TheRebel

1. Mercer County 2. Russell 3. Newport 4. Owensboro Catholic 5. Belfry 6. Trigg County 7. Monroe County

5 classes and about 43 teams in each class wouldn't have been bad. I still don't think anything beyond 4 classes was necessary. We're watering down the championship. It's no longer a huge deal to make the playoffs now that 4 teams make it from each district. Pretty soon, the whole championship will not mean as much.

What the KHSAA has done is water down the state championship to the point that it won't mean as much now. How can you be a "state champion" when you beat out only 30 - 40 other schools? This is the equivalent of a regional championship. Obviously, the St. X's of the state shouldn't be playing against the schools barely large enough to field a program. But I think 4 classes plus a separate class for the private schools would be more reasonable. Public vs. private is comparing apples and organges. Two different sets of rules by which to operate by should also result in two separate playoffs.

Donald Smith, the former head coach at Harrodsburg, Lafayette, and later Kentucky State, has joined the staff at Mercer as an assistant coach. Coach Smith, who is an African American and former star running back at Harrodsburg, says he feels this is about more than coaching. He wants to help the two schools, and thus the community, come together. This merger just continues to become more intriguing. I'm glad to see Donald on the staff and Terry Yeast as A.D. I am hoping that a successful football season parlays into a smooth merger of the two school systems.

How do you guys think Mercer can best utilize all of that talent without seeing the "give me the ball" syndrome rear its ugly head? I hope we gell into a team that thinks of the win before individual stats. Everything I've heard so far suggests that attitudes are good. I hope it continues once the stat sheets start circulating.

Mercer County Titans. But also root for my friends from Boyle County. Otherwise, I tend to root for the underdogs.

Most rural public schools are going to have an occaisonal dip in talent. Private schools and large, urban settings don't experience this as much. From what I understand, Boyle has talent coming back this year but it will be young talent. Look for some early inconsistency if they have a tough schedule. But Boyle's excellent coaching staff will have them playing well by mid to late season. I think they will be a force to reckon with in the playoffs. I agree with earlier posts that said the strength of their team is their offensive line. Their defense is also very fundamentally sound and is not going to beat itself. You have to make plays against them.

From what I've heard, the offensive and defensive lines are the most unproven aspects of this year's team. Not saying they won't develop, but that, at this point, they are the question mark. I wouldn't be confident to say that MC will "grind them into the ground." I would put our skill people up against theirs. But, if you don't get it done up front, a lot of talent at skill positions can be for naught.

Buffalo, I clicked on the wrong quote to respond to. I apologize. I wasn't directing my comments toward you and didn't intend for them to sound hostile toward anyone. It's a logo. Why get all excited about it? I hope to get excited about what the MC Titans do on the field this year!

I, too, think there's something to be said for simplicity. For example, I think Penn State's uniforms look sharp. However, with an "SK" for your logo, you don't need to be ripping anyone else about creativity.

Don't sell LCA short. Although I'm certainly going to be rooting for the MC Titans, I have a lot of respect for Paul Rains and what he's done at LCA. He didn't get that program turned around by luck. LCA is booming and starting to get the private school effect that Lexington Catholic benefitted from. More talent will filter in to replace what was lost. It's not like a public school where you have to wait until the next "strong class" comes through.

It still comes down to situations and personnel. In a real game, if people are dropping 7 or 8 consistently into coverage, any good coach is going to run the ball unless he's down late in the game. If he can't run against that defense, he's not going to win many games anyway. Mercer will be a good team this year, but don't put too much stock into passing leagues. They are good for the purpose they serve -- to run your passing plays against a live defense. Receivers practice running sharp routes, you get timing between your QB and WR, and both work on recognizing coverages and decision-making.

Does anybody have any reports from the most recent passing league games or from practices?

What is a Titan anyway? Isn't it a giant? I've heard the kids are blending together wonderfully.

I've also heard that the nickname is not final. I've heard the students are going to be allowed to vote between Trailblazers, Titans, and possibly one other. Personally, I like Titans.

Not that last year's offense wasn't effective. I read my post back and realized how it sounded. Last year was a very productive year... But this year, we have a number of weapons added into the mix. Everybody knows that Walker, Ford, and Jackson can play. But I also think that Wofford, Masterson, Edwards, Morgan, and Lewis can be major contributors (and probably others that I either dont' know or am just not thinking of). I'm just wondering how we best utilize all the talents of those potential contributors. There's only one football. It's a good problem to have though! Go Scotties... or Trailblazers ... or Titans... or whatever we are!

Seems like a good-spirited move to accomodate the heritage of HHS into the future of the merged system.

A Pioneer, I think.

Looks like Mercer will have the talent to do more than just 3 yards and a cloud of dust on offense. I wonder if they will try to diversify the offense a bit to utilize all the skill players.

I think the players will be fine with the merger. The best thing that could happen would be for these kids to have a great season (and deep playoff run) TOGETHER. I think it would do more to pull the community together than about anything. Merging the athletics before merging the student bodies may turn out to be the best thing.

Harrodsburg and Mercer will merge in all high school athletics. The middle schools will remain separate athletically until the new high school is built.

It's so subjective unless you base it upon statistics of some combination. In my mind, the things that make a great coach are often hard to quantify. Class, ethics, motivator, encourager, maximizes talent available by getting the most out of each player, capable of getting the team to play together as a unit, etc.

1) Mercer will be in class 2A for the upcoming season. 2) The only thing merging this year are the high school athletics and the boards of education. As far as the student population goes, both sets of students will remain on their respective school campuses until Mercer's new high school is built. At that time, they will begin merging students together. 3) Middle school sports will remain separate. Harrodsburg will still field their own team and so will Mercer. They just will not compete against one another this season.

When I played, only the top two teams from each district made the playoffs and it really meant something to make the playoffs. Now, in some districts, you are pretty much a shoe-in regardless of what kind of season you had. Likewise, I think 6 classes would water the level of competition down so much that winning a state championship would lose some of its luster. If you only had to beat a field of teams half as large as previous state champions, are you really as much of a state champion as the previous champs?

I hope athletics will help pull the two groups of students together. I get excited, not only about sports, but the possibility of community-wide unity that this could lead to. I'm not naive enough to think that there aren't surely some rough spots and tough roads ahead, but isn't it that way with anything worthwhile. Thank goodness that "the greatest generation" (the WW1 and WW2 generation of Americans) didn't cower from a little adversity in order to achieve a greater good! Some people think of the merger only in terms of what might be lost or what might go wrong. I attended Harrodsburg schools myself. Now, as a parent of two children who will be in the Mercer School system next year and a teacher in the Mercer system, I welcome our friends from Harrodsburg. I look forward to more scenes of H-burg and Mercer students and athletes working together for common goals. This issue is far bigger than just athletics. However, I can't help but hope that the same phenomenon that was dramatized in the movie "Remember the Titans" occurs here in our community as athletics helps break down barriers and bring two groups of kids together in unity and mutual respect.