Finkle Ray

Better for the thread when you just type why you think he is.

Great point. Dixie is a victim of sorts when it comes to geographical location. Beechwood and CovCath are big pulls of kids in the area. There are a couple of incoming seniors that were Dixie freshman and Beechwood kids played pee-wee with Dixie kids. Take your kid to one of two great academic institutions with great sports programs, or Dixie where they will get educated to standard but be in a football program that is sometimes competitive but, won’t typically win anything outside of the region in their class. As a parent, if you have the choice and the means, you give your child the best opportunity to be successful at whatever they do. And when the choice between Dixie and the two schools down the street are presented, that choice is evident. Those Dixie kids that are on the roster bust their butts but will never consistently be as competitive against the other two schools.

Thanks for this perspective. Very different times.

If the rumor mill is true there is no support from the administration at Dixie. The principal is a basketball guy. On paper this looks like a great job. But, whoever gets selected for this job may have issues finding open spots for themself, or their staff as teachers in the building. I’m sure some will lobby for the Turkeyfoot middle school coach but he’s not ready for a jump that big to 6A.

Ryle played the ground and pound game against a worn down and injured Dixie defense. The clock management game may help the Raiders for a while but Trinity has an offense that can score quick. Ryle hasn't really been tested since CovCath. Trinity is also playing some of its best ball of the season at the right time. I'm not saying Trinity blows out Ryle, but the Raiders do not win this game.

Savage absolutely did not score. He was stopped, and on that hit his helmet came off about the 2yd line, and when the ref was blowing it dead and Dixie was letting up, he pushed the pile forward into the end zone. That was the explanation given to the sidelines after the refs talked it out. Dixie’s score that wasn’t changed the course of the game because on the very next play, Ryle intercepts the ball with a short field. I hope both teams keep their chins straps buckled tight tonight. This is going to be a good one.

The general consensus is that it is going to be the usual suspects in 6A. Male, Trinity, St X depending on the RPI and re-shuffle. I think one of these two teams (Ryle or Dixie) will make a strong run to be the number 4.

I love this idea on paper, but I think the biggest issue is articulating the need to spend money on transportation, and the liability of risk involved to the student for possible injuries. Love this idea, not sure how any of the public schools can make it happen.

Dixie is a dark horse and a big question mark. Dixie has been so up and down this year it’s hard to pick them past second round. Only down 10-0 going into 4th quarter of Cov Cath game so they had a shot, offense stalls defense is tired… loss. Only team to hold Beechwood to 21, had a shot there, penalties killed them driving to take that to OT. Only lost to Ryle by one point with no kicker and essentially two back-up linebackers in the second half. They have shown flashes of brilliance and absolutely been their own worst enemy at times. They have the defense to make a run for sure but I am comfortable saying they should be possibly lower on this top ten list just because of the inconsistency.

Highlands 26 Dixie 24

Dixie 33 Simon Kenton 14

Unfortunately they only get to play once so using the Cooper game against Dixie is a fair point. My opinion, Dixie is still the better team and got caught on a bad night. If any of the teams I mentioned played Cooper tomorrow Cooper loses. Not knocking Cooper, hats off to them and their season, they are making waves and do deserve to be in the conversation. My opinion, they would be a close 5th. At any rate the original post... Beechwood is the best team in NKY.

It’s Beechwood for sure. Flip a coin between CovCath, Ryle, or Dixie who would be a distant second. And maybe in that order.

Series is tied 14 all and 6-6 in the Dave Brossart era at Dixie. These teams are pretty evenly matched. I’m not sure I’m sold Ryle’s offense is that much better than Dixie’s. Both teams have only eclipsed 30 points three times. Both teams have been stingy defensively. Both teams have had similar schedules. I agree this will be a low scoring affair and the first team to blink may lose. If Dixie brings it’s penalty problem with it, they are in for a long night. If Ryle can’t move the ball and keep Dixie’s athletes off the field and sustain drives, Dixie wins. I’ll go with Dixie and the better QB, at home.

You can criticize play calling if you want but specific to this game, Dixie had costly penalties at the worst times. Illegal procedure penalties are a fair criticism of the coaching staff. But play calling I’m not so sure just yet. Don’t put a for sale sign in the Dixie Head coaches yard yet. The penalties backed them up a lot (especially on that last drive) and that for my money made the offense one dimensional. Which is why he had to throw. Nice to see two good coaches stick to their game plans and whoever blinked first lost.

They seem to move the ball well enough the last two weeks to sustain drives. I think the play calls were dictated by the penalties Dixie’s offense had levied against them. I do question the two deep shots late because I think all Dixie needed was a first down. Such a good team consistently shooting itself in the foot. Hats off to Beechwood they dug deep and held on. Any team that faces Beechwood has their hands full. Dixie’s gritty performances of late sets up an interesting 6A tilt in two weeks when Ryle comes calling.

Hearing the new field is having drainage issues at Cooper. Maybe a Cooper fan can jump in here and confirm that.

Two of the most frustrating teams this season with two of the biggest upsides if they figure it out. I'll give the edge to Dixie. They have had an extra week to get better, healthy, and they are almost a carbon copy of the Ryle team Highlands just saw up front. If Highlands has a chance it's that Dixie has a tendency to struggle offensively for whatever reason.

After last year and the good offensive numbers what has happened to the Dixie offense? They returned nearly everyone, have been protecting the QB this season, and the kids they returned obviously didn’t slouch in the weight room. It is almost criminal they cannot sustain drives with the athletes they have. The defense has done its job until it can’t after being on the field for so long. Anyone else that follows Dixie have a clue what it is? What are they missing? Is the QB just not hitting his mark? Is it play calling? Dixie is in for a long couple weeks if they cannot figure this out.

Dixie is finding all kinds of ways to shoot itself in the foot.

I'll take Ryle in a good game on the road. Probably follows the historical precedent with a close score, but will be one of the better tilts this week. I think Cooper is a good team, I'm not so sure I am 100% all in yet. Most of Coopers yardage on the ground came on two runs, and they were benefactors when Dixie false started stalling in the red zone, along with a few uncharacteristic drops. Coopers offense didn't do much in the second half, but did move the ball when they had to keep the clock moving. Ryle has the size and athletes that can stop the run and make Cooper one dimensional. Ryle wins but they may find this one harder to come by.

I think all the "fuss" is for good reason. This is a Dixie team that returns almost everyone from last year. A year that saw them shut out CovCath for three quarters, beat Beechwood on the road, down 23-0 in the playoffs came back to win against SK, and lost to Corbin on a last second miracle pass. This team is good. Are they winning state?... no. But they have a good enough team to be in the conversation. How good will be determined very shortly with the gauntlet of a schedule they have coming up that includes a lot of these teams plus Highlands. All the questions will be answered soon enough. I think all of this takes away from the fact that it was a very closely played game, and Cooper is a good football team deserving of all the ink they are getting for this win.

No doubt. If Cooper stays on the trajectory they are on, Borchers should 100% be in this conversation.

It was a great game. Cooper did an amazing job of controlling the clock. Dixie just didn't seem to get any mojo on offense going, and Cooper had two big runs and a fumble recovery that hurt Dixie at the worst opportune times. Cooper had the athletes to match up with Dixies, and the Landers/Holbert connection had a key drop in the end zone late in the game that could have made this outcome a lot more interesting. Landers didn't look as crisp as he has shown in the past. Credit the Jags for holding on in the second half. Give some credit to Dixies Defense. Because of their offenses struggles they couldn't get a break and still was able to hold the Jags almost scoreless in the second half. Cooper will have a say in 5A especially in NKY this year. Looking at their roster, they are also young.

Should be a close game, but in my opinion Boone is due. A head coach that is doing his best to motivate and re-ignite that sense of pride and tradition that comes with wearing Boone blue. His message should start to resonate soon. I am kind of hoping they turn a corner and should on Friday. I do not know enough about Scott to speak to their strengths for or against, so I will pick and say Boone because they need it.