Kenny Powers

I honestly haven't seen/heard much of either team but I always back the Cats; especially against Duke. The only downside to college basketball being back this year is the fact that we are going to have to experience the Coach K retirement tour week after week.

Any guess on who the guest "picker" will be? Chad Ochocinco is in town for the Bengals game Sunday. I am sure he would be entertaining.

My view for the next few mornings. Feels good to be back in the woods.

Acting like this is some big secret and that Cam was going to show up Friday night and CCH have no idea he is going to play is crazy, guys. Come on. We are talking about high school kids. Everything they do is on social media. I would guess CCH players, and by extension their staff, knew Cam is, or could possibly, play Friday before it was ever posted on here. Sheesh.

Mullen has to be up there as one of the least likable coaches in college football, right?

Number 2 is Ty Boler. A very fine player and a bright future ahead of him as he is only a sophomore. I still stand by statement that I think the backend of the defense leaves the opportunity for plays to be made. Not a knock against any particular player, I just think there are opportunities there and CCH will need to stretch the field more than they did in round 1 if they want to open up their running game. Having Noon back there certainly helps things in both the run and pass defense. In terms of Cam playing, from what I have been told, there is a very good chance that he will be able to play; however, there is an opportunity for appeal. My hope is that he can play! GO BIRDS!

Trust me I know all about the 82 team. Don’t need a lesson.

I have been around the program for a long, long time and I’m not sure I've heard anyone consider the ‘82 team as the best ever but I think that’s probably for another thread. In terms of the game at hand, I am interested to see how Cam Bottom responds to not being the “secret”. Moving him was a game changer for HHS; not necessarily because he made huge plays or honestly did anything that special, but because it allowed the best player in the program, Charlie Noon, to play both sides of the ball. This also allowed for another great player, Sam Robinson, to play his natural spot of LB rather than RB. However, Bottom is not going to be a surprise for anyone anymore and CCH’s defense is above average. How CCH approaches Bottom at QB, Noon as an ATH, and Benke at WR will be interesting. The greatest weakness offensively for HHS is still their incredibly nonexistent running game. Hopefully, the bye week has helped that area of the game; not sure if they have even reached 100 years in that department this year besides maybe to SK. IMO the defense has really stepped up the last couple of weeks. I still really worry about the backend of the defense. I know CCH isn’t a big passing team but I would still 100% take chances at attacking the HHS DBs; they have been a weakness all year. My hope is to see the playbook open up some this week, and going forward, to give some players on the offensive side of the ball opportunities to make things happen.

What happened to FD? Uhh, guys and gals, outside of maybe 5-7 programs in the WHOLE state, I’m taking FD. Still very early on in their program’s history and they have competed for a title pretty much every single year. A lot of posters on here critical of FD would kill to have their program.

I am not bashing Beechwood for scoring 70, just commenting on your post. In my opinion, every single team should try to score as many points a game as humanly possible. As an HHS guy who played for Coach Mueller and thinks the world of him as a coach and a man, I will tell you that the attitude that Dale had regarding the score of a game had nothing to do with making other teams feel bad. Coach Mueller truly believed that his job was to do everything in his power to make every single player in his program the best player and man they could be and that meant always performing to the highest level you possibly could. I believe that Coach Rash is cut from the same cloth in this way. Therefore, it is not in the blood of coaches like this to let their foot off the peddle during a game. If it is 7-7 in a rivalry game in the 4th quarter or 100-0 in the 1st quarter of a "who cares" game, it doesn't matter. You coach the kids on YOUR team to be the best and perform the best that they possibly can.

If this is in fact how things went down, and I have no reason not to believe you, I have zero issues with Beechwood. If you don’t want 70 hung on you either don’t schedule the game or get better. I also don’t have a problem with going for two if you truly do not have another kicker. A coaches job is to put players in a position to be successful. Why would a coach send a kid out there to try a PAT when you know they’re going to fail? Some may say why can’t your starting kicker? It’s just a PAT. My answer would be I am trying to win championships and if I lose my kicker on a freak play then that could drastically change my playoff plans and I’m not willing to do that to make ANOTHER fan base feel better. My job is to care about MY team.

That is awesome! IMO, unless you play basketball, every freshman should dress varsity for the playoffs. Getting a lay of the culture, understanding your programs expectations, understanding how big of a jump from frosh ball to varsity is as soon as possible is invaluable.

I know Cam played at HHS as a freshman and was absolutely incredible. I was hoping you would have seen him and could compare. If Hayden is better than Tanner, that is certainly saying something. I am excited to see him continue to grow in the future. Good for NKY football!

Is Hayden better than Cam Hergott was as a freshman?

@ChickenWyngz You should head down to Dixie Chili on Monmouth and check out the pictures of Newport they have hanging on the walls; I think you would really appreciate them based on what you have posted here. Don't forget to get an alligator too.

I agree. I think experiences like this are really cool for the smaller schools. It is pretty cool how Cal continues to try to schedule instate schools for the exhibition games. Good for everyone.

Recent NKY standouts Ben Sisson (HHS) and Scotty Draud (Beechwood) will suit up for the Panthers.

https://thecasebreakers.org/ There is the link to their website. Pretty interesting stuff. Some heavy hitters on the "Meet the Team" page.

IMO a program like LSU doesn't go after coordinators. Their program is at the level where they are going to want someone who has HC experience and has been very successful in that experience.

It is amazing how much a pass rush can change things for a defense in such a short period of time. The Bengals went from having 14.5 sacks last year to already having 19 in 7 games. More importantly, the D-Line has been able to do the vast majority of that work with only rushing 4. With the remaining schedule, I don't think it is too far fetched to think 10-11 wins for the Who Deys!

I’ll see if I can come up with one each week haha.

How cool is it to see personnel adjustments!? I believe @Jack of all Tradesaways says don’t fit a square peg in a round hole.

I have said from the beginning that this HHS team will be young. It has some nice leadership components, but the sophomore and junior classes are where the cake is iced. I pushed/hoped this week for Charlie Noon to play RB/WR but also DB. I cannot stress enough how impactful Charlie can be on the defensive side of the ball. Come across a game changing WR? I would put Chuck on him man to man and let things happen. He is also incredibly physical in the run game. IMO HHS is better with him NOT at QB. I will admit that I did not expect Cam Bottom to be the guy tonight but i am happy to see him do well; he is a great young man and a hard worker. Davis Hinegardner is the closest solution to the loss of Jake Welch as we have. His speed is special. Jet sweeps, WR screens, etc. going to him would benefit this offense. Benke is so criminally underutilized it hurts. Unfortunately, HHS still drastically needs to find a way to improve the run game. OL is really struggling getting a push and there is not a true RB that I have seen take carries. Really with Cam Giesler was able to play. Defensively the Birds are becoming more physical. Good to see. I will be honest by saying I expected Cooper to line up and out physical HHS. I truly question Coach Borchers game plan/team motivation as they showed up very flat. I would anticipate a very different game if these two teams play again during the playoffs.

I get a little excited sometimes haha