TCR

This is where Kentucky needs to really play tough. I know these are different teams, times, coaches, everything, but there are way too many times I have seen Duke take over games when the scoring hits the 20's.

Having to spend tonight prepping for an upcoming basketball event, your updates are appreciated! This is how I plan on keeping up with the game.

Moeller is always a good one to follow! Had the opportunity to see them in person when they came to Ironton a couple of years ago. Ironton played them solid, losing 25-6. Moeller's starting QB was hurt yet their backup came in and had he played on a team in the EKY area, probably would have been one of the top players in the tri-state of KY, OH, and WV. He was big, made good decisions, could make quick throws and occasionally ran the ball. That team was so loaded and their depth at each positions amazed me. Ironton came a shoestring tackle from breaking a long run early out of a completely different alignment from what they normally show but aside from that, their lone score came late. In Division V, Ironton has made amazing strides under Coach Trevon Pendleton and his family, as his brother Jerrod and their Father known as "Papaw" Pendleton also do a tremendous job along with several Ironton alums that played under Bob Lutz, who is Ohio's all-time winningest football coach. The reason I bring up Ironton is that they are in a big matchup this week with Harvest Prep of Columbus. This is a matchup that has been talked about for some time and was expected to happen. Harvest Prep played Ashland early in the season and handed them what is their only loss on the schedule so far. They will throw it but overall they run more of a Gun-T, power style offense where they have a couple of big, bruising backs. Ironton is more balanced and Shaun Terry can score from anywhere on the field. His nickname is "Scary Terry" and he has made some amazing plays for the Fighting Tigers over the course of his career. Shaun is committed to Missouri. Harvest Prep ended Ironton's season in a 20-14 thriller last year. If anybody has strong interest in Ohio football this is definitely one to have on the radar. Both schools have come SO close to a state title in recent years and they are looking to break the door down this year. Harvest Prep has four semifinal appearances in the last decade and Ironton has state finals appearances in 2019, 2020, and 2022. I personally have ties covering both, and they have always been first class to work with. Ironton has a dedicated fan base and if you come to one of their home games any later than 5:00, their home stands will be full. Harvest Prep does have some EKY ties with a couple of my pastors, Boyd County graduates - David Amos and Blake Rice - both of whom have amazing stories and mentor a lot of the Harvest Prep students. Harvest Prep is affiliated with World Harvest Church and run by Pastor Rod Parsley.

Those are fascinating numbers to look at. I was especially surprised with Tubby, I figured he was a little older upon hiring just given the head coaching experience he had at Tulsa, Georgia, and prior to his experience as an assistant at UK he spent a decade as an assistant at VCU and South Carolina. Personality-wise, Pope is totally different from the typical college coach and potentially represents how that field is evolving. Having interacted with many, if I had to describe my interactions with Pope I would describe him as that guy you would want to watch a game with on the big screen at the local restaurant. He's relatable to the common man. This summer at one of the events I had the opportunity to be at he was dressed in normal UK clothes while many other coaches were dressed up. The high energy is definitely something he brings to the table, that is for sure but he also carries a laid back disposition. He is definitely different in terms of how he carries him self from, say, Calipari. And I don't mean that as a knock on Coach Cal who carries himself professionally and is always polite and courteous. They're just two entirely different people with how they go about things.

That is unreal @DevilMayCare and a nice comparison. I wonder what this ranks in terms of a national scale. The reason I am curious (And I know a lot has changed since this time) but I remember seeing a plaque at Ashland from the 1990 state championship team that achieved over 5,000 yards rushing in 14 games. The plaque was for them being ranked #4 in the country in rushing. I have a hard time believing this Johnson Central team wouldn't be ranked pretty highly in terms of their ground game on a national scale. On a separate note, regarding the Cov Cath broadcast. Will there be a way to watch it after the game? I'll be on a different one. I hear a lot of good things about what they do and if I'm correct it's student-ran too. Excellent experience for them to learn both the ins and outs of the broadcast, also for the production/camera people too.

I wish I could say the same! A lot of my intake is dairy. I love pizza. Then the iced cappuccinos from Tim Horton's, although lately I have been switching to oat milk, coconut milk, etc. and then going to places like Texas Roadhouse that put a lot of butter on their rolls. Just to test it, I tried eating some dairy late last week. Sure enough, the OCD started to come back. I plan to eat it from time to time, it's just going to have to be, like you said, in moderation. Been struggling to carry out like I hoped to. But this DDP Yoga....it definitely helps. Burning a ton of calories with it, I'm talking about 400 calories in right under 25 minutes of working out. And hardly any stress on the joints. The bad thing, is I am still yet to reclaim my rhythm that I had this year before my coworker passed. I did so good in that stretch - even a day where I would go off, I could just go back on the next day and it resulted in a loss of 33 pounds. If I can find a way to get back on that, combined with DDP Yoga, it would get the job done.

To do a quick run of the history of the 16th region, for many years it was dominated by schools such as Ashland, Boyd County, Greenup County, or Rowan County. In the 1990's, only Ashland, Boyd, And Greenup County won regional title. This changed in the 2000's and 2010's when Rose Hill Christian, Morgan County, Russell, Elliott County (who had two separate three-peats from 2007 - 2009 and 2015 - 2017), East Carter, and Fleming County all won regional titles while Rowan County would represent the region strongly in 2011 by going all the way to the state finals, losing to Christian County 65-63 in two overtimes. In 2018 Randy Anderson would lead Boyd County to their first title since 2000 before Ashland would become the story of the region. The Tomcats would pull a massive upset of Elliott County in the 2019 regional semifinals and then win the regional final for the first time since 2002 against Boyd County to end the largest drought in school history. This would be followed up with five consecutive regional titles. Ashland achieved a final four, two elite eights, and in 2020 would have the first undefeated season in Kentucky basketball since 1948 but would not get to play in the state tournament due to COVID. Ashland won the region in 2021 and 2022, compiling a 43 game region winning streak in that stretch which Russell ended. Losing 8 seniors from the 2022 team didn't seem to phase the Tomcats much, as they would win the 16th region tournament in 2023 by an average of 23 points per game. Despite losing a top 5 point guard statewide in Rheyce Deboard, the Tomcats came back to win it in 2024, topping their incredible streak from 1976 - 1980 when they won the 16th region for five seasons in a row, including a final four season in 1977. If the Tomcats were to emerge victorious in 2025, they would pull off a feat not achieved since 1952 when Clark County (Now George Rogers Clark in the 10th region) won seven straight regional championships from 1946 - 1952, including a state championship in that stretch. While Ashland has won the regional championship, teams like Boyd, Fleming, and Rowan have given them fits in that stretch and I would not expect this season to be any different. Here are my preseason rankings for the 16th region. Giving the talent level and high quality of coaching in this region, it would not surprise me for these to change quite a bit throughout the season, especially as many of these teams with several graduations from last year start to gel. 1. Ashland Tomcats – 23-11 last season, 16th region champions - The Tomcats are seeking to pull of something not done since Clark County did from 1946 -1952, and that is win the 16th region for the 7th consecutive season. With Liberty University commit Zander Carter returning, there is a lot of reason to have optimism and he is hardly the only player returning. This team returns the top three leading scorers including Braxton Jennings and Tyson LaLonde. Point guard Cam Davis returns and he has shown the ability to run the offense and make plays. Last season Ashland played Lyon County in the first round of the state tournament, having them down seven points midway through the fourth quarter. Lyon County would come back to pull off a two point win. Despite having some close games, nobody gave Lyon County the challenge that the Tomcats did and they hope to get another shot at Rupp Arena this season. Coach Ryan Bonner has won two regional titles as Ashland's head coach and he has set Ashland up with one of the toughest regular season schedules in Kentucky. 2. Boyd County – 27-7 last season, 16th region runner up - The Lions have won 5 of the last 8 against the Tomcats in the last two seasons, including the 64th district championship both times, but have come up short in both meetings in the regional championship. They’re looking to take it to another level this year and have the personnel to dethrone the Tomcats. Three of the top four scorers return in Jacob Spurlock, Cole Hicks, and Rhett Holbrook and the three have plenty of varsity experience. Coach Randy Anderson brings experience to the helm having achieved his 500th win last season and is no stranger to making it to Rupp Arena. 3. Fleming County – 24-10 last season – lost in 16th region semifinals - Buddy Ball is in full force as Coach Buddy Biggs and the Panthers made it to the semifinals of the 16th region tournament, threatening Ashland before the Tomcats pulled away late. The Panthers hit their stride in February, defeating both Ashland and Boyd County for the first time since their 2014 regional championship season. Fleming County graduates 16th region player of the year Adam Hargett and also loses leading rebounder Issac Frye to graduation, but do return their top scorer in Seth Hickerson (18.3 points per game) and their third leading scorer in Lucas Jolly at 16.1 points per game. 4. Russell – 17-13 last season, lost in opening round of regional tournament - Losing sophomore point guard Elijah Neel to transfer is a big blow, but Russell still has some great young talent to be optimistic about. Sophomore Caleb Rimmer can get a double double on any night and is highly regarded both in the 16th region and throughout the state. Gabe Pridemore has shown scoring capabilities and Tyler Cordial can be a presence in the paint. Freshmen Kaden Benge and Ryder Burgess may end up contributing more than expected this season with the loss of Neel. Russell will also have strong leadership they will need to replace in Noah Quinn and Tatum Fleming, two level headed seniors that steadied the ship last season. Coach Derek Cooksey, who led Fairview to the regional finals in 2010, has to be optimistic in the fact that there is not a single senior on this talented roster. 5. Greenup County – 18-15 last season – lost in first round of 16th region tournament – Coach Corey Allison led the Musketeers to the 63rd district championship and the program’s first appearance in the regional tournament since 2017 last season. The Musketeers lose leading scorer Eli Adkins (14.8 ppg) and a rock solid rebounder in Cohen Underwood (6.0 rebounds per game), but the Musketeers return two double digit scorers in SR Bryson Chandley (12.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and JR Kasey Gammon (10.1 ppg) who can be a threat from three point range. JR Bradley Adkins makes hustle plays all over the place and is expected to play a bigger role this season. 6. Rowan County – 23-11 last season – lost in 16th region semifinals – Rowan County loses their top four leading scorers in Colby Wilburn, Brayden Mirus, Dashawn Watson, and Weston Maxey who combined for 48.4 points per game. Jayson Ingles returns and he shot a solid 37.4% from three point range last season and averaged 6.1 points per game. Madden Owen and Will Richardson, who also are an integral part on the football team, bring some additional athleticism to the roster. Shawn Thacker is an experienced coach who came close to winning a state championship in 2011 and since then his teams continue to be in contention in the 16th region. This is not a new situation for him and by season’s end Rowan County should be a threat to any opponent. 7. Lewis County – 9-18 last season – lost in first round of district tournament - The Lions were unable to replicate their success from the 2023 season when they went 12-19 but 6 of their last 8 games, including the 63rd district championship and then taking state ranked Boyd County to overtime in the regional tournament. However, the Lions return some important pieces to the puzzle. Despite graduating big man Xavier Prater who averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. However, the Lions also return Drew Noble (13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 56% FG) and Julian Puente (12.9 ppg). The lions will likely be looking to shore up their three point shooting as they only shot 24.6% in that department last season. 8. Raceland – 16-15 last season – lost in first round of district tournament – Raceland graduates two of their top leading scorers in Christian Large (19.5 ppg) and Connor Sutton (10.5 ppg) but there are still reasons for the Rams to be optimistic. Connor Thacker returns, who was the team’s second leading scorer (13.5 ppg) along with the team’s leading rebounder at 7.4 rebounds per game. Combined with Jonah Arnett who racked up great experience as a freshman, averaging 9.6 points per game. Raceland is in a tough, competitive 63rd district and will look to make the regional tournament for the first time since 2021. 9. Menifee County – 9-21 last season - lost in first round of district tournament – Menifee County will be led by new coach Jason Evans, a 1996 graduate of Menifee and has been involved with the program for a number of years. Menifee County returns their top two scorers in Brevon Ricker (20.6 ppg) and Aidan Manley (11.9 ppg) and with the right mix of players around them could be a threat. Ricker is a scorer that is capable of going off for major numbers and this can keep Menifee County in any game. 10. Elliott County – 5-25 last season – lost in opening round of districts – A very young Lions team took their hits last season but finished strong, losing 79-70 in the opening round of districts to a Morgan County team that defeated them twice in the regular season by a combined 67 points. Coach Greg Adkins has three regional titles under his belt and has to feel optimistic knowing that his two leading scorers, Lake Adkins and Elijah Faulkner, were freshman last season. The last regional win for the Lions came on February 14, 2023 against Menifee County and they certainly expect to end their 17 game losing streak coming into the season. Expect the Lions to be much improved. 11. East Carter – 17-13 last season – lost in opening round of regional tournament - The last two seasons have ended nearly identical for east Carter, a slow start but a strong finish, losing to Boyd County both times, 60-51 in overtime two seasons ago and last year losing 60-52 as underdogs. East Carter is expected to take a step back this season as they lose their top five scorers. The Raiders’ returning leading scorer is Quentin Johnson who averaged 2.5 points per game last season as a junior, but has a lot of athletic ability and can make plays. The Raiders will have a lot to replace, but Cole Brammer has shown the ability multiple times to take his team to the regional tournament. His teams have usually start slow, but they improve steadily over the course of the season and are a tough out by the end of the year. 12. West Carter – 9-19 last season – lost in the first round of district tournament – After a 5-6 start last season, West Carter would finish the year with a 4-13 record including a loss to rival East Carter in the first round of the 62nd district tournament. One area West Carter is looking to shore up for the 2024 – 2025 season is their offense. West Carter shot 38.9% from the field last season and 60.6% from the free throw line and they look to improve on both this year. There is some optimism with leading scorers Nathan Webb (11.2 ppg) and leading rebounder Jacob Waddell (8.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg lst year) returning. 13. Morgan County – 23-7 last season, lost in opening round of regional tournament - The Cougars will have a lot of replacing to as only one of their top seven scorers returns. Sophomore Asher Gamble will be playing a much bigger role this season and senior Cody Dagnan will provide strong leadership for this young Cougar squad that will have a lot to figure out this year. Morgan County may take some bumps early on, but Coach Reece Griffith has done a good job motivating this team and keeping them in contention for the regional tournament. 14. Bath County – 8-21 last season – lost in first round of district tournament – Matthew Perry starts his second season as head coach and hopes to continue to build. Double digit scorer Montana Brashear returns, but outside of that Coach Perry will have to replace eight seniors from last year’s team. That being said, Coach Perry had success at Morgan County including a regional championship in 2004. This is not a new situation for him and if he put the right ingredients together his program could improve. 15. Fairview – 8-23 last season – lost in first round of district tournament – New Eagles Head Coach Cameron Conley will have a retooling job to do as Fairview lost leading scorers Tamel Smith (18.3 ppg) and Steven “Bubba” Day (21.3 ppg) who was also their leading rebounder (8.4 ppg). The plus for Coach Conley is that he will have a foundation to build on with several young players including Jace Manning who average 3.2 ppg last year but is expected to be a heavy contributor this year. The Eagle have a tough challenge being in the 64th district with Ashland and Boyd County, both of whom will likely boast top 20 teams statewide this season

The last meeting these programs had came in 2003 in the 2A regional finals when there were four classes. Russell came in favored with one of the all-time great backs in Josh Gross. It was a pretty bizarre game - Lloyd Memorial would win 30-12 in a game closer than the final score shows, and part of why I describe it as bizarre is that Russell ended up scoring two safeties in the game. Two big plays in that game helped Lloyd Memorial and that was when (1) with 35 seconds to go in the half Russell had the ball trailing 10-2 and would throw a pick 6, and (2) in the first half when Russell had the ball 2nd and goal from the 1, and Lloyd Memorial would have a phenomenal goal line stand, stopping Russell on three straight running plays. Another neat fact is the coaching - Russell had Ivan McGlone who won a state championship in 1978 and would win another two years after that loss while Lloyd Memorial would have Roy Lucas who has been successful and now coaches at Simon Kenton. Fast forward to today. Lloyd Memorial is just two years removed from a state semifinal appearance and has won a lot this year with a tough schedule while Russell has won six in a row, including against East Carter who was just an overtime away last year from what could have been their second state semifinal appearance in three years. Lloyd Memorial has a strong passing game and Russell ranks #7 in 3A in both pass defense and rush defense which will make for an interesting matchup. Russell has improved significantly with the pass this season. Elijah Hankins completed only 19 of his 55 passes in his first five games but has since hit his stride, completing 42 of his next 59 - around 71% of his passes. Kaden Benge has stepped up big as a freshman and in the district championship game had over 100 yards rushing against East Carter. The dangerous part about Lloyd Memorial is how they spread the ball around in that passing game. Isaiah Sebastian, Elijah Collins, and Colten Barger have 30, 29, and 26 receptions respectively. Tyler Copeland will occasionally make a big reception and in addition to rushing for 12 touchdowns, Yurii Collins makes for a nice receiver coming out of the backfield. Should be a great game between two tough teams.

If I were to say this would be an exciting matchup, that would probably be an understatement. I'm going to have to watch it after the fact, but being a huge fan of smash mouth, hard running football it will be fun seeing these two teams collide. Johnson Central is much improved offensively from last year and part of that is having the explosive Zack McCoart back, Logan Music has been healthy, and Logan Morrow, who tore his ACL in the second round last year, is back at fullback and his value to the offense (Both from a rushing and blocking perspective) is understated. Last year Johnson Central relied on their disciplined, downhill running to rack up five yards a carry and control the clock. This year, they have the capability of breaking long runs. To compare statistically, last year Johnson Central rushed for a total of 4,164 yards on the season. I am unsure of their totals in the first round of the playoffs but they were on track to run for around 5,400 had they played the same amount of games. They have some explosive runners. When one looks at this team on paper and even on film, it's easy to feel confident about stopping Johnson Central and understandably so because you know almost everything they are going to do on both sides of the ball in various yardage situations. They'll occasionally throw out a trick or two but will mostly stick to their bread and butter. I believe is the best way to beat Johnson Central is via confusion and by that, I mean changing something up defensively to force the offensive line to have to think an extra second about who they are going to block. Something different from what they watched on film. Their line is so talented and they engage defenders quick with an explosive first two steps off the ball. Ashland came out in somewhat of a different alignment from what they normally do against Johnson Central and it slowed down the Golden Eagles' rushing attack somewhat in the first half. Johnson Central adjusted at halftime and came out had more yardage in the second half, but that different alignment made a difference. Covington Catholic, they don't throw it as much as prior teams but will do so more than Johnson Central. I didn't watch a whole lot of them, but they certainly like to keep the defense off balance by stretching the field side to side. They can attack you up the middle, like Johnson Central they do an excellent job carrying out fakes. They'll throw the quick pass to the outside, and they have a screen over the middle that's effective. So it's hard to truly key on one element. Even though this Covington Catholic team doesn't throw as much as some of the past teams, they still have an effective passing game that can do some damage. Harney makes great reads at the line and Gaiser is an explosive back that is capable of breaking one. An area to note about Gaiser is that he also leads the team in receptions. Oliver Link looks to be quite the trustworthy deep receiver, averaging around 20 yards per reception with 5 touchdowns and it looks like he was out for a few games to injury earlier this season. Two great programs going at it! There have been some fun matchups over the years between the two. The atmosphere for this one should be electric!

Raceland comes into the game with a commanding 70-7 first round win over Berea. The Rams have made tremendous strides over the course of the season. The passing game has continued to improve and despite injuries in Raceland's backfield, they have been a threat to run the ball on any opponent. The defense has been the anchor behind this young Rams team and their tough schedule against opponents like Ashland, Pikeville, Highlands, and Lexington Christian is starting to pay off. Raceland, having won 6 of their last 7, comes in poised and ready to contend for the state title in 1A. Eminence is 6-4 and they come into this game having won 4 of their last 5 with their lone loss in that stretch being against Sayre who is 11-0. The Warriors, coached by Ryan Jones, are led by Blaze Berry at quarterback who comes in completing 66% of his passes and scoring 19 touchdowns through the air. Landon Smither has run for 13 touchdowns on the season and Everett Starks averages just over 22 yards per reception. This team has the ability to put points on the should be an intriguing matchup! What are your thoughts on this one?

Ashland comes into this game off of a 47-7 victory over Harrison County and now has picked up at least 10 wins in a season 6 times since 2017. The Tomcats will come in with a balanced attack as LaBryant Strader has thrown for 25 touchdowns on the season while completing just under 70% of his passes. Braxton Jennings leads the charge on the ground with nearly 800 yards and 17 touchdowns while him, Cam Davis, and Sam Lyons have 31, 30, and 29 receptions respectively. Dylan Duckwyler has also stepped it up at wide receiver, including a 3 touchdown game against Johnson Central, the last score with 4 second to go which ended up winning the game, the district, and was able to get the Tomcats a number one seed in the playoffs. Ashland has only scored under 40 points in 2 of their 12 games this season, that being against Ohio power Harvest Prep and 1A contender Raceland, who has been known for their tough defense this season. Mason County relies on Teegin Routt who has thrown for an impressive 24 touchdowns, nearly 2,000 yards, and completes around 57% of his passes. Cole Horch is a dangerous receiver who has 11 touchdowns and averages nearly 23.5 yards per reception. Mason County tends to rely on the short, quick pass more than running the ball but they certainly have the capability of running. Defensively they have only given up more than 21 twice this season, coming against 4A power and district foe Covington Catholic and an 8 win Lawrence County team in 3A. Their first round performance in the playoffs was impressive, with a commanding win over 4A top 10 team Greenup County. This one will be exciting and there will be a LOT of athleticism from both teams, who heavily rely on their speed and ability to flow to the ball defensively. What are your thoughts on the game?

Congratulations to Mason County on the win and to Greenup County on a great season. I think one of the reasons this is considered such a big win is that so many people wrote Mason County off earlier this season especially after the losses to Covington Catholic and Lawrence County. They took their game to another notch against Greenup and did a nice job especially with their physicality. Mason County did a good job capitalizing on turnovers and taking advantage in that area was what led to them pushing out to such a big lead in the second half. If they continue to do that and sling the ball around like they have, they could make a run. Tyson Sammons for Greenup still somehow managed to throw for 173 yards and rush for 118 despite a tweaked ankle and his hand being hurt early in the game in which he was limited to playing offense. He is a generational player and will be missed. Tyson, who preaches sometimes at his Church on Sundays, recently passed the 10,000 yard mark in combined rushing and passing. I do not know of many players who have done that. Greenup finishes the season with an 8-3 record, only the sixth time they have achieved at least 8 wins since the program started in 1973. One of those seasons came in 2022, but before that the last 8+ win season was 1998. Under Travis Jones Greenup County is on a strong path and he has done a great job overseeing the youth programs and developing the players. I expect that Greenup County will continue to produce over the years. All the best to Mason County. Great program that is just two years removed from a state semifinal appearance and they can certainly make some noise in the playoffs. The last time I attended a Mason County game was in 2021 and I always enjoyed their style of play. They still like to throw a lot and it takes a lot of time to prepare for some of the schemes that Mason County will bring on both sides of the ball.

Should be a nice one. Rockcastle will likely be relying heavily on the ground game with Isaiah Jackson and Carter Powell having nearly 2,000 yards combined along with 23 touchdowns on the ground. Jackson especially can be deadly - he also leads the team in receiving and has a touchdown via special teams. I suspect that Rockcastle will try to control the clock and keep Belfry's offense off the field as they have been one of 3A's top offenses to this point. Rockcastle can throw, but they don't do it often. It looks like Camden Larkey has played at QB some lately, but Caden Lovell has a touchdown in almost 1 of every completions he makes. So they can throw. Belfry is near identical on the rushing end. Jeremiah Austin, JB Woolum, and Ace Caudill combine for nearly 2,500 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns. Chase Varney can be a threat at QB, and he has no hesitancy throwing deep to Cayden Varney who averages nearly 28 yards per reception with 6 touchdowns. This Belfry team has shown no hesitancy in throwing the football as Coach Haywood called on Chase Varney to throw 30 times against rival Johnson Central earlier this season. I imagine this to be a great matchup between two tough teams that will be slugging it out!

Congratulations to Covington Catholic. It was 42-0 at the end of three, that says a lot about this Covington Catholic defense. To add to @Colonels_Wear_Blue mentioning the three interceptions, Rhett Holbrook threw three interceptions in the entire season as a sophomore two years ago throwing the ball over 200 times. Although the competition Ievel has increased for Boyd the past two seasons with the addition of Ashland, Johnson Central, and Greenup to the district along with adding Bell County and Pikeville who are strong contenders in their class to the schedule, this game said a lot about Covington Catholic's defensive performance. I always think the trap games like this are big wins and consider this a big one for the Colonels. Congratulations also to Harney and Gaiser. They are a dynamic duo that have given many defenses fits. Being a fan of smash mouth, run first football I am disappointed to not be able to see Covington Catholic and Johnson Central match up. That will be a fun one. Two of 4A's best going at it. Congratulations to Boyd County on a great season. This program has come a long way and under Coach Ferguson I am sure it will continue to grow.

Glory to God and thank you for the kind words G. @CCHFC Although I know of the success of the programs Covington Catholic has played, I will admit everything I am going off of is statistically and nothing from having seen them play. One thing I do feel sure, despite not having seen Covington Catholic play, is they'll have some solid athletes in that secondary and it must be exciting for the base knowing these guys are coming back. I did a quick look and this season Covington Catholic has competed against five QBs who have completed 60% or greater, three of those at 63% or greater, and one at 71%, Highlands. The one you mentioned holding to 52% for Beechwood happens to complete 67% of his passes on the season. So that has to be something to bring additional confidence to the pass rush and the secondary going into the game.

Love the number crunching, excellent breakdown! @Colonels_Wear_Blue major cap tip to you and I'll add some notes on each of those games being from EKY. I have not seen Covington Catholic play, you did a great job breaking the numbers down and will leave some notes pertaining some of these games that may be helpful. Especially note the styles of defense from the Ashland/Johnson Central game. If this of any help further breaking down these wins and losses for Boyd. First, with the run - you'll see Boyd primarily rely on the air for their offense. Some of those runs come from intended pass plays. Holbrook does an excellent job on the rollout which they like to do sometimes. The past three years I have seen many times where he has rolled out one direction, been chased down by the defense - only to slither out and run the other way either completing a pass or tucking it and running downfield. That is partially how he became the all-time leading passer at Boyd County in his junior season. So some of those runs do come out of designated pass plays. Boyd will run it up the middle, but moreso to keep defenses honest. But Boyd does a solid job in pass protection and they can throw out of the pocket. Statistically, it's worth noting that defensively Boyd County did not produce a turnover in the three game losing streak to Johnson Central, Greenup County, and Ashland. The Mason County game, they moved the ball much better than the final score shows. Both teams did. They drove deep into the other's territory, only to either get penalized or have a turnover. Boyd had a touchdown run called back due to holding and Mason County I believe threw an interception on the goal line. It was a nice game where both teams showed some potential, but also had some frustrating moments when it looked like the pieces of the puzzle would come together for their season. The Johnson Central game, it was an 80 yard run for JC that would open it up and Boyd would run/pass 50/50 on their next drive to tie it up at 7 but Johnson Central quickly broke long runs to put the game away, Boyd moved the ball but just couldn't get it deep enough to score. Johnson Central, defensively, is very aggressive. They'll rush five on most plays and sometimes will send six at the quarterback. Against Ashland they scored first before Ashland would take control similar to Johnson Central, but the Tomcats gave up a kick return in the second half and Boyd would threaten a little bit before Ashland put it away for good. Ashland's style of defense is also aggressive, but not as blitz heavy as Johnson Central. Ashland is smaller than Johnson Central, but has a LOT of speed toward the outside edges and can flow to the ball. The Rowan County game showed Boyd how quick Boyd can score. It was 14-7 at halftime, 21-7 after three. Boyd County would have a huge fourth quarter, forcing turnovers and making big plays to put the game away. Pikeville was a little different. Boyd County is used to jumping out and scoring early but all of their points came in the second half. Instead against Pikeville they went down 14-0 quick, it looked like Pikeville was going to run away with it. Boyd's defense would hold for the rest of the half but they struggled to generate offense deep into Pikeville territory. Rhett Holbrook returned the opening second half kickoff for the touchdown and the teams traded touchdowns the rest of the way for the most part. The key play of the game came after Pikeville scored to go up 34-21 and Boyd would start a drive moving toward midfield. The Lions would fumble and Pikeville would recover and run play action the next play to go deep and give themselves a 19 point lead. Which for that game still wasn't quite comfortable for them given that both teams were struggling to stop the other. Pikeville had a good balance of size and speed, Boyd didn't get a huge amount running but succeeded in pass protection, but Pikeville also didn't blitz a whole lot. All in all, Boyd does a good job striking early in games. If I'm Boyd, that's what I try to do and if I'm Covington Catholic, I make an emphasis to get them out of rhythm especially to prevent them from gathering that momentum.

So here we go. Big week ahead. Down five pounds. Here are the goals: 1. The Weight Watchers plan worked for me this year. Let's get back to it. 2. Eliminate gluten and dairy. Remember what Diamond Dallas Page said: "Gluten hates you!" My OCD improving by the day shows that this is not just something that is a once-in-a-while item to have, my body truly has a bad reaction to these foods. And I have been eating them for years. 3. Do three workouts. 4. 64 ounces of water each day.

@Colonels_Wear_Blue Nice write up on the history of the series! I do not know nearly as much on Covington Catholic's history but know that it's a long, prestigious one. The matchups around the late 1960's and early 1970's are great. Despite it being mostly one sided, that shows how good Covington Catholic was even back then as those were great years for Boyd - they went 26-5-1 between 1968 and 1970, two of those losses coming to Covington Catholic and their last meeting before the 1995 one was two years away from Boyd County's lone state championship appearance in 1973 where they lost to Paducah Tilghman. This is not the typical 4 seed as Boyd ranks #15 in 4A in the RPI and has been competitive in many of their games this season. 4A District 6 is a tough district. You have Ashland, Johnson Central, Greenup County (a 3 seed ranked in the top 10 in the RPI), Boyd County (#15 in RPI) and Rowan County. Rhett Holbrook is an agile QB that is also a great returner, having returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season - one coming against Ashland and the other against Pikeville. He can throw from the pocket but when he gets running to the outside that's where he is dangerous. If I had to describe his style of running, I would say he's very slithery. Knows how to avoid defenders and there are times when it looks like he's tackled in the backfield - only for him to break away and get a throw off or run the ball for a long gain. His top target is Cole Hicks as mentioned. I have talked about Evan Ferguson and how he has turned the Boyd County program around, with them already having achieved the number of wins in the 2020's that they had in the entire decade of the 2010's. One way he has done that is by getting in the hallways at Boyd County, convincing athletes like basketball star Cole Hicks to come out for the team. Cole has been a gamer, and one that has excellent chemistry with Rhett. Cole can be utilized to get the first down or he can catch the deep ball. I don't know much about Covington Catholic this year but know that they have relied on the run more than some years. Cash Harney has an amazing accomplishment running for 1,000 yards this year as a QB as mentioned in prior posts and it looks safe to say Covington Catholic will likely have two players that rush for 1,000. I'm fascinated with how they seem to really spread the ball around when it comes to their receiving game. Several different players have looked to play a role on that end. I'm just looking at their player stats though and have not seen them play this year. But, to accomplish what they have winning 8 in row and be in contention at the end of the year, no doubt about it this is typical smart, disciplined Covington Catholic football. If I'm Covington Catholic, offensively I'm looking to attack with that tough running game as that is an area Boyd has struggled this year, with run defense. Defensively, you definitely want to focus on containing Holbrook and not let him run left to right from behind the line of scrimmage only to find an opening to get loose. He's a great athlete and I have seen him do that many times against quality opponents. If I'm Boyd, of course I try to get Holbrook going. They have a couple guys outside of Holbrook that can keep defenses honest running, but I think the best method of attack will be getting Hicks or Kelley open and trying to pick them apart that way. Defensively, as much as Boyd has struggled against the run it has come against powers like Johnson Central (Ranked #1 in state in rushing), Ashland, Bell County (Ranked #1 in 3A RPI), and Pikeville. I'm sure Coach Ferguson will be looking to learn from those games to see what he can put together. Should be an enjoyable atmosphere!

My gosh - not even one week and I feel like a completely different person. First off, for anybody struggling with a mental disorder as I do with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - try eliminating dairy and see what happens. I cannot believe the difference it has made and although I'm still having some OCD spells here and there, it has been a tremendous help and I would say the OCD has gone down by about 60%. I know it's the dairy because I had a spell where I cut gluten back in 2017 (although still had dairy) and I have had many spells where working out has picked up intensely. Woke up at 344.4 - down 5.6 pounds. This doesn't even include major changes - still been drinking pop, I've had plenty of fries from Chick Fil-A, hardly anything worth bragging about in terms of my eating although I have incorporated more vegetables but that's more because I have had to eliminate so many items. DDP's exact words to me were "The main things that inflame your body are wheat, and gluten. Which hates you - HATES YOU - that's why you're 350. I don't even need to see you. 5'10, 350. I know." Then in another area he showed how milk was meant for a baby cow - not a human. There is definitely a reaction my body, has to dairy and I'm going to have to make significant changes going forward. It may not impact everyone the way it has impacted me - but I'm putting this out there to let people know of my experience this week. I feel like an new person mentally, and didn't even feel this way when I had lost 33 pounds from the beginning of the year to the summer.

Raceland comes in with the #1 seed in their district, showing major signs of improvement over the course of the season. After a 1-3 start in which included losses to Ashland, Pikeville, and Highlands, Raceland picked up a 29-7 win over a Newport Central Catholic and haven't looked back since. This week they had a tough 25-13 loss to Lexington Christian Academy, a team that started their year losing to two of 4A's best in Franklin County and Boyle County. Raceland's defense has been their anchor and their passing game has made significant strides over the course of the season. 1A looks to be open, and I anticipate that Raceland will be one of the teams that are in contention. Berea's last victory came on October 28, 2022 against Jellico, Tennessee, a 21-7 win and they have had back to back 0-10 regular seasons, last year forfeiting their first round game against Raceland due to a depleted roster. They have a solid passing game with #1 Aidan Huston leading the way throwing for 1,014 yards on the season and two solid receivers in #13 Tommie Banderman and #18 Maddox McClure. Berea looks to be a major underdog in this one, but as it's been said many times "that's why they play the game." Defensively Berea has not given up fewer than 41 points in a game and I think it's likely they will focus more on trying to force turnovers. I say this often but like in wrestling when Sting said, "The only thing that's sure about Sting is that nothing's for sure," the same can be applied to high school football. Raceland looks to not overlook Berea and pull off a big win, and Berea looks to shock the world. What are your thoughts?

Belfry comes into this game as a #1 seed, winning 3A District 8 and a record of 8-2 having just defeated Letcher County Central 35-34 last night. Although this Belfry team continues to succeed with Coach Philip Haywood's signature ground game, they also are a threat through the area as #3 Chase Varney has thrown for over 1,000 yards while also completing 12 touchdown passes. #2 Jeremiah Austin is a 1,000 yard rusher and anchors the ground game while the Pirates have multiple threats at receiver. Belfry ranks #1 in 4A in scoring averaging 41.6 points per game and is in the middle of the pack defensively, giving up 22.3 points per game. The pass defense is amongst the best, ranking #6 but against the run they have struggled, ranking #26 in 3A out of 36 teams, giving up 170 yards per game on the ground. Knox Central is the 4 seed in 3A District 7 but they have a team with a solid, balanced offense. QB #5 Johnathan Hobbs has thrown for 10 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions on the season while #33 Brayden Sizemore (Whose stats from Middlesboro I have not seen this) is floating in the range of 1,000 yards rushing. #23 Nathan Dunn has 520 yards receiving on 23 receptions along with 3 touchdowns and Spencer Coleman has 320 yards on 19 receptions and 2 touchdowns. Knox Central has been competitive in most of their losses, the exception being a 38-6 loss to Rockcastle and 44-18 loss to Bell, but there were times in that game against Bell where they threatened. Knox County ranks in the upper middle of the pack in scoring defense, allowing 20.4 points per game and ranking #16. What are your thoughts on the game?

Ashland comes into this game with a 9-1 regular season record and the champion of 4A district 6. This week they were able to pick up a nice win on the road against Simon Kenton in which they produced their second best rushing totals this season with 328 yards on the ground, behind when they racked up over 400 against Greenup. Turnovers were a huge part of last night's victory as Ashland would capitalize on multiple Simon Kenton turnovers early after the Pioneers took a 7-6 lead over the Tomcats. Braxton Jennings would once again be highly productive with 162 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 16 attempts and 52 yards receiving and a touchdown on 6 receptions. Last season Ashland opened up the playoffs against Harrison County and would win 56-14. Harrison County comes in as the 4 seed in 4A District 5 and looks to try to to come in and pull a major upset over a 4A team in Ashland that is ranked in the top 5. Karsyn Sumpter leads the rushing attack and lately he has started to produce some solid numbers. Although Harrison County comes in with a record of 2-8, this is not a Harrison County team that is to be overlooked. Ashland will have home field advantage for this game and, with a win, will have home field advantage for round 2 as well. Playoff football is always exciting! What are your thoughts on this one?

Enjoyed watching this one. Pikeville has a nice team. I have read about, heard about, and watched bits and pieces of their success over the years but this was the first time I had the opportunity to see them play in person. With Boyd, about the strides the program has made under Evan Ferguson and I believe under him they will tend to grow. I think this was great game for them to prepare for the playoffs. Pikeville looked like they were going away with this as they got a score on their first drive, a quick stop and then another score to go up 14-0. The rest of the first half had Boyd on the defensive in a lot of ways. Although they moved the ball well at times Pikeville made a couple deep runs, including one to get into Boyd County territory where they missed a field goal. Boyd started to get momentum before the end of the first half, but Pikeville would stop them going into the first half up 14-0. The second half was wild. Boyd opened up with the kick return and Rhett Holbrook ran back his second kickoff return for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7. Pikeville bounced right back with a big run from Brenden Anthony and went up 21-7. The two teams exchanged scores back and forth, with Boyd's passing game shining and Pikeville's run game looking powerful. I felt like the momentum shifted in Boyd's direction when Pikeville would go up 34-21 and miss the PAT. If Boyd get stop, that could have been a game changer. But after a short drive to midfield, Boyd would try a direct snap play, the snap was fumbled and Pikeville recovered. Issac Duty would make an impressive play off play action the next play. After evading a Boyd County tackler, he would roll out to the right side under heavy pressure, make an off balance throw deep to Bradyn Hall who would go in for the touchdown to put Pikeville ahead 40-21. The teams would trade touchdowns before Pikeville would run out the clock and win 47-35. This game was good for both teams. Hats off to Pikeville. It was a treat, seeing them in person for the first time. Really liked how Brenden Anthony ran. He had a huge game and I don't have totals of his at this time but he broke a couple of long runs and I don't think it's unrealistic to say he was in the range of 200 yards rushing. Also liked Pikeville's line - they looked like a basketball team. Had great height and were explosive off the ball. That #64, Caden Thacker, I thought especially was a load to handle and made some great blocks. I'm sure Pikeville will be looking to tool the passing defense over the next week to put them in a position to make another deep run at state championship. Rhett Holbrook would finish 23/32 with 291 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 81 rushing yards for Boyd while Cole Hicks would snag 11 receptions for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. I'm not sure if Hicks' number of receptions was a Boyd County record or not. My only comparison is Ashland. For a long time the record was 9 until Ricky Padron would snag down 11 receptions in his first game as a Tomcat in 2021. Hicks' numbers were astounding and I'm sure Boyd will be a tough out in the playoffs despite having to go on the road to a very good Covington Catholic team that can run the ball. This experience against Pikeville could provide the opportunity to make the needed adjustments against the run (Covington Catholic has two guys that will likely finish the season with 1,000 rushing yards, one is already there) to be competitive in that game. Boyd is 5-5 and unfortunately there are no asterisks for playing in a highly competitive district with three of 4A's top 10 and one that is in the top 5, but they are strong 4 seed. To show how much this district has improved with the addition of Ashland, Johnson Central, and a much-improved Greenup County squad go look back at Boyd's district from 2022. If they were in that same district they would be walking away with another district title. Should be an exciting state tournament! All the best to both teams.

Braxton Jennings has been a special athlete for Ashland in many ways. Over the course of his career he has seen the end zone 60 times, including 46 rushing touchdowns, 11 receiving touchdowns, a big interception return touchdown last year against Simon Kenton, and he has run back two kicks for touchdowns over his career. In addition to his all-around playmaking ability, Braxton does a good job setting blocks in pass protection and is a versatile athlete that can be used in many ways. With eleven NCAA Division I offers, the three star RB has been heavily pursued by colleges and also has made accomplishments in the classroom.

Congratulations to Highlands on a big win and to Covington Catholic on a great season! It's always a treat when these two programs get together. You never know what could happen in high school sports, and that especially applies when Highlands and Cov Cath go at it. Two of the best!