redevil78

Lighten up. No disrespect meant, just a little comedic relief.

There seems to be a whole lot of pastries coming up in district play this season. We'll have to wait for the playoffs before we see a real meal of meat and potatoes competiton. Ivan has to play the starters as much as possible for the conditioning factor, however, he won't let any game get completely out of hand.

It's JFL nite; heck, some of them may even suit-up and play some of those 4th qtr minutes... Russell 46 Morgan 7 (It's a long bus ride home if they don't score at least once) :devil:

Congrats to Ashland for the big win over Portsmouth West! I thought the Siders would give this team trouble. I'm officially climbing onto the Matt Thomas band wagon and can see it making a long trip through the playoffs. Two big games in a row have convinced me that he is the real deal. I would agree that the O-line deserves alot of the credit for his success, but he will be a handfull for upcoming district foes to stop. This team continues to improve week after week, game after game. Good luck the rest of the season.

Congratulations to Ivan and the Devils! There's obviously still things that need to be fine tuned as we enter district play, however, this game saw some kids step in and step up to the challenge. The fumble "scoop and run" seems to be an integral part of our defense; way to go Tyler! Ivan certainly deserved the recognition for his leadership and loyalty over the years. It was all nicely done. That facemask was vicious!

Props to Raceland for the win. I picked GC to pull an upset and it sounds like the Musketteers came to play last nite. This Raceland team continues to find a way to win and is making a believer out of me. :thumb:

Russell 35 Boyd Co. 21

That's fair. :thumb:

High school football games sometimes have a way of surprising people. A bounce here or a penalty there, and before you know it the score is not what you expected. Because everything points to a big Raceland win tonite, I'm picking Greenup County. At some point this team will find a way to win and tonite could be the nite. Greenup Co. 17 Raceland 14

No sour grapes here Badcat74, just offering a different perspective for GIAT. I actually think my analysis has merit and the game could indeed playout as predicted. * Maybe Thomas puts two big games together, but maybe he doesn't. * A team does have a tendency to play differently in a hostile environment (That's why they call it a "home field advantage"!) * Sometimes an emotional win is followed by a flat performance the next week. * The revenge factor? Enough said. Bottom line, your T-Cats could lose tonite to a pretty good Portsmouth West football team. I actually hope they don't, however, as it's not my desire to see our KY teams get beaten by the Buckeyes, not even Ashland. And yes, thank you, I am worried about my Devils. They need to get back on track tonite against Boyd Co. in a big way. I hope they can remember the old-fashion, behind the woodshed, butt whipping they got last year and come out on fire to even the score. Go Devils!!!!! :devil:

How's this for a Russell fan's prediction: Portsmouth West 24 Ashland 17 Here's Why... * Ashland is coming off an emotional OT x 3 thriller win over the mighty AA State Champion Devils. (Over confident) * It's the first game outside the warm confines of glorious Putnam Stadium. (There's no place like home) * Portsmouth West remembers the drubbing from last year. (Revenge is sweet) * Matt Thomas (He forgets and leaves his superman cape at home) :devil:

Don't be too hard on the kid. He got frustrated at himself and got the unsportsmanlike penalty. It was a lack of good judgement on his part to be sure, but he, like others, we're caught up in the emotion and amosphere of this game. I think he still merits any and all consideration for Mr. Football. Speaking of your student section, they could have seen a hankie fly too for spilling onto the field after the missed field goal.

I didn't listen to the Russell radio broadcast last nite, but did they change announcers??? Was it for the better??

Matt Thomas was the real deal for Ashland. He was getting sizeable yardage on each and every touch. He could have also hurt us in the flat on pass receptions, but I think he was hearing "footsteps" on a couple of those drops. Coach Hart has to be feeling good about Thomas' hard running though.

I think Harvey #74 was rotated in and out, but overall it was the same 11 or 12 guys throughout. Again, Wills at linebacker was limping most of the game. We were just getting whipped and I think alot of that was from fatigue. (There was only one offensive play in the first quarter for Russell.)

You're absolutely right about the district implications, which are nil. But a rivalry is indeed all about the bragging rights. My comment should have been is the Boyd Co game a bigger "rivalry game" for the fans. I realize that Ivan and Coach Hart will both take a non-conference loss over a district loss every time. But for a true rivalry game it doesn't get any better than Ashland-Russell IMO.

Agree! :thumb:

I knew Cornwell's injury must have been serious when he took off the shoulder pads and stayed on the bench. Definitely hope he's ok. I guess my comment about the Boyd/Russell rivalry was the sheer emotion that was evident from the Ashland fans at the end.

Congrats to Ashland for the solid win. Both the players and coaches earned it. I will echo the sentiments of many who have already posted that this is not the same Ashland team that I saw play Raceland two weeks ago. The Tomcats beat us soundly up front where it counts. Kasey is a great back, but I think this game proved he cannot do it all on his own. I think fatique from being on defense the whole first quarter loomed large in this game for Russell. By the third quarter, we were just out of gas. We could not stop Thomas from getting the 6 and 7 yard gains at will. Russell coaching staff has to learn from this one; do a better job of rotating players in and out of the game. Wills was hobbling for most of the 2nd half. (I think it was an ankle) Devils need to regroup and get back to work next week as there's a whole lot of season left. The crowd was great; it certainly felt like a rivalry game to me. Is Boyd Co. really a bigger game for Ashland than Russell???

I really don't get it. Why aren't all the other games in the area being cancelled? This makes no sense or maybe it makes cent$.

Graybeard, I made reference to those "infamous" mudder cleats yesterday. Sounds like this would be the game to use 'em...

: :thumb:

That' different Painter. This is not a playoff game in November. It's a regular, non-district game in early September between cross-town rivalries. Suit-up and play the game already.

Play the game! It's football for goodness sake. The uniforms will clean-up. I don't think we would even consider not playing the game if it were at the "Hank".

I'm just hoping that the T-Cats don't break out those infamous "mudder" cleats!!!!