Cobb18MKG14

Jake Long with a big game for the Tomcats. He looks to be getting in the groove offensively...

Thanks. My son has a very small murmur and I was just curious. He plays JFL and has never had the lips turn blue etc. Our Dr. monitors it on his well visits. But I have always thought I would get a closer look done at his heart once he got a little older.

Are there tests that can check for this so parents know if its is a risk for their child?

The Tomcats offense certainly looked better, given they were playing against weaker competition. I really liked the offensive playcalling, they put Prince in a position to make good throws, and the running game seemed to have more variety. The defense was just OK, they cant really stop the run no matter who they play. I would expect the Tomcats to run the table until the annual showdown with JC and then who knows.....

I cant really see Ashland losing this one, but the key to me is how much fire they play with. I hope they come out and jump on Rowan. They have a terrible habit of slow starts...

I agree with assignments that don't promote their strengths. I think the same thing is true with the offense, especially QB.

One would think that the Tomcats should win the rest of their games, of course Johnson Central is always a tough one. But that one is always for the district championship...my only worry is that the Tomcats come out and just go through the motions in games with BC,GC, and RC. In my opinion they need to blowout these teams to build momentum. Any lackluster efforts, clock mismanagement, etc will continue to keep threads like this popping up.

Hilarious lol

This is the last year of that...

True. But Coach Hart had been to back-to-back regional finals before that. He was well proven before the 2-9 season, which honestly everyone saw coming.

The idea that boosters or the booster club have any real impact on coaching decisions is simply not true. Sure they have opinions, but there are so many other things that factor in such as open teaching positions, certification, etc. One thing I do know is that there weren't very many highly qualified applicants that applied after Coach Hart retired....I think that might be in part to the fact that Ashland always had Highlands/Cov Cath waiting to end their season. So the thought of even a regional championship was very difficult. Now with the realignment next year the Ashland job might be more attractive statewide....just a thought.

Ridiculous.

Here is what it all boils down to...people always have been and always will be passionate about Ashland football. The reason people are starting to question the coaching, is because the coaching has been questionable. When you have a head coach in only his 2nd year and you lose games you shouldn't because of some obvious coaching blunders people will talk. Does Coach Love know football? Without a doubt! Is he a good coach? Yes. Is he cut out to be a head coach? That is a question that is still unanswered. This team and their coaches certainly have my support, but I expect to see week-to-week improvement and certainly don't. Winning is a cure-all and Ashland is honestly extremely close to being undefeated and this thread doesn't even exist. I really hope to see and different offensive look from the Tomcats this week. If Long is back that will certainly help, and I think if he played against Russell, Ashland would have won. I will always support our team, while being realistic about the players and coaches. One thought I have had recently is, how much better of a quarterback would Hunter Prince be if Leon Hart was still around? I think he would be muuuuuuuuuch better.

Come on man....

Very true. They key to this game will be Ashland's ability/inability on the O and D line, which have without a doubt been a letdown this year.

One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that last season Ashland only beat Russell by 1 point and also struggled mightily against a terrible Boyd County before pulling away late. So the 8-4 record last season while pretty nice, isn't really what it seems. Now Coach Love sits at a record of 9-6, which isn't setting the world on fire. Ashland never seems to come out fast, they have started slow for years and play with little emotion. I hate to see how disinterested the players look on the sidelines sometimes. It seems like coaches are always screaming for a player to enter the game and they are nowhere to be found. Players stand around, goofing off, without their helmets on. It seems sloppy and unorganized to me.

I basically agree with LRCW. I also have to wonder about player development from 6th grade on up.

I certainly have some opinions on this issue. Without a doubt the offense is extremely vanilla and predictable. For the last 2 years Ashland has always had the most production out of a 2 back set, which it seems like they rarely use. With just Long or Baker in the backfield it is obviously easier for a defense to focus on one RB. It also seems that Prince makes the wrong reads on his read option plays, with Baker getting hit for loses when it seems Prince could have pulled the ball for a decent gain. I also noticed that they don't put Prince in many situations where he can be a successful passer. For example - the long "wounded duck" pass he completed to Baker. I noticed that Baker was near the sideline and the ball was spotted on the far hash...Prince doesn't have an arm strong enough to make that throw...why on Earth do you put your best athletes in a position where they cant get the ball to one another??? There is NO creativity, no reverses, half-back passes, etc. Those types of plays with Long, Baker, and Prince could be homeruns if used once or twice a game. The defense seems to lack big hitters with the exception of O'Bryan. It was very simple to tell when Conley would be taking the handoff around the right side. Don't get me started on letting them convert 3rd and 24 ON A RUNNING PLAY. With all that said Ashland is 2 plays away from being undefeated, and 3 plays away from being 0-3....but that can be said about many teams at many levels of football. What bothers me is the lack of attention to detail. The clock mis-management at the end of the half is inexcusable. Anyone knows that you simply cannot get off 3 running plays in 30 seconds. As a coach you have to assume that you will need all 3 plays to score, that is why your first or second play MUST be a pass to stop the clock and preserve that final play before the clock expires.

My hope for tonight is that the Tomcats come out, start fast, and limit penalties. This is their 3rd game so I certainly expect things to be cleaned up, especially the kicking game. I remember that Russell's freshman RB seemed talented and had a pretty good game last year. I'm not sure what he has done so far this year, I would imagine the Ashland D will be able to keep him in check. This game may be fairly close through the first 16 minutes, maybe the first half. I dont think that Russell can hang in the 2nd half, I think they lack a homerun threat. Ashland 32 Russell 7

Invited to camps at UK and Marshall this summer as well

Yes, not something that happens too often. If Baker and Long has big years....which they most likely will, I can see them getting some national attention during the summer. I would imagine getting invites to some major camps/combines like The Opening etc.

They might still be able to be at the game, just not make contact. But I have no idea about the NCAA rules mumbojumbo. Guess we will find out soon.

Long has received interest from them, I know this for sure.

Forgot.... Ashland 40 Raceland 14

Lots of people bringing up the 1 point game from last year, which has little bearing on the game this week. Raceland and Ashland has had some great games in the past, but I don't think this will be one of them. I look for the Tomcats to be firing on all cylinders for this one. With the addition of Jake Long on both offense and defense I think that will heavily tip the scales in Ashland's favor. Long gives Raceland another homerun threat to worry about along side Baker, not to mention the running ability of Prince, who should be playing with much more confidence this season. Long will also have a major impact in the secondary, joining several other Tomcats with experience. I believe his athleticism and size will certainly cause problems for Raceland. I have yet to mention Drew O'Bryan who is a rocket lined up in the middle. I'm not sure if its a blessing or a curse that this will be the Tomcats first game of the season, I'm sure emotions and excitement will be at an all-time high. With all those factors I just don't see how Raceland can keep this one close. I have always had great respect for Raceland and their program.