Trinity alum

That is 25 of the last 50

Yes, but a Saint doesn’t outrank the Holy Trinity.

I did. He thinks X needs to double cover Moore. He did and only lost by three touchdowns. He also thinks Trinity needs to turn it over a bunch of times and rack up a lot of penalties. He reads like X can't win it, Trinity has to lose it. I'll take that. My take is a little different. I don't think X can ram it down Trinity's throat with their running game. Trinity's front seven are really good. X does have a mismatch when you look at their tall tight end and wide receivers compared to Trinity's defensive backs. In my opinion, that is the mismatch they will need to exploit in order to win. Trinity will need to prevent anything deep, make good tackles after completions and keep strong pressure and containment on the X quarterback. Not easy, but I think they can do it. Trinity also has some mismatches in that X can't match their speed or hands. The Trinity receivers can flat out catch the ball. X couldn't run the ball the first time. Will that be better? Trinity didn't run the ball very well from the running back position in the first game. Most of the running yards were from the slot. Smith is running the ball much better than in the first game. That will be a big difference. That ability to run the ball will also free up Moore and the rest of the receivers. I don't think it is an accident that the past couple of weeks Trinity has been using the running game very extensively. I think Coach Beatty knew that it needed to improve. It has.

St Mathews Kentucky has two high schools with twenty-four titles between them. Going for number twenty-five on Sunday. Kidding aside, what Danville and Boyle County have managed to do is pretty special.

The CJ has an article with Male Coach Chris Wolfe giving his analysis of the game. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/preps/kentucky/2017/11/29/male-coach-chris-wolfe-breaks-down-st-xavier-trinity-football-state-final/901233001/ I'm not sure I agree with the notion of spending all of that time on Rondale Moore. If you double team Moore, someone else will be open, and those guys are good. It may be very difficult to cover Moore, but if someone can handle it without a lot of extra attention you can keep the other guys covered (maybe).

WOW! You are really stretching here. Or maybe it is just wishing. The block by 47 at the 18 second mark is in close quarters and is not a blindside block. It is also not the type of blocking situation mentioned in the explanation of the rule. The block by 10 at the 21 second mark does use the hands and the proper blocking technique called for in the new rules. The block at the 30 second mark also uses extended arms as called for in the new rule. Thank you for giving us a chance to see just how well coached the Trinity kids are. As I have pointed out in other threads, I was disappointed in how long it took the coaches and kids to adjust to what I thought was a style of officiating that was significantly different from what they had seen all year in the SK game. That said, you will notice that it was fixed prior to the CH game. Two procedure penalties for a total of 10 yards.

As game changing a performer as Rondale Moore is, there are other guys that can get the job done. Quarterback Nick Bohn is the guy that would be hard to replace on short notice.

I would be happy with a one point win. While Trinity is and should be the favorite, X is a lot better that they were in September. In addition, it is always hard to maintain the dominance that Trinity has enjoyed over the past few years. The X offense has improved to the point where they will score some points. If they are to win it will have to be on defense. I think that Mr. Garrett may have tipped the X game plan and philosophy for the game when he said "I'm ready to pound Trinity next week". When you hear those kinds of quotes from kids it is usually a reflection of something they heard from the coaches. I think that X has tried to develop "pounding" as their identity. Pounding is a time honored and successful brand of football. Is it also part of the reason for the rash of injuries X seems to be experiencing? My guess is that pounding Trinity won't work. You have to catch them before you can pound them. The Trinity kids will have to come in ready to absorb the shot in the mouth X will deliver. I remember the game in 2012. I think that the lead up to that game was a lot like this one. I thought Trinity looked a little panicked when James Quick was injured and they went down 14-0. That panic changed to resolve when the X fans cheered James Quick being injured. Coach Beatty said that when they cheered and his team saw them cheering he knew right then they would be alright. They will need the same resolve this week. They will have it.

Sorry, but who is Mr. Garrett?

T had 5 yds in penalties in first half

Some, including the Courier Journal have made a big deal out of the previous games and the fact that SK hasn't scored. I remember a long ago time when someone at Trinity put up a big sign in the Trinity cafeteria that listed the scores of the last four Trinity - Male games, all shutout Male wins, none close. It was followed by the line, "How bad do you want it." I still think it was the best motivational sign I ever saw. By the way, Trinity won. I don't say this because I expect an SK win, I don't. But, things stay as they always were until they don't. SK needs to be treated as a very good team that is in the third round of the playoffs.

I have seen a couple of games this year with the seven person crews. I thought they were well officiated with a lower number of flags. I think nearly all, (and likely all) officials try to do their best. I do think that sometimes when officials come in from another part of the state they sometimes struggle with the size and speed of the teams as well. Some of it may just be different styles in different parts of the state. I don't know where the crew that called the Trinity game last Friday was from but I did think that it took the Trinity defense too long to adapt to how the game was being called. In an earlier post I commented facetiously that maybe the coaches should get tape on the officials. The more I think about it, maybe that makes sense. How they call the game does make a big difference.

Not a lot of time spent thinking about this, but keep the existing system the same, but give the three and four seeds the option of dropping out of the playoffs and scheduling a "bowl" game against anyone they can schedule a game with. If their opponent drops out, the one or two seed gets a bye. That allows a good team from a strong district (say Butler this year) to pursue a championship and a really weak team (say Seneca this year) to schedule a competitive game. My guess is that most teams would stay in the playoffs. I would, but it does give them an option.

No. Revenue would be hurt. That is a good enough reason.

I think that the following is pretty close to what was said. "Per KHSAA rules, the remainder of the game will be played with a running clock". I don't see a thing wrong with it. I also have no problem with announcing plans for ticket sales. Season ticket holders need to know how to get their seats for the following week. At that point in the game, if there was anyone in the stadium that didn't know that Trinity would be advancing to the next round, I am sorry that the news was broken so abruptly.

SK is a one loss team in the state quarter finals. They have won two games in the playoffs. Don't take them lightly.

There have been a few comments on the Trinity secondary. It is up to the coaches and players to adapt to the way the game is being called. They did, but it took a while. I thought that the way the officials called the game in the secondary was strange. It looked to me that any contact initiated by the defense on the offense was defensive interference. It also looked like any amount of pushing off by the offense was let go. I repeat, it is up to the coaches and players to adapt. Maybe the coaches should consider getting game film on the officials to see how they call the game and be ready for it from the start.

Just an observation, but I think that the bigger crown on grass fields is a bigger factor, especially for passing teams.

It might well be, but a home game with a crowd of 7,000 generates $50,000 or $60,000 in revenue. Even if someone covers the cost of the trip, the lost revenue is big.

And that is the problem. Whenever anything is as successful as Trinity football there is a natural desire to let that tail wag the dog. That can't ever happen. The focus has to be on the real mission of the school. There is nothing inherently wrong with travelling a long distance to play games, unless it starts to interfere with more important things. A schedule that necessitates athletes missing class is not a good idea. A schedule that reduces revenue, even if the costs are picked up by someone else is not a good idea. I am not naïve. I know that there are compromises that are needed sometimes. At some point that could even include long distance games, but I think we should recognize those games as a last resort.

I'm very proud to be a Trinity graduate. In an earlier post you accused me of being old. Younger than some, older than most. That means that I have over fifty years of experience knowing what Trinity is about. It isn't football. Football is a means, not an end. It is about forming men of faith and men of character. It is about providing a world class education. It is about making what Trinity offers available to a student body that is the most diverse of any private school in the area. Proud? You bet. Couldn't be prouder.

Ding, Ding, Ding! Now we have identified the agenda. I couldn't figure out why your opinion of the Trinity scheduling philosophy made you sound like someone whizzed in your Wheaties. Now I know. There is nothing wrong with the Trinity schedule. They play a number of strong regional teams and the district teams they need to play to qualify for the Kentucky playoffs. Games that would require missing school or overnight stays are not desirable or needed. Getting a tenth game this year was hard. That's why the Florida team was on the schedule without a return date being offered. If it continues to be hard to get a full schedule the administration may have to rethink the idea of long distance games. For now, things are fine the way they are.

I didn't leave Scott County (or anyone else ) out because they are not capable of winning. I just haven't seen them. Many of the teams in the field have no chance against Trinity on Trinity's worst day. There are several others that are capable of pulling the upset. I remember Dixie Heights in 2004 and Bishop David in 1991. I was there to see both. Both were huge and unexpected upsets that "everyone" said couldn't happen.

I am going to disagree. I have seen several times in the past 18 years when X put a beatdown on Trinity during the regular season only to have Trinity reverse the result in the playoffs. From what I have read, both X and Ryle have improved a great deal since the early meetings with Trinity. Trinity is an obvious favorite, but don't believe all of the hype. This Trinity team still has trouble running the ball. They have room to improve and must remain focused if they plan to bring home the big prize.

I would like to thank the folks at Fern Creek for playing the game. Too many of their JCPS mates won't do it. The way to get better is to play better teams.