Darkwing

I just want to say how very proud I am of the Golden Eagle coaches and players for coming as far as they have this season, from an 0-4 start to this game. And for the program in general, as far as we have come from what we used to be. Also wanted to commend our fans for showing up and being loud in the biggest game of the year despite the three hour trip. Congrats Bluebirds. You're just as good as we thought you would be. You show us what we need to do to get to where we want to be, which hopefully will be picking up the 2010 version of the trophy you're going to win in Bowling Green this season.

To this, I would say the JC team was plagued with horrible fumbling the first half of the season. The Bell County game was 6-6 going into the half when JC did not fumble for two quarters. The Sheldon Clark game included eight fumbles lost (EIGHT) and several other fumbles which we recovered but killed drives. The unforced fumbling is much, much less since the Middlesboro game, although that's not to say timely fumbles won't happen this year against HHS, but the first four games may as well have been a different team from the team which wears the Eagle uniforms now.

So do you get to keep any footballs thrown into the stands at HHS games? I need a new one for throwing around the yard.

There were a lot of turnovers (specifically, fumbles) that influenced the first four games of the Golden Eagles' season, period. The fumble numbers are way, way down since then (and as a direct result, the scoring and the wins are way, way up).

If you can catch foul balls at an HHS football game, you guys are throwing WAY too many passes. That's all I have to say.

The origination of "Dueling Banjoes" over the PA was actually in 2006 for the first visit of CovCath. We figured the other city folk would appreciate it also. (We scrapped it for CovCath this year, they've already heard it.)

Looked like a separated left shoulder the way he was carrying the left arm. He still kicked, and I suspect if it had been a crucial playoff game he probably still could've carried the football if absolutely needed. I don't think he can go on defense with a shoulder like that, though, wouldn't be able to wrap up. Luckily, with the way 3A is, especially in the east, he probably will have all the time he needs to heal until Mason County. J.J. Jude with 224 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, J.K. Hall with 8-87-1. Also Dillon with 56 yards and Bratton with 42. Of note, I believe Central was 3-3 through the air, including a big strike from Hall to Cody Parker to set up the tying touchdown before the half.

We're trying very hard out here to be gracious winners.

The correct answer to this question, sadly, is never. Believe JC is 0-25 all time against Belfry on the gridiron.

Good work, Fort Knox. As somebody who's seen a lot of bad football in his time (especially as a UK fan), I salute your players and coaches and fans and families. Know how it feels to be stuck in that mess and I know how it feels when you finally get out of it. Best feeling in the world on this Friday night - enjoy it!

Was not aware they called that the district title then. Fair enough. We did not finish first in the district regular season standings in 2007, then, to be more correct; Woodford County did.

Didn't Woodford County actually win the regular season district title in 2007? I think that was the year they came to the Nest and crushed us (when Shawne Lewis was still playing), then they lost to Montgomery County in the playoffs? Regardless, it's at least three district titles in the last four years. Congrats to Coach Matney and the boys! I think this district title may represent his best coaching job yet.

He's okay. Just needed some stitches on the face afterward. Probably the best game I've ever seen played on Eagle Field, and I go back to 1990 watching football there.

Well, maybe you should stop back tracking then. Regardless, this is about Ashland-Waverly and I have no further comment in this thread. Ashland played well and deserves congratulations, and we'll see you in 12 days at The Nest.

You can believe what you want, especially if you weren't there. Any of those scores except the 28-21 game could've been much worse. Matney will not intentionally try to embarrass any other team if he gets the chance.

Must be a rough problem to have to deal with. I feel for them, deeply.

Gonna have to take isome ssue with that latter statement. Matney won't run up the score on anyone. Last year was 41-6, and KHSAA stats have seven different players carrying the football (and only two passes being thrown the whole game). 2007 is really the only one that might be considered by some "running up"; it was 67-33, in a game where both teams had to keep the starters in late because neither team could stop the other. In 2006, the games were 35-7 and 28-21.

That's the same South Panola that recently had the 80-plus game winning streak.

Their defensive coach, Chapman. Just like JC lost the offensive line coach, Tony Burchett. Great assistants make a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge difference.

I don't know about all that. Winning a state title would be nice and all, but most of us know that with the machines in NKY, that's probably never going to happen in 5A (not for us, or for any other team not named Highlands or Covington Catholic). Probably the best we can realistically hope for is to shoot for being the best team in EKY, which usually means competing with Bell and Belfry, unless we miraculously have some ex-NFL players move into the area and bring their sons who run 4.25 40s and bench 400. But for those of us who go back a couple of decades, beating the Tigers...that's ALWAYS a source of enjoyment. Doesn't matter WHAT sport it is. And I enjoyed those games WAY more than anything else on the schedule, and I don't think I'm alone in Eagle Nation. From a practical standpoint, it's just annoying in that it's one more hole in the schedule that we will have difficulty filling because not many teams in the area want to play. (Kudos to Belfry and Breathitt and Hazard and the others who actually will.) We all know the idea here is so that Paintsville can continue to beat down the Allen Centrals and Jenkinses and Phelpses of the world and don't have to get exposed the first Thursday of October anymore, so nobody will ever be able to definitively peg their talent level and maybe they'll convince another prospect or two to migrate over from the county system that way, without the visible scoreboard reminders of which team in Johnson County is playing football that matters and which one is playing for second in Pikeville's district. And I'm sure the kids who couldn't start for Central and want to be Single A Superstars will still go over there, just as the PHS stars this year did. Hopefully, our talented county youngsters and their parents will see through this stunt for the ruse that it is and continue to aspire toward wearing the black and gold in HS.

Amen. That alone should put an asterisk beside the all-time series mark. 20-15 * (PHS retired from series due to excessive consecutive beatings, 2008) That's about how it should read in the official records page in our programs next year, for the sake of clarity.

My sources told me it was on the schedule. That may've been a misunderstanding, though, 'cause sometimes my sources don't catch all the details. It could be 2010. Perhaps someone with WYMT links out there knows more about that one. Mark that one as a maybe, then.

And Raceland plays Ashland in a traditional game and has done just fine there the last couple of years, right?

Knox Central is also on the schedule, I believe, playing them at a bowl game in Clay County. Also Sheldon Clark, Belfry, and then district games with Ashland, Woodford, and Montgomery. Still four holes left at this time.