Cubster

Gage Hughes went for 45.

Greenup was without Mike Hubbert. Averages 24 and 10.

Greenup was without Mike Hubbert vs Brossart. Averaging 24 and 10

The position is currently open.

Final. Mike Hubbert 29 points and 11 boards.

How did the JV kids do that also play varsity?

Can NEKY schools dent the EKY Football Wall? Ashland, Russell, and Raceland football teams will try to put a dent in the recent domination of Johnson Central, Belfry, and Paintsville in their respective regions tomorrow night. All three teams will have to pull off upsets on the road to continue their march to Bowling Green. The Tomcats and Devils are heavy underdogs while the Rams appear to have the best shot at a region championship. Let’s take a look at each matchup. Ashland (9-3) at Johnson Central (11-1) Coach Tony Love and his coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for leading Ashland to the region finals. The Tomcats started off 0-2 and were staring at 0-3 late in their game versus rival Russell. Ninety-five yards and a two-point conversion later, the Tomcats had their first win and continued the momentum to a 9-3 season that many felt would not happen. Quarterback Braxton Ratliff has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Tomcats. The sophomore signal-caller has thrown for 1951 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 739 yards. His favorite target has been senior Tate Dowdy. The speedy wideout has hauled in 57 passes for 958 yards and 8 touchdowns. All-purpose athlete Aroq Colburn has been a threat as a runner and a receiver for the Tomcats. The Tomcat defense has been led by linebacker Marcus Daniels. That defense will face a tall task coming Friday night against the powerful Eagles. Jim Matney has his Eagles soaring high once again. The Eagles, coming off a finals appearance a year ago, have reloaded in hopes of bringing home a state title. Running back Joe Jackson leads a potent running attack with 1691 yards and 26 touchdowns. Riley Preece has provided balance to the offense by throwing for 1115 yards and 14 touchdowns. Multi-sport star Geordon Blanton has 18 receptions for 588 yards for the Eagles. Nathan Wilcox has a team-high 80 tackles to spearhead a tenacious JC defense. It will take a near-perfect game from the Tomcats to pull out a victory. The Eagles have dominated the series over the past decade and seem poised to make another trip to Bowling Green. Russell (10-1) at Belfry (11-1) Coach T.J. Maynard’s Devils have put together a very impressive 10-1 mark as they return to the regional finals for the second time in his three-year tenure. After a sluggish offensive start to the season, the Devils have turned into an efficient offensive team over the past eight games. Senior Nick Conley has finally hit his stride and leads the team with 1040 yards and 18 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Austin Smith, aided by improved offensive line play and experience, set the school record for passing yards in a season with 1550 to go along with 12 touchdowns. Senior Landon Brewer leads the team with 46 catches for 717 yards and 6 touchdowns. The team’s foundation has been its Bad Boys Defense. Senior Blake Thompson leads the team with 88 tackles while senior Drey Boehm has picked off six passes this season. The interior line play of Seth Deboard, Ryan Stump, and Jacob Pierce has been stellar all season for Russell. Their toughest test so far comes Friday night in the form of three-time defending champion, the Belfry Pirates. Philip Haywood’s teams are known for smash-mouth offense and hard-hitting defense and this edition is no different. The Pirates offense has only thrown 31 passes all season en route to an 11-1 record. The Pirates have a stable of backs that tote the rock. They have five running backs that each average over 40 yards a game. The line boasts two Division I signees in Cole Bentley and Austin Dotson. It is no secret what the Pirates are going to do. The question is can you stop it? The defense is led by talented senior lineman Raquan Horton. He has been a thorn in the Devils’ side in the Pirates two big wins in the playoffs the past two years. The Devils are going to have to hit some big plays early to stay in this one. They must create some turnovers along the way as well. If not, The Big Red will take another step towards a fourth consecutive championship celebration on Pond Creek. Raceland (10-2) at Paintsville (12-0) The Raceland Rams have had one goal for the 2016 football season: a trip to Bowling Green. The dream can take one step closer to reality with a win over #1 Paintsville Friday night. The Rams and Tigers battled to overtime in their October meeting with the Tigers winning 27-21. The two teams have been destined for this rematch since the final horn sounded in Raceland. Mike Salmons relies heavily on his Big Three to carry the Ram offense. Senior quarterback Nathan Davidson has had an All-State type of season. The strong-armed Davidson has thrown for 2860 yards and a staggering 27 touchdowns. John Cherry, another All State candidate, has 1130 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Bruising runner Bailey Walker has plowed his way to 16 touchdowns and 1344 yards to balance the Rams’ offensive attack. The offense has been complemented well by a defense anchored by defensive lineman Isaac Wallace and Jerome Hall. The defense will be tested Friday night by an explosive Paintsville offense. Coach Joe Chirico has done an incredible rebuilding job in his short time at the helm of the Tigers. Speedy Kent Phelps, a Wofford signee, has rushed for 1758 yards and an amazing 30 touchdowns to lead the Tigers rushing attack. Quarterback Darren Morris has filled in nicely replacing 2015 Mr. Football Kash Daniel. He has thrown for 1179 yards and 21 touchdowns. The big-play guy through the air is James Allen who averages over 25 yards per catch with 10 touchdowns. Tyrese Allen anchors a tenacious Tiger defense that has helped propel Paintsville to twelve straight victories. This game will most likely come down to which defense can limit big plays. Can the Ram defense seal the edge to limit Phelps from long runs? Can Paintsville slow down Walker and make the Rams one-dimensional? What offense will be successful in the crucial red zone? All these questions will be answered Friday night. The winner will continue its march to Bowling Green while the losing team will start basketball season. #PearlVision Read my blog at WordPress.com: Create a free website or blog

Who will want it?

Another win by over 20 points for the Rams.

Rams by 20 or more

Sad that he could never reach his full potential.

I was told it has been 10 years to the day since Russell beat Raceland in football.

Why sit starters? They aren't beating JC in a few weeks.

Why not play a good team prior to playoffs? First two games will prolly be wins in playoffs. Opposite district is weak.

This thread very mild for what once was a much anticipated game.

Is Ben Jordan playing for the Comets?

I would say Ashland didn't want their field torn up with potentially three home games remaining.

Is The Governor coming to town?

October 15. What does it mean to basketball people in the Commonwealth? It means the start of high school basketball practice. Colleges have recently started their official practices earlier. The state has loosened its preseason rules but October 15 is still the first official day of basketball practice. October 15 is a day of hope and excitement for teams across the Bluegrass state. Every program’s dream is to reach the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. For some it is a pipe dream, for others it is a realistic goal. All goals are attainable at this point as each team is 0-0. The date represents different things for different coaches. For guys like Bryan Groves at Russell it represents the start of a head coaching career. For Greg Adkins at Elliott County it is an opportunity for a region three-peat. For Bart Williams of Bath County it is a new job at a new school. For veterans like Randy Anderson at Boyd and others in the region it is chasing that trip to the Sweet 16. For guys no longer in the coaching business, there may a little longing to be chasing that dream again. Across this hoops crazy state the sounds of sneakers squeaking, basketballs bouncing, and whistles blowing will make a welcome return to high school gyms. Teams and coaches will begin the grind towards March. It is all about the journey and its peaks and valleys. It is a marathon not a sprint. I have loved October 15th since I was a toddler and today is no different for this guy closing in on 50. #PearlVision Read my blog at pearlvisionblog@wordpress.com #PearlVision

yes

Raceland was in the region semis in 2015 and upset Greenup last year to reach the region. Their baseball team has been weak for several years now.

Bailey Walker?

Fairview had a good team last year. Don't sell Washington and Roy short.

And?

PV is loving the fall weather today. College football on days like this is absolutely awesome. Throw in this Dad's first Homecoming Dance with kids attending and it doesn't get much better. On to some musings about the sports world. Running Clock Friday made for a pretty uneventful night in NEKY football. These scores dotted the area scoreboard 63-0, 54-0, 36-0, and 44-8. This season has been very pronounced identifying the haves and have-nots in this area. Plus a couple of traditionally good programs are having down years. PV is looking forward to a couple matchups the last two weeks of the season. Both will occur at Ram Stadium as Paintsville and Russell roll in to take on the undefeated Rams. Today marks another turning point game for Mark Stoops and the Wildcats as Vandy invades Commonwealth Stadium. It is amusing how many games in his tenure have been dubbed as turning point games. I think the Cats will win in a low-scoring battle and then the Mississippi State game on October 22nd will be another turning point game. Ohio State and Michigan appear to be on a collision course to being undefeated for the Big Game at The Shoe in late November. The Buckeyes take on upstart Indiana today as Michigan will travel to hapless Rutgers. I look for both to win in blowout fashion to stay unblemished. Michigan being relevant again is good for college football. The Bengals travel to Dallas tomorrow to take on the Cowboys. The Bengals have really not hit their stride yet on both sides of the ball. The return of Vontaze Burfict was definitely a huge boost to the defense. The emergence of a second receiving option to AJ Green would greatly help the offense. The loss of Mohammed Sanu and Marvin Jones seems to be more glaring with Tyler Eifert still injured. I think the Bengals will have enough to pull out a close win over the Cowboys on a late Mike Nugent field goal. PV was watching the Cardinals-49ers game Thursday night and the thought that crossed my mind was, "How can Tim Tebow not be a quarterback in the NFL?" Blaine Gabbert and Drew Stanton are just not very good at all. These two guys aren't the only weak quarterbacks in the NFL. Back to Tebow, the guy was 9-7 as a starter in the NFL. He took a 2-5 Denver team to the playoffs and beat the Steelers in the playoffs. His passer rating jumps dramatically in the second half of games. You know why? Because Tim Tebow is a WINNER! He is a winner in all walks of life. He won huge in college and has a winning record as a starter in the NFL. The so-called NFL experts continue to lose with awful quarterbacks while one who could possibly win games is playing baseball. Watching the Cubs-Giants game had to bittersweet for Reds fans. You have to be happy for Aroldis Chapman and Johnny Cueto for getting the opportunity to showcase their skills in the playoffs but it stinks they are not still with the Reds. Playoff baseball can be as riveting as any professional sport. Pitching seems to dominate and it looks like Chicago may have the best in baseball. An interesting tidbit: a baseball has 108 stitches and it has been 108 years since the Cubs won the World Series. October is usually not a month where golf grabs the headlines but 2016 is an exception. The Ryder Cup was must-see TV. The Americans, led by Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson, played tremendous golf to bring the Cup back to the United States. The Task Force, criticized by many, turned out to be a great thing for the Americans. They played with passion and a purpose to take down a top-heavy European squad. Golf gets another tremendous boost this coming week with the return of Tiger Woods. Love him or hate him, Tiger is great for the game of golf. PV is hoping he is healthy and can get his game back to where he can contend in the majors. #PearlVision Check out my blog at pearlvisionblog.com