jester270

Who are the Aces scrimmaging? I am interested to see if Roberts will be able to fill Miles Edge's shoes at the RB spot. The bar is certainly set high!

Who is Daviess scrimmaging? I have heard from multiple sources that they have numbers in the 30/40s. What can we expect to see starter wise for DC this season?

Murray week one, followed by Heritage Hills (In.) week two will be a great indicator. If they can manage to go 2-0, then I think this will be the year that they kick the door in!

What’s your rationale? Other than key returners, what sets them apart? Can O match up with Mayfield upfront? That would be my greatest concern going into this scrimmage.

Maybe I’m old school, but at what point do we just coach football? Watch the film. Take your notes. Draw up the corrections. Build the scouting report. Teach your players. If you need AI to watch your film, organize your thoughts, tell you what went wrong, and build your correction sheet, what exactly are you doing? Technology is great, but some of this is getting ridiculous. Coaching is supposed to require work, not for looking for a shortcut for every damn thing. I am afraid that AI won’t make coaches smarter; it’s just making lazy coaches more efficient at being lazy.

Losing the talent you mentioned definitely raised some questions this offseason, but Apollo still has some absolute ATHLETES offensively. They return four offensive linemen in Graddy, Zunun, Burton, and Lawrence, with Max Johnson back at QB and plenty of weapons in Lillpop, Milburn, Green, Williams, Gabe Jones, and Brayden Mattingly. I don’t know enough about the defense YET to make a strong prediction there. To me, one of the biggest questions will be whether they can minimize having so many guys playing both ways. That could be a major factor as the season goes on. Either way, I expect this offense to be explosive and capable of putting a lot of points on the board on any given Friday night. Good luck to the Eagles!

Apollo E-Gals are your 3rd region champs! Give these ladies their flowers. All season long, Coach Julian and the Eagles flew under the radar while others got the attention. Even 102.7’s Vic Evans said Apollo had just a less than 1% chance of winning. But the E-Gals never blinked. They stayed together, trusted the process, and are now headed to the state tournament after knocking off one of Kentucky’s top teams. Congratulations to Coach Julian, the staff, and every player who put in the work when nobody was watching. You’ve earned this moment.

If the Red Devils don’t win their district, hell might freeze over right there at Rash Stadium!

I’m not ready to make any predictions yet. Graves returns a lot, and I was really impressed with their defensive line last season. I think the trenches will ultimately decide the Apollo/Graves/Madisonville matchups this year, but I still need to learn more about all three teams before making any real calls. Apollo does return three key starters on the offensive line, along with a sophomore who gained valuable experience stepping in for injured players throughout last season. A lot will depend on how Max Johnson develops and performs this year, because I think he’s the difference-maker that could give Apollo the edge over teams like Graves and Madisonville, and against their non district matchups like Murray and OC. Defensively, Apollo handled Graves pretty well last year, but Graves also had a lot of answers on defense themselves. You’re right though — that long drive will definitely play a factor, so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out.

Amen to that!

What is your rationale behind Graves being #2?

I think there’s a lot of truth to this. It really only takes a few parents with the wrong priorities to negatively impact a team or program. Sports are supposed to teach teamwork, toughness, accountability, and how to handle adversity, but those lessons get lost when adults create drama or try to control everything. At the same time, I think toxic administration has become part of the issue too. Coaches can deal with difficult parents a lot better when they know administration will back them up and support clear boundaries. When admins constantly give in to pressure or loud complaints, it creates frustration and burnout for coaches. The best programs happen when everyone understands their role. Coaches coach, players play, parents support, and administrators support the program. Once those lines start getting crossed, problems usually follow.

The 2004 Owensboro Catholic Aces falling to Belfry 28-21 in the AA State Finals is still one of the most memorable games I’ve watched at Papa John’s Stadium. If I remember correctly, Belfry went up 28-7 after returning the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. From there, the Aces battled all the way back and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback before coming up just short. Belfry barely threw the ball that night — maybe fewer than five passes the entire game. Are we surprised by that stat line at all? Meanwhile, the Aces relied on the arm of Zach Bernard, who was absolutely electric at quarterback. As a senior, Bernard threw for 4,654 passing yards and 52 touchdowns. In my opinion, he’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever come out of the Owensboro area, if not the best.

Any update with when they make a decision?

If they can make a statement win week 1 at Murray, then they will have a lot of momentum playing Heritage Hills (who lost all of their production) the following week!

As their ceiling barring no injuries, yes. For their floor I have them 3-2 for the first 5 games. What are your thoughts?

They have an opportunity to go 5-0, IMO. Murray on the road is always tough, but that game could set the tone for their first half of the season for sure.

Interesting schedule! I believe in Coach Lopez. I have heard nothing but great things. This school will have a lot of talent roaming the halls, so it will be cool to see what they can do.

I know the Aces had a stout D-Line the past few seasons. Evans and Conkright were difference makers getting pressure to the QB and providing great run support. People tend to forget that great D-Line play can make the LBs job sooooooo much easier.

In my day of coaching, this is the style that I typically saw. It allows kids to focus on their main sports, but you are still able to get the best athletes out for track. It sounds like you guys get support across the board- coaches, AD, admin, players, etc. Is this done at a larger school?

That’s a big reason for your continued success. Strong programs prioritize communication across sports and understand that, especially at smaller schools, sharing athletes is necessary. When coaches are aligned and flexible, it benefits both the athletes and the overall success of the program.

Apollo should be in contention. They only lose one senior. Williams, Henning, Powers, Cruz, and Haskins will all be poised for big senior years. The only concern that I have is how much depth will they bring?

I do not think this will be a big loss for the Eagles. They will have some depth returning there, believe it or not. Plus, Apollo will have baseball standout Gunnar Hendrix who is an OHS transfer. That would be a huge addition. But, Apollo baseball has traditionally discouraged their athletes from playing other sports so we will see!

When I was coaching (many moons ago), it was never really an issue—kids were able to balance both, and it seemed to benefit them more than anything. Recently, I heard from a parent with a son in a track program who was concerned that he wasn’t allowed to participate in both track and spring football. It's clear that OHS does a great job with balancing both. Their strength, speed, and size took major leaps and bounds last season.