psychicscubadiver

They do suffer from a weak district, and it's unfortunate that they must play Scott and Dixie. Bryan Station, Cooper, Ryle, and Highlands are all good choices and they can't help that Highlands is likely to be down this year. However I think they should skip Connor. I would suggest replacing them with a Cincy team to give SK at least one game against a really tough team. Given SK's recent success and program improvement I think they could find a team across the river that's interested. The Harbin system rewards based on the opposing team's win-loss record and SK will likely have more good records in the future. Obviously it's too late for this year, but it's something to think about for future scheduling.

It might help if the Swami knew which team had that schedule.

I can buy that prediction about the the Rocks. I'm glad I kept feeding nickels into the slot until the 'state champs' came up.

Color me intrigued. Trinity Shamrocks 8/19 8:00p @ Ensworth (Nashville, TN) 8/26 7:00p Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, TN) 9/2 7:30p @ Lafayette (Lexington, KY) 9/9 7:30p Male (Louisville, KY) 9/16 7:00p @ Pleasure Ridge Park (Louisville, KY) 9/23 7:30p Jeffersontown (Louisville, KY) 9/30 8:00p St. Xavier (Louisville, KY) 10/7 7:00p @ Eastern (Louisville, KY) 10/14 7:00p @ Seneca (Louisville, KY) 10/21 7:30p Ballard (Louisville, KY)

Too high for Lafayette, I'd give them 25%. They were solidly beaten by Trinity and Male. All of their scores and big plays relied on the pure athleticism of their D1 athletes. Until the rest of the team is capable of supporting those talented few, they won't have much luck. Even with Male losing so much, I have a hard time seeing Lafayette ranked above them in the pre-season.

Darn, makes me wish that Trinity did 7 on 7 games.

Getting money leaves a paper trail. You returned enough pop bottles? Show the receipt. You won big at the casino? You're required to report it. Someone gave you a 'loan'? Let's see the documents. The KHSAA doesn't have to prove that the money was gained through clandestine means, the family must show where it came from. If they can't or won't then the KHSAA can tell the school that the student can't play KHSAA sports. If the student does, the school team will be disqualified.

If a family is assessed for financial need, they must show financial documents such as bank statements and tax returns. If the 'secret booster' gave the money before the assessment then, they would receive proportionately less financial aid. If they gave money after the assessment then KHSAA would be aware that the money did not belong to the family. And either way the IRS would have some pointed questions about the appearance of a large undeclared source of income. This is putting aside the question of why the 'secret booster' wouldn't donate the money to the financial aid program which is perfectly legal and aboveboard.

No. For any school that's part of the KHSAA the tuition must be paid by an immediate family member. The following is from Trinity's FAQ on financial aid. "Q – As members of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, are there rules Trinity must follow about tuition, financial aid and scholarships? A – Yes. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association, an organization we voluntarily belong to, has four rules that apply to tuition, financial aid and scholarships. First, we must use an agency approved by the KHSAA to determine financial need. Second, a student playing a KHSAA sport may not receive aid greater than their “demonstrated need.” Third, only an immediate family member may pay the student’s tuition. Finally, if a student playing a KHSAA sport receives a merit scholarship, the amount cannot exceed 25 percent of the tuition."

I meant that Trinity had capped it at 61.5% not the KHSAA. Though, I didn't know that 61.5% was only this year's number rather than a school rule.

I can't talk about the public side of things, but I know that at Trinity an independent third-party assesses the family's financials and financial aid is given based on the family's 'demonstrated need'. The third-party must be (and is) one approved by the KHSAA and the maximum assistance a student could receive is 61.5%. Also, Trinity does not offer any sport scholarships, only rewarding academic performance on the placement test. Even so, those scholarships are less than the 25% scholarship maximum enforced by the KHSAA.

An observation is something clearly demonstrable. Your comment of 'Bias?' is not an observation and instead sounds like an accusation. Which is especially odd since ATLCat's team is a public school. I am curious, though, which public teams do you feel fit the description 'good program in a bad situation' better than the privates listed? It's hard to claim a bias is in action if you can't provide better examples.

Was this laser or hand timed? It's impressive either way, but one is significantly more impressive than the other.

Simon Kenton has got to be Theon Greyjoy.

But why move up before you have the enrollment to justify it? Sure, maybe they will be 6A in the future, but for what reason would they move early? It's not like they would lack for local 5A teams for a district, and they can play any class for their non-district schedule.

A- The Shamrocks started the year in good form, winning victories from TN powerhouses Brentwood and Ensworth. They returned to KY with an impressive victory against Lafayette and many fans looked forward to their game with Male. Male handed Trinity an ugly defeat (42-13) in commanding fashion and many fans were rocked back on their heels. From there Trinity recovered and refined themselves, posting shutout against PRP and J-town. A rainy night with a lot of mistakes almost cost the Rocks a game with their rival St. X, but they hung on and kept the win (20-15). Trinity cruised past the rest of their district and the first game of the playoffs. The re-match with the Tigers was decisively won this time (34-7). Male and Trinity met again in the regional final. Trinity pulled out all the stops and came close, but were unable to overcome Male (20-19) who went on to easily take the State Title. This season was not Trinity's strongest, but they still had quality games againt the TN schools, Male, and St. X. I waffled briefly being B+ and A-, mostly based on Trinity's early performance against Male, but I felt that their improvement and considerably better playoff game earned them the higher grade. It's no mean feat to come within a point to a team ranked 8th in the nation.

Given the size of GRC I'd be surprised if they didn't have better talent than their 2015 record would indicate. The problem is getting those talented students interested, developed, and onto the field. From everything my cousins in the area said, football isn't a priority to guys their age.

If Trinity, St. X, and Bowling Green were on the same side of the bracket, you'd still get blowout championships most years.

How would separating make it 'harder to win' for Trinity? They would keep playing St. X and you would remove Male, making it easier. Bowling Green would probably beat them every now and again, but I doubt it would be as often as Male. If I actually wanted an easier system why wouldn't I want to separate? They shouldn't be separated because each school deserves a chance to prove itself the best. They all abide by the same rules of the KHSAA so if any school chooses to restrict themselves further that is their business. I look at that stat and see schools that have built their programs through hard work and dedication regardless of whether they are county, independent, or private. Most of the county wins are also programs that have proven themselves and built a winning tradition like Belfry or Central. The truth is that it's easier to blame the other team for being 'too good' than to improve your team. It's easier to sit at the bottom and say there's 'almost no chance' than to put in the effort required to reach the top.

So, excluding more data that doesn't support your point?

Crittenden County, Owen County, Lloyd Memorial, Leslie County, Caldwell County, Prestonburg, Ballard Memorial, Green County, Carroll County, Shelby Valley, Butler County, Fort Knox, Wayne County, Central, South Warren, Bell County, Bourbon County, LaRue County, Garrard County, Monroe County, Fort Campbell, North Oldham, Scott, West Jessamine, Johnson Central, Pulaski County, and Christian County would beg to differ. All schools that have beaten privates/independents in the playoffs since 2010 in addiotion to the ones you already mentioned. Public schools have won 57 games against private/independent schools in the playoffs since 2010.

Also I find it convenient that your numbers above exclude two entire classes for not having 'dominant' privates/independents, as though neither class has any privates/independents at all. You don't get to exclude them just because they don't support your point. To quote Benjamin Disraeli, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."

So the only proof you have that anything is 'unfair' is some schools win more often? Winning programs, whether public, private, or independent have those successful traits I mentioned before. Exiling teams purely based on success does not make anything more competitive. It's a purely selfish move that says 'rather than improve ourselves, let's get rid of the other guy for being too good'.

Just because a school can do something that doesn't mean that it will automatically happen. Building a winning program takes time and dedication. It isn't easy but that doesn't mean public schools are somehow incapable of it. You continue to state they have 'clear advantages' yet what do they have that public schools couldn't? There were only 2 private schools in the state finals this year and neither one won. As for independents, that's even less clear what advantages they have besides an open district; which any school could have. Somehow it doesn't disrupt the privates finances or academic standing, and given the privates have to pay for everything themselves that would seem to be a bigger threat to them. Even if that somehow is true, one school can't call it 'unfair' that another chooses to put a higher priority on something. It's like getting angry because one team decided to practice and watch game film when the other team didn't. Right, because Male, South Warren, and Belfry have clearly shown that they stand no chance against those private/independent juggernauts.

There is no 'inherently unfair system'. The only advantage that a private have that a public cannot is that privates may be single sex, which is more than balanced by the cost of tuition. Any public school could get out of district students, have a winning tradition/atmosphere, have the same amount of male enrollment, or have alumni donations. None of those things are unique to privates. It's worth noting that most of the classes are not dominated by a private school. Since the 6A system started only 6A and 2A have a majority of private state champs, and even then the 2A is only a private majority by a 5-4 count.