5wide

I don't know much about Sheldon Clark. They're supposed to contend with Belfry for the district title according to pre-season expectations. Again, it's tough for me to pick because Sheldon Clark hasn't played yet, so nobody knows for sure how good they'll be. I do expect the Bobcats to win. We should have a good idea of how these teams stack up with each other in 2-3 more weeks.

I see no reason to think Fugate won't get a fair shot at Mr. Football. Often players from EKY don't get the press leading up to their senior seasons, so they aren't as widely known before their big year. Fugate doesn't have that problem...he enters the season as the top player in the state on some lists and in the top 5 on every list, he's had monster years as a sophomore and junior and the Bobcats played in the state finals last year. Additionally, there aren't any stud prospects like a Bush, Brohm, et al who virtually have the award secured before the season starts. Breathitt County has had some players get recognition before...Waylon Chapman finished second (I think) in Mr. Football voting as a senior, behind Tim Couch. Justin Haddix finished second behind Michael Bush. I can't argue with either of those decisions. Chapman wasn't better than Couch, and Couch himself was from EKY. Haddix led the Bobcats to a 15-0 record as a senior and had a monster year...statistically, one of the best in state history I'd say. (4000 + passing yards, 1000+ rushing yards, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 TD's when you combine passing, rushing and defense). But, no one in their right mind thought he was a better football player than Michael Bush. It was just unfortunate timing for him to be a senior the same year that a guy like Bush was. Fugate has a great shot to win Mr. Football. The fact that he signed with a top tier SEC school like Tennessee only helps his cause. It's still way early in the season, but if Fugate produces like he has the past two years and the Bobcats meet their pre-season expectations, he's got a great shot at walking away with the award.

I'm just looking at the five guys the Lexington Herald dubbed the "Fab Five"... In Week Zero... Channing Fugate (Breathitt County) - 14 rushes, 208 yards, 3 TD; 86-yard kickoff return TD; 42-yard punt return TD (defeated Mercer County, 58-24); Week One @ Sheldon Clark Austin Collinsworth (Highlands) - 16 rushes, 78 yards, 2 TD (defeated Manual 19-8); Week One @ Ryle Tim Patterson (Central) - 21-yard TD reception (lost to Seneca, 26-44); Week One vs. Henry Clay in Fayette County Invitational Bowl Miles Simpson (Simon Kenton) - Off; Week One vs. Newport Central Catholic in Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown Quan Weaver (Frankfort) - Off; Week One vs. Paris I couldn't find any more stats for Patterson. If anyone has additional stats to add to these, please do.

Belfry is notorious for starting slow...that doesn't always result in losses. Sometimes it's just closer than expected victories. Regardless, they'll be a different team by season's end. Solid win for the Blackcats though. Any win against Belfry is a good one.

:thumb: He is officially listed as a safety I think, but in Breathitt County's defense and playing against primarily running teams, it's just as much linebacker as safety, IMO.

Good start to the season for Breathitt County. You never know what to expect from that season opener. Fugate is a monster. Haddix was 5/8 with 3 TD's...all to Josh Fletcher. Hope they can build on that because it will add another dimension to the offense. The Bobcats also start 3 freshmen on defense, so hopefully those guys and that unit will make some big improvements by season's end. Sheldon Clark next week should be an interesting matchup.

There have been a few teams who have contained him to some degree over the past two seasons. But, in his worst games, he usually ends up breaking 2-3 good runs to end up with good numbers. Breathitt needs to develop some consistency with the rest of the offense so they can make teams pay every week for keying on Fugate. Haddix provides a solid complement with his running ability. And, Breathitt's passing game is solid, but it hasn't been consistent. If they can take their passing game up a notch, the offense will be a nightmare. But still, I want to see the defense get better.

Breathitt's defense, at least based on last season, can be moved on. If Mercer can establish their ground game, they could move the ball and control clock. I'll be interested to see how it plays out...I'm looking (hoping) to see some improvement in the Bobcats defense. It wasn't bad last year by any means, but I'd like to see them raise it another level.

I assumed LCC was better last year. But, I wasn't sure what was expected of Mercer County...they finished 6-6, but that was against some tough competition. Just wondering. It's a good test for both teams to start the season, IMO.

You win consistently and the respect and noteriety will come. Breathitt County gets infinitely more coverage and respect than they did prior to winning back-to-back titles and 42 straight games in the process. Now, they typically get mentioned just on name recognition alone...sometimes we're even overrated. In the past, that would have never happened. Teams like Breathitt, Belfry, Bell County, etc...they wouldn't get much coverage if they hadn't become consistent winners. It will work the same for the western part of the state, including Ft. Campbell. JMO

How does Mercer County compare to last year's team? Are they better? Supposed to be better? About the only thing I have to go on is that Mercer County lost to Letcher Central in the playoffs last year and Breathitt, from what I've heard, fared quite well against Letcher in their scrimmage. Who knows how much to make of a common opponent from the playoffs the year before vs. a pre-season scrimmage the following year? I expect Breathitt to win by a couple of TD's at least. But, you never know. It's the first game of the season, so there's a lot of unknowns.

It's hard to predict the first game of the season...Breathitt County started slow last year, but got much better as the season progressed. With the talent and experience they return for this season, that shouldn't happen in 2009. Mercery County, from what I've read, is a team with talent, but also inexperience, question marks, a new coaching staff that got a late start. That doesn't sound like a good situation to hit the ground running. My guess is that Mercer County's talent will offer some early resistance, but as the game wears on the advantage Breathitt County has with experience and continuity, along with their own stockpile of talent, will be too much. I'll pass on picking a score for the first game of the season.

I thought Fletcher showed a lot of potential as a freshman last year. If he emerges as a playmaker, Breathitt's offense becomes a nightmare, IMO. The defense was solid last year, but not dominating. A lot of bend-but-don't-break, which is what won the game at Belfry last year. I'd like to see them take the defense up another notch and become more dominating. Breathitt's three previous state winners all head elite, top notch defenses that completely shut down a lot of opponents. The offense will be very good. I'm more curious to see how the defense looks out of the gate, and how it develops as the season progresses. That will be the key, IMO.

Best - Watching Breathitt County win back-to-back state championships and 42 straight games in the process. Worst - Losing that 43rd game and watching Bourbon County win a state title that we should have. Some of my favorite individual games... '95 Semis - Came from 10 down in the 4th quarter to win @ Danville, 23-20. '95 State - Beat Franklin-Simpson 42-35 in double overtime. Trailed 28-20 with less than 3 minutes to play and the ball inside our own 10 yard line. Tied at 35-35 in the second OT, Phillip Watts caught a TD pass on 4th and 16. Forced a fumble 3 plays later to win 42-35. '96 Region Final - Beat Newport 25-0. '96 Semis - Beat Boyle County 12-7. '96 State - Beat Fort Knox 25-21. Fell behind 14-0 and 21-12. Phillip Watts caught a TD pass (on the same play as the year before vs. Franklin-Simpson) with less than a minute to play to secure a 25-21 victory. '02 Region Finals - Won @ Belfry, 21-0, on the worst field I've ever seen. Lots of rain that week. The Pirates finished the game with something like 60-70 rushing yards. '08 Semis - Won @ Belfry as a consensus underdog. A few other random memories... 1997 - Stopped Bryan Station on 4 plays from the one yard line to keep them scoreless. 1997 - Beat Belfry in the Honey Bowl...I think we were up 42-0 at the half. 1998 - Beat Belfry with a late TD pass to win a shootout 47-42. Allen Sperry threw for 573 yards and 8 TD. 1997 - Kyle Moore's stat line (against Leslie Co., I think)...7-13, 273 yards, 4 or 5 TD. Something like that.

I had a friend in high school that tore his ACL in practice the summer before his junior season. He was one of the best (and fastest) WR's we'd ever had. He came back as a senior and was a very good player, but wasn't the same speed-wise as he was before the injury. I think that injury severely impacted his chances at a collegiate career. He ended up going to KY State and then transferring to EKU. Had he stayed healthy, I think he could have been a solid player at the I-AA level.

Not to mention the benefit it would have for a RB. You'd think after a year on the line, he might have a better understanding of the plays, blocking schemes, etc...it would seem to have the potential to really help him as a runner...vision, where to look for the holes, how the plays develop, etc. Just a thought. But, you're right, he definitely deserves some credit for taking the move in stride. Not many would do that, IMO.

:thumb: 40 times don't always translate to "football" speed on the field. I've seen a lot of guys in the NFL who don't have elite 40 times, but yet they break a lot of big plays and aren't easily caught from behind. Jerry Rice...what was his time? Emmitt Smith? Barry Sanders? Terrell Owens? Those guys have football speed. I think its more important to watch a guy in pads...I think people get too caught up in 40 times and ignore what they actually see on the field. Fugate has good speed, but he's not going to run away from guys in the SEC. I remember reading an article in SI a decade or so ago about Jonathan Ogden...he was 6'8, 330+ pounds and coming out of UCLA he ran a sub-5.0 40. I found that absolutely amazing.

Which is pretty good speed for a 220+ pound high school running back. I think people get caught up in the elite speeds they see in college and the NFL sometimes and don't adjust downward for the high school level. To elaborate a little, we're conditioned to think 4.3 speed is lights out, 4.4 is great, 4.5 is solid, and 4.6 is average based on the Sportscenter world...I don't think people realize how fast a 4.5 or 4.6 actually is. It's not world class speed, but it ain't exactly an evening jog. They see a guy break a few long runs and automatically pencil him in as a 4.4...there's more to long runs than just speed...like vision, tackling angles by the defense, alignment, etc. The speeds don't matter that much when Channing Fugate is at full speed and the defenders are trying to cut or turn and accelarate because of bad angles or whatever. JMO I've seen a player at Breathitt who ran in the high 4.3's (reportedly)...I'm guessing that time is close to accurate, because he was a strong track and field guy, and he was noticeably faster than everyone else on the field when he played. And easily the fastest player I've ever seen wear the blue and white. Fugate may have improved his speed over the summer, but based on what I've seen in previous seasons I'd say 4.6ish would be close...

UT offered him after a football camp...they weren't even listed as a possibility prior to that. UK, if they'd wanted him, wouldn't have been going head-to-head with UT. Is it possible the Vols could have landed him anyway? Sure. Who wouldn't want to play for a program like that? But, the UT vs. UK thing wouldn't hold near as much sway for a kid from your average EKY kid, IMO. Especially, if Brooks and company had recruited him and established a relationship.

:thumb: His speed is good for the high school level, but that's an area that could use some improvement (if possible) for the collegiate level. And, it's likely the reason they want him as an H-Back instead of being in the mix at TB. That fastest kid I can remember at Breathitt ran a 4.37. I don't claim to have a calibrated eyeball for 40 times, but I'd guess he's in the 4.6 range maybe. I'd have liked to seen him sign with UK and move to the defensive side of the ball. I think his upside at the next level is better on that side. JMO I just hate to see UK miss out on legit in state players because they didn't even show interest. My complaint goes beyond this specific player. They could have used him somewhere. But, I agree with you...letting him go elsewhere won't make or break the program. As for Channing Fugate, I'll be keeping an eye on his progress and I hope he has a great career there. However, my allegiance doesn't change...I hope he gets to be a part of the first group of Vols to lose to UK in the last 25+ years.

I really don't see how you could choose any other team. 1. They were the only undefeated team on the list. 2. They beat Elder by 24 points. 3. They had the best player of any of the teams (Brian Brohm). 4. Averaged almost 5 points more than the next best on the list. 5. Had the second best defense at 9.5 ppg allowed...not far from the best. 6. Best margin of victory, 42.8 ppg. 7. Second best in total offense. 8. Highest national ranking (USA Today). 9. And, they beat probably the best team to win a state title in Louisville Male, lead by Michael Bush. Seriously, as an outsider, I understand that sometimes you don't want to pick the obvious, but in this case, how can any other pick be justified?

Walkin' On Sunshine Bang On The Drum (Todd Rundgren) Those two are pretty good ones to play for the crowd, IMO.

When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin I think that, and Kashmir, may be a bit long, but if you want to do less work... 46 & 2 - Tool Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who My apologies if I overlooked those, but I didn't recall seeing them.

I saw something on ESPN NFL Films where the players were talking about this song as one of their favorite pre-game warmup tunes. Ray Lewis was one of the players. I wish I could remember the rest. I think this one is a good choice. Also, liked nwo's suggestion of Voodoo Child by Hendrix.

I agree. And, I'm not placing Fugate on the same level as Bush and Brohm. But, he's an athlete...he could have potentially played several positions. UK could have used him somewhere. To hardly show interest is inexcusable... But, its not just in this case. This is the norm for UK football. They rarely show interest in in-state kids unless they're like Couch, Brohm and Bush...guys they'll have a harder time keeping anyway. JMO This has been a complaint for me for years...this is just another example that allows it to be re-visited. I'm sure we'll get another good case in the next year or three. Its not going to turn me against Brooks or UK...I'm a huge fan. And, I applaud what they've done. But, this is one area that I think they could do better that would help the program.