PurpleHaze

Coach Wallace has only one more coaching record to go to own all of them at Alma Mater...and he ties that one this fall: longest tenure as head coach. He enters his 18th season, matching the record originally set by Doug Smith in 1926-43. Personally glad to have one of my boys back in the fold, and Ben is one of my favorites (yeah, I'm THAT old...!). It will be great to see his parents back as well, as they are so nice, and his father used to really rib me a bunch...he's a truly funny guy! Since Ben was an OL, I'm looking for big things from our OL this fall. He did an outstanding job for Warren East as head coach...the Purples' front line will be formidable this fall under his tutelage!

In the long run, Highlands is obviously the dominant program in KY history. Trinity played their first season in 1955. Highlands won their first official title in 1960, while Trinity won theirs in 1968. However, I would cast my vote for Trinity based upon the fact that T has played insane schedules the last several years and has teed up H in scrimmages (though they don't count). T also plays in what I consider the toughest district in the Commonwealth with X, Male, and Manual...the last two seasons those are the only KY teams T has played. I am honored that folks agree with me that BGHS belongs way up there. In addition to the last two 5A titles, they played in three other title games in the past ten years. In addition, the Purples have considerably beefed up their schedule in the last several years, and made believers out of T and X fans. The last time T invaded The Big El, they showed a lot of grit in escaping with a 14-13 win, just before T went national. The T fans (and Mrs PH and I talked to many of them after the game!) had nothing but praise for the Purples...they were very gracious in victory! Something else about the Purples: in order to get out of Region One in the playoffs, they must go against very old and very emotionally charged rivalries just to make it to the west semifinal. It is both physically and emotionally draining. Plus, someday, JH is going to have a title or two under their belts as well...outstanding program and, in Mark Brown, an outstanding coach! And I definitely believe that Mayfield and Ft Campbell belong. Just my take! Can't wait to go to Louisville this year to play St X again. Super fans and stadium personnel...really nice stadium...love the stadium fare so you don't leave hungry...and we're hoping for a chance to holler at Oxnard and Tony Danza this time!

Blackman HS is located in Murfreesboro, and that's a real hotbed for HS football in TN! Open date is 11 Oct for Fall Break. District games are Barren Co, Logan Co, Warren Central, and Greenwood. LexCath ought to make for a superb opening to the season at WKU!! I'm also very much looking forward to my second trip to Brother Thomas More Stadium at St X...I really enjoyed my first trip there because the folks there make sure the visitors have a great experience. They were very nice to us...just hope I can see Oxnard there this time!

His name is Joe Manley....He said that the plan was to redshirt him this fall and then have him .on the Varsity next season. Another one of PH's boys has made him really proud!!! Jared is a great guy!

Hey 'Pick! It was great to finally get to meet you after all this time knowing you through here, and Mrs PH enjoyed meeting you as well! Excellent to see Westie as well! Hopefully it won't be so long before we can hook up again!

Can't wait until 2013...this team's going to be scary good!! All but one skill player who played tonight will be back!

Amen to that, Pride!!!! Add to that the fact that the Purples lost 31 seniors from last year, only had ten seniors this year, and only one returning starter on defense! Oh, and by the way, the Purples were the only team in KY with a perfect slate in 2012. Cooper had a great season to be sure, and Coach Borchers deserves many accolades on his accomplishment of turning this team into a title contender in just five years. But how many programs can survive near catastrophic losses from the previous season and win another title? I was there, and I congratulated my share of Cooper fans on their team's effort both on the season and in the game. They very much appreciated my and Mrs PH's sportsmanship and recognition of their team. They earned it. Conversely, we in Purple Nation are proud of our team's accomplishments this season as well, and we thank the folks who recognize that the Purples earned that second title in a row despite starting the season with little real game experience and few seniors. Way to go, guys and staff!! I'm twistin' all night!! :dancingpa:dancingpa:dancingpa:dancingpa

Outstanding, Cardinal Nation!! Purple Nation is dancing with me right now... :dancingpa:dancingpa:dancingpa:dancingpa Wish us luck tomorrow as we try to bring another back to WKY! :thumb:

Also, the JH players started celebrating thier "win" when there was almost 2 min left. That really hurt the team as well...the players were jumping around and hugging each other. A hard lesson JH learned. The game is never over until the clock says all zeros.

JH played very well...I will have to disagree with you on JH being gassed. We were at the game and when JH took their last time out, a couple of the players were told to stand up when they were in a huddle on the field. These players actually kneeled and one sat on the ground. It is hard to go both ways when you are playing a team that does not have any players going both ways.

Once a Purple, ALWAYS a Purple!!:thumb:

Many thanx, slobberknocker! JH fans are among the best there are! From my point of view, JH starts several players both ways. They were gassed late in the game. Late in the game just before our winning score before the 'Dawgs turned the ball over on downs, they called a time out, and several players could barely stand up. I noticed, and I started to yell to our defense that they're gassed...they're tired...you can take this game. A couple of them heard me, and the team took note. When we got the ball back and the ball got in the hands of Blake Pillow on that final TD, there wasn't a single 'Dawg that was capable of catching him. But your ground game was awesome, and nobody held us to under 200 yards total offense all year. The guys had no business winning that game, but they found a way. Our team graduated 31 seniors last year, had only ten this year, and only four starters (one on defense) returned. This team did a super job of growing up all year. They arrived one year early. There was no loser on that field last night. Both teams left it all on the field, and it was one of the best games I've ever seen on the high school level. Be sure to let your guys know that our fans had a very keen appreciation of their performance, and we congratulate them on yet another superb season! Hope we see each other at The Big El next year!

I will be the first to admit that BGHS was outplayed by JH last night, but the frightening thing about the Purples was that they graduated 31 seniors last year, have only ten this year, and returned only four starters from last year (only one on that defense). JH pounded the ball on the ground with great success, but those players went both ways, and BGHS found a way to win at the end. There wasn't a Bulldog on that field who could catch Blake Pillow when he got the ball for the winning score. In short, the Purples were inexperienced when the season started, but got much better fast. This team arrived one year early, and even if Cooper wins the game, I am so proud of the guys in what has been a stellar year of hs football in Warren County. :clap::clap: Best of luck to the Jags next week...what an accomplishment to be in the 5A title game for such a young program! If any of the guys on the page are here next week, be sure to look for Mrs PH and me where the wheelchairs will be, especially you, Pride!!

None. That's what did John Hardin in last night...they were gassed.

Many thanx, 'Fire! Gotta hand it to the Dragons...they never quit, and they gave us all the guys wanted. My hat's off to them and Coach Mike Rogers. Mike is a first class coach, and his Dragons always come to play, no matter the opposition!:clap: My choice for Player of the Game for the Purples is jr DB Hunter Rogers. He thwarted the Central scoring drive with an interception at the end of the first half, had a big TD saving tackle on a goal line stand in the second half, and snagged another interception to end Central's final drive of the game. He was huge in this game! Record win streak is now at 28 in a row. Also, the Purples have currently the fourth longest win streak in school history at home with their 18th in a row (25 is the record). Huge game with John Hardin next week in Elizabethtown. Sic 'em, Purple!!

BGHS played a team that averaged well over 40 pts per game (lowest score before this game: 34 pts) and held them to 17 pts. And that was with a defense that returned only one starter from last year. Christian Co deserves kudos for playing defense out of their minds tonight. The game was the 27th win in a row for the Purples, a new school record and the longest current streak in the Commonwealth. Incidentally, Christian Co was the last team to beat BGHS, in the second round back in 2010. BGHS v Warren Central at the hallowed grounds of Donaldson Stadium/Beard Field next week, just like last year. Backyard Brawl II for 2012! I just have a feeling it will be much tighter this time around, and a game certainly worth the price of admission! Sic 'em, Purple!!:thumb:

Junior QB Devin Hayes added to his school record total of TD passes with four, making 33 on the season. All four scoring passes went to different receivers. Junior returning AP All State WR Nacarius Fant caught one of them, giving him 14 on the season and breaking the record set by current South Carolina WR D.L. Moore set in 2007. He also returned a punt for a score, and if memory serves me correct, that's four on the season, which would put him only one short of the school record set in 1931! It was the 26th win in a row for the Purples, equaling the school record set in 1995-96 and repeated in 1997-98. The Purples will host Christian County next week. The BGHS defense has a tough assignment ahead of them since the Colonels have scored at least 34 points in every game this year and lost only two games by a combined total of five points! Sic 'em, Purple!!! :thumb:

I have a correction to make. The radio broadcast credited the Purple defense with eight QB sacks Friday night. I just looked at the official numbers, and that said six. Sorry about that, Knights fans. I hate to get things wrong, but I correct it as soon as I can! :thumb:

The answer is yes!! They've won 25 in a row, one short of the school record (twice). :clap::thumb:

Sorry, jb...Pride beat me to it! Thanx for the congrats...I'll pass them on to Purple Nation! :thumb:

Caleb Stice got some superb blocking on that runback of the interception. That's the thing about the Purple defense...if you turn the ball over, watch out. Sometimes it turns into instant offense. The Purples faced some adversity in the game other than that first interception. But the way they responded is making me very confident of a long playoff run. LexCath can really make you fold under situations like that, but the Purples were very resilient and opportunistic. I was really proud of the guys last night!

Junior RB Blue Tisdale led the Purples' ground attack and also showed that Fant isn't the only player with the Purples who can return a kick a long way by returning the kickoff after the first LexCath score past midfield. :thumb:

Junior QB Devin Hayes threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, and LexCath scored two plays later. After that, the Purples blitzed the Knights 35-14 the rest of the way. The BGHS defense, which returned only one starter from last year, collected eight sacks and intercepted three passes in the game. That first qtr score ended a 21 consecutive quarter streak where the Purples did not allow a TD and only allowed one FG (to Owensboro). Hayes set a new BGHS record with 29 TD passes in one season, and AP All State (as a soph last year) WR Nacarius Fant tied the record for TD receptions in one season set by current South Carolina WR D.L. Moore in 2007 with his 13th of the season. Senior S Allen Gonsalves was credited with four of the BGHS sacks tonight. LexCath is a very talented team and worthy of the respect they get. However, they shot themselves in the foot with some very untimely penalties in key situations. BGHS needed an opponent of their caliber to make sure that they are in the right frame of mind to make a hard run at a second consecutive 5A title. They will start that trek next week hosting Apollo in the first round of the 5A Region One Playoffs. Sic 'em, Purple!! :thumb:

The Purples are doing this well with only four starters returned from last year (only one on a defense that has a streak of 21 consecutive quarters without giving up a TD...the only score given up in that time was a FG against Owensboro in the third qtr. They have really grown up!). They aren't just about Nacarius Fant on offense either. Next year, they have just about everybody coming back and they should be the prohibitive favorite for the 5A title. I don't know what the schedule looks like, but I understand that the schedule is already in place. I very much respect the Highlands players and coaching staff. They came over to BGHS to work out before their championship game appearance a couple of years back, and had many kind things to say about our facilities and the hallowed grounds of Donaldson Stadium/Beard Field. It meant that much more in the fact that it was the 40th anniversary of our proud facility...they could not have picked a better time to make their observations known! I wish the 'Birds luck in their quest for six in a row...maybe the two can get together someday.

I know Jim...I guarantee that he is, even though he was a basketball player at BGHS, not a football player! Jim has a heart of gold and is a riot when he gets rolling!! :lol: