ChiefSmoke

Both the Grant & Mason staffs are maximizing their kids and what they have. I was able to attend the game. Both teams played hard & were well-coached.

Congrats to the Titans on an outstanding season!

I have mixed feelings about that. We weren't that bad at Mason, but at one point were 1-6 in 98. We got through it, and turned the corner at the end of the season. But, I was really concerned about losing our team/program. I will agree though that after fighting through it, we came out a substantially better football program. But, it was a very tough stretch.

My first year at Mason was 96. We were in a tough district with Russell, Lloyd & Newport. Lawrence got added in 97 AND East Carter had a very good team at that time also. I thought, “good grief...what have I got myself into!?”

Bill Botts. Rudy Tassini. Roy Lucas, Jr. 3 of my favorite Juggernauts. We had some great battles with them when I was at Mason between 1996 & 2004. Glad to see them having success!

Mike & Ann loved Royal athletics and poured their life into those kids.

Yes, that was a great rivalry and I loved playing in Flatwoods! I miss seeing Coaches Ivan McGlone & Garry Morris. They always had great gameplans for us and it was a big challenge to play the Red Devils. Tremendous people & coaches. Black Shoes and White ShoeStrings: Destination: Flatwoods

Super proud of Coach Thomas, the staff & players. Good luck the rest of the season!

Jim McKee has been a good friend of mine for a long time. The job he has done at Scott County has been incredible. He has most certainly had a large and positive impact on KY HS Football. And, you don't have to read his mind. He tells you exactly what he thinks. Go Cards and best of luck the rest of the way!

Congratulations to Coach Thomas & the Royals!

Mike Murphy, our baseball coach at Mason, very good friend, use to work in landscaping. Even in Maysville, Ky, on the Ohio River, he said they could dig down a foot to try to dig out bermuda but could not kill it. It has spread to our baseball field at Mercer and drives them nuts. We were able to bring back our old bermuda practice field at Mercer after 10 years of little to no maintenance. Just killing the crap brought back 80 % of the field. It is labor intensive, but we have done field repair often using sprigs and sod from around the edge of the game or practice field. Didn't cost a dime other than spending a day working on it. If it were not for bermuda and being south of the Ohio River, I would be more for synthetic turf. Farther north, it is tougher to have an answer outside of synthetic turf.

Based on my experiences, grass can be maintained relatively inexpensively if it is bermuda and you are south of the Ohio River. The farther south you move, the cheaper it is to maintain. Rye/fescue is tough to keep a uniform surface and more expensive.

We have had nights on Bermuda fields that looked awful. Rinse off the mud & roll them, you will be surprised how much grass is still there.

His heart is into football... but he loves basketball more. He loves football and plays very hard. Very similar to Chris Lofton.

For the first time in 26 years as a head coach, & with some really good players, Trevon was my first guy that Notre Dame came to visit. No offer but very interested. Trevon is the one who must do the work/practices. This is his life and he wants to play basketball. I support that 100%. He would be great in either sport.

Jessica Batey, Mason County, 2007 thru 2008: 84 extra points, 2 FGs.... 90 points scored in 2 seasons.

Congratulations to this wonderful young man! It is a blessing to coach him on the football field!

Thank you Guru. Franklin had a very good game plan. I am super proud of our kids and staff. We were down 25-7. Reminded me of the Royals in 2012 in Flatwoods(Russell) down 28-10 and coming back to win. Great kids and coaches have been bailing me out in big games for a long time! :thumb:

I have done it before, and it really made people mad. I did it to protect our bodies. Bear Bryant said when you get a game won, start working on winning the next one. Getting out of a game with as many healthy bodies is the priority for me and it is best for our team. Sportsmanship..... a 35 point win, versus a 36 point win, versus a 41 point win.... not that big of a difference unless a score comes late in a game by the first string.

Twitter Here is their new weightroom. I also know they have an intensive ACT prep program. Jordan Johnson is working his tail off for his kids and to build a program with a strong foundation. The wins will come.

One of the best coaches in the state saw the LCA game and said "your boy is doing a great job at Waggener." Jordan played for me at Mason. This same coach said the kids play extremely hard for Jordan. He said they are low in numbers & got tired. Waggener is on the radar right now because of Jordan Johnson, his ability as a coach, and how much he loves his kids. The issue with Waggener.... they are building and making big strides.

I would add.... scrimmage scores are meaningless. For example, we will always fake a punt in a scrimmage just to make our first opponent defend it. In 1987 in the CKC grid, we got in split backs and ran dive every play....and had never practiced it. When I was at Paris, my best guys might get 30 snaps and then I started protecting bodies. Some coaches call bad plays on purpose so they get their tails kicked as a wake up call. (The Mercer fans are saying...."Our coach does that every week!" Lol. ) I hate scrimmage scores.

When we were moved to a different class from the Tomcats, Leon Hart and I decided we would scrimmage each year. One of the highlights of the season for me became our annual preseason scrimmage with Ashland. From a football perspective, it is a great experience for our team. Ashland is sound fundamentally in all phases of the game. They have a physical and well-coached offensive line and defense. Their schemes on both sides of the ball are also outstanding. When we scrimmage the Tomcats, our manhood and our toughness are tested, and all of our weaknesses are exposed. The video of that scrimmage will tell us exactly what needs to be fixed and is an instant progress report on every player. All of those reasons are most important in why we scrimmage Ashland, but for me, the best part of the scrimmage was getting to see Coach Hart. Before a scrimmage, both coaches are going to be a lot more relaxed than before a game. Over the years, my visits with Coach Hart before our scrimmage have been a great time for stories, catching up on our families and getting advice, but primarily being thankful for a very good friend. http://www.afmservers.com/share/friends-who-make-you-better/

We went at 6 am this morning. Does that count? Still dark.

Here is a good article: Despite rising concerns over concussions, this doctor prescribes football | Star Tribune 1- The benefits of football far outweigh the risks. 2- Comparing HS football to the NFL is ridiculous.