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Dudley Hilton always gets my vote in these threads. The only guy I ever placed above him was Chuck Smith at Boyle County. I just think the guy is a great high school football coach.

This is a huge game for Breathitt County.

True...they've had some good teams without Chapman. But, they've never made it to the finals without him. They've only won one regional championship without him and that was in the year immediately after he left. His presence coaching the defense makes a huge difference for the Bobcats. But, I doubt he'd have changed the outcome of this game.

Most people in Breathitt County who know football aren't surprised by the impact of losing Chapman. The first time he left, the defense dropped significantly. Then, he returned, and in his second year back, the Bobcats sported a stout defense that was a huge reason they won their third title. And, last year, the Bobcats defense is why they made it to Louisville. His absence leaves a huge void, IMO. But, I was hoping it wouldn't be felt as bad until next season...the first time he left, we still had enough players returning to execute and we had a pretty strong defense. But, the second year after the defense couldn't stop anybody. This is a bad loss for the Bobcats. It's gut check time for sure. If they bounce back and turn it around in the next couple of weeks, this season could a disaster of epic proportions. But, give PCC credit. This is a huge win for them and their program. Nice job. I think people take the Commodores too lightly...I think they have a very good coach and they've been improving every year. A blowout win over Breathitt County will get them some attention.

Nice win for P-burg...the end was similar to last year's game when BC snapped the ball over the punters head and P'burg punched it in for the win. Breathitt was running wild in the first half, but they left points on the field and it come back to bite them. A few thoughts... -I was really impressed with P'burg's QB. He played great. The Blackcats had no running game last night, but he did a great job in the passing game. (Of course, he had a lot of guys running wide open in the second half. On one play, his toughest decision was which of the three wide open receivers to throw to between the hash marks.) #25 did a nice job catching the football...he wasn't the only one, but he seemed to stand out to me. -Breathitt looked gassed from late in the third quarter through the rest of the game...at least I'm hoping they were. If not, they just quit for the last 15 minutes of the game. -I was expecting to see more improvement from Breathitt's passing game this season. They can hurt you bad in the air, but it's like the lottery. Your number might come up, but it probably won't. Missed throws, dropped passes. -Forgetting the TO's spent in the first half, BC had the ball 1st and goal from the 9 with just under 10 seconds to play...there was time for at least one throw to the end zone and then a second play. Instead, they handed to Fugate who got stopped just inches shy of scoring. I don't have a problem with that play in particular, just that they could have taken a shot at the end zone before handing it to their big RB. -Breathitt was sloppy. Sloppy penalties. Two games in a row. That needs to get fixed. Opening 1-2 and back-to-back losses is disappointing, but the Bobcats have plenty of room for improvement. The starting LT missed his sophomore season with a torn ACL. He should get better as time passes. They have three freshmen who start or play significant snaps on defense. They should get improve. The biggest problem is that Channing Fugate can't leave the field. He makes the offense in its current form...but, because he has to play on defense, his touches have to be limited to keep him as fresh as possible throughout the game. I think the spread passing attack P'burg used last night played a huge role in wearing Fugate down in the second half. He wasn't the same player. I don't know if that was the plan, or if it just happened that way, but they deserve some credit for it. IMO, the Bobcats would be better off putting someone else in at safety, even if it is a downgrade (playing him in spot duty if necessary) and saving Fugate for offense. If they could feed him the ball time after time without worrying about wearing him down, I think the net gain would be positive. I could be wrong. This season has started very similar to last year. Hopefully, it will end up similar (but not exact). I'm not worried. Breathitt has lost to two very good teams. And, they could just as easily be 3-0. This team is good, but it has plenty of room to improve. Now they know it and hopefully they'll buckle down and do it, like last year. I believe they had some strong senior leadership in '08, and I'm hoping they have it now. They have a chance (like several other teams) to win a state title...it doesn't matter to me what the final record is. Louisville Central was 5-5 heading into the post-season in one of their title runs. Breathitt just needs to keep working hard...they'll finish strong and this season will turn out well. Congratulations to P'burg and good luck the rest of the way. To the Bobcats, keep your head up and keep working hard. You lost two games that could have easily turned out different against two good football teams. It happens. Just remember how you responded to a couple of disappointing losses in 2008.

It should be a very competitive game. I'll stick with my homerism and pick Breathitt. But, the only outcome that would really surprise me is if one team competely dominated the game.

^Nice. :lol:

Yeah. It's way too early in the season to say one bad game ends anyone's chances. This reminds me of the hysteria around college football with the BCS and the heisman. They'll start eliminating teams and players two weeks in and then those same guys or teams may end up on top at the end. I think Fugate may have had an interception in this game. At least there was that...

I felt like a lot of people (probably not SC fans), but elsewhere, a lot of people were significantly underestimating their team and giving Breathitt too much credit. Breathitt County has a very good team and they have a chance to return to the state finals, but they're not a lock and they never were. They're vulnerable to big, strong running teams that can control clock...and that's what SC did. Just like Johnson Central last year... You keep that offense off the field, limit their possessions and frustrate them. That's what they did. A few thoughts... -Breathitt hurt themselves with some costly offside penalties that sustained SC's opening drive. We didn't know just how costly until the game was over. It may have head to OT at 0-0 otherwise. This sounded like a good game between two closely matched opponents. -SC did a great job of controlling the ball, and then stopping BC quickly...never allowing them to get into a groove offensively. -Breathitt County really hurt themselves last night...the previously mentioned offside penalties, they blew a 1st and Goal at the 2 at the end of the first half by getting some sort of penatly on second down, then fumbling a snap. Also, several dropped passes by the WR's. As I've said before, the passing game has to step up and play with consistency. It'll be tough to return to state otherwise. -I'm surprised, like most others, at the final score, and not so much that Sheldon Clark won. -I was pleased that the Bobcat defense held them in the game by not allowing another score. They still have room to improve for sure, but they did some good things, IMO. -Depending on how they respond, this loss may be a good thing for the Bobcats. But, I believe they were getting a little overhyped for this point in time and were starting to listen to it...now they know the first 14 games aren't a formality like some were making it sound. They're good enough to get back to the finals, but they aren't the only team in the east that is...it's going to be a competitive bracket...Breathitt, Mason, Sheldon Clark, Belfry, etc... Time for more people outside of Inez to take notice...congratulations to the Cardinals. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully we'll meet again.

Central should be the #1 team in 3A. They're the defending champs, and while they did lose some excellent football players, they also returned their share of good ones...and they beat the team rated above them 40-19 in the state finals last year. Even if the gap did close, that's still 3 TD's. Maybe later if Breathitt County continues to be impressive and Central loses a few, but not after one week. JMO I'll be keeping an eye on Mason County. After their impressive opener, it looks like the eastern bracket could be even tougher than expected.

I was just curious about Watkins. And, you're right about the stats...a lot of it has to do with opportunity and talent around you. They certainly help to get attention, but most football people can tell how good a player is regardless of their numbers. :thumb:

How big is Watkins? I'd say Fugate would average 12-15 yards per touch. Just a guess.

How would they compare to Johnson Central from last year? They had a big team and they used that to plow down the field and chew up clock to win 26-14. That was the second game of the season, I believe. I think Breathitt County is a better team now than they were a year ago, but that might be a decent comparison.

It's in Inez, right? I better let someone who knows the area better tell you how to get there. I'm pretty sure you can go south on KY 15 and you'll go by an intersection around Carr Fork Lake (between Vicco and Whitesburg) that you can turn left on that will take you there. But, I'm not sure that's the best or fastest route.

Exactly what I'm getting at. The coach's responsibility is to his players and team first...if getting them to their best involves throwing a TD pass in a 40 point blowout, so be it. JMO I'm not much of a fan of the running up the score complaint. There are times when it is probably legitimate, but it is way overused.

:laugh::laugh:

If you're just looking at winning, size provides an advantage if you have a strong plan and program in place...like T and X. But, in itself, it doesn't mean much. There are plenty of big schools with lots of students who could and should be better but they aren't. Having a lot of students doesn't guarantee success, nor does being smaller exclude the possibility of winning. But, all things equal, the numbers provide an advantage just based on odds...if you have 1000 kids to draw from and I have 200, then you're more likely to come out of there with a few more athletes, i.e., take the same bad coach at a 6A school or a 1A school, and the big team would more often than not beat the small one. Same goes for the elite teams in each class...more often than not, Trinity will beat Highlands or Danville or Beechwood. That doesn't mean those schools can't turn the tables on a given year. But, those years would be in the minority. This debate almost always revolves around Trinity and Xavier. Their numbers do provide an advantage, but it's not the main reason they're successful, much less the only reason.

If they can establish that size and use it to control the ball and shorten the game, it should be a good one. I could be wrong, but if they cannot chew up clock, I doubt they can stop Breathitt's offense if they give them too many possessions. But, if they grind it out, frustrate them and don't allow them to get a rhythm on offense, they've got a very good chance to win. That's partially a guess...Sheldon Clark could be good enough to stop BC for all I know. Win or lose, I'm just glad the Bobcats have some solid opponents on the schedule before closing in the district when it really matters.

To win that game, it wasn't necessary. But, Breathitt County has a shot to win a state championship...to do that, they'll need the passing game to become more consistent and dangerous. Fletcher is a sophomore with a lot of potential. If I have the choice between getting some real playing time to build chemistry and confidence or hurting someones feelings by scoring an extra TD, I'll take the former. Holcomb used to put his subs in and just hand the ball off and run out the clock. I hated that. That's a great chance for them to get some real varsity experience. You don't have to play aggressively like you're down 2 scores, but I would do a little more than running up the gut every time.

I'm not saying they don't get less attention than other areas with more media...it's just the way it is. I'm saying Fugate has an advantage that a lot of EKY kids don't get...he started getting seriously noticed last year, he lead his team to the state finals where he got to showcase his talent, and he got a lot of pre-season press with the UT thing and being touted as one of the top players in the state. He was on the front page of the Herald Leader's preview. Not many kids from EKY have all that going into their senior season. Channing Fugate doesn't fit the "poor old mountain boy that gets no attention" mold. He's as well known as anyone. Each year is different...he just happens to be a senior in a year when there are no super studs from heavily populated areas. Everything is in place to give him a great shot at winning the award. That doesn't mean he will, but if he doesn't, it won't be because he played for Breathitt County. Statistically, I doubt you could find a more impressive season than Justin Haddix in 2002. He lead BC to a 15-0 season and a state championship...over 4000 yards passing, over 100 rushing, 58 TD passes and 20 or so TD's combined with rushing and defensively. He finished second to Michael Bush for Mr. Football. First, he didn't have that great of a junior season, so there was little hype about him, while Bush had been known since he was in middle school. Second, you have to account for the difference in competition. Third, Bush was simply the better player...regardless of stats, few people would argue that and no unbiased observers would have. Who won Mr. Football when the guys you mentioned were seniors? Signing with an out-of-state school or being from EKY doesn't exclude you from winning Mr. Football.

How big is SC? A big, powerful running team usually provides the toughest matchups for Breathitt County. They can grind the ball down the field, chew up clock, and wear the Bobcats down because they have their share of two way players. Johnson Central did that to Breathitt County last year. Breathitt's defense is good, but they aren't dominating. A good offense can move the ball against them. I'm hoping the Bobcats will improve in that area as the season progresses...they have a lot of young guys on that side of the ball. They start three freshmen on defense I believe.

:thumb: I figured he'd be a longshot to because he's primarily a defensive guy. But, you never know.

For real...personally, I think it would be much more humiliating to start taking knees well before the game was over to keep from scoring. That's basically saying, "The only way we can keep ourselves from scoring is to quit playing." Humiliating. I'd rather get beat 100-0.

Not to mention, we're talking about Johnson Central here. It's not some team that can't compete or loses every week by an average margin of 40-50 points. This may not be an "up" year for them, but they aren't helpless. They're typically a pretty competitive school. We get this from somebody every year. To be honest, I was afraid this thread was about Breathitt County and Mercer County when I saw "Did BC run up the score?". Breathitt County threw a TD pass late with the game clearly out of reach. I was relieved to see that it was regarding Boyle County. And, allow me to give credit to Mercer County fans for not going that route. If they have, I've seen no evidence of it on BGP.

“You can’t tell your kids to lay down because the score reaches a certain point,” French said. “The second-team players come out to perform, too. They have practiced hard to get the opportunity and they want to play well. They just happened to perform well against Johnson Central. French summed up my thoughts. I get so sick of hearing this "running up the score" garbage every year. Sometimes you just play teams better than you...and sometimes you're better than them. But, as French said, you can't lay down and neglect your team just to keep from hurting somebody's feelings. There are a lot of reasons to keep running your offense...perhaps you have big goals for the season and to get there you need to develop your passing game. A good time to work on that is when you have a comfortable lead. If you put your second unit in, you want those guys to gain experience...not just come in and hand the ball off and punt. As a coach, your primary responsibility is to develop your players and get your team to it's highest level. That includes working on weaknesses with the first unit when possible and allowing the backups (typically underclassmen) to play real football when they get the chance. Someday they will be the future of the program. That experience is invaluable for when they're starting. Breathitt County has been on both ends of the spectrum. You'll never hear me cry about having the score ran up on my team.