InTheLoop

It's a sad day for Prestonsburg football when they have to worry about whether or not they can beat the Tigers. Believe me, as a Johnson Central fan I know...I have seen many sad days...but not recently...and I must say it feels pretty good.

I believe that if I were the BS Coach that I wouldn't put too much stock into what Paintsville had to say about beating Johnson Central. The Tigers haven't had much luck since Matney arrived. :D

I may have overlooked some threads, but I haven't seen any topics on Paintsville football. Where are you guys at? Anyone know?

I assumed the #5 spot was Johnson Central. If not, which Central is it?

I thought Les moved to the western part of the state.

Right on the money!!

Where did you find these rankings?

I am almost inclined to agree with you. However, I am beginning to believe that the teams JC has played are a lot better than people (myself included) have given them credit for being. NL defeated a good Leslie County team this week 17-0. South Point defeated a team that played Ironton, OH to within a last-second Field Goal. Logan is a probable playoff team in WV (like last year) with a very good quarterback. I think more of the credit needs to go to the JC defense. It has been outstanding this season against some very good players.

If JK was playing I would predict JC to put the ball in the air quite a bit. Last year I believe that Taylor caught 4 or 5 touchdown passes from Music against the Defenders. However, with Ratliff watching this one I expect JC to keep doing what they have been doing...pounding it on the ground. I keep waiting for Blake Johnson to have a breakout game and this may be the game. With a sophomore under center look for JC to keep the offense fairly simple. JC 21 BS 8

I think we need to step away from the football aspect of the injury and its effect on the team. You are acting as though it is no big deal that JK went down and that JC can just plug someone else into that position. A "TEAM" is more than just a group of interchangeable parts that can be exchanged at will. It is a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal. And, when one of those team members go down the thoughts should be about that individual rather than who can we replace him with. Have some compassion and don't act as though it is no big deal because JC has competent replacements.

I hate to hear that. It just doesn't seem fair for such a great kid to have as many injury problems as he has had. This is a hard lick for JC, but more importantly our prayers go out to JK.

How is JK...anyone heard? Last I heard he was on the sideline with a sling over his left shoulder. BTW...Good win Eagles.

I would love to see it as well. I understand the importance of getting off to a good start but the lack of tough games early this season makes me a little nervous. I would not mind one or two early-season losses against tough competition just to get the players used to facing a playoff type team. With that said...JC rolls in this one JC 49 Logan 7 And the Eagles will be 8-0 when they face Ashland on Oct. 20. To be honest, I believe that will be their first "real" test of the season.

And another thing...obviously Belfry was not very confident in it's ability to stop Ashland from scoring or they would have gone for the tie instead of the win in overtime.

With Belfry losing 4 of 6 fumbles it would have turned out exactly the same as it did at Putnam.

I did not get to see the Belfry game but I did listen to part of the Belfry Radio broadcast. From the way the Belfry announcers were calling the last few minutes of regulation they were thrilled with overtime. They said that Ashland should have won that game by 3 touchdowns. I believe that win will give the Tomcats they need to get things rolling. Ashland 35 Russell 28

I sure hope JC is better than Belfry...otherwise the Ashland game may not turn out like we JC fans expect.

I would just as soon keep him around for a while...lol :D

I believe that the RB for Matewan set a new WV state record for rushing yards in a game with something like 580 yards, surpassing the old mark of 465 set in 2002.

I was really impressed with Smith. He just had no time to throw tonight. The one touchdown pass he had was amazing. He made at least 5 JC defenders miss then fired a seed across his body to the corner of the endzone. He has a cannon for an arm...I watched him throw from his knees on the 50 yard line to the back of the endzone in warmups. Great job by the JC defense...150 total yards given up and only 89 through the air. Ratliff looked good tonight as well. The long completion in the first quarter was one of the quickest releases I have seen in high school and was a perfect spiral. Good win Eagles.

Good observations. Of course, things will play out as the season progresses, but I am a little leary of the lack of playoff experience on the part of Johnson Central. The Golden Eagles have only one playoff game under their belt since 2000. The bright spot is that it was last season and these players were a part of it. Still, the other teams you mentioned are used to big playoff games which is a huge advantage. However, I believe that if there is any coach that can get an inexperienced playoff team ready it is Jim Matney. Not trying to be a downer here...just trying to be realistic. But, a Regional final appearance would suite me just fine.

With all of the talk JC fans have been doing (myself included) I sure hope you are right. This is still a relatively young team. That would be a mighty big mouthful of crow to have to swallow.

I haven't heard anything definite either way but from all accounts that knee looked terrible last Friday. If this South Point team is as bad as everyone says it would probably be good to rest him one or maybe even two more weeks. There are three more games before JC gets into district play. After all, those are the games that really matter.

Nice to see some early love for JC

You are right on the money. 10 to 15 throws per game may be the max he will get in this offense so he needs to make the most of his opportunities. I look forward to watching him this season as he matures. It will be fun.