TribePride

I like Beechwood to rise back on top in 1A, playing against what I will go ahead and assume will be Pikeville. As mentioned above, 1A East is such a mixed bag, you never know what you will get. 2A should be a dandy. You have Danville and NCC looking strong in the East, with LCA looking like the darkhorse. On the flip side, the West should be an all out war. I don't know who loses what just yet, but DeSales, OCath, Mayfield, Murray and others should be right there in contention. 3A I'm seeing all red again. Pond Creek nation will once again run over the state. Boyle County will look to be strong again in the west. With the rumors circling Ty at Lou. Central, I think we need to hold off on the state predictions for now. 4A South Warren. Those guys are good...Really good. I can't even begin to tell you who in the East will rise up. Johnson Central again? Maybe, I don't know. Ashland Blazer may have a decent team next year, but SW should have another good run. In 5A I like Bowling Green to be right back in the thick of things. Don't sleep on Highlands though. They don't like not being on the big stage for very long. And finally, I look for Louisville Trinity to get back to national prominence. Well because, they're Trinity.

I'm curious to see if this happens. Phelps is an unwinnable situation, as sad as it is to say that. I've watched them play a lot of football, and I can't remember the last time they had a team finish higher than 3rd in recent memory. Clearly Joplin did wonders for the program in the 80's but now the circumstances and political landscape have changed. David will have his hands full, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in red within 2-4 years if he accepts the job.

Coach Haywood does an amazing job. He is the standard not only for coaches in Pike County, but the entire state.

Never met the man, but he seems like a class act.

When I played for Elkhorn City we played Belfry a few times. The thing when it comes to Philip Haywood's Veer is that it is just too well executed. Games where it's not (I.E. Lawrence Co/CM) ran very well, you have a game as long as you can match up strength wise. You go in the game saying, "where are we going to try and stop them." Of course you want to stop all three backs, but then again how has that worked for everyone else over the course of 30 years? Philip is what, ~350 wins at Belfry running this system? The only time we beat a Haywood led Pirate team was taking away the fullback...Of course the QB and HB had a pretty good game, but still.

Coaches: What is the strangest offense you've tried to defend?

With Brodey Johnson healthy for the season, he should clear 2000+ yards and help East Ridge contend for a district championship.

I really just wish they would have Commonwealth host the State Championships.

7 Corbin 5 Mason County 3 McCreary Central 2 Greenup County 1 Prestonsburg TB Mason County

Lloyd and Ludlow were powers back in the day. We lost to Lloyd in the 75 Semi-Finals at Elkhorn City. Hopefully they will be back on their feet soon.

Kind of hard to pick against DeSales, king of the castle until they're bested.

Sort of reminds me of my old rival school's mascot, Hellier.

You know when you mentioned Shelby Valley it kind of got me thinking a little bit. When we look back in the grand scheme of a historical prospective, how far away is East Ridge from teams like Pike Central or Shelby Valley? East Ridge is in its 14th season whereas Shelby Valley is going into its 27th season and Pike Central is going into its 23rd season. Shelby Valley just won its first district championship and Pike Central has yet to win one. The area has been downtrotted since the early 90's for a strong program, however Elkhorn City was always better than Virgie or Johns Creek, so the talent argument is sort of invalid. since 1959 until Pikeville's run in the 80's you could argue that Elkhorn City was just as strong of a program as Belfry or Pikeville. It's been 14 years since East Ridge opened their doors, but they have as much of a chance to win a district championship as Shelby Valley looking down the road a ways. But that is enough of my historic bathtub moments. Keith May is a young guy who played at East Ridge from 2006 until 2010. He played and coached college ball with Dudley Hilton at Pikeville and has been at East Ridge since the 2013 season.

East Ridge finished off the season winning against Grundy, Jackson County, and South Floyd. 5-0 is a hopeful start to 2015, but you never know how anything will go until you get the pads on. East Ridge was hit hard by graduation losing the most talented group since the 2006 season. Bringing back Brad Allen and keeping coaches like Keith May and Quentin Morgan on staff will only help the Warriors continue to build their program. Out of the first five games, you travel to Knott County Central, to the Pike County Bowl to play Phelps, and then following an open week we host Grundy, Twin Valley, and Allen Central. Knott County is sort of a toss up, you never know what (or who) you will get with a John Paul Chapman led team. Phelps should be easily outgunned by the Warriors. Twin Valley and Grundy will be tough opponents this season. Last year Grundy was a very young team, not the usual Virginia powerhouse they're used to being, while Twin Vally was having one of the best teams in its history. Allen Central is a critical district opener, but I look for East Ridge to win with ease. You should hopefully see the Warriors with an 8 game winning streak going into Prestonsburg for a very tough battle against the Blackcats. Following East Ridge will honor the 1973 1A State Runner-Up Elkhorn City Cougars football team as they will host Shelby Valley (led by former East Ridge head coach and Elkhorn City Alum, Eric Ratliff). Following murders row, East Ridge will travel to a must win against Betsy Layne, where East Ridge should be slightly favored. Finish the season at a pretty good Leslie County team and hosting South Floyd to finish out the season. We're hoping for a good year up on the Ridge!

No way Paris is top 10 material.

I think Bell wins the region this year. Next year the Redhounds should be the clear cut favorite for a long time. Meanwhile in the other district, hopefully Breathitt County will pick back up competitiveness.

Danville always has a decent squad year in and year out. They are in a pretty good tradition-based district with Middlesboro, LCA, and Somerset, although we know all those programs are "down" at the moment. Danville played a pretty strong schedule and lost on the road (I believe) to a good Prestonsburg. Maybe just one of those "luck" things.

1A Frankfort - Contender Paintsville - Pretender I feel Paintsville will have a tougher route to BG. Pikeville won't overlook the Tigers this year. Of course I believe it's over for both when/if they meet Beechwood. 2A Owensboro Catholic - Contender Shelby Valley - Contender Shelby Valley will have the easiest way out of the east if they can get by NewCath. Not an easy feat, but Eric Ratliff is probably one of the most underrated coaches in Kentucky. Owensboro Cath is always a tough out, but with a loaded west, I don't see much from them. 3A Paducah Tilghman - Contender Russell - Pretender Russell runs into Belfry in the regional championship, and loses. PT may have a nice squad this year. However a loaded west will be tough to get by. 4A Collins - Contender Ashland Paul Blazer - Contender I like Baker and Ashland to get out of the first round or so, but I'm not sure how they will fair up against Johnson Central yet. Collins will be a tough game too. I look for one of the Warren Schools to play them tough. 5A Covington Catholic - Pretender Owensboro - Predender Owensboro with a new coach makes me uneasy to put them as a contender. CovCath, will lose to FTH. 6A McCracken County - Pretender Simon Kenton - Pretender Trinity

Scrimmage: vs. Ridgeview, Virginia 0) @ Franklin County 1) Pike County Bowl vs. Pike County Central 2) Magoffin County 3) @ Hurley, Virginia 4) OPEN 5) @ Prestonsburg 6) Betsy Layne 7) @ East Ridge 8) Leslie County 9) Allen Central 10) Paintsville ---------------------- That should be pretty accurate.

If I recall correctly, CAL lost quite a bit this past season. I look for DeSales and Mayfield to have a big semi-final game. NewCath should be the representative from the East by beating Shelby Valley.

Can't really give you any solid reasoning for my choices. 1) Ludlow 2) Dunbar 3) Hancock 4) CAL 5) Paris

I've known Eric Ratliff for a long time now. I firmly believe Shelby Valley will be a hair away from going to BG. Losing to NewCath @ NewCath will be a tough loss for this group of Wildcats.

I've always felt Trinity is the superior program in Kentucky. Taking the name high upon national leader boards. The only change I would make is Danville for Boyle.

I have visited Harlan County many times, but the new stadium there is breathtaking. I love what they've done. It's definitely the nicest in Eastern Kentucky.

Looks pretty sharp!