Cawoodball player

I agree! Green could have been the difference in the game against Letcher, in my opinion. Roberts ran the ball well last Friday, but seemed to be a little "gimpy" in the latter part of the game. I would like to see Green as the top back in the offense, with Gilliam coming in as a "change of pace" back.

This should be a good game of speed versus power. Lynn Camp usually has a good ball team, but I think the Bears will win this one because of their speed. Bears - 42 Lynn Camp - 14 Hopefully, we can get some younger guys in there, and see who we can add to the depth chart!!!

A lot of people will say that because of the great game Johnson had to open the regional tournament, but not many players in the state have as much experience as Crawford. I think he is the biggest asset because of his ability to lead.

I hope the Bears can get a #1 seed, but don't be fooled by the Johnson Central/Breathitt score. Johnson Central is a top notch team, and I can promise you Breathitt will be ready for district play.

Very good game at Letcher Central tonight. Both teams played hard, and should have good seasons. The Cougars outplayed the Black Bears in the second half. To me, it looked like the Harlan offensive and defensive lineman wore down as the game went on. Letcher ran the ball pretty well in the second half, compared to not having a whole lot of success in the first half. Also, the Harlan defensive ends and secondary really hurt them tonight. The ends kept getting sucked in on the misdirection run plays, especially when the QB would keep the ball. The safeties let a lot of stuff behind them as well, and never made the big play that was needed. I think Harlan will bounce back with a big win over Lynn Camp next week, though. As for Letcher, I thought the QB was impressive. He passed and rushed the ball well. He seemed to be a good leader. I also thought the LB #42 made some good plays on the defensive side of the ball. Letcher seemed to have a good coaching staff as well!

Did Dominic Carton get any touches? I know he showed a lot of potential, but has had to play behind some veterans. How is he looking?

I didn't know they returned, basically, the entire defense. In that case, not having Green may hurt. Ball control is going to be the key for the Bears.

I think, other than Breathitt, this will be the best team the Bears will face. If they come out on top tonight, it will be huge! If they don't, no big deal, just dust off their shoes, and move forward!

With those three returning kicks, the Bears are always a threat on special teams. That could play a huge role in the game tonight, and every other night. Special teams plays are momentum shifters!!!

From what I have seen/read/heard, Friday night will showcase two of the best coaches the mountains have ever seen. Larkey and Howard are both dandies. I think Larkey has two runner-up trophies, while Howard has a couple of state championships. With that being said, the coaches can not play the game for them. From being around football a lot, I can tell you that coaches can put players in the perfect position, and a lot of times, it still doesn't go their way. When the players step underneath those lights on Friday night, it is going to come down to who wants it the most - the Bears or the Cougars?

Letcher will definitely have to bring their "A" game, but so will Harlan. I'm a little worried about the secondary of the Bears. I hope it holds up for four quarters. Also, with Green being out, will the Bears be able to have those important "clock killing" drives? In my opinion, Shaquille Clark and Glenn Roberts will be very pivotal tomorrow night.

There is no use to be offended over the comment. I just put PAT's in parentheses because that is what everyone remembers. I'm sure if we went back, and looked, we'd see things that hurt the Trojans chances. It's kind of like the UK/LSU game that ended with that bizarre hailmary. EVERYONE remembers the hailmary, but not the missed tackles or turnovers. In the Cawood/Newport game, EVERYONE remembers the PAT situation. No big deal! We probably should get back on topic anyways!

One of those Cawood teams could have made a good run in the playoffs, but had a few set backs (PAT's) in the first round. I think they lost to Covington by one point. I'm going to give two predictions: High scoring game: Cougars - 42 Bears 28 Low scoring game: Bears - 21 Cougars - 18

Bell was the second best team in 4A last year (2nd to Lex. Cath.), and only lost a handful of players. M'boro has a fine program, but there is absolutely no way they could play with Bell. Bell may be the favorite to win 4A this year, and I, for one, am pulling for them.

As long as he wins games, I don't care if he wears a Harlan Ind. shirt. It would be pushing it, though.

Is Merida expected to be the Panthers' top back this season?

He'll be back in time for a playoff run. Hiram Fields, from Cawood, broke his fibula the first game of his senior year. He didn't miss any games with it, and still rushed for over 1,000 yards. Cawood had one of the better teams in the mountains that year. Conner will be fine. Best of luck to him.

Sounds like the running game was fine. Like someone mentioned, I'm sure they kept a lot under their hats. How do you think they're going to use Gilliam/Green? Gilliam is more of a "get to the corner" back, while Green will pound it between the tackles. Will they be alternating frequently? The freshman team may be the most talented class they have. They may have an undefeated season.

lungbuster, I think you could give us a fair assessment. What/who looked good, and what/who didn't look so good? I heard that Lance Simmons was the most productive offensively tonight. Also heard the Bears had a hard time getting the ground game going. True?

Yeah, but #8 is ever better! :thumb:

That was one of the points I was trying to make. We Bear fans are tickled pink to have a chance to make a district run, whether it be in Class 3A or 5A. Personally, I think 5A would be easier.

It is just what side of the situation you are on. Of course, if you are Harlan County players/parents/coaches/fans, you are going to be tickled pink. If you are an opponent, or just a fan of another school, you may not like it. However, if it was your school, and they had a good opportunity to get the school's football program started off on the right foot, then you would be excited as well. It's all about perspective. Besides, Harlan County's biggest competition in their 5A district will be Letcher County Central, whose only loss last regular season came to Hazard (1A school). I believe the Bears would rather play Letcher Central, than Breathitt or Belfry.

You must not know a good coach when you see one. For 1.) Pietrowski is a good coach.

What Hilton said is true, they've built a very good program. You could look at it as a compliment, though. He is saying that Corbin and M'boro are good teams.

Who is Russell Thompson?