Tony Cavalier

Here is the article from the Ashland Daily. J. Central stuffs Boyd, 56-

I agree and I don't think too many people would disagree with that. Now, if the team is a MASH unit and is missing several key guys for the remainder of the year then maybe reconsider. Until then, I say keep them as the #1.

The score was 47-13 in the 4th. LexCath's next two offensive possessions went something like; Fagot 2-2 passing, 150 yds and 2 TDs. Congratulations, the gap was closed against most of the boys that are playing in a Freshmen game tonight. Personally I believe LexCath is better overall this year but until they can stop the run they are going to be in a lot of nailbiters. Capital has played in 9 of the previous 13 WV 3A State Championships. They won it in 2014 and was runner-up last year after drubbing Midland, a team that took Belfry to the woodshed, in the playoffs. South Charleston is typically a pretty good team and was ranked #8 in the preseason 3A polls. Say what you will about how the season ended for us last year but when you remove a Bryce Workman from the field after he tore his PCL on the last play of the Ashland game then both sides of the ball have a drastically different look. Him being out hurt us more so on the defensive side than offensive but from that point on the ability to have him stretch the D by keeping it around the end was gone. Now that we are potentially 1 week away from sweeping our first 3 opponents to the start of the season that many said was highly doubtful, out come the naysayers to cast doubt but the ones that said it was a much improved schedule before the first snap was taken.

4A. Another nice all around effort. JC was in position twice to put the running clock into play but those drives stalled. JC has to clean up the mental miscues. If I recall correctly they had 5 false starts on a 1st and goal situation. Even though they were able to punch it in on that drive, there will come a time when that may come back to bite us. Solid games by freshmen Cody Rice and Riley Preece as well. JC was also able to work on building some depth at LB and in the secondary later in the game which is always a positive because you can practice it until the cows come home but nothing beats live reps. Now on to South Charleston who will be bringing in Penn State commit Derek Pitts Jr.

Maxpreps had them at #1 and the AP had them as co-#1 in their preseason poll. Nice win against the 2014 3A State Champs and 2015 Runner-Ups.

I think the QB situation depends on who has the better week of practice. At Cabell Midland, JC experimented with 3 QBs and this past week they used 2.

Great news for Kent. Always been a fan of his style of play and he is probably one of the most humble and level headed kids you will find anywhere to boot. Best of luck to him at Wofford. It is also my understanding that one of his good friends, Gunner Slone from JC, is starting to gain some traction with Wofford as a DL. Would be great to see those two play together.

I really feel for the community of Martin County. Eastern App Coal is selling for out 1/3 of the price it was during the coal spike in the late 2000's and Massey being bought out by Alpha Natural Resources really hurt the area. Alpha eventually bankrupt but prior to bankruptcy the company closed Martin County Coal, eliminating all coal production leaving skeleton crews for environmental treatment and reclamation in an attempt to stay afloat. Lots of high paying jobs left the area and it eventually trickled down into other companies that were directed at providing services to the mining industry. The high school was also closed due to structural deficiencies. The school board moved the high school to the former middle school and consolidated Warfield and Inez Middle. It has been a tough few years in Martin County. I am very hopeful that by them dropping out of district and potentially building a little momentum will get them back on track in the near future.

Didn't they have to beg Coach to get him back from his first retirement? For an individual that has done so much for a program to not be able to determine when it's time to go isn't right. Coach Runyon and his entire family have been nothing but class to me and I truly hate to see his career end this way. Whomever the next coach is they sure have a big pair of Alligators to fill.

Derrek Pitts gave his verbal yesterday to Penn State but also picked up some additional offers prior to donning the Nittany Lion hat. A lot can happen between now and the first Tuesday in February but I am eager to see this young man in person.

Several home games for Johnson Central should be entertaining this year. August 26-Johnson Central vs. Capital (WV) The 2014 WV AAA State Champ and 2015 State Runner-Up travels to JC for the RECC Bowl. Capital is led by University of Louisville commit LB Dorian Etheridge and speedster Silas Nazario. Capital knocked out previously undefeated Cabell Midland last year in the state semis. September 2-Johnson Central vs. Lexington Catholic Match-up between the 2015 4A runner-up and the 2015 3A runner-up. September 9-Johnson Central vs. South Charleston (WV) Another strong AAA team from the Mountaineer state led by Derrek Pitts Jr. Pitts is one of the most sought after SS in the country with offers from a slew Power 5 schools, including: Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida, Auburn, Clemson, Nebraska, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. October 21-Johnson Central vs. Ashland Since these two teams joined districts this game has determined the #1 seed and this year will probably be no exception. October 28-Johnson Central vs. Belfry What better way to close out the football season in EKY than to see these two teams strap it up. Belfry, reigning 3x 3A state champ, brings in probably one of the most dominant lines in the state.

ADI does a remarkable job with their area coverage. They have, for as long as I can remember, published an in-depth season preview for each of the local schools, accumulating around 60-70 pages to get the locals primed for the upcoming season. I think WYMT has taken a step back as far as their production of Sports OT. When you had a Brian Milam or a Derek Forrest or a Keith Casebolt bringing you an hour long show on Friday nights with highlights from all the big games those days were golden. Now due to a programming contract it has been condensed to about 10 minutes on Friday evenings then mixed with local college games on Saturday. Maybe one of these days it will be brought back to the lore that the aforementioned cultivated it to.

Patrick Towles Austin Collinsworth Mister Cobbel Lamar Dawson

I'll bite at this one. Nice job ATL. Johnson Central Wk 1-Capital (WV) Wk 2-Lexington Catholic Wk 3-South Charleston (WV) Wk 4-@ Harlan Co. Wk 5-@ Boyd Co. Wk 6-@ East Carter Wk 7-Greenup Co WK 8-@ Rowan Co Wk 9-Ashland Wk 10-Belfry

I'll add a 6th, when a coach informs an incoming player from their feeder school that they have to compete to earn their playing time. This is becoming not just isolated events but more of a prominent issue after reading boards from state to state. Today's athlete, and probably more so the parent, seek instant gratification. This particular player may have had a stellar middle school career and the player and his guardians believe that they should be in the rotation immediately based off their track record. Throw out the fact that the incoming player is entering a position that has a returning starter who also has the physical make-up to take on the rigors of playing against 17-18 year old young men. Once the word "opportunity" or "earn" come into any conversation, the bells and whistles in those individuals' heads start to go off. Instead of doing what people used to do, work hard to get to the point where you are seen as an invaluable contributor, most decide to jettison for the easiest way to get the playing time they desire. I believe that any responsible coach should not just simply throw an individual to the fire to keep them happy because they see that young man can be a contributor to the program in time. This is why most schools have Freshmen and JV games to help those that need development gain experience against individuals of a similar skill level. Not only are you helping them sharpen their abilities but you are also removing the likelihood of a significant injury. Some don't see it like that because the majority of their PT doesn't come under the Friday night lights and therefore they see themselves as being less valuable. A team is a team and everyone has an essential role for the greater good. Whether you are helping the defense by yelling "run" or "pass", holding up the cue cards for the offensive unit or even just scripting offensive and defensive plays for the coaches review, those are all important facets to any varsity game that needs to be done. Coming up, set goals for yourself. Start small by saying that you are working to earn a spot on special teams. If you stand out on one of those units then you will likely catch the eye of a position coach that will think of ways that he can utilize you into their game plan and ultimately lead to a little healthy position battle. Having a hard work ethic and a team first attitude will take you further after your playing days are over than a me first mindset that is looking to climb the ranks as fast as possible. For a little perspective, it is always good to remember that a house will not stand very long if the foundation is weak.

Geordan has as good of a shot as anyone. If he can replicate the season he had this past season he may very well find himself bringing it home. Not sure of his final numbers but going into the Highlands game he was a .497 hitter with 50 RBIs and 5 round trippers. Not sure how many bases he swiped or doubles and triples he knocked. Just a superb all around athlete that does well at whatever he attempts.

Congratulations to Hopkinsville's Easton McGee on winning Mr. Baseball and to all of the young men represented on this list for their outstanding seasons. Hopkinsville’s McGee Mr. Baseball; All-State teams announced | | USA Today High School Sports

These two met earlier in the year with McCracken pulling out a 4-1 win. X is riding an emotional high after yesterday's walk-off HR. With all the confidence the Tigers have coming in to this one McCracken will need their best performance to date to pull this one out. I'm pulling for MC to win but I think this game will be closer than their initial game. MC-4 X-3.

Hats off to McCracken County on the win. Always tough to say good-bye, especially to this group of seniors, all three of them, that finished their careers with two region titles and established a school record for wins in a season with 33. Yesterday it seemed that everything the Eagles hit was right at the defense but you got to give MC credit for making routine plays and keeping everything in front of them. I thought McCracken's SP did a phenomenal job of keeping the Eagles out in front and inducing a lot of fly balls. I scored 6 errors for JC but the board had them at 4. The two I would that I differed with the official bookkeeper was the triple in the 2nd that hit the palm of the CF's glove that led to their first run and the SS that couldn't hang on to the ball that was hit in the hole between 3rd and LF. I may be a harsher judge but those plays were routine outs throughout the year. Either way the better team yesterday won. As is so critical during this part of the year, the team that makes the least amount of mistakes typically finds themselves on the right side of the win column. JC had some chances to plate some runs earlier in the game, and the golden opportunity with the bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the 6th down 1-0, but just couldn't get the timely hits needed to bring the guys in. Best of luck to McCracken County the rest of the way and I hope they are able keep the string of eventual State Champions to knock us out intact. 7 every day starters and their entire pitching staff outside of Hitchcock returns next season for JC. I hope that they are able to build off of this experience and come back next year with an even stronger showing.

Great pitching battle between Kelly and Raisor. Both teams made some uncharacteristic fundamental blunders which one could probably attribute to jitters. One thing I will say about Raisor and Doty, out of all the pitchers I've seen JC go against, their ability to throw the curve for strikes consistently and the unbelievable movement the ball had really kept the bats quiet for the Eagles. To see them keep JC's Blanton, one of the purest hitters we've had in a long time that coming in hitting .495 on the year, quiet and overpowering him several times with the gas was impressive. Equally impressive was JC's 1,2, 8 and 9 guys ability to carry the load offensively for the game. Nice game to watch and I hope now that we got the first one out of the way that the guys will settle down and not put too much pressure on themselves. Congratulations to Highlands on a solid run.

I'd say JC, a very young team that has only 3 SRs, finds their identity in being a defensive team rather than an offensive team. They have a nice rotation in Sophomores Tate Meade and Braxton Kelly, Junior Jacob Patton and Senior Josh Hitchcock. Meade is their power pitcher who can crank his fastball up to the 89-91 range with decent movement. Kelly is a mid to upper 80s guy that can mix in a good curve but his best pitch is probably his slider. Patton and Hitchcock neither have a really overpowering fastball but use their off-speed stuff well to keep hitters at bay. Hitchcock and Meade have state tournament experience as Meade was brought in to throw 3 innings against Tates Creek in 2014 and Hitchcock was the starter in their loss against eventual State Champ St. X. If I were guessing I'd say Hitchcock will be their starter for this game.

The worst one that I was ever dealt was in the 2001 State Semi's against NCC. We held them on their first 3 downs but a late hit gave their initial drive new life, then the flood gates opened. I believe it was like 50-0 at the half with a final of 58-8. They easily could've hung 80 on us. Going in we underestimated Smith's arm because the film showed him most lethal in the 10-15 yard range so we schemed to jump the underneath and play soft on passes over the top. Bad mistake on our part as he probably had 400 yards passing on the night. I believe that NCC team returned most of their team from the 2000 State Finals and just came up short against Danville in the finals. I believe Eveston or Everson was their RB that came up lame early in the 2nd half against us forcing him to miss the championship game.

Had the wind not been blowing in and the CF wall at least 20 feet tall, that ball may still be going. Great pitchers duel between JC's Sophomore Kelly and Ziegelmeyer. Ryle's defense was about as solid as you will see in a game. The key to this game I thought was with guys on the corners for JC and no outs in the bottom half of the 5th they were unable to get an insurance run across after. A pop out to the catcher and a nice move to pick the runner off of first, lead to a ground out to shut the door. Hated to see JC lose a 2-1 lead in the 7th but if both teams advance to Whitaker Bank Ballpark they will see each other once again. This was JC's 6th 1 run loss of the year.

Not sure if it has been mentioned but CM is the largest school in WV. Their roster easily had over 100 on the sidelines at the JC scrimmage last season. Hate that Belfry couldn't get a 10th game. It robs the boys that have worked so hard, especially the seniors, of a chance to make additional memories. We had to deal with that early last season after Oscar Smith declined to travel the week of the game but the only bright spot is that it is late in the year, giving them a chance to heal.

I'll go with your grade honestly, B+.