Hatz

What about strength of schedule?

Who are the top out of district teams that Bardstown has faced?

I know Danville has played Boyle, Rockastle, Pulaski SW and Somerset. (Going 3-1 vs this group)

Are both Districts about the same in talent or would the nod go to Bardstown's District Competition?

 

Danville winning the AAA title in 1984 (knocked off top ranked CovCath in first round.)

Are you sure about that ranking?

I'm pretty confident that Danville was ranked #1 most of that year in AAA.

They had made the regional finals the year before, losing 21-3 if memory serves, to eventual champ Conner. They returned practically the entire squad.

Going 13-0, Danville that year was dominant and I remember they didn't just knock off Cov Cath they pounded them something like 28-0. 1984 might have been a surprise in NKY but it was expected in Central KY and most of the rest of the Commonwealth. :thumb:

Can anyone post some comparative schedules and scores between the two? It might help everyone to make a more accurate prediction.

I know in the 70's that there was only a 10 game schedule.

Some teams did play 10 game schedules but others played 11. Danville always played 11 until the early 80's. Boyle played an 11 game schedule until 1978 then they went to 10. Not sure why.

Somerset has a nice football complex. This picture was taken in 2001 and since then the grass has been redone with bermuda, the parking lot has been repaved, and two additional lanes have been added to the track. Clark Field has one of the states largest capacities in high school with max at 7,500.

I have a great memory from that stadium and 1979. Thanks for posting the pic and allowing me a mental replay for a moment.

Can anyone give me some general informatoin about who the dominant teams are in AA? In Louisville AA does not get much coverage because of all the dominant AAAA schools, I'm just curious about which schools have the most tradition and talent.

Happy Gilmore answered it well. AA, more than any other class, has been in flux the most with all the teams that have entered and then left its ranks over the last 10 years. Mayfield and Danville used to dominate the class ('87 to '98) and then Boyle had their two year run before moving up to AAA (won AA in '99 and '00).

The last champs have been:

2001 Bardstown

2002 Breathitt County

2003 Belfry

2004 Belfry

It's a class with good football that is very balanced from top to bottom.

He has to keep playing at that level and Win a championship. The bar has been set so high at Boyle anything less will be a failure in the eyes of the public.

I guess it depends on your definition of public. As an alum, (and someone with half a brain cell) I do not expect the current run to continue at level it has. In fact this year in some minds snapped the run because the Rebels lost the title. I for one would be fine with the success of winning, making runs in the playoffs and when possible, competing for the title. That's all anyone should want - the opportunity to compete for the title. Highlands was the better team this year but Boyle had the chance to play for the title and I for one have never thought that was somehow underachieving.

Is the talent pool less - probably. I don't know. How long can you continue the run of Div. 1 and 1AA talent that Boyle has in the last 6 or 7 years? For all of Danville's rich tradition even they have not produced this many Div 1 and 1AA kids in so short a time. But what they do have is a program that continues to succeed through the ebb and flow of talent. Boyle will now be tested to do the same. Boyle had a pretty good program until the early 80's and did not pass the test of continuing that tradition. My hope and belief is that they will pass it this time.

I have a hard time believing this kid would have sat on anyone's bench. He is that good. I do agree Dale did the right thing and let him play. (Even if it cost him a state championship.

 

The question is would Dale have taken the same stand with a true benchwormer?

From what I read on here in preseason the reason for the transfer was that Cov Cath only utilized Mitchell in a particular manner. He felt he could best receive a scholarship offer if he was utilized in a different way. He wasn't a bench warmer for the Colonels but my understanding is that he wasn't a star until he suited up in Bird Blue.

What if Highlands won the game? In my opinion, it would still be the ruling everyone remembers, since a state title would have been taken away. Added on to that is the fact that Highlands and company would protest and talk about their 'stolen title' etc.. And it's not like the KHSAA decided that this was when the ruling would be handed down. Complain to the courts, or maybe complain about the original ruling. After all, if Mitchell had been ruled ineligible ALL the way through, this may not be an issue and Highlands might win the title without him. But we'll never know that.

If Highlands won with Mitchell and then was declared ineligible, I'd feel Highlands was the legit state champion on the field. Just my take.

Hatz, if HopTown had won the State the year they had Pinner, would the other team feel as if they had really won the championship though if it was given to them later on in the year and really lost on the scoreboard? Either way it is a bad situation, but if Boyle County got beat with Mitchell I doubt they would feel they had really won the championship.

I understand that but I'm curious as to whether the title is awarded to the other team or the title is vacated. Those are two different outcomes. I think Boyle would not look at it as a championship won.

But now if Mitchell doesn't play, will we hear that to no end from detractors IF (big if) Boyle could manage to beat Highlands? It's a Catch-22 with no good ending. Anyway it turns out what should be a good ending will be sour.

I would stand with Dale on his choice to play Mitchell.

Part of what I understand about this case is that he transferred to play more in positions that would garner views from college scouts. This would give him a better chance to get a scholarship to college. That's what his play has earned him this year and if he had sat on the bench who would have seen his talent and offered? Dale did what was right for the kid. :thumb:

 

As for 'why now,' well, better now than after a finals game in my opinion. I mean that. What I really wish is that this had been decided before the playoffs.

I disagree. It is better after the finals. Then the full compliment of players from the two finalists have prepared for each other with complete focus and played on the field to determine the champion. If the hammer falls "after" the finals then so be it but the GAME would stand in everyone's mind. Now, no matter the outcome, the RULING will be all anyone remembers.

I can't believe the KHSAA would be this stupid. (Yes, now that I'm rational I can.)

Let Mitchell play. He's a part of the team and this throws everybody out of kilter. Stick 1 is absolutely right. From this point forward it's all screwed up. Highlands and Boyle have both had to go through a mind game that is no fault of either school or team but the fault of some overbearing suits who find their principle more important than the kids. Why could this have not waited until after the final if you are going to make Mitchell ineligible. That way if Highlands wins they know they had the best team in AAA. If Boyle wins they know they had the best. Records and court rulings can come after the fact but it wouldn't change the play on the field. Now everyone has been tossed in the air. :madman:

I was born a poor, anglo, broadcaster who had to slave for Jack Farmer, then Jim Parman, and finally Wayne (our father who art in Louisville) Perkey. I had to call some wretched teams because the big bad sasquatch took the city games for himself (conveniently when they were on the rise to the top of the charts).

Do I qualify?