gbballfan21

I am hesitant to jump into this conversation ... but I just heard some interesting conversation about schedules, school, etc. First thought -- there is not a better school district in Kentucky (I understand where Highlands, Dupont Manual really do some impressive things academically) -- with what Beechwood is doing with their technology/science partnerships ... pretty amazing. Not to mention they are either 1 or 2 in ACT Scores every year. Most importantly -- Beechwood does the best job that I have seen -- preparing students for College. Personally -- I haven't seen better. Teachers handle students as if they are already in college -- so when they leave they are ready to roll. Football-wise -- how in the world is Highlands any better than Beechwood right now? I know Highlands has their coach -- hard not to feel good about Coach Sphire. No offense to him -- Coach Rash has really turned things up over the last 5-6 years. Just think about the last 2 years ... NO ONE gave Beechwood a shot at beating LCA -- even with Mr. Football coming back this past season. Yet Beechwood still gets the job done. Five out of the last 6 years have resulted in a state championship. Highlands is making their way back -- Beechwood is already playing at a higher level (I will get to that shortly). Not to mention -- Coach Rash will be at Beechwood for the foreseeable future. Staff-wise -- most of Beechwood's coaching staff has been together for 16+ years. There has been a lot of conversation about certain hires at Highlands (from Highlands guys). Beechwood players are not going to have to worry about things of that nature. Right now any player would be hard pressed to find a better coaching staff to learn from -- from technique to game plan, etc ... all of those things are already in place and have been for an extended period of time. Last -- with a player like this who has a great chance to play at the highest level -- the only real downfall I could see -- would be the level of competition. Then when I started to think about it ... It is pretty close overall: Common Opponents: Simon Kenton (HHS/BHS Won), Dixie Heights (HHS Lost/BHS Won), Covington Catholic (HHS Lost/BHS Won). Highlands obviously plays tougher in district competition. Bowling Green is a high quality program. If McNick is still on the schedule -- that is a team Beechwood could beat (and would have possibly last season). From there Beechwood has Fairdale (on the way up -- with some true athletes), Somerset (should rebound nicely with all the youth coming back), Not sure on Paintsville. Then add SK, Dixie and Cov Cath--all common opponents -- that Beechwood will play just as well if not better than Highlands will against that group. (I get the questions about losing Cam -- but if this young man comes to Beechwood -- they are going to be extremely difficult to deal with in the same spirit as last year). So to finish things up -- the schedule -- not really that different if at all -- and a much better chance to play in a state championship. Coaching Staffs: Beechwood (by a bigger margin than people probably realize). Academics: Close -- but I am a homer -- so hard to beat Beechwood there. The more I think about it ... why not Beechwood over Highlands? The player is already established -- he will play a really similar schedule -- shouldn't hurt his college opportunities (Beechwood has probably had more high level college guys over the last 5-6 years than HHS). Deep run in the playoffs? Beechwood has a ton of young and returning talent ... just not sure how or why Highlands would be a better choice at this point (especially since he is going to be a senior).

Confirmed today by someone within the CCH program, Zion Mason left CCH and has transferred to Princeton. According to them, he has been practicing with Princeton for a month now

The reason Tommy left was for a nearly 30K pay raise ... I am sure he understood the differences between Colerain and West ... But your comment here doesn't speak to why Tommy left. It had a lot more to do with money than the talent between both schools. I get what you are saying about Colerain talent vs West ... West will obviously continue to grow and will continue to carry on the success they are currently experiencing under Tommy ... But let's be honest ... West was a train wreck before Tommy got there and will most likely turn back into a train wreck once Tommy leaves (unless West finds another coach with similar attributes to Tommy). People across the river have been saying for years that Colerain's talent would dry up. It hasn't. Colerain still has talent ... But Cut isn't Tommy. If Tommy would have gotten 25% of what West threw out at him ... We would still be saying Tommy and Colerain in the same breath. With that said ... As long as these players go into the situation with their eyes open -- they will be okay. They do need to realize that they are going to most likely be lower on the depth chart than they are used to.

I’ve been hearing Zion Mason has left CovCath and is rumored to be going to Highlands. Can anyone close to CCH confirm these rumors?

Not sure what’s false across the board. Maybe there isn’t one this year but I know for a fact, from someone within the athletic department, that he puts his name on all of these camps because he receives ALL of the profits. That’s shameful but Highlands sold their soul for this.

I’ve been told he keeps majority, if not all of the money raised for the camp to boost his salary. I really hope that’s not true. I also saw his name on a 7 on 7 Middle School tournament, where he also reaps the benefits financially. That doesn’t sit well with me

I have a feeling that a QB who is 22 and 3 (I know Nieves missed a few games last year-not exactly sure how many) and has led his team to two state championships games didn't take a COVID year to sit the bench, move positions or pass his job off to a player who is transferring in from a different school. I wonder about this one ... The above quote is going to be hard to get around. Is LCA going with this because they know they have a solid QB ...and if Boley can get in , then they will deal with it? Meaning LCA's best play is welcoming Boley with open arms because they doubt he can get in (especially after the above quote in the first post) knowing that Nieves will still most likely be the QB? I also think this will be a great test of ethics and integrity for the program overall. I know kids get over things quickly ... But Nieves has served LCA as a true warrior over the past few years ... Overall a pretty interesting question. No offense but those 4-5 D1 offers mean very little in the grand scheme of a high school season. Especially when you already have a proven winner at the helm.

I’ve heard it is Tony Perkins, former Holmes Girls coach

To be clear ... No problem with a fair competition between the two players. When it was mentioned that Nieves was moving to receiver ... It felt like it was a done deal. I like to throw shade at the LCA posters ...but Nieves has impressed me ... He has been through a lot ... he has stood in the fire against a tremendously difficult schedule and performed well. I am sure the players there will handle things correctly .... As a teenager I would have struggled to stay positive when "our guy" was moved out for a different player who transferred in. I hope it works out for Nieves ... He seems to be a tough and talented player.

Let me get this straight ... A QB who has thrown for over 4100 yards ...who put those numbers up in a year where he missed some games with an injury ... Is taking a backseat to a player who barely threw for just under half of that (2000+) compared to the returning QB? Not to mention ...led his team to two State Championship berths? Power 5 Recruit vs Proven Winner ... ? Really?? I guess that would matter if both were playing in a "Power 5" college. Seriously ... Is this joke?

The name I’ve been hearing is Perkins, the former girls coach.

This is a great point. I would love to see the state get down between 26 (Ohio’s cap) and 30.

Coaches definitely need to be called out on the pitch count issue but that has to come from the parents. What I watched on Sunday was, in my honest opinion, disgusting. In no way, shape or form, should a 15/16/17 year old kid throw 122 pitches. The game was out of hand but the coaches still forced the kid, who multiple people from the home team brought up his history of arm issues, to continue throwing. The same team had a kid shut down for 3-4 weeks because of arm issues and brought him back only to throw 93 pitches in his first outing. Again, that’s disgusting. This is obviously just two instances but I’ve continually watched it game after game and no one is speaking up about it. I say that because I watch the same teams do it on a nightly basis by checking box scores and seeing “total pitches”. Nothing is changing and it’s only the kids getting “punished”.

It always drove me crazy that the tunnel to the locker rooms and the center of the pressbox weren’t aligned with the 50 yard line!

They mentioned using portable bleachers for this season if the turf was deemed safe to play on. As far as two teams playing at TMU, it would alleviate some officiating headaches with some of those games needing to be played on Thursday nights.

Heard from someone involved at Newport yesterday that the entire stadium, turf and stands, are condemned and must be replaced immediately. Same person said that NCC would be playing their home games at Thomas More University this fall as well.

Beechwood travels to Nicholas County this Sunday at 3pm in the 9th vs 10th game.

What happens to their returning QB?

Tigers win, 4-1, behind the arm of Mitchell Berger and the bats of Jackson Roseburrough, Sam Cottengim and Ben Meier. They await the winner of the 10th region, which is always a debacle of a tournament (adults planning, not kids), for the 9th/10th sectional game. That game is obviously TBD

The Beechwood vs St. Henry game has been moved to this Sunday at 2pm at Meinken Field

The second game was Stacy for Beechwood vs Brockman & Wyles for NCC. My guess is we will see Webster for St. Henry vs Berger for Beechwood in the finals.

St. Henry defeated Villa, 13-0 Beechwood defeated NCC, 11-0 Beechwood and St. Henry play tomorrow night at 7pm at Florence Y’allPark.

Correct. I just talked to a friend over there on the staff. When I asked if he was allowed to play, the response was: ”if he was, why is he going back to Anderson to play and not staying here”

Good, I certainly hope that’s not the case but it’s weird that people elsewhere have heard the same thing. Carry on

I first heard the rumor he was leaving early this past summer. Apparently, he did show up for football practice but was quickly ushered away by the basketball coaches….