KentuckyJAM

Except for the fact that the only request Scott County's BOE made was to have both schools play in the same district.

The fifth-place team in Class 6A, District 7 will not qualify for the playoffs in 2017 and 2018.

It'd certainly be cool to see some local teams make it interesting this season.

I'm not willing to say yes or no outright based on one game and having not seen Trinity/St. X/teams of those ilk in person, but I think they've certainly got the talent to make a deep run. Gonna need those junior skill guys to play a big role if it's going to happen.

It started at 6 actually. It was the first game of a double-header (Scott-Tates Creek was the capper. Another rout from what I saw.) Walker Wood really impressed me in person. A bit indecisive but makes up for it with his improvisational skills. Lafayette size was just too much for PLD. Nate Gay's definitely someone to look out for. I think the PLD sophomore's got a bright future ahead of him. Dunbar could have made it closer but they kept shooting themselves in the foot in red zone situations.

Appreciate that a lot.

Thanks a lot sir. I tweeted a link out to the top 50 earlier. Sometimes Twitter links will act differently thank direct links. Might have luck there?

'Fraid I can't do that. Can't bite the hand that feeds :-)

I appreciate all the support, folks. I hope to do Inez proud. What are some of the things you'd all like to see, especially in a weekly notebook?

There will be a special football section this Friday, yessir, along with exclusive videos and blog posts throughout the week.

Replacing Mike Fields (and Mark Maloney, who also retired and handled a lot of high school soccer, softball and girls' basketball for us) will be tough, but it's the job I'm tasked with so it's something I'm gonna pour my soul into. Rest assured, the HL will continue to serve high schools under my watch. We'll have a ton of stuff online and in print starting this week.

Thanks, nku. Likewise! There's a great deal of talent out there. It might be the state's biggest hotbed right now. Definitely can't forget it ! I can't confirm now but it's a huge event that I expect to be in attendance for. We'll have to see come winter to say for certain, though. Fields' notebook was a treasure cove of information and something I look forward to continuing in my own manner. The depth of his expertise in gathering that knowledge is something that'll be impossible to emulate (you don't just walk in on the job and replicate 40 years of experienced reporting), but I'm confident I'll be able to do things that make my work a prime destination for all HS sports fans. Stay tuned!

Thanks, Deuce! Glad to see this forum is so full of welcoming folks. If it weren't for fans of all types -- coaches, parents, students, toddlers, -- there wouldn't be coverage of sports period. Who's keeping up with these things if not the fans? You've been super kind in my short foray into joining, Goldie. I can't wait to interact with ya as time goes on. Thanks so much, lawildcat. Ha! I was familiar with Bartow, actually. Here's hoping I can at least be a Joe B. I can't speak for what the Enquirer does in print or on its website, but I'm going to make every effort to have high schools represented well at the Herald-Leader.

Berea named interim coach Michael Tate their permanent head coach yesterday.

Thanks a bunch! Thank you, Randy. Big shoes to fill, but I'm confident/crazy enough to take it on! Many thanks Jumper_Dad. Look forward to reading ya'll's comments as well. The best thing Martin County has to offer is its people. The salt of the Earth, most of them. Thanks mcpapa!

I want every corner of the state to feel welcomed at the H-L and Kentucky.com. I won't lie; lengthy game stories aren't likely going to happen for NKY teams but there's no reason we can't find ways to share and tell those schools' stories in other ways.

Thanks for the kind welcome, colonel-fan. I look forward to keeping that the case! I know it can be difficult to find papers (especially in smaller areas), but I want EVERY county to feel welcomed and appreciated on our website. Thanks, BigVMan! I'm thrilled to take on the opportunity. I look forward to being a part of this community. Sure it'll be a good place from which to glean nuggets of info and positive relationships.

...and I hope to serve as many fans of Kentucky high school sports as possible! I've been doing a bit of leg work for a month now in preparation for the upcoming fall sports season and have already written some stories you may have read. (Before taking a short vacation, I most recently covered Kash Daniel's announcement since Ben Roberts was en route to cover the Peach Jam.) Here's a little bit about me. I'm from a small eastern Kentucky town called Lovely and graduated from Sheldon Clark in 2009. I got my bachelor's degree in Integrated Strategic Communication (advertising focus) and English from UK. I've been at the Herald-Leader for nearly six years, starting as a very part-time news assistant, becoming a full-time copy editor about two years ago and now realizing a dream of actually being paid real American dollars to write about sports. I'm a huge NBA fan (Go Cavs!) and own a decent-sized Power Rangers collection. You may have heard that Mike Fields retired from the Lexington Herald-Leader in June. Mike is a tremendous individual who did more for high school athletics than is calculable with his top-notch insight, ears-to-the-ground approach and love for all things preps. It takes a special human being to stick around on the high school beat for as long as Mike did; I can only hope to do it justice. Mark Maloney, who aided in our high school coverage as well as many other events, has retired too, making the transition all the more exciting/terrifying! Part of doing it the job justice involves re-examining what works best and what doesn't work so much in the digital world. Moving forward Kentucky.com will become an even more integral part of how we approach athletics coverage at the Herald-Leader. My question to you is, what do you want from us? What has the H-L done that you liked? Didn't like? What would you like to see more of from us? This board is home to an array of the state's most passionate high school sports fans; your opinions matter! If you don't mind, please spread the word that a new man is handling things at the H-L. You can follow me on Twitter @HLpreps. In the coming weeks I'll have a blog up and running that I hope you'll bookmark, too. Only 49 days until football kicks off. Can't freakin' wait! Thanks for your time. (Some recent photos of me. If you spot me on the street feel free to say hello!)