TCR

We're over halfway through football season and with Belfry having an off week, I wanted to post this thread for discussion about their journey. This has been an interesting Belfry team by a lot of respects. While they have certainly shown the capability to run as usual, they have shown some modified sets and throw as much as they ever have with Varney at QB. Based on right now, what are your thoughts on where they stand in 3A? What would need to be done to take this team to the next level and potentially take Coach Haywood to state championship #9? Belfry currently stands at 5-2, with two tight losses. One comes to 4A power Johnson Central, and another to 6A George Rogers Clark where Belfry led by two touchdowns in the second half. Their key win is over 3 time defending state champion Pikeville. Although a 2-5 team, Pikeville has played a brutal schedule and is expected to be in contention to win it all again in their class.

Jackson Hamilton and Will Richardson of Rowan County football recently came on for an audio interview. Hamilton is a leader on both sides of the ball, rushing for 379 yards and 4 touchdowns offensively while leading the team with 60 tackles defensively. Richardson is an animal on the defensive end with 16 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in 6 games. Both have been excellent mentors for what has been a young Rowan County team the past couple of seasons. Last year the Vikings played as many as four freshman on the field at the same time in some of their games, and this year they show capability but are still very young in a district where Ashland and Johnson Central rank in the upper part of 4A while Boyd County and Greenup County have made big improvements over the last five years. Rowan has had success under coach Kelly Ford, winning their district in 2020 while reaching the regional final for the first time since the early 1980's.

Haha true! I guess it's a glass half empty or glass half full approach.

For Johnson Central, McCoart ran for 415 yards, good enough to put him at 20th all-time in the KHSAA record books. As a team, Johnson Central ran for a whopping 628 yards placing them 9th on the all-time list for rushing yards in a game. Their 672 total yards for the game puts them at #19 all-time on the best offensive performance in a game. For Corbin, Elam's 8 total touchdowns ties him at 4th all time for the most touchdowns in a game. Elam's 8 touchdowns, with 48 points also tie him at 8th all time in points scored in a game. Take note, the only KHSAA record book I could find was updated as of 2021. So there are some records which may have changed. Other stats I could not find: 1. Players that have thrown for over 400, and ran for over 100 yards in a game. Elam threw for 421 with 6 touchdowns and ran for 142 with 2 touchdowns. It's worth noting how he spread the ball around in his 18 pass completions, as four different receivers scored touchdowns. 2. Number of games where three receivers had 100 yards each - Noah Cima, Colton Creekmore, and Cam Estep all finished with 100+ yards for Corbin. I have seen games where three players have rushed for over 100, but don't know of any off the top of my head where three players had 100+ receiving.

Incredible numbers, especially considering the program at X under Coach Specht. The 2021 win is especially noteworthy. That was an X team coming off of the largest win margin in history in the Ohio Division I state championship game in 2020 (Put 44 points up in the first half against Pickerington Central and that's all it took) and they started the 2021 season ranked in the top 25 nationally. Although I have driven by the stadium, I have never attended a Trinity football game and hope to do that at some point. Congratulations to Trinity on the win against a tough out of state opponent!

Ironton has come awful close - even during the Lutz era they had some tough, heartbreaking losses. Ironton lost three times in the state finals (88, 93, 99) by a combined seven points. Then had heartbreaking losses in the regional finals (03, 05, 10) with all three games decided in overtime, the 05 one in three overtimes after Ironton came back trailing 28-7. In 19 and 20 they ran into Kirtland, who won seven titles in twelve years including a three-peat. Kirtland is incredibly disciplined - Coach Tiger LaVerde has won something like 240 games at Kirtland with only about 25 losses. Kirtland won state again in 23, but they are no longer a part of Ironton's class. One of the programs I love to recommend following is Kirtland, just because of how disciplined they are. Their lines are normally competing against players who are much larger. Ironton played them close the first year and the second year had pretty much everybody back but lost big. One of the key players on the '19 and '20 Ironton teams was Reid Carrico, who went to Ohio State and now plays at WVU. Then in 22 had a clunker against South Range where both teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense but South Range recovered a couple of fumbles and had a big punt block that changed the dynamic of the game. This year Ironton's key competitor will likely be Harvest Prep, who has come so close themselves. A fairly new school compared to some of the others, they were founded in 1986 (The school is connected to famous pastor Rod Parsley) and have achieved their first four state semifinal appearances over the last decade. This year they competed against Ashland, winning 26-10. They're big, fast, and VERY physical just like they were in 2020 when I had a chance to call a game between them and Ironton in the playoffs. This was a great game for Pikeville to schedule. Given the rundown of Ironton's winning tradition combined with the style they play - they'll encounter some teams in 1A that will give them a similar scheme. I'll admit where I'm knowledgeable and where I'm not and one area I'm not knowledgeable is knowing the landscape of 1A - but I doubt that Pikeville will encounter a player that is as electrifying as Shaun Terry throughout the playoffs. For Ironton, I think this game is heavily beneficial in the sense of what I mentioned regarding Harvest Prep. Their backs and receivers are unusually large and a load to tackle, and up front their lines bring a big level of physicality. Pikeville's teams are always tough and physical and I'm sure that is a great test for Ironton. On top of that, coming into a hostile environment on the road is always a great learning experience for a team. All in all, a great game that will be highly helpful to both teams down the road and hopefully a series we will continue to see in the future.

One of biggest upsets at least in my lifetime.

Raceland comes into this game off a 42-8 win against Hazard, which was impressive and somewhat unexpected. The passing game for the Rams continues to improve which is a good sign for a 1A team that, despite significant losses to graduation, is in contention to make it back to Lexington for a title shot. Jacob Waller continues to improve taking the primary role at the QB position while Landen Stiltner (#14 in 1A in rushing) is an absolute load to tackle at runningback. Parker Ison provides a player that is both a capable rusher and receiver for the Rams. Raceland's main strength this season has been on the defensive end, with Logan Lockwood ranked in the top 3 in 1A in sacks with 5. Raceland ranks #4 in rushing defense in 1A, #4 in sacks, but #21 in passing defense. I am sure that is where Fairview will look to attack. Fairview, under new head coach Alex Roy, has the most enthusiasm behind their program in over a decade. The program sits at 3-3 and although they have dropped two in a row, their 3-1 start was the best for the program since 2013. Ironically, Coach Roy was the starting QB on that team and would have a stellar career, including a season in 2015 where he threw for 32 touchdowns and ran for 9 more. Fairview has the #1 passer in 1A right now in Jace Manning, who has completed 54% of his passes throwing for 1,308 yards and 17 touchdowns. Xavien Kouns and Jeffery Everetts have 22 receptions each while Izaac Johnson has 19. Kouns, Johnson, and Everetts are ranked 4, 5, and 6 in receiving in 1A, respectively. Although this is not related to football, the school also has some momentum from a project which will improve their baseball and softball fields. Construction has begun next to the football stadium and it has generated a lot of excitement. This used to be an exciting rivalry, and I anticipate Fairview will be fired up for this one. However, one who knows Raceland knows that the Rams will not come in overlooking the Eagles of Fairview. What are your thoughts on the game?

One of the great rivalries in Kentucky, Ashland and Boyd will play this Friday at Ashland. To start with Ashland, they have scored 42+ points in five of their seven games this season and has averaged 51 points per game over their last four. LaBryant Strader is a tough QB with an excellent arm, completing 67% of his passes. Cam Davis ranked #7 in 4A in yards per rush at 11.4 per carry. Ashland ranks #16 in 4A in rushing, down ten spots from last year when they were #6. However, they still have several different players that are threats running the ball. Last year when Ashland was ranked #6 they did not have a 1,000 yard rusher and it looks to be a similar case this year as Ashland will give the ball to several different athletes. Same with receiving this year as their three leading receivers have 19, 17, and 17 receptions. Boyd County has made tremendous strides under Evan Ferguson and with one more win this season they will tie their total number of wins from the entire decade of the 2010's. Boyd had 25 wins in the 2010's and in the 2020's they have 24. They would love to pick up that win against rival Ashland, who they have not defeated since 2003. However, in recent years Boyd has been knocking on the door. Last season they led Ashland at halftime before the Tomcats would take over in the second, two years ago they were a yard away on the goal line from potentially changing the outcome as the goal line stop triggered a momentum swing and Ashland would complete a long touchdown pass to Brandon Houston to go further ahead. And in 2021 they gave Ashland all they wanted in a 10-7 Ashland victory. This will not be an easy win for the Tomcats. Boyd is led by their all-time leading passer in Rhett Holbrook who has 11 touchdowns and has completed nearly 66% of his passes. Rhett also leads the team in rushing. Boyd has multiple threats at receiver, in particular Cole Hicks who Coach Ferguson was able to convince to come out for football last season where he would snag 35 receptions with 8 touchdowns. This season he has 29 receptions with 323 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Erik Germann is the #1 tackler in 4A with 13.6 tackles tackles per game. While that is impressive, Boyd's defense is ranked #30 in rushing in 4A. However, Boyd is ranked #9 against the pass and that has to give the team some optimism against Ashland's passing attack. This should be yet another great battle in an intense rivalry, in particular featuring two great quarterbacks. Strader has a great arm and is big guy that takes several defenders to tackle. Rhett Holbrook also has an impressive arm and is extremely agile - you have to make sure you have him fully wrapped up when you tackle him. What are your thoughts? Will this be the year for Boyd or will Ashland continue the streak?

Ashland came in and won against a gritty Rowan County team. LaBryant Strader finished 10/11 for 233 yards and three touchdowns and the game was also showcased the different threats Ashland has at the receiver position. Sam Lyons and Dylan Duckwyler finished with three receptions, Braxton Jennings and Cam Davis had two, and Mason Wolfe had one. The offensive line continues to improve against the blitz as Strader had time to complete the deep ball, and one of his touchdowns as a short passing play in which Rowan County sent six players at Strader but the line picked it up and it turned into a long touchdown. Rowan County has a complete go-getter on defense in #44 Will Richardson, who has 15 tackles for loss and last night picked up his 11th sack but overall Ashland did a solid job containing him. On the rushing end, freshman #26 Daylen Farrow came in the second half and put up 114 yards on 5 carries and freshman #25 Xavier Johnson had a 5 yard touchdown rumble. Rowan County is very, very young this year and it doesn't help matters when your starting quarterback who completed 35 of 50 passes for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns is injured. I thought backup Taner Woodman came in and performed well despite facing significant pressure all evening. Jackson Hamiltion busted loose for an 88 yard touchdown run in the second half for a touchdown. What impresses me about Rowan County under Coach Kelly Ford is how they look to attack. They came in determined to try to win that ball game. Rowan let the play clock run until the last second and even tried a flea flicker to open the game, a reverse pass (that they did draw pass interference on) and a couple of direct snaps to try to throw Ashland off guard. I also like the growth under Coach Ford, as Rowan reached the regional final in 2020 for the first time since the early 1980's and this young team has a lot of potential over the next couple of seasons.

It's not unrealistic to say that we could have seen two future state champions on the field tonight. Ironton is scrapping hard to win Division 5 in Ohio especially after falling short in 2019, 2020, and 2022 and running an independent schedule with teams like Pikeville will certainly give them some quality looks against championship-caliber teams. Pikeville's tough schedule early will also pay dividends eventually, think back to Belfry in 2021 that started 0-4 and would go on to win the state championship. With some of the comments discussing the needed improvement of Pikeville's special teams, this is the perfect team to get looks against and make the adjustments necessary to shore them up. Ironton has an electrifying returner in Shaun Terry, or "Scary Terry" as he's known as due to his ability to go the distance, sometimes making something out of nothing. Going against him is a true test to a team's discipline. Although I will emphasize that I just received updates and do not know what happened - if Pikeville is looking to improve their special teams this is certainly the right team they can go against to get the proper looks to make the necessary adjustments. Pikeville at one point led 14-0 in the game. Personally I wasn't surprised that Ironton had to scrap, did deep, and elevate their play to another level to come out of there with a victory. Regardless of the quality of the officiating, or the location of the game, Pikeville is a difficult opponent for anybody and they continue to make significant strides to put themselves in a position to win the 1A state championship again.

Wow! That would tie him for the 9th all-time best performance for rushing yards in a single game in state history. Elam’s performance with 8 touchdowns (assuming he scored 48 points and didn’t have a 2 point conversion at some point) would tie him for 8th on the all-time list for points scored in a game. Looks like this one surpassed expectations in terms of excitement. And that’s saying something because this was expected to be a great game.

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That's a good sign for Corbin that the line has been battle tested going into this game. JC will probably start the game with four linemen going on stunts but as the game goes along they will usually rush five, if not six players. Should be an exciting one!

This one will be broadcast on My Town TV. You can watch on the Facebook page My Town TV HD, on YouTube, Roku, Apple TV, or the website. There is no charge to watch. https://www.mytowntv.com

All the best to both teams, a lot of great games historically in this rivalry! Impressive that Bell County has the #1 rusher in 3A despite losing Daniel Thomas, who led in 3A last year. @RoCkMaN28 love your information! I take it that Chris Larkey is the son of Tom Larkey? The defensive statistics are interesting. Rockcastle's defense always seemed to be their rock, no pun intended. This was years ago, but with another Larkey maybe they carry this same philosophy - they would put six linemen down and one linebacker. The linemen were extremely disciplined at shutting down the running gaps and one other area that impressed was how they would bear crawl and cut out the offensive lineman in front of them. Then one gap would be deliberately left open - and usually when the back would see that and attack it, the linebacker would be there to get them. I want to say it was 2001 when Rockcastle allowed in the negatives in rushing yards for much of the season with this system.

That's an interesting point and Elam can sure pick a defense apart! Do you know much about how Corbin's line is the season? I know little about them. But Johnson Central will likely be sending a lot of pressure at him. Typically their defensive line will run schemes to confuse the offensive side while a backer and/or defensive back will blitz.

That's a good point to bring up. Ironton can be unpredictable sometimes. Until this year they were in the Ohio Valley conference and although they do have respectable teams that are a solid representation of Southern Ohio, Ironton has their sights set on winning the state title and has set up a national schedule. In the past when they played OVC teams they would almost always open up with a trick play or different formation and a lot of times they would find themselves up in 1-2 plays, putting themselves in a position to blow the game away and get a running clock early. What I admire about the program is how they take their opponent seriously whether it's a top notch, three-time defending state champion like Pikeville or a team that is 0-10. Against Cincinnati Moeller a couple of seasons ago they would lose that game 25-6 with a touchdown late, but opened up in an entirely different formation that confused Moeller for a few series and Ironton was a shoestrong tackle on the first play after a 40 yard gain from taking it all the way. This is also a good area to talk about Ironton's coaching staff since I did not mention them in the prior post. They are coached by Trevon Pendleton who was a football star at Portsmouth West in Ohio and then would go on to Michigan State to play fullback. Having played under Mark Dantonio, Trevon had the opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl in a 2013 win over Stanford, even scoring on a touchdown reception as Michigan State finished the season #3 in the country. What is so impressive about Coach Pendleton is his enthusiasm, discipline, and how he networks. Throughout his time in college he had a strong relationship with Michigan State but was also able to build bridges throughout the Big Ten Conference, later utilizing that when he took the Ironton Job in 2018 at age 25. Practices are often filled with many college coaches, including the Power conferences. Ironton has become a marketing machine and I think what sets them apart is that in addition running a great program, they do a great job plastering their events and contacts all over social media, highlighting the number of players they have been able to send to the next level. Ironton has added summer events and camps, and recently started the Ironton Classic for football where schools such as DeMatha Catholic, Mallard Creek, and other powers have had the opportunity to play in an all-day three game event that has attracted national attention. It feels like every year Ironton has something new they bring to the table that enhances the marketability of the game throughout the tri-state area. The whole Pendleton family is deeply involved in the process and to top that off several players from the Bob Lutz era are on board. Having competed against Jerrod Pendleton who came through Portsmouth West prior to Trevon, he was a great player and is also a big part of this staff. Jerrod was a freshman in 2002 when Portsmouth West made the state championship game. Coach "Papaw" Pendleton is the Father of Trevon and Jerrod and assisted at Portsmouth West in many of their their deep runs, including the one making the state championship game. Daniel Murphy, who played under Ohio's all-time winningest football coach in Bob Lutz, has coached at the semi-professional level, with an 8-3 record as the head coach of the River City Buccaneers and there are others that have made tremendous impacts. Having competed against Ironton in the past, interviewed Ironton's players and coaches while also working alongside them on various events, I have much more experience with their program than I do Pikeville, but with that being said Coach McNamee has done a fantastic job keeping Pikeville a top tier program in Kentucky and the EKY area is certainly appreciative to have a team like Pikeville that has been a fantastic representative across the state. To win state championships three years in a row (also being in contention this year) is remarkable and to defeat powers like Belfry (Twice during state championship seasons), LCA, and Johnson Central says a lot about the program. I'm sure they will be prepared and we will be in for an exciting matchup between two great programs!

To echo many that have posted, I am excited for this one as it should be a great back and forth game between two of 4A's best. Reviewing Rebel's stats on rushing, something has to give. Either the strong rushing offense of Johnson Central prevails, or the defense of Corbin. It helps Johnson Central to not have any major injuries like they have the past couple of seasons. Last year they still succeeded in winning the district despite missing Zack McCoart. Along with McCoart, Logan Music was injured for part of the season. Having them both healthy gives Johnson Central two backs that are always a threat to score. Both have great breakaway speed and their running vision is impressive. To compare, last year Johnson Central ran for 4,164 yards in 13 games averaging 6.34 yards per rush. Without McCoart and Music, they still utilized their strong depth although they were more of a team that relied on their ability to grind out games with long, time consuming drives. This year, if they play 13 games they are on pace to rush for 5,209 yards, currently averaging 8.44 yards per rush. Having McCoart and Music back is a huge help, and it certainly is nice for them to have Christian Barnes and the powerful running of Logan Morrow. The latter two combined for 1,618 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns last season. Just given the location I am and the teams that I cover, I see Johnson Central way more and am nowhere near as knowledgeable on Corbin, but do respect that Corbin has a great program and is a load to handle regardless of who the opponent is. Elam at QB is a clean, accurate passer that hits his receivers in stride but other than past clips of him, I have not seen Corbin play this season. Reviewing them statistically, as one would expect with a QB like Elam it looks like they spread the ball around nicely and should provide a good test for Johnson Central's passing defense. It's likely that Johnson Central will send heavy pressure at Elam. What I can say, is that I have seen Coach Salmons at Cabell Midland multiple times and his defense always was difficult to run on as the statistics shared by Rebel indicate. They played a physical style of ball that emphasized stuffing the run and I am not surprised that he has brought that mentality to Corbin. At Cabell Midland Salmons devised good defensive schemes and I'm sure his defense will bring a challenge to the Johnson Central rushing attack. Definitely a game worth catching. Always enjoy going to watch a game at Johnson Central. Been there quite a few times over the years. The facilities are great, and I think are a reflection of the tremendous strides the program has made over the last two decades. I think Corbin fans will really enjoy the experience.

One to watch for is Nate Ament in Virginia, who plays for Highland High School. If Mark Pope can land him, that would really be something. Nate stands at 6'9 and exploded this summer. My first exposure to Nate was at the Neptune Tip Off Classic in Virginia Beach last year and one could see the potential within his frame. At the time he worked his way into the top 100 and was rapidly rising up the rankings. Nate can shoot the ball from NBA range and has incredible length, he still looks like he hasn't fully grown into his body and who knows, it's possible he may grow a little bit more. Nate has such a smooth shot and I think he would be a good fit to Coach Pope's system. For his size he also has the ability to slash to the basket and has long strides with a great wingspan. Nate had a huge summer, one event in particular he stood out at was the DMV Live at DeMatha Catholic and Coach Pope was amongst a number of coaches that were there scouting him. One of his games at the event was a 40-20 game. The DMV Live has some of the top talent in the country. Nate increased his visibility to the point where he is now one of the top five players in his class, ranked #4 on ESPN.

I am unsure on Hazard at this point, but for Raceland their team has mostly remained intact.

Raceland comes into the game with a 2-3 record, but they are way better than that record indicates. One of the losses comes to 4A Ashland, ranked #6 in the RPI in 4A with a record of 5-1, another to 3-time defending 1A state champion Pikeville 16-13, then to 5A power Highlands 35-0. This week they picked up a commanding 29-7 win against a very good Newport Central Catholic program and I'm sure Coach Sammons was pleased to see the passing attack pick up with Jacob Waller going 13/21 with 139 yards and a touchdown through the air. That has been the area Raceland has looked to develop and with a powerful runningback in Landen Stiltner, they look to be in position to be a contender in 1A. Hazard is a fantastic program as well but dropped two in a row after starting the season 4-0. However, this is a powerful start under new head coach Matthew Chandler after the program went 1-10 last season. However, just two years ago Hazard had Raceland on the ropes in the regional final before eventually losing 17-14. Raceland would go on to make the state final before losing to Pikeville. As to the two losses on Hazard's schedule, one was a 21-19 loss to Breathitt County, the other a 51-28 loss to 4A power Corbin where Hazard actually led 21-16 going into halftime. Corbin would take over in the second half, but Hazard certainly showed that they were a team to be reckoned with. "Max Pelfrey to Gavin Johnson" has probably been said by many announcers this season, as Pelfrey has already thrown for nearly 1,500 yards (Latest game stats are not up at this time) and Johnson is on his way to 1,000 yards. Memphis Blankenship shores up the rushing attack, and if he continues his trend he will be on his way to 1,000 yards and possibly 20+ touchdowns. Raceland's strength this season has been their defense combined with their power running game. and they have played some teams that have rock solid attacks through the air. Hazard has allowed some points but they have scored 50+ twice and can score points in bunches. Should be a great matchup! What are your thoughts?

Belfry coming in with a record of 4-2, starting to hit their stride having won three in a row. As mentioned in prior threads, this is a bit of a different style Belfry team from what we're used to seeing since Chase Varney is on pace to throw for 1,000 yards this season. In his first five games he had more completions and attempts than he had in 2023. I can look back, but am unsure the last time Belfry had a passer that threw for 1,000 yards. Sani Warren came close a couple of times. This Belfry team slings it around a little more, but that strong running attack is still there with Jeremiah Austin, J.B. Woolum, and Ace Caudill combining for 21 touchdowns. Although Belfry has much of the last 20+ years, in 2022 Lawrence County picked up a 35-21 win over Belfry, their first win over the Pirates since 2002 and last season Belfry would defeat Lawrence County 14-6 at home. These two programs have had some exciting matchups in recent years. Lawrence County has a record of 4-1 and although they have not had a schedule with the strength of Belfry's, they have picked up some good wins with their lone loss coming to Perry County Central who is 4-2. The leading player on the offense is Luke Fetherhoff, who leads the team in both passing and rushing yards. They have a nice, well-balanced passing attack that revolves around getting the ball to several different receivers. It's tough to just key on one particular receiver and have success. They have also scored plenty on the ground this season. Having seen them play multiple times over the past few years (but not this year) they are at their best when their defensive game clicks. Each team has their bread and butter. For Ashland it usually is their athleticism and speed that overwhelms opponents, for Johnson Central it is usually their physical rushing attack out of that wishbone. For Lawrence County, I feel like they are at their best when their defense is playing well. This should be an exciting district matchup! What are your thoughts!

Ashland comes into this game with a big 51-12 win on a row against a Greenup County team that started the season at 5-0. Ashland ran for over 400 yards on the ground and the offensive line had, by far, the best performance of the year although Greenup County has had some injuries which have slowed them down. Cam Davis had a career night rushing with 170 yards on 11 carries and 2 touchdowns while Braxton Jennings ran for 155 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Just to show how deep this Ashland program is with the running positions - last season they were ranked #6 in 4A in rushing yet they did not have a single player rush for over 1,000 yards. Most of the players from that group are back. Rowan County sits at 2-3 doubling their win total from a 1-9 season in 2023 where they were young and had some key injuries. Against Ashland last year they played as many as four freshmen on the field at a time due to the youth and injury situation. This year they have improved, and one thing I have learned is that under Coach Kelly Ford they are never to be counted out. Last year they lost 48-0 to Ashland, but started out the game taking 6:00 off the clock in the first down and causing Ashland frustration for much of the first half. Trick plays were thrown out, everything and the kitchen sink to try to win that ball game and I expect that same grit from Rowan this year. In 2020 Kelly Ford would lead Rowan County to the regional finals for the first time since the 1980's and in 2022 they were an overtime away from causing serious disruption in 4A District 6, taking Boyd County, the eventual district champion, to overtime. I have always been impressed with how he coaches. From the game last year where they tried to unload everything at Ashland to how he motivates. He's the type of person that has you feeling like you can run through a brick wall after having a conversation with him and a great guy as well. With that being said, Ashland has plenty of speed on the outside and their blocking up front has improved tremendously over the course of the last few games. Ashland has only been held below 28 points twice in their last 23 games and I expect them to come out again looking to utilize their speed and athleticism while also looking for Rowan County to try to control the clock and keep Ashland's defense on the field. Should be a fun game! What are your thoughts on it?

Having been around Ironton, I can share a lot of information pertaining to their program. Ironton is in Division 5 in Ohio. I'm just guessing that they would be around the size of a 2A school in Kentucky. In Ohio there are seven divisions, but go the other way from Kentucky pertaining to size. By this I mean to say that Division 1 is the largest division and the Division 7 is the smallest. Whereas in Kentucky 6A is the largest division while 1A is the smallest division. If Pikeville pulls this off it would be a massive win for their program. Ironton has played a national schedule this year, one of those wins being a 56-19 win against St. Francis of New York, who this week happened to defeat national power, #19 Erie Cathedral Prep 35-21. Ironton picked up their first loss Friday against Clarkson North, a 28-27 loss where Ironton went for on a touchdown with about a minute remaining and didn't convert. Clarkson North plays a national schedule and is considered the best program in Canada, with their offensive line looking like an NFL team's line. Across the front the average height is 6'5 and average weight is 294. Ironton was a major underdog, especially with Clarkson North having different players on offense, defense, and special teams. Ironton has come short in three trips to the state championship game in 2019, 2020, and 2022. This year they are optimistic about being able to pull it off. They dropped out of the Ohio Valley Conference in football which allowed them to schedule teams like Clarkson North and St. Francis, NY. This will be a tough one, but if anybody could pull it off Pikeville could do so. Amazing things have happened at this program and this could be where that tough schedule begins to pay off. The George Rogers Clark game has to be a good sign that the team is improving and again looking to be a threat to win it all in 1A. Leading Ironton is Shaun Terry. With the nickname "Scary Terry," Shaun is an electrifying player that can score on any given play. Shaun has had numerous plays like this, which came against Clarkson North.