Raiderbback04

Another good win for the Beechies. Start up the I like Mike club! Romes is a nice player.

#7 has to be Tom Stellman, talking about himself. Great line!!

Scott Gray was at the Enquirer photo session along with Jerrod and Vince from Ryle. So, it is probably an oversight that he was left out. I do not think they asked second team and honorable mention players to come to the photo session. As to the NC game, Scott was at the 200 yard mark for total yards with 160 coming on returns and pass receptions. Lack of rushing yards was an indictment of the O-line in that game, not Scott's ability. 200 yards of any sort is an all-star type of accomplishment vs. a good team like NC. He is a tough, hard-nosed football player who plays through injuries. Every all-star listing other than this one he is either first or second team, deservedly so.

Great job, Drew! Best wishes at AFA!

Replacing Diehl and Burke will make NC and LexCath's road most difficult. It will be very difficult for Lex Cath to get by Highlands or CovCath next year IMO. NC also had some great senior players that were special players. Obviously, every player is replaceable but some voids are harder to fill with the same calibre of player, i.e., Smith, Beuter, Canafax and several others on NC's squad. NC will have a much better chance of repeating in A than Lex Cath in 3A. I agree that Russell is the most likely repeat and T is always in the running for a state title in KY 4A.

Ryle returns a lot and it will be a great year for the Raiders! I see nothing but improvement each year.

Ultra classy post. One of the best, if not the best ever! You rock, rockmom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I look for the Dale-Birds to be top dawg with a bunch of teams fighting for the #2 slot.

Eric Senn is a first team all-state player. Any unbiased person who has seen him play comes away from a T game with that conclusion. As they say in the hills: "The AP system is "broke". Only Frances Bavier could fix it!!!!!!!!! If the system were a horse, it would be shot.

Excellent points and I agree with DF. Hard to repeat in any sport, any level and teams that do usually need some good fortune along the way.

Congrats big time to NC. This was a special group of kids and a season to remember. And, they lost a very fine player for the season in week 3 at our place who I think started both ways. NC kept getting better and better each week, especially in the playoffs. The last 4 games were nothing short of sensational in dominating Bellevue, LCA, Somerset and Mayfield. This could not have happened to a finer man than Coach S. Celebrate and enjoy, Breds!!!!

We applaud both fine teams and programs on representing the best of KY 4A football tonight. There are no losers on the field tonight. May the best team win in a well played football game marked by good sportsmanship and 100% effort. Good luck to all Rocks and Tigers!

Fax is a great receiver and a very fine young man. CovCath is better defensively than Mayfield. Also, I doubt very much that Josh will take more shots than he took in the Ryle game. He took 4 wicked hits in that game. He is tough and will bounce back when nailed. NC played one game in the mud and rain in terrible conditions vs. Bellevue but turf certainly minimizes the effect of rainy games. I would think snow would be more likely than rain by the evening game. Big plays and bad plays will decide the winner. Both teams will hit hard and play inspired football.

I think NC's only weakness on special teams during the year was on coverage, where they allowed some big returns. Big plays (20+ yards) and bad plays (TO's) will determine the winner in what appears to be an evenly matched final. We're all pulling for the Breds up here in NKY. Can't say enough about Coach Bob's class and character! Go Breds!

Shane impressed me with his determination and toughness. He is very strong for his size and is a warrior on the field.

Taking a page from the Ohio state Division 1 playoffs, where McKinley beat Massillon by about 30 during the regular season and then Massillon repaid the favor in the playoffs, I look for this to be an absolute war for at least 48 minutes and the team with the ball last just might be crowned champion. Good luck to both great football teams. Head tells me X and heart says T!

Vince Murray was first team NKY Coaches selection at LB as a junior. He will certainly be one of the best around.

Congrats to the Rocks. They are definitely peaking at the right time.

Sounds like John Hardin awakened the Tigers. Congrats to the X men and it should be a great battle vs. the Rocks.

Congrats to NCC. They played a very solid, turnover-free football game needed to win in the playoffs. One interesting strategy tonight was on NCC punts. It looked like they planned to hit low line drive punts to the side of the field. Somerset never adjusted and NC punts would pick up 20 to 30 extra yards on the roll. I thought it was a masterful game plan and good coaching by NC tonight. Hope you play with that same intensity next week. Good luck Breds and great season for Somerset!

It's hard to imagine anything other than a very close game decided in the closing minutes. Good luck to both fine teams.

Somerset will need to have an answer for Sam Diehl in order to pull the upset. Good luck to the Breds.

Three big psychological factors: 1)Bardstown having the "feeling of winning state" by downing Danville 2)the long ride to Mayfield/homefield advantage for the Cards 3)Mayfield feeling they still have something to prove. You can talk all you want but these are 15-18 year old young men and emotions and mental preparations are huge. So, having seen neither team play but knowing that both have to be very good teams to be in the final four, I give the edge to Mayfield in a close game based on these 3 factors.

It's always surprising some of the omissions from an all-star team but congrats to all of the hard working players on this team. Special tip of the helmet to Ryle's 3 first team selections: Jerrod Babik, Mike Meade and Vince Murray. Mike was a great story in that he did not play the last couple of years and just lifted weights and improved his speed and did a great job for the Raiders this year on the D-line. Jerrod was great on defense and had some huge collision hits during the year in the secondary. Vince will be a stud on both sides of the ball next year and one of a few underclassmen ranked on the first team. Good luck to all seniors as you figure out what to do in the future.

I look for a very close game decided late. I always root for the local teams so we give our support and the edge to the Breds. Should be a great game and good luck to NewCath.