McPressbox

So are they playing 9-on-11 or does the other team sit two players?

That's why I said "mainly". It's no secret they were perennial mediocre before him. And had it not been FOR him, they likely wouldn't have been good after him. Had it not been for him changing that program, there likely would have been less program support and some of those talented kids would have no doubt went to Tilghman or Mayfield where some of them had ties. Just the facts.

 

And I agree. McCracken is a softball and baseball big boy as well as some of the other less popular sports. Until McCracken has a "Corey Robinson" like talent to change the program, so they pull some of the talent that otherwise would've gone to Tilghman, they'll be what they are. A good, not great team that competes with the 1A-5A big boys of West Ky, but never is a serious contender in 6A.

I see what you're saying. I would credit the coaching staff at the time, Jack Haskins and Co., who discovered Robinson, who was an average wide receiver before Jack's son, Billy Jack Haskins, saw Robinson throwing the ball at practice and tipped off his dad that he should get a look at quarterback. And a star was born.

Where are you going with this? Sounds like there's a comparison being made that you don't like.

 

Of course not all 6A schools are equal. Many of those 6A county schools came about as a result of a merger of a handful of small county schools, most of which usually had just enough guys to field a basketball team. Most, of course, are terrible at football and are regularly beaten up by their much smaller city school neighbors, most of whom have been playing football for 100 years. Without looking it up, half of 6A is probably in this boat.

Spot on. Taking Mayfield as an example (grew up and live nearby), if they never had a football program and started up now, they probably wouldn't be very good. Instead, we see what years and years of tradition and a stable coaching staff can do for you. So how can you expect ANY newer school -- 6A, 5A, whatever -- to compete with what they've built over many years?

Yes, I'm a McCracken fan and consider the fact that the Mustangs have two wins and two very close losses in five meetings pretty impressive no matter that 6A McCracken has MANY more students to pick from. I'm sure it's the same elsewhere.

So, yes, we need to cease with the notion that 6As should beat 2As (or 3As, 4As, etc.) everytime they play. Not all 2As (or 6As) are equal.

one School with recent success that mainly stemmed from a once in a lifetime QB in the county.

I've agreed with practically everything in this thread so far except the notion that Lone Oak's success "mainly stemmed from a once in a lifetime QB," who I presume is meant to be Corey Robinson. Robinson graduated in 2007 and Lone Oak was good up until consolidation, making the 4A state finals in 2009, two years after Robinson graduated.

Otherwise, I agree with the premise that McCracken, as some have mentioned elsewhere, is a 6A school with 4A football numbers. McCracken should always be solid in football, but that's not the only sport that succeeds there. McCracken's other sports have been better than its football program -- baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, etc. -- no doubt aided by the enrollment advantage in the region. Perhaps the talent is too spread out for football to become one of the "big boys," unlike at schools where football is No. 1. JMHO, but I don't see football ever becoming THE dominant sport at McCracken.

I am afraid another 6A school loses to a 2A squad.

This is why I credit McCracken for playing Mayfield. Some bigger schools around here won't. When McCracken wins it's "Well, you're a 6A, you SHOULD win. When Mayfield wins, it's "How could you lose to a 2A?" Can't win either way with some people.

Really tired of the "Willie Nelson just died" joke by the Graves County PA guy. I've been there twice in four years and he's done it both times. I guess that's an every game thing. Not funny and unnecessary.

So McCracken jv scored twice in 2 minutes?

No, McCracken backup RB scored twice in last 3 minutes on Graves' reserves. Many of McCracken's reserves were in the game from the beginning. (Not saying that Graves wouldn't have won anyway. At least it would have been a closer game, probably a tossup.)

Gonna be tough against Mayfield. The Cards are rightly heavily favored.

Tilghman's speed is always a concern. Does McCracken still have the playmakers to keep up? Looking forward to the new styles on both sides.

Would any MF fans know if we can pick up season tickets yet?

Per Eric Walker on Twitter, they are on sale at MHS for $30, which I'd say is a bargain.

I do have a bee in my bonnet about McCracken though. I didn't like your previous coach at all. And I didn't like the arrogance of the fans.

Yes, I am a McCracken fan (never said I wasn't) but the 6A topic was about ALL non-Louisville 6A's. (I feel like I've had to explain this about five times. I'd help if you'd carefully read what you're responding to.) Never said anything about just west Kentucky 6As. You're the first (again) to introduce that.

You must be talking to different McCracken fans than I see. The overwhelming majority of Mustangs fans have nothing but respect for Mayfield football and all it has accomplished. Sorry you've run into a different segment.

Exactly.. Give Mayfield 3 to 4 times the boys , McCracken wouldn't have a chance around here.

 

I hope McCracken does well...makes the area look better.

 

Whats McCrackens signature win?

Right, make Mayfield a 6A school by adding a Jackson Purchase All-Star team to what the Cardinals already have and THEN you could see winning 6A state ... maybe.

McCracken's signature win? Probably Southaven, Mississippi, a couple of years ago. McCracken is 2-2 against Mayfield, which is probably better than anyone else on this end of the state.

Lets talk math for a minute and I'll be on Cols bandwagon for a minute, which is weird. Calpreps has something called wins vs the top 1000 in the nation. Those are elite wins. Over the last 5 years the best program in each class has:

6A Trinity 25-13 vs top 1000

5A Bowling Green 7-2 vs top 1000

4A Johnson Central 1-4 vs top 1000

3A Belfry 2-2 vs top 1000

2A Desales 1-2 vs top 1000

1A Beechwood 0-3 vs top 1000

McCracken is 1-6 in this time frame.

 

The 5th best such record in the state overall is Scott Co 6-5 The 5th best record in 6a is Lafayette 6-6.

Indeed welcome to 6a just don't be so fast to proclaim yourself top 5. "knowing you are a top 5 team " post 25

Good god, man, you seem to have quite the fixation on McCracken. NOT ONCE did I say McCracken had EVER BEEN the top-5 team in the state. I was talking hypotheticals, about ANY 6A school outside Louisville. I guess you were confused that this started as a McCracken thread. Sorry for hijacking but you are arguing with yourself on this.

Whatever. I was actually responding to cols and his "welcome to 6A" remark (Post 19). My point had nothing to do with Mayfield and really nothing to do with McCracken except that they play in 6A.

Also quoted in Post #24, the one you responded to. Clearly says 1A ... twice. wth?

I see. Now the story is different. Where did the 1a champion comments come from? Where have they gone in the latest post? You have a different question and different argument now. Not really an age old debate at all in this new post.

Huh? Post #20, clear as day. Not sure what you're trying to stir up.

Really like Mayfield's schedule. Hoptown, McCracken and Corbin ought to be interesting games. Honestly, I don't see the Cardinals being challenged in their district.

This has nothing to do with Mayfield. They are a 2A school, anyway. And it really has only a little to do with McCracken (thread hijack, sorry)

I don't care if you're McCracken, Scott County or even PRP, whoever in 6A, it has to suck knowing you are a top 5 team and then have to face a top 3 team in the first round of the playoffs. I never said McCracken had ever achieved that level yet.

Give some of these 1A teams the same amount of boys as the 6A teams and there might be a power shift. When a 6A team loses to a 1 or 2A school generally they aren't going to fair to well in the playoffs.

Ha ha, well, if you give the 1As and 2As more players then they are not 1As and 2As anymore!

No, I'm saying would you rather be a 6A and go 10-0 and lose to Trinity, Male or St. X early in the playoffs, knowing you are probably one of the top 5 teams in the state, or would you rather be a 1A that goes 8-2 and wins the 1A championship?

I think a lot of people, maybe a high majority, would take the latter. If so, then perhaps 6A is broken.

Good news for their new coach, first year chance to win region and should have only one team that can even play them close. Nobody in district will be any good Henderson should get 2nd but still 28 to 35 pts behind Mccraken. Bad news next year you could be top ten and loss 2nd round of playoffs. And some years be top ten and loss 1st round welcome to 6- a football. Hehe

Goes back to the old debate about whether it's better to win a state title in Class 1A or go regular-season unbeaten in 6A and lose to one of the Louisville powers early the playoffs. You know the 6A is a far better team, but in 1A you have hardware.

I believe he was being sarcastic. There was a great deal of talk about transfers in the off-season, but none of them materialized. I only saw two transfers, brothers from the Northeast I believe, and I don't think I have seen them around the last few days. Mayfield's teams are home grown. I've been watching this year's starters since they were 3rd graders. Add it to the list of 'how do they do it' questions. How does a town this small produce such competitive teams annually? Must be something in the water I guess.

Yep, I would imagine any transfers would be quite a bit behind those "home grown" anyway.

Anyone who has been in the Mayfield area for awhile knows that kids in the system start early, and the football tradition is emphasized early in the school system. This goes back to at least the 1970s, probably earlier, before I was born. Not many schools do that and the results show on the field.

I'll be interested to see how coach clark does at McCracken. his teams never lived up to their ability in my opinion. The last two years he lost to teams in the playoffs he never should have lost to.

Well, McCracken has struggled to post "upsets," though I suppose anytime you beat Mayfield, I guess that's an upset, no matter the school classification.

Anytime you start the season with a new quarterback, you never know. I can see McCracken going 9-1 in the regular season or things could get rocky and maybe 6-4. Not sure what the out-of-state foes on the schedule will bring.

According to the Paducah Sun, Coach Clark is installing a new offensive scheme. Probably what he ran at Hoptown but there will be a learning curve as I believe McCracken has run a version of the Tony Franklin offense (or at least a spread offense) going back to the Lone Oak days.

Also, according to the report, junior Max Howard and soph Elijah Wheat are the front runners to start at QB. Howard was the primary backup last season and did well in limited action, so it'll be interesting to see who emerges.

Too many counties in this state.

Hugh loss to the community and by all accounts a great person and ambassador.

I remember watching him in the early '70s playing wide receiver for Mayfield and on the receiving end of passes from future pro David Fowler. And of course remembering him playing basketball at Vanderbilt.