MountainTop5

13th A - Any thoughts on Mboro's chances this season? I really thought they'd be very good last season, but it never happened. I still think that the Defense will be there, but the Offense fizzled often last year, and I know they're going to be shallow at some positions. What do you think they'll need to do in order to put it all together?

Mboro loses 2 Sr starters, both played both sides of the ball, but both were subbed for regularly. 18 of 22 starting positions will return, with a lot of experience back at the other 4. '06 should be the most veteran Jacket team since '03, when they had 16 Srs. Downside is how many of those 18 were Freshman and Sophs in '05. Upside is about 10 of 22 positions should be filled by Srs next season - enough for a solid veteran core, few enough for graduation not to be as devastating as it was after the '03 season (only 3 Sr starters in '04, only 2 in '05). I'm looking forward to it.

Middlesboro - Jr QB Trevor Hoskins had almost 2300 All-Purpose yards and 27 TDS. Jr RB/LB Casey Earls had almost 1900 All-Purpose yards, scored 144 points, and had just under 100 tackles. Jr TE / LB Andrew Breeding averaged over 25 yards per catch on Offense and 7 tackles per game on Defense. Jr RB C. G. Ford just missed a 1000-yard season (983) in the same backfield with Earls and Hoskins. The Jackets have all but two starters back next season, and expect to make a serious run at the 2A Title.

Middlesboro's Trevor Hoskins had over 2000 All-Purpose yards and 26 TD's this season. He's got good size at 6'4", and 185#. Fastest kid on the team, and a 60 + yard arm. QB'd the KY All-Star team that won the Hawaii Tournament before his Junior year. Tremendous upside.

Andrew Breeding (6'2", 205#), Shawn Russell (5'11", 190#)& Casey Earls (5'11", 185#), Mboro. All three very fast, very strong players.

Mboro has two freshmen that are going to be top receivers - Hunter Adams and Dailin Farr. Both have good speed and good hands, and will gain size and strength as they grow older. IMO, Mboro Jr TE Andrew Breeding (6'2", 205#) has the best hands of any TE in EKy. I don't know that I've ever seen him drop a pass. And most of his routes are across the middle, where you know you're going to take a lick as soon as you catch it. Bell County's Brent Slusher (6''4", 220#) is getting a lot of looks at TE. He has D1 size and can jump out of the gym in Bball. But I think Breeding is a better receiver at TE. Just my opinion.

Casey Earls, Junior, Middlesboro He had about 1800 all-purpose yards going into the Belfry game, doesn't count his INT returns or fumble recoveries. Scored over 120 points up until Belfry, too.

If Leslie beats SC, the next game is at Leslie, no matter who wins the Belfry /Mboro game. If SC wins and Belfry wins, the next game is at Belfry. If SC wins and Mboro wins, the next game is at Mboro.

Cashen is a good kid and fits in well with the offense at Corbin. His dad made a good move getting him to transfer to Corbin - they mesh very well. But he's more of a "Lorenzen" type QB - big kid, good arm, good head on his shoulders, but not very mobile and throws a "soft" ball. I haven't seen much arm strength from him yet, but I've only seen him play once last year. Hoskins at Mboro has more of a QB body - 6'4", maybe a little light at 185#. He's much faster (high 4.5's) than any local QB, and may have the strongest arm in the State. Throws a frozen rope like Marino did, and it's actually hard for some kids to catch. Threw several over 60 yards in warmups last game I attended, and looked effortless doing it. Playing for an option team hurts his passing stats, but he's still attracting a lot of D1 attention, with visits to UK & Marshall already this season. He's a Jr, and was Hon Mention All-State as a WR in his Soph year. Ammons is just an Athlete, more of a Pulley-type, and may move to another position at the next level. IMO, he and Burke are currently the State's best.

Mboro's Josh Lewis at OLB - you never hear of him except he's always making the key tackle or sack when they need it. TE Andrew Breeding may have the best hands of any EKy TE. About 25 yards per catch, and gets his blocks, too.

According to the posted stats Mboro's Trevor Hoskins is in the top 15 in both Passing & Scoring on KHSAA in Class 2A. Cashen and Nelson aren't listed (Nelson in 3A).

I think Mboro will have a better season than many might think looking at them last year. Last year's team was basically a Freshman/Soph dominated team with a strong Senior leader at QB to hold the littleuns together. Big difference this year will be size. When 75% of your starting lineup is 9th & 10th graders, size is an issue - the kids just haven't grown that much yet. This year's squad will look more like a high school team than a middle school team simply because the kids have grown a lot. Yes, they'll still be young - I would guess Miller & Lewis to be the only starting Seniors - but the experience the kids got starting early last year will show. Depth is still an issue, and injuries to key players may yet determine the outcome of the season. Hoskins going to QB leaves at void at WR that must be filled. Some players will change positions, and there will be a learning curve. But the Defense should be outstanding, with, IMO, the best LB Corps in the mountains. Defense Wins Championships, Speed Kills - if these old sayings are true, then Mboro has as good a shot as any Region 4 team.

To follow up, Mboro went 6-4 last season, and should be much improved this year. Losing Bowling hurts, of course, but Hoskins should step right in. All but 3 starters return. The defense should be extremely good. I'm dissappointed that more kids haven't worked out over the summer, but the ones who have (about 15-20) have worked harder than any group I can remember. On the flip side, Breathitt and Corbin both lost about half their starters. Leslie hasn't lost much, but the Jackets handled them easily last year (should be pretty much the same kids on both sides this year). Lynn Camp returns most of their starters and may be dangerous. Whitley returns Rider, and I don't know much else. Mboro could lose to Breathitt, Corbin, and either Whitley or LC, worst case. I really see them going 9-1 in the regular season, if everyone stays healthy, but I'm always an optimist before I see them play.

Let's see, Happy, there are 10 games in the regular season. Since you can't lose more than 1 in the Playoffs, you're in effect saying that Mboro will go 5-5 in the regular season, still make the playoffs, and go 1-1 in the playoffs. That's the only way they could go 6-6. In order for this to happen, they'd have to lose two in the District, but no more (or they wouldn't make they playoffs). A loss to Corbin is always a possibility, and I know very little about Whitley Co., but they're a 4A school. I just don't see more than 3 losses in the regular season.