Tigertalker

If you hadn't of asked I could of told ya. He's an assistant coach on the college level. 8-9 years ago he was an assistant at Tyler Junior College he has since moved to another school. Crutchfield almost joined the Hoptown Football staff back in 1994 but chose the basketball path and since has done well has a coach and recruiter. Said 5-6 years ago though if the Hoptown B-Ball job ever became open he would give it a long look.

Hibbit is a really good back with good vision and balance. Does a great job of bouncing plays outside and lowers his shoulders at the point of contact and gets thoses extra yards. He very quick and is hard to get a handle on. Taylor runs hard and fast. He is what some call a one cut back but has made several good moves down the field. Taylor does run at times a little to high but remember this was his first year of playing football. What Taylor does best is hit the hole hard every time he touches the ball. I believe what seperates Taylor from Hibbit and company is his size ( 212LB and gaining) along with his speed. Last week in a track event he ran the 100m in 11.4 secs. This year taylor will be more in the passing game. The coaching staff say that he has the best hands on the team but they threw some much at him they had to keep it simple. What is really exciting is how good he looked at DE during spring ball. Teams better has two on him because he is coming hard and fast at the QB. If Taylor can qualify he will be able to pick any school he wants. I believe Taylor is the best true running back in the state and is on a even playing field with Joey Casey.

Oklahoma, Nevada, Arkansas, Louisville, Memphis, Tennessee, and many more.

Early names being mentioned as the replacement for Hayes: Marty Cline Brad Fasier Al Cooper Rick Smith Chris Crutchfield

Hopkinsville high school has officially fired basketball coach Terry Hayes. In what has been an ongoing soap opera the announcement was finally made. BUT Terry Hayes could apply for the position again and get the job IF the new Principal hires him. Current Principal Peggy Kemp is retiring but her and Athletic Director Rick Roberts felt it was time for a change and told Hayes a little over a month ago he could resign or not be renewed to coach again next season. Hayes refused to resign resulting in his termination. Superintendent Bob Lovingood said he would sign off on the reccomendation from Kemp resulting in the fireing of Hayes. But Lovingood also said that since Hopkinsville High School would have a new Principal next year Hayes could apply again for the basketball position and if the new Principal felt Hayes was the best canidate available then he could hire him and Hayes again be the Head basketball coach at Hopkinsville. Terry Hayes recorded an interview he had with Peggy Kemp and Rick Roberts. He supplied a copy to the Kentucky New Erra newspaper in Hopkinsville. In the meeting Kemp and Roberts both told Hayes they are about promoting Hopkinsville High School and Hopkinsville High School Athletics NOT just promoting one player/student. Hayes has openly pushed his son as the teams top player the last 2 years. The President of the boys basketball booster club has openly supported Terry Hayes but several other booster club members have not and been wanting change. Peggy Kemp and Rick Roberts were ripped last year by the Ky New Era newspaper in Hopkinsville for hiring Dixie Jones as football coach. They will probably go through simular rumbleings with this situation. Hopkinsville High School has never been a big fan of the local paper including former football coach Craig Clayton.

Emanuel Taylor of Hopkinsville has a shot but will have to out-perform both Beaumount (Male) and Tandy ( Christian) when Hoptown plays both of these teams.

If this is true it would be a book boost to Webster Co football program and bsketball program. Providence is a small school with most of the population made of low-income families. Every year they have between 10-15 good looking athletes that play basketball and you always think what kind of football players would they make. Webster is a decent program who have traditional know for their size and strength. If they could get 5 to 7 more players who have speed and athleticism it could make them very dangerous team for seasons to come.

Levar Weston played LG last season and scored two TD's. Hoptown QB would fake Toss Sweep to the right and Levar would counter-step around him and it nobody knew he had the ball untill it was to laste. He scored one from 43 yards out.

Since Perry Thomas has been there the O-Line has been mediocre if not sloppy. Coach Thomas is a real good defensive minded guy and runs a organized weightroom program. Last year their offense was predictable and the Jones kid didn't live up to the expectations. He had a strong sophomore year and had many expecting even more last year. He's a good athlete capable of taking over but sometimes plays a little too timid.

Taylor was here in September of 2004 but didn't play that year. The staff knew last year he would be the difference maker. But QB Chris Thomas was the one that made the offense go. He emerged last year as a more than adequate QB for Hoptown. Not the passer that Hoptown is use to having but seeing the improvement he made last year from the previous years was suprising. I remember seeing him his sophomore year and thought there was no way he would ever be a QB and instead just play WR/DB. But he developed a work ethic and just went after it. Now he still has some things to improve on the deep ball and decision making are the ones that come to mind for me. What made the transition easy for Coach Jones? 1) One thing is Hoptown returned a good amount of starters from the 04 team. 2) the second thing is FAMILIARITY. The players already knew Coach Jones since he was on the Hoptown staff in the 2001-2003 seasons along with Coach Goble. The rest of Clayton's staff stayed at Hoptown except for Coach Lovelace and Faulk. I've never bashed Clayton!! Never have never will. Clayton is one of those guys that grows on ya and ya love to talk to. Has a great personality, funny, & just a great individual that's easy to like. He didn't start winning consistently at Hopkinsville until the 1994 season when he took a young Hoptown team to the 2nd round of the playoffs before losing to Bowling Green. That year people were expecting a 4-5 win year but they finished 8-4 beat Paducah Tilghman for the 1st time in I don't know how many years. That is also the year Steve Lovelace joined the staff as Defensive Coordinator so a lot of the success has to go to him. I personally wish Clayton & his staff were still here. Thankfully the new staff is capable of keeping that winning consistency and even taking it up a notch. They work hard, prepare well, and have good numbers turning out. Not many expected the transistion to be easy and when Coach Jones was named the Head Coach it upset a lot of people and some still won't let it go. I spoke with 2 Western Ky sports reporters this weekend and they still don't give Coach Jones credit for last year and citicized his hire.

Emanuel Taylor 6'1 212 Lbs RB Hopkinsville High School 2006 Stats: Over 1,600 yards rushing, 330 yards receiving, averaged 10.6 yards a carry, 98 yard kickoff return for TD. First year playing organize football. 4.58 forty, cleans 250lbs, good vision and runs with speed and power.

I've never degraded Clayton's offense. Heck I liked his offense he did love his screen series but he also ran the 2-man game to perfection, getin the "I", and go with his 4 Horsemen look. Clayton was/is good at adapting to what he has. Clayton is arguably the best coach to never win a state title. But to his credit when he lost it was to the better teams. How many times has the team that beat him went on to win the state title? I admire Craig has a coach and person. He did do more for me as a person then a coach. I have a good deal of respect for Steve Lovelace. He works well with the kids, works hard, and is great at changing kids to different positions to get more speed in certain areas on the field. Love wasn't certified at the time to get the Hoptown job. I am happy with the current staff the way they work and prepare. But the local media and others haven't given them their deserved respect for last years success and for the numbers turning out.

Hopkinsville should be a top 5 team. Some say they will be inexperienced but this is not the case. They just completed their spring practice and they looked a lot better this year then they did last year at this time. QB Chris Thomas is throwing the ball better then he ever has. Thomas was considered the wink-link on last years offense by some people who only saw him play once or twice but they felt that was enough for them to be experts on his abilities. Last year Thomas ran a 4.65 he is now down to 4.5 speed. He has added 15 pounds to his body and 40 pounds to his bench. Emanuel Taylor (E.T.) 6'0 210 RB is the big stud for the Tigers. One college coach said he is the best "True" RB in the state. He has offers from Colrado, Nevada, Arkansas, Memphis, & others. E.T. has football speed hits the holes with explosiveness. The WR core is deep and tallented with experience. Antwain Loving, Eric Coleme, Michael Atkinson, Adam Briggs(TE/HB/WR), Chad Brown (6'4 240 TE), Brandon Ethridge, & the transfer from Atlanta could special before he leaves and probably start next season. Hopkinsville is having one of their best offseason workout programs they have had since I have seen Hoptown football. Players like A.J. Murray, Adam Briggs, Kasey Hall, & Chris Thomas to name a few have really gotten after it in the weightroom and changed their body's. The Hopkinsville Line will be exleast 8 deep could be more if a couple dedicate themselves a little more consistently. They will be athletic and versatile up front. Coach Dixie Jones has the kids working hard and has more kids coming out then the previous staff. Something some of the self-proclaimed experts said would NOT happen when he was hired a year ago.

Keith Tandy (Christian Co.) 6'0 175 great athlete, accurate passer, good arm strength, & quick release. He will have 2 new WR's to throw the ball to and a new RB. Some key losses in their offense especially with the graduation loss of WR Shawn Brown who helped Tandy by making some big plays down the field. He plays behind a suspect Offensive Line but if he can stay healthy they could be in every game. They lost 18 seniors and in 2006 won't have the depth they had in 2005. Tandy may have to play defense this year unlike last year.

This could be made official this week if not then an announcemt will be made on or by the 15th of April. Either way Hopkinsville will have a new coach next years. You can almost certainly mark off the name Tommy Wade. The former University Heighta Academy Asst. Coach. Wade has been an Assistant Coach in the college ranks for several years at Saint Catherines, South Alabama, & Kentucky Wesleyan. Tommy is currently in Oklahoma City with Ray Harper. Wade has mentioned the Hoptown job in the past but right now life is good in the college ranks.

Terry Hayes (Hopkinsville) met with the Principal and Athletic Director last week. He was informed that he would not be brought back to coach the basketball team. The team was also informed they would have a new coach next season. Right now you got a lot of speculation on everybody's part but this isn't all about wins and losses and it's not all about the promoting of a certain player that has been tossed about.

Not a classification question. But is it true Mayfield QB Blake Shelton has quit the team and just wants to concentrate on basketball? I know he hasn't been attending their spring practices.

This is not all about wins and losses.

His son graduated in 2003.

Apparently the basketball team was informed today that next year they will have a new boys basketball coach. No suprise it has been rumored for a while now. Will know more when I get back tonigt.

He's leaning towards Wesleyan right now. If he does go there they will be getting a good one. LeVar's only down fall is his heighth at 5'10. Suprised Western and Eastern Ky didn't come after him harder but they got the linemen they targeted. In the Hoptown vs Trigg Co. scrimmage LeVar laid the wood to Jeff Adams and controlled him. In the 2004 scrimmage against Trigg he dominated Kenny Ray Turner. Turner wanted no part of Levar. Against Alcoa Levar pancaked twice and earholed another their highly touted DE Rae Sykes who has offers from the likes of UT, LSU, West Virginia, and many others. The Alcoa coaches were complimentary about the play of LeVar as was a lot of coaches. Last year LeVar was named the best linemen at the Hawg Heaven camp in Owensboro. LeVar is a 2-time member of the All-State team and was named the Tremendous 26. He will be playing in the Kentucky/Tennesseee All-Star game. If Weston does go ahead and go to Wesleya then they got 2 steals in snatching up LeVar Weston and Taylor McGhee of Trigg Co. Both players should be playing exleast a level above.

Christian Co. lacks the heigth of Shelby but probably is quicker with more athleticsm. Christian Co. has 2 guys 6'4 in Michael Warren and Antoine Ray other then them they don't have size. Christian Co. arguably has the best 6th man in the region in 6'2 California transfer C.J. Trotter and he can jump out of the gym. He is a good looking athlete with quickness and a descent outside shot. They have good depth and can play 10 kids BUT if you breakdown their depth in certain games Kerry Stovall only rotated in 7-8 players. Against Henderson he only played 8 kids and most say that was because of foul trouble. The same thing against UHA twice this year also. Christian Co.: PG/ Montreal Dillard 6'1 senior--Not a scorer and doesn't look to score. Can get to the basket but does a good job at running the team. G/ Walter McCombs 5'10 senior--Descent outside shooter but inconsistent another athlete. Can score in bunches. G/ Jamaizz Baker 5'9 Junior--Simular type player to McCombs. So much so that one of the Christian Co. assistant coaches says they have twin games. F/G Keith Tandy 6'0 Junior---Great athlete and their go to man if they have one. Likes to play down low and use his quickness and athleticsm. Outside he likes to use his quickness to get to the basket. Not a bad outside shooter. C/ Michael Warren 6'4 Junior---Just a junk man. Plays hard and is asked to rebound and play defense. Off the bench: PG Desmond Daniel 5'11 senior--Not a scorer teams give him the outside shot. F/G C.J Trotter 6'2 Junior--Good athlete capable of beating you from the outside and when you play up on him can drive past. F/C Antoine Ray 6'4 Junior---Simular player to Warren they don't ask either to score just play defense and rebound. Cortez Ivory 6'1 Junior & Mike Dillard 6'1 Junior are 2 other athletes Coach Stovall can go to but down the stretch their playing time has dimenished. Christian Co. loves to play that chaotic style of defense. You pick up your dribble they jump into a double team anywhere on the court. They feel like you might hit them for a few layups off their press but they think they will force you into too many turnovers and get easy buckets for them. Offensively one coach says if your playing Christian Co. you hope they hit their first 3-point attempt because then they think their on fire all night no matter how many they miss. They are streaky from the free throw line.

Hoptown: Brandon Ethridger WR, DB. Never has been timed in the forty. As a sophmore did beat Curtis Pulley by two steps in a race infront of the the entire team. Brandon was pushing Emanuel Taylor for the starting RB job before breaking his foot in an intrasquad scrimmage. 2nd fastest Chris Thomas QB. Chris runs close to a 4.5 and has picked up 40 lbs on his bench press.

Final score was: Christian Co.---83 Fort Campbell---78 Micah Johnson scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for Ft. Campbell. Keith Tandy led Christian Co. with 26. Christian Co. held a 9 point lead late in the game before Ft. Campbell rallied to force overtime. At the end of regulation Christian Co. had 3 chances to win but couldn't get the shots to drop. In overtime Tandy took over.

Josh Mack led UHA with 14 points but it was a quiet 14. UHA came out flat and looked disinterested in the game. Their 2 future stud sophomores Tayshawn Edmondson and Scotty Hopson are the 2 that got them going. Edmondson scored 13 off the bench. Patrick Metcalf was credited with 9 rebounds before fouling out on what the Blazer staff called a joke of a call. Carson Rager, Phillip Whitaker, and Justin Haskins were nonfactors for UHA. Christian Co. built a 13 point lead in the 1st half before UHA went on a 14-0 run sparked by a Josh Mack 25 foot 3-pointer. In the 2nd half UHA got their biggest lead of the game 5 points but CCHS responded with a 8-0 run and after that it was nip and tuck all the way. Christian Co. missed 2 free throws with 8 seconds to go UHA got the rebound and Mack whistled a pass to Phillip Whitaker who was open in the corner but his 3-point shot missed wide. The quickness of Christian Co. and depth took its tole on the Blazers who only play 7 guys 8 if they need to. Keith Tandy had 13 points despite sitting a good deal with foul trouble and Walter McCombs added 17. The 8th District went back to the blind draw method this year after seeding the previous 3 years.