JoeFan

I only saw a bit of the Henry Clay game and it was hard to tell anything from that. How has the Honaker kid looked? First thoughts, a good team often makes dramatic improvement on offense between the first and second games. But, given Pikeville's QB situation, its almost like its their second game. I'll think on it and post a more thorough prediction later. (Or, I'll wait for oneijoe and steal what he says.) For now, I make it P-burg 14, Pikeville 13, in a barn-burner. :flame:

Like Painter, I'm a little late. It sounds like a great game so congratulation to both teams. As far as going for 2, a coach has to read the game and make that decision more on instinct than anything else. If it works, you're right, if it doesn't, you're wrong, but no one should second guess.

Congrats to the Cardinals. I agree with JC, this is no surprise. SC can play with anybody. Right now I'd say Belfry, SC, Leslie County and Middlesboro in the region is a toss-up. I just hope P-burg can improve enough to make it a five way race.

Any chance we might see that sooner, say...next week. We've had some success with the polecat but it seemed to stir some contraversy in some quarters. As you certainly seem to know, your kids will be fine. When you lose a key offensive player that early in the season it takes some time for everyone to get comfortable in the scheme. I'm certain that will happen. I just hope it doesn't happen next week. Good luck after that.

SC picks their score in this one. I make it SC 40, KCC 6.

Congratulation to the Eagles. #3 and #5 are difference makers. I definitely think they can give Middlesboro a run for the district. I wouldn't have said that before this game as I thought Middlesboro was the region favorite along with Belfry. The Cats looked solid on defense and played hard the entire game but seemed a bit slow in the second half. Nothing makes up for game condition but playing. That will come. The offense was close a couple of times in the first half. The block in the back in the 1st hurt but that was the only bad penalty I can remember. A solid effort and they look much improved.

Leslie's QB will be hard to contain. We'll see if P-burg's faster defense is really much improved over last year's squad that couldn't handle Hazard's speed.

OK. I'll have to agree that there was no reason to throw for a 2 point conversion in that situation. Usually I take the side of the team on the high end of the score because there are reasons a coach may need to keep a starter in longer than some might like. There are reasons you might need to pass in the third quarter, particularly if your offensive possessions have ended in only 1 or 2 plays. No matter how much you practice, nothing makes up for game experience. That said, going for 2 is just running it up. Still, let the season and history sort it out. I hope Phelps has an opportunity to get even in the next couple of years. BTW, I tried to watch some of this game and just couldn't do it. It was painful to watch.

That's right, the extra point attempt was wide. I didn't watch the second period between the two. I was watching the JV. Was there any scoring in that period?

Wow. That took some work. Thanks Strike-3. It seems to me the problem comes from population shift from rural to urban, creating a "haves and have-nots" situation. Does anyone know if any of the five classes in Wyoming are 8-man titles?

I know some of the kids who will spend time in the backfield. Lincoln Slone is, I believe, a Sr. Also look for Seth Setser, Carmin Mains, Dalton Taylor and Alan Craynon to get some time there. Don't look for a Joe Blackburn or Matt Slone type work horse but all these kids look pretty quick and splitting the load should mean fresher legs in the 4th quarter. Speed is important, but not as important as running hard and with a purpose.

Right on the money as usual Joe. :thumb: I also appreciate all the previews. That took a lot of work. Thanks, Scribe!

I'll leave it to oneijoe to give the definitive preview, but I expect a more athletic team this year which will match up better with their competition. Middlesboro and Belfry are still the favorites for the region, with Sheldon Clark and Leslie Co. in the mix. I expect both P-burg and Brethitt to be more competitive.

this thought just occurred to me. For those who feel they should be able to measure themselves against tougher competition, you only have 3 or 4 district games now. Nothing is stopping a 2 A power from scheduling Trinity or Male.

There's not all that much excitement for a team going into the playoffs knowing they are going to get waxed. You can see the parents and fans going through the motions. It has a negative effect on the kids. Its painful to watch. But, sometimes its not forced. Some places they get it. It may not be a great accomplishment by everyone's standards, but if it is the best a team can do, so what. If the effort was there, be proud of that. I use to count myself as one who said the regular season should count for more, thus only 1 and 2 should make the playoffs. I still like that format, cutting a week out of the playoffs (either giving an 11th game or an extra week of practice), but its never going to happen. More playoff games = more $$$$$$$$$$$$. So let 'em all in and let the playoffs sort it out. For everyone who says the first round games are terrible, go to the 3 v. 4 game and get over it.

23!

Amen, Brother!

Hmmm...Barrow, Alaska or Cawood? No offense to the fine folks on our southern boarder, but its a hard call. To get to Barrow, we could bus to Lexington, charter to Cincinnati, fly commercial to Spokan or Portland, charter to Fairbanks, then take a fleet of brush planes to a landing strip near Barrow, then sled dogs the rest of the way. To get to Cawood, we have to take a yellow dog over Pine Mountain. I say its too close to call.

I agree with your point about baseball. Parents often complain that they do not have enough summer time free to plan vacations. But Kentucky is not a very good baseball state because we simply do not play enough games or have a long enough season. I was trying to come up with some way to ease the heat problem while addressing parent complaints. Fall/winter practice for baseball sounds reasonable to me. Of course, you are going to have kids who are participating in other sports, but the same is true of football, where some of our kids miss spring practice for baseball or track. I don't think three weeks instead of two would create a problem as far as acclimation, so long as coaches don't go nuts right off the bat when they start back. I've seen some kids gain thirty pounds over the two weeks off. I don't think an extra week would have made it much worse. Most kids know what's comming when they get back and run on their own, at least a little. The biggest thing is to adjust practice to the tempreture. If its 90 and 80% humidity, as it is most of July and Aug. in E KY, you just have to work around it. Mornings are great. In the p.m. if you are going to practice, figure on 3 hrs instead of 2 and take extra water breaks. Also, stressing to the kids that it is extremely important to hydrate before practice is essential. If practice is at 6, they need to spend the hours from 2 - 5 sucking down some high quality H20.

Here's my "For What its Worth" plan. 3 week dead period ending the first Monday after the weekend following July 4. This gives families ample time for vacations and gives the kids a chance to decompress a little. The first week following should be conditioning only. The second week should be limited in time (2 hrs per day), in helmets only. The biggest problems come when you start practicing in shoulder pads in the heat of the day. Two weeks to get ready for this should help, if used correctly. I know this is pretty close to what we have now, but a few extra days to spread the preparation time out in July should make a difference. Also, not to blame anyone, but a lot can be avoided by practicing in the a.m., before the heat and humidity skyrocket. The earlier the better.

Thanks GoldenEagle. I think we lose site of what we are supposed to be teaching kids through sports sometimes.

I love this kind of thread. IMO success should be measured by consistantly living up to the potential of the kids you have. Some years you may be a bit down. Some years you may be loaded. If you have 5 D1 prospects and a couple of other all-staters you should win a championship. But a team with 30 players and only minimal talent that makes the play-offs and competes in every game is just as successful in my book. The lessons in football should be about striving to succeed. That doesn't mean you accept less than winning from your kids. Otherwise everyone should just get a participation trophy and go home. But, at the end of the day, if you can say you got as much out of your kids as they had to give, both they and you can find something to take pride in.

Has this been confirmed? Its about time. If so, good luck to coach Branham and the Bobcats.

The problem is that there is no way to rule on this kind of conduct, either objectively or subjectively. Let the future sort it out. You reap what you sow.

I don't think the refs should make a value judgment about who played better. Just let them play for an hour or so and give both teams a certificate of participation.