gchs_uk9

I'm anxious to see Bethlehem this weekend. I saw Middlesboro a couple weeks ago and wasn't blown away. I honestly was more impressed with Louisville Holy Cross when I saw them in Week 1. Obviously things can change as the season goes along.

Late third quarter, 165 yards of total offense. Same as it ever was.

Made the trip up tonight. First off, Newport Catholic's new facility is wonderful. Really happy for those folks after so many years having to go down the hill. Second, the weather was wonderful. Nice breeze, perfect fall football weather. About the game, Conner dominated from the get-go. Not a ton of team speed for the Cougars but their quarterback is solid, running back runs hard, and they've got a potential weapon in the wide receiver #1. (Sorry I don't know any names). As for Newport Catholic, they had moments of good but had some penalties that hurt. They seemed to be slower than Conner, who wasn't super fast themselves. ASJ mentioned the quarterback, but he was injured last in the third quarter and came away holding him knee. Hopefully it isn't serious. The fourth quarter was all JV and I was impressed with the Breds' young running back who had several nice runs and has the makings of being a really good player in the future.

What are their enrollment/size plans? Right now they are 2A and dropping to 1A next year. They may pull some talent, but is the school designed to have a larger population?

Calpreps predicts Trinity would beat CAL 38-31. Too bad we won't be able to see it this year!

I saw them in Week 1 against Louisville Holy Cross. You could tell the talent was there but they shot themselves in the foot all night long. It was their first game in the new stadium and playing a good opponent, so it was understandable, but my crew all left that night thinking that if they get things straightened out they can be really solid. Looks like that is happening.

I think Bardstown and Central can be in that group by the end of the season.

A quick rundown: Frank Riherd announced two years ago he planned to step away from running the scoreboard for the KHSAA. After discussion, Riherd decided to continue for another year but announced on January 10, 2026 that he would be stepping away for good on June 30, 2026. (https://bluegrasspreps.com/forums/topic/256698-frank-riherd-steps-away-from-khsaa-scoreboard-to-due-to-health/#comments) The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced they would not be buying the software to continue the existing platform, leaving things up in the air for a new scoreboard headed into the 2026-27 school year. At the January 15 Board of Control meeting, Julian Tackett is quoted as saying " "From the time Mr. Riherd told us nearly two years ago that he wanted to start to adjust his time commitment and focus primarily on the scoreboard after the transition of our data system to ArbiterSports, we have been very public in both our appreciation of his work and the need for that product to continue...While the future scoreboard may not be identical and could take on a different look or feel, we would not be acting responsibly if we didn't work to continue this great project. We are committed to the scoreboard continuing in 2026-27 and beyond after Frank steps aside on June 30 this year...” (https://khsaa.org/01-15-26-board-of-control-discusses-football-realignment-considerations-places-cornerstone-christian-recognizes-frank-riherd/) From that point forward it was radio silence. There was no mention of a scoreboard per the minutes of the May or July Board of Control meetings. KHSAA communications director Brian Milan said "We will have a scoreboard' with later reports seeming to compare the new scoreboard to that of the Washington Intercollegiate Activities Association scoreboard, although no images or trials had been seen. (https://linknky.com/sports/2026/07/21/khsaa-arbiter-new-scoreboard/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUNbUBwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAGJyaWQRMWllQlRUNDZtVENMTHI4M0tzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe8hBR2xz6VWG9niaKI0IlXwF9Kc7nVs-TAR5bPXBSHMy0aKzeyJNoU2lZbXA_aem_2a8M7RSCeDOYHTULp4I7xQ) According to Tackett, the "entire KHSAA staff had been working" since Riherd stepped down to get a finished product, even blaming the late release of required training for coaches and officials because the entire staff was working on the new scoreboard. That said, there still had been no updates, frame of reference, or anything else posted on the KHSAA website. The new scoreboard made its debut on August 7, three days before regularly scheduled athletic events were to kickoff. Tackett told the Herald-Leader, "As the old man in the office, I'm still the guy that sits up on Friday nights to see how the scoreboard's working, because I know how big it is." Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/high-school/article316944064.html#storylink=cpy (https://www.kentucky.com/sports/high-school/article316944064.html) The new scoreboard was sharply criticized for its inability to move from team to team within a sport, lack of easy availability to access stats, and a general lack of user-friendliness. In an effort to hopefully fix some issues, the new scoreboard included an "Instructions" tab at the top with new features listed that had been added and/or corrected. To my knowledge it has been updated twice. It includes a bullet point that is straight from the commissioner's mouth: "A large part of the next steps lies with the membership." But how does the membership fix this? (https://khsaa.arbiterwebsites.com/whats-new-at-kentucky-high-school/) After seemingly tying the KHSAA and Arbiter at the hip, Tackett (along with Butch Cope) announced on August 24 they were retiring (https://khsaa.org/tackett-cope-announce-retirement-from-khsaa/). Two weeks later, in a move I've never seen from the KHSAA in 40 years, they announced the next job for the retiring commissioner, coincidentally enough as a consultant moving to a full-time position with the NFHS. What field you might ask? Operations and Technology. Speaking of Tackett, NFHS executive director Davis Whitfield said, "His work in developing and overseeing an in-house technology platform - and guidance in transitioning that platform to a more modern system to help their member schools - demonstrates his ability to turn innovation into practical solutions." (https://khsaa.org/09-04-26-khsaa-commissioner-julian-tackett-to-join-nfhs/) Interestingly, that modern system has been repeatedly and widely panned by the membership, administrators, coaches, and fans. As an aside that might be important, in June 2025, Arbiter was named "Official and Exclusive Event, Game and Team Scheduling Partner of the NFHS. (https://nfhs.org/stories/arbiter-named-official-and-exclusive-event-game-and-team-scheduling-partner-of-the-nfhs) While the KHSAA was stumbling toward a D-minus product with their new Arbiter-aligned scoreboard, a new scoreboard was created at www.kyhssports.com. Far from perfect, it did include easier access both online and through mobile, plus secure connections for administrators and/or coaches to submit scores. The unknown (to me) owner of the new site tweeted on September 8 that he had a 40-minute phone conversation with Frank Riherd. "Buckle up, it's only going to get better," said @Kyhssports_ through his Twitter account. (https://x.com/Kyhssports_) Questions from Me: Why did the KHSAA not buy the software from Frank Riherd and continue the existing platform? Why was Arbiter seemingly the "solo bid" for scoreboard development? Why did it take eight months (and really closer to two years) to release a shabby Arbiter-tethered product just days before the season started? Why was some unknown person (not unlike Frank Riherd 30 years ago) able to release a much better product in a short period of time? Why is Frank Riherd communicating and giving advice to the producer of the new non-KHSAA aligned scoreboard? Why was Julian Tackett seemingly 100% committed only to Arbiter, which just so happens to be tied to the NFHS, who just so happens to have hired Tackett for a consulting-to-full time job, only days after his abrupt retirement from the KHSAA, which came just weeks after the release of a terrible Arbiter-only product disliked by the entire state? Who got paid?!

I'm on record as saying the gap between #3 and about #13 in this class is about a centimeter thick. Teams like Larue, Bourbon and Hart are on the outside right now but I think they could compete pretty far up the rankings here.

But how long until Gannaway returns? If Owensboro played Scott County today, with their lineups as they are today, who would be the favorite? That's how I tend to view these rankings.

Bryan Station's opponents have a combined record of 8-1 and are among the absolute best across all classes in Kentucky. The Defenders, while losing all three, have played better each week. Simon Kenton's opponents are 3-6 and the Pioneers were routed by the one good team they've played. I don't believe the gap between Station and Simon is very wide and I believe a game between the two would be competitive, so we'll just have to wait a couple more weeks to see for sure.

Kudos to NBC announcers who clearly said it was wrong. Indefensible.

Blatant wrong decision there. Unbelievable.

Early in the season but can safely say I hope Charlie Strong doesn't announce many more UK games.

I like this, Chief. As guru said, gets your sleeping and rest right. It also gives kids Wednesday for church and a day for parents to schedule dentist and doctors appointments without having to miss practice. And finally, gives coaches a reasonably full night with their own families, too. Wins all around.

Not quite 50. Using hsratings.com's predict-a-matchup tool, they have IMG theoretically beating Trinity 42-17.

Owensboro and Daviess County first played football against each other in 1955, a 47-0 Red Devils win. The two teams have met every year since, with Owensboro holding a 63-8-1 series advantage. Daviess County's most recent win came in 2017. The Panthers also won in 1966, 1969, 1972, 1984, 1989, 2002, and 2004. The two teams played to an 8-8 tie in 1970.

Christian Brothers is a Catholic college preparatory high school that opened in 1850. Prior to the early 1900s when states really began to push and provide public schools, many communities had schools that were called "colleges." Drive around Kentucky and in lots and lots of towns you will see a College Street. You can guarantee that 100 years ago there was a school on that street and there may still be an old building.

According to @Colonels_Wear_Blue's excellent article about this history of the KHSAA (https://bluegrasspreps.com/forums/topic/259448-a-brief-history-of-the-kentucky-high-school-athletic-association/#comment-5297952), since making commissioner a full-time position in 1947 the organization has never hired a commissioner that wasn't already an assistant commissioner, so encouraging "some of the negative folks on here" to apply is essentially pointless. In truth, that may be part of the problem. The KHSAA has always seemed like an insular organization, pay your dues, move up the line. But where are the new ideas? Where is the new blood? Someone earlier mentioned adding new sports - I commend Tackett for doing so, but that kind of stuff is inevitable. I've heard Tackett speak on numerous occasions and almost every single time he's had a snide remark about operations such as BGP (and others that have come and gone); essentially it wasn't worth his time to deal with the "riff-raff" here. But there have been many good ideas floated across these pages that have withered on the vine because no one in power seemed interested. Is that leadership? Is that stubbornness? Are you keeping yourself abreast of what might be better for high school athletics or are you continuing to stack the Board of Control with buddies and yes-men who then get moved out of hard regions or that realignment just so happens to magically benefit? Tackett has done a good job, just as DeVries, Stout, Wise, and Mills have all done in my lifetime. But it isn't wrong to be critical when things need improvement. It isn't a binary choice - vociferously complain or fall in line without comment - when viewing the organization as a whole and leadership in particular. The KHSAA has an opportunity here to take a step forward in interscholastic athletics. Will they do so, or does the assembly line just churn out another promoted assistant commissioner, keeping up the status quo?

In a 4-class system today, with 222 teams divided evenly, you would have on average 6.9 teams per district (we'll round it up to 7). So you'd have six forced district games, instead of the 3-4 in a 6-class system. There are valid arguments for fewer classes but you can guarantee people would be complaining about those extra district games. Heck, as a CAL fan, you'd maybe say goodbye to Bowling Green and Ryle and hello to Iroquois and Waggener.

This is excellent @Colonels_Wear_Blue! Great work!