before and the school holds themselves to the community's standard higher than the past. GC has a vocational school attached to the building where students can earn trade certificates AND the school just announced that starting this school year, they have a next generation program where high school students can complete enough college credits to earn an associate's degree before graduating through UK. Pretty impressive stuff! It certainly is leaps and bounds than a decade ago and a lot of credit goes to Traysea Moresea, superintendent. The football program has won a lot of football games the past three years under Zack Moore and Travis Jones. A lot of hype comes from just this. If the Musketeers win 8 games this year, it will be the most games won in any 4-year stretch dating back to the program's beginning in 1973. If GC wins 12 games over the course of the next two years, it will be the winningest 5-year stretch in program history. Point being, its hard to argue that GC isn't at the highest high that they have had at least since the 1970s. The area is better when GC is good and winning.

I have heard from someone on the rebranding committee tell me "Central" will not be attached to its name. They will be the Carter County Coyotes.

I heard 27-0 at half in Russell's favor. This was the last update I received. Rowan had a couple good offensive plays on their first drive but really struggled following that. Rowan looked a bit worse than they were at any point last year, especially offensively. Cameron Cross is Rowan's best player, but the OL struggles to sustain blocks. Russell looked pretty decent running the ball but could have been smoky due to Rowan's defense. Their run game will continue to improve throughout the year. QB Frasure threw it okay at times but is a work-in-progress for now and has some work to do. Russell looked like they will fare just fine in their district but still has a lot of work to get done before then. Their defense is physical and ran to the ball well.

EKC Grid tonight against Lewis County ended 51-0, 43 coming from varsity play and 8 coming during a running clock 4th quarter. To be honest, Lewis County might be the worst football team in the state of Kentucky. At one point, there were 5 straight plays where the ball either was a rolling snap behind or to the side of the QB or a snap over his head. I believe Lewis had one first down for the scrimmage and I am sure the yards were negative. To say it was a tough scrimmage to watch is an understatement. I commend the coaches of Lewis County for continuing to try and coach and teach, though. They are certainly doing their best with a team who may be outmanned in every contest this year. Greenup got very little from this scrimmage. They could have ran any run scheme and most likely would have found success. They did rotate a lot of players throughout the varsity portion it seemed. Nevertheless, still a lot of unknowns for the Musketeers after tonight. Their starting senior RB, Tyson Law, is out for the season with a broken leg and torn patellar tendon. This is a big blow to a team as young as Greenup. Sophomore Ashur Wireman and Junior Eric Campbell shared a lot fo the carries tonight. QB Jasper Davis played okay tonight but the passing game still needs a lot of work. A lot of unknowns going into PCC.

Tough schedule for the Raiders. Realistically, 5-5 is a possibility for the Raiders, but so is 7-3 or 8-2. I look to see the Raiders struggle to compete with Belfry early in the season. I do know they have a young QB that could absolutely sling it in JV games last year. I am unsure if he will be the starter, but seems to have a bright future in him behind center. I also see the Raiders possibly competing with the Rams early in that game but Raceland pulling away in the second half. They can compete with every other team on their schedule with the largest questions marks being Boyd, Greenup, and Russell. They certainly can win those games, but time will tell. I like Champ and he's done a phenomenal job in Grayson. I root for the program and hope they do well, but see them around 6-4 or 7-3 by the end of the regular season.

I believe fall 2028. Not 100% sure on that, but that is the rumor I am hearing.

Some important names to look for in 2025 for GC: OL: Sawyer Murphy and Josh Wells DL: Collin Melvin, Josh Wells, and Christian Wheeler QB/DB: Jasper Davis WR/DB: Kasey Gammon and Ashur Wireman WR/DB: Jeffrey Everetts (if/when he gets ruled eligible) LB: Jaxon Law

2022 being the last playoff win largely puts the image in a not-so-great spot. It is a tough district with an even tougher sister district for GC. I'm hoping GC falls back down to 3A where they should be in the next cycling and competing with the Devils to win district titles.

I would agree with most everything here. Benge hurt early preseason and may be back against the Musketeers, more news to come from that. Line of scrimmage still seems to be developing, though not where they need to be to make another run in the playoffs. Defensively, there is no reason they shouldn't be very good. They return a lot of experience on defense and should be much better.

Two defensive coordinators the first two years and some shuffling around following the departure of Zack Moore. Look for more continuity this year in the second year of the defense and what some say a "refocus" of sorts. I think they will be better defensively, but have a lot of ground to cover.