KnightBird

Thanks for your kind effort to keep us Bird fans who can't make the game, updated. Even in the rain!

any updates?

Thank You Birdsfan for all your updates every week!

As I remember, "all" CovCath had to do was stop Burke on a 4th and 10. If they had, they would have rolled to the state finals and their own championship. (At least that seemed to be the concensus on BGP) And, as I recall, Burke came up to the LOS, looked over the defense, stood straight up, turned to his coach and gave him a thumbs up for all the world to see. Then he played the defense perfect, threw a screen that went for a touchdown...and LexCath went on to take it all. If I understand the NC State situation, Schaeffer is at least 2 years older than Burke. I don't know many coaches who start a freshman QB, no matter how talented, unless circumstances demand it, so I can't imagine Burke having a major problem with Schaeffer showing up. Besides, competition just makes you better. Burke is indeed "crafty" on the field (see CovCath), very gutsy through the pain (see Highlands) and an extremely talented QB (see the state records) I suspect you'll be seeing him do okay in college.

Homefield advantage doesn't give you a 4th down defense. You need a little more in your stocking.

Earlier this season, just before handing Trinity one of the biggest losses in their series history, St. X came to Lexington and escaped with a field goal in the last minute....not a touchdown, not a blowout....a field goal. This was St. X at their season's best stretch of games...listening to St. X vs. Trinity fans go at each other all season long makes it difficult to decide whether X just fell apart from that high point or suffered from key injuries. The pre-season exhibition against Trinity was just that...an exhibition. The Trinity coach after the game thought that LexCath hadn't shown their whole bag of tricks, and were going to be the force in the playoffs. LexCath's defense really came together and improved dramatically at the end of the season. The win over nationally ranked Male a couple years ago by LexCath, followed by a LexCath over St. X victory, helps to tone down the myth of Louisville 4A automatically winning. The game is won on the field. I love the desire to win LexCath shows in every game. And I'd sure like to see Trinity and LexCath tee it up for real.

So, who got Player of the Week?

For me...take your pick. It's a community thing. I like high school football, and I would like to see all the schools do better. I'm a firm believer that having a strong sports program makes the entire school rise ...kids throughout the school take more pride and try harder at everything, particularly academics..and again it makes the community stronger. Both the private and public kids grow up and play together, and I think it means something to them. I'd like to see the public schools end their 24 year championship drought. It would make the whole city feel good if they did.....If playing Catholic helps, great....I know they've got the talent. Playing them would only make Catholic even better. Finally, I'd like to see Lexington Catholic kick their butts, and I bet the publics would like to kick Catholics butts. (am I allowed to say butts?)

To my mind, it is not so much just seeing the different styles of play, but it is recognizing you can compete with the best. It is a mental adjustment that teaches you that this is high school football, and that, if you want it, you can achieve it. Highlands and CovCath schedule Ohio teams. They may not have great records against those teams, but I guarantee every player believes they can win...and it pays off later in the season. For Lexington Catholic, it is scheduling the St. X's and Male's in the early season (and Trinity in pre-season) that has finally paid off. For all the talk from St. X and Trinity on BGP, they know LC walks on the field to win. Someone asked on another thread if LexCath will now surpass Highlands and CovCath....which, for a lack of a better word, is silly. Those two programs are not going to back down from one LC title. At the same time, they have met LC on the field enough times to know it is a program to be reckoned with. Henry Clay needs to do the same. Certainly, Belfry, Bell, and Boyle are fine programs, (and I am not looking to pick a fight with them) but HC needs to look to better competition for their non-district games to prepare their players for later on.

Here's a thought...and I KNOW I'd better duck..... Here in Lexington the public school adults have chosen to boycott Lexington Catholic. At no point are their kids being taught that they can beat Lexington Catholic... except by talking. Fortunately, in basketball, we at least play in the district and/or regionals. The public basketball players have found out that they can play even with LexCath...why, they even win on occasion!!! How amazing to find out the game is decided on the court!! Are the football players in Lexington, be it sublimally, being taught that all private schools have an advantage they can't overcome? Are they going into the semi-finals already beaten? As an aside, Lexington Catholic has lost to Male, has beaten Male...has lost to St. X, has beaten St. X. LexCath players at least feel the ability to compete....because the adults schedule such games.

I hear Inmotion on the different parts of the game. I did think that every so often you saw a flash of what Bowling Green could do with their running game. Indeed, at the beginning of the second half, I wondered if they would pull it together and grind out 3 rushing TDs to take the lead.....but they fumbled on the second play and the game was over. From my vantage point, LexCath's defense just flat-out disrupted their playmaking abilities and decisions. One point.... well into the second half, a couple BG players got frustrated and got flagged for personal fouls. That happens when you get frustrated, and, at least from where I sat, I thought the coaches did a good job getting control of the situation well before it could get out of hand. Indeed, it seemed players displayed better sportsmanship after that (particularly after one great tackle against LC's Israel)

Hopefully this thread will not regress to a St. X vs. Trinity type of thread. Personally, I think this imaginary game would be a great match-up. If I remember correctly, last year, Highlands was playing musical chairs with the same QBs they had this year...which of course means they were younger and less experienced on that 2004 team. The 2005 Lexington Catholic defense was fast and smart, designed to be in the QB's face, as demonstrated against Highlands and Bowling Green (they of the monster offensive line) In both cases, LC's defense was quicker, positioning themselves well to disrupt offensive plays before they could develop. Cages were rattled and quite simply the offense could not react and quickly change their game plan. Mistakes multiplied. That is what this defense is designed to do...and would be the main difference in this imaginary game. With a year's less experience at QB, I would suggest the results would be the same. Was the Highlands' defense stronger last year? Decidedly so. Faster, stronger, really good against the pass. But I'm assuming in this imaginary game Justin Burke would be healthy, as opposed to Regionals when he hobbled the whole game. He was able to run, but could not throw off that bad foot. (I usually don't like bringing up injuries, because they sound like excuses for a loss. I've never had to use it as an excuse not to run up the score.) Last year's Boyle Co. had a strong QB and receiver, but this year's LC had a QB that, in MHO, (and the numbers suggest) is much better, and LC had a multitude of weapons at the other end of his passes. And check with Bowling Green on the offensive line of LC giving Burke plenty of time. My pick....Lexington Catholic (Long winded story to that surprise ending, eh?)

Hey, to play with the best, you got to be like the best.

Great Year Seniors!!

I won't be shy. Lexington Catholic Trinity St. X NCC Bowling Green Russell Owensboro Catholic Mayfield I firmly believe Lexington Catholic pairs up well with Trinity. I'm still looking for a quote that was seen in the Lex. paper from Trinity's coach concerning LexCath and his thoughts on their run for a state championship. (Any help would be appreciated) I tried to stay up with Trinity-St X on radio, but family obligations stopped most of this. I do understand they played with a lot of heart and earned a hard-fought victory, no question about them best in 4A, but that does not make them the automatic state best. Actually, it's the rest of the Final 8 I question. St. X seemed to be going downhill over the second half of the season, NCC certainly had a convincing win, and I never saw Russell play.

Great idea, nice to get BGP even more well known. As you read the different posts and threads on BGP, we brag about our local heroes and standouts, and tout their numbers week after week. Each and every school hopes to see one of their teammates carry the school name on to the D-I level...and perhaps, just perhaps...to hear their hometown mentioned on ESPN or CBS. And that is what a player of the week usually is. But as you read BGP, you also see a lot of players, ex-players, fans, and even some coaches revel in a sport that teaches character and team work. I think for everyone here that first smell of Friday night in the fall is exhilirating. It is watching a group of young men who have worked hard over the years and come together as seniors to set their final goal and to achieve it. As this first Player of the Week is basically the one to represent the 2005 season, my nomination is for a group of players, not just one. This whole year has seen a majority of BGP'rs dismiss the defense of Lexington Catholic on a regular basis. Whether it was because of a true belief, or just disliking the private school doesn't matter. I would like to think all those who spoke so poorly of that defense are able to recognize what these young men accomplished. Shutting out Highlands in the Regional, shutting down Rockcastle in the semi's, and flat-out dominating Bowling Green at State. This group is not made up of D-I stars, just kids that grew up loving football, enjoying the smell of Friday night.

The black jerseys were awesome. To all the experts who disparaged the Lexington Catholic defense, check with Bowling Green, Rockcastle and Highlands. For the Highlands fans that were distressed at the number of fumbled snaps at that game, so did Bowling Green suffer from a swarming defense that rattled a few cages. While on several occasions the Purples did show the offensive power that got them to State, too often they looked overwhelmed, and not able to get on the same game page. To all who thought Lexington Catholic as a one-man program that depends on Justin Burke to create all the offensive power, check the scoring columns. One of the greatest aspects of this win is the team feeling that permeates the field, the sidelines, and the grandstand. These are kids who grew up wanting to play football in high school. Many dream of playing Division I, but most understand the goal is to help the team, not themselves. To all the other high school football players in Lexington, try if you can for the moment to ignore the adults in this community who desire to wish Lexington Catholic away by not playing them. Many of you kids grew up together as friends. Share the moment, as the city newspaper points out, of the Lexington community’s first title in 24 years. To Coach Sphire and the coaching staff, congratulations and thanks. Thanks for instilling a tradition of wanting to win, of never giving up, and indeed, of expecting to win. As coach said yesterday, this one was for everybody. I know 2 young men up at Notre Dame who are quite happy right now.

It was Knight Time this morning in Louisville!! Way to go Lexington Catholic. Congrats to Patrick Schwendeman, MVP - The high powered Knight offense was there, but the higher power today was the defense. What a tremendous team effort.

Rather than just the "biggest" win, how about.... "Sweetest".....Last year over Boyle County. They had been LexCath's biggest arch-rival. It's a shame these two teams no longer meet unless in the State Championship. Central Kentucky needs a 3A rivalry on par with the Highlands-CovCath rivalry. "Biggest"...This year over Highlands. I have never bought the "failure or hump" theory when you are fighting Highlands, CovCath and Boyle for Regional honors. This region is the toughest road to the State Championship year-in, year-out, with the greatest success rate of state championships, so getting past this Regional is indeed big. I firmly believed it was a matter of time for LexCath to win it, and for all the reasons jbwill2 gave on accompishing it over Highlands (adding on I grew up there) this team did it right. "Greatest"...The win over nationally ranked Male in 2001. With 7:37 remaining, a monster storm hit while LexCath trailed on the scoreboard 21-18. Rather than conceding the game (as one other team had done 2 weeks before), Sphire held out for 2 hours for the restart. When play resumed, a total of 32 combined points were scored in that 7:37, with LexCath winning 38-33. It was the type of game traditions are built on. "Most Important"...Last week over Rockcastle. Lexington Catholic is going to State! Go Knights...win State!

As we all know, and has been testified to over and over on BGP, Bob Sphire always has 5-6..even 10 Division I players graduating, so it seems many LexCath players have been overlooked here! On a more serious note, I would put in a vote for Drew Ellison to at least be mentioned. He played a fine game vs. Lex. Cath. One thing about these lists is that there is a finite number of names to be chosen, so someone always seems to "lose", which is not the right way to look at it. Saying that, however, doesn't ease the disappointment for families, friends and teammates. Certainly it was disappointing for the Lexington Catholic community to not have Justin Burke chosen as Mr. Football, but Micah without a doubt is a worthy choice, and only one could be chosen. It was quite encouraging to hear Justin say the same. So back to the business at hand... Go Knights...win State!

Lexington Catholic has a history of speedsters in their 15 year program history. That will continue. It should be a factor this weekend and again next year.

I have to agree that this is not the overall most talented Lexington Catholic Team. In their 15 years of having a football program and having witnessed most of those games first hand, I think the 2001 team was stronger and faster on both offense and defense. They had too many injuries affecting them in their regional final game. That's the breaks. That's football. I'll go with Catholic in this one by 7.

Doug Pelfry, a kicker who played HS ball somewhere in Northern Kentucky,went on to break records at UK and the SEC and kicked for the Bengals should be on the list. And what about David Ackers kid who is currently kicking in the NFL for the Eagles. He played for Tates Creek High School in Lexington.

As part of the Lexington community and having watched some of the HC kids grow up in the youth leagues, I'll extend an apology for any misbehavior. I hope it was more a couple of bad apples leading the way than the team as a whole, as there are good kids on that team. If you don't like how the other team dismisses your team's abilities, prove them wrong on the field. (See Highlands-LexCath and the pregame "lack of LC defense" comments as an example) Now, to change the topic (perhaps it should be a new thread) we have problems here in Lexington getting Henry Clay on Lexington Catholic's schedule. Since Trinity has played both teams...and granted LC was a pre-season exhibition and HC was a post-season playoff....any thoughts from the Trinity folks on how those two would match-up?

After all, Mr. Head, let's appreciate what Lexington Catholic has accomplished in football in only 14 years, having to go up against programs that have been established for well over 50-60 years.