#RockNation

Have heard a few rumblings about some transfers and whatnot, but nothing credible at this point. Spring Game was good for the guys to get out and go 1's vs. 1's for a bit and I agree with what was said above. Secondary will be very deep with Kamara, Ford, Bratcher-Gray, Ricks and maybe a few switches from the offensive side. The coaches are extremely high on FR corner L.A. Evans too. The LB's need to mature quickly and command the system, especially with 3-4 new starters. Luckily, Coach Cobb worked several of them into game last year and I can see FR Luke Vize and JR JC Wilson making a big impact. JR Finn Laskowski has a couple starts to his name and JR A.J. Hughes saw a lot of time as well. Sebastian Blue already has the physique (6'2, 215ish) as a current freshman and JR Nick Lococo was an exciting prospect before a season ending injury last year. Defensive line looks very solid if not deep. FR Juleone Carney probably starts at 99% of any other programs but was a backup for us and did a heck of a job. JR Bailey Vance is a returning starter and maybe was Trinity's most technically sound defender. JR Jahbarri Frost has NFL pedigree and looks tough in practice so far. There isn't much depth yet, but the freshman class was stout and should make some noise in the coming months. Have heard a huge name who could possibly be joining the staff in some capacity, but nothing solid on that front. Could be a complete game changer for the Rocks, but we will have to wait and see. Have also heard a (513) team may be coming to future schedules, but we shall see... ☘️

I think having a great rival is also what makes a job "good." I was raised by a St. X family (14 of em!) and was brought up in the rivalry. When I chose Trinity as an 8th grader, obviously I heard about it from all angles. It made me want to come in and dominate those guys right away. When I moved to the coaching side of things under Coach Beatty, the fire in me got so much more intense. Our administration, our alumni and our fans want nothing more than to beat the Tigers in all facets, not just on the gridiron. I know the feeling from over there is mutual and Coach Beatty (better than anyone ever in history, IMO) used that to his advantage. We have been in a facilities arms race with them for the better part of 25 years now and both schools have drastically physically changed and have continued to be the best schools in Louisville for young men to attend. There are so many more advantages now for young men, and not just football players. ACT scores are up, scholarship money is up and our population is as high as its ever been. The competitive fire gives alumni a lot to be proud of and is very encouraging for those who are able to give back to do so. All of that coupled with a football tradition that began with Quire, Kennedy, Moore and has continued with Lampley, Servino, Beatty and now Cobb makes Trinity the best job in the state. Are expectations high? Yes, but to beat St. X and win a state title, I can attest there is nothing better! ☘️

I am actually...

Not sure unbeatable is the word but after seeing these guys in the offseason, you can tell the love for football is really back in the building. The upperclassmen and their leadership was big for the '23 team and that was something that always set us apart from other programs I felt. The coaching staff was rejuvenated and they will have a great shot at a repeat next year. Nothing is ever set in stone though!

Trinity has not missed very often when it comes to choosing head coaches for any sport really, especially lately. When you have 1300-ish males who are astutely aware of the culture, it both creates a lot of pressure to succeed but also allows for that chance at greatness. I think that is why the jobs when offered are so desirable. Mike Szabo has come from the Northeast and been outstanding as the hoops coach. He's won 2 titles, put 3 of our guys in the NBA and his summer camps are legendary for the amount of kids that come to experience Trinity. Baseball's Rick Arnold came back to his alma mater to finish a job that Steve Tompkins and many before him started and won a title in '21, got Daylen Lile on the fast track to the MLB and countless others drafted or to D-1 programs. The other KHSAA programs have all seen similar success lately and for the first time I can remember (if ever), more young men have chosen Trinity over any of our rivals in Louisville. If you were a coach, wouldn't you want to come to Trinity and have all that at your fingertips?

Yeap...

Yes, small island.

The WRs Jason Hagan and Jordan Holman will both get a big look aided by attrition I think. They also had Sebastian Blue, Matthew Lococo and Cortney Jones Jr. that could see time as early as next year. I outlined some of this in an earlier post. Spring practice will be very competitive I imagine, but first there is a banquet coming up to celebrate 2023!!!

And here's the thing, I'm ok if they don't call. Boyle has a great program and they have endured over the last several decades in their division. They do it the right way and Coaches Haddix and Smith are among the best in the state's history. But also, don't come on here saying you could beat the 6A champion by 14 points when it could have easily been setup. Bryan Station agreed to play us, as has Frederick Douglass. As Bernie Mac would say; "you lookin at us up and down, we know what that means... So come on, bust a move!" Hahahaha

Major kudos to Coach Wallace for scheduling us in the regular season. Also for Coach Mueller at Highlands for doing it in the early 2000's. Might be missing someone else.

Here's our "high level Division 1 Power 5" players since 2000: Brohm, Theiry, Whiting, Warburg, Quick, Hatcher, White, Bonnafon, Burns, Moore, Herron That's 11 in 25 years, mostly spread out and Herron left in 2018. I realize that maybe it seems like a lot to you, but FD has 8 or so on their team THIS YEAR. And they were a great team and there is a lot of respect for Coach Hawkins and what he's doing there. Male has had several lately, as has St. X. These are the teams we want to play, whether its in KY or another state. We don't duck anyone and we don't complain about who is on the schedule. Just ask Jalen Ramsey!

I'm not sure who these "high level JR and SR P5 D1 guys" are, but you surely have us mistaken with someone else. More often than not, we are labeled a "system school" and overlooked for our kids. We have a few that went D-1 FBS in the last 15-20 years (UofL, Purdue, WKU, Colorado State, UK, etc.) but the majority of our kids end up at Centre, Georgetown or another solid lower division team to compete for playing time. Our program is built on developing young men into good athletes and better people. We are not this elite-level boarding school for athletes you think us to be. We prepare hard, we practice hard, we play hard. With or without "high-level athletes." If you think you have the better team, put us on the schedule. But most don't.

Tell them to schedule us then...easy as that.

Attracting talented young men with academics, coaching, tradition and facilities including the classroom is part of the faith-based culture that has been cultivated for 70-plus years at Trinity. Our founding fathers wished for a well-rounded academic and social experience for all young men in their four years and I can say with bias we provide that just as good or better than anyone in the Midwest/Southeast. It also just so happens we have the success in our records in several sports as well. We have had the largest Male student body among private schools for a few years now and that is not by accident. And not all of them play football, by the way.

No they don't, or they would put us on the schedule...Lynn is in the same space as Quick, Moore, McBroom, Dutton, Radcliff, etc. Do you mean Quisenberry?

I don't think people fully understand how hard it is to win football games at this level. We are everyone's Super Bowl and maybe that's the way we like it. Iron sharpens iron, as they say. Either way, Rock fans should be pretty excited for this season. There will be a ton of speed and the young guys will get much better. This really reminds me of the 2010 team that won some close games with X, Cincy Elder and Bowling Green, but continued to improve into the playoffs. Talent was everywhere, they just needed the coaching to realize the potential. This has the makings of becoming one of those legendary teams either in '24 or '25 maybe. I hope the guys are as eager to be refined and molded as those teams were! ☘️

On offense, Trinity returns 4 experienced linemen in Saner, Shields, Knoerr and Hernandez, probably the top returning WR in 6A (maybe the state!) in Jeremiah Lynn, QB wunderkind Zane Johnson, 2nd leading rusher JB Berry, and flex players Chris Wilson and Zach Floyd. Big Josh Bratcher will have a chance to make strides for the O-Line as well and freshmen WR's Jordan Holman, Jason Hagan and Nation McBroom are exciting playmakers who made a splash at the JV levels this year. There are weapons everywhere in wait at the younger levels for Johnson and OC Jake Williams. Defensively, the Rocks return OLB JC Wilson and DL Bailey Vance who both got better as the year went along. DBs Sonny Bratcher-Gray and Sekou Kamara return to the back half of the field and highly-touted K/P Carson Hilbert returns for his senior season. LBs AJ Hughes and Evan Allen received a lot of playing time and should contribute next year. DL Juleone Carney rotated in heavily and will be a breakout star for DC Michael Fox I think. DB Will Ford and OLB Finn Laskowski also saw a lot of time and can be major figures in replacing the tremendous linebackers who have graduated. LBs Luke Vize, Sebastian Blue and Matthew Lococo also had their names called a lot and have the size and speed to push anyone in front of them grade-wise.

Yeah I don't know if I agree with the second statement...Coach Cobb doesn't get on social media really at all and still has a really full plate...IMO, if the C-J/media narrowed it down to 3 or 4 candidates at each position and added a stat line, I think that would help a lot of this...A kicker with exactly 0 field goals should probably not make the second team, to my point

I mean, the ballots aren't going to count themselves...and someone has to write the bios and print it...?

I don't believe I said otherwise?

Fortunately enough for me, I am not a coach and do not have to make that decision. What I would like to see however is maybe a preselected panel of willing coaches, administration and media coming together for an award and recognition that is of this caliber. That way much more thought, representation and discussion can go into naming some of these young men "the best in the state." Jason and his team of writers and photographers for sure have done a tremendous job with this each year and the presentation online and in the actual paper is something I always look forward to. I do want to make that clear. I also like how H-L does the Top 50 list and I know Mike Fields always did a great job as well. As a program, it is understood that Trinity will often times not be considered for the awards for whatever reason. But when a kid has proven it game after game and I hear opposing coaches talk about what a difference maker our players are and how they have to be game-planned around, and then to see them not mentioned past the third team really irks me. If you don't want to vote for us out of some preconceived notion, that's fine and we get it. But it really takes the award down a notch when the players who actually represent what the spirit of the recognition is about are discarded like this. FWIW, this is solely my opinion and not in any way shape or form do I represent Trinity in this discussion.

Neither of his kicks against us in the semifinals were touchbacks and I'm pretty sure he's a walk-on to UofL. There definitely is a kicker who went 11 of 13 on field goals, 57 for 57 on XP, put a majority of his kicks into the end zone, went 3-for-4 on onside kicks and carried a 40+ punting average...IJS I'm sure he's a good kid and played for a great team. He just wasn't the best kicker I saw all year.

The rankings and all-state teams in Kentucky are almost always laughable. I know that Jason and a few of the coaches put a good amount of time and thought into them, but it almost always delves into self promotion and bias when you have people who either have never seen the other side of the state play or ventured outside of their class being relied on for their vote. The fact that Trinity plays the schedule they do and wins the large class title against some really good teams this year and has exactly ZERO first-team all state players on the CJ team is laughable at best. Brady McEnaney has been the best middle linebacker in the state for two years now. Carson Hilbert was 11 for 13 in field goals, was a game changer in the semifinals and finals, and was tremendous punting it all year long. Matthew Higgins dominated at left tackle against a ton of D-1 talent and anchored one of the best rushing teams in the state. As Bob used to say, you can't rely on somebody out in the state or in the media to count awards for you. We have Balfour to do that!

Guessing he's the son or a relative of the DB's coach? Steve Clinkscale - Football Coach - University of Michigan Athletics (mgoblue.com)

I'm sure the Trinity bias didn't help either...