ukbellco14

Once again........ I said that the game could go either way. Just supporting my Bobcats! I agree, Cawood could very easily make some noise. Especially if they get past B'ville, and Corbin upsets Clay.

Bell wasnt "the hottest" team in the region because they played a weak schedule. They were the hottest team in the region because they had won some 8 or 9 straight ball games and were coming off huge late season wins against Clay and Barbourville, as well as a win against Cawood (for the district title). I think you even conferred that Bell was the hottest team in the region and on a roll. As far as Bell getting beat tonight. Like I said....... I hoped my Bobcats could pull it out, and thought that they were capable, but at the same time I was a realist and knew that NL was very capable of beating Bell. This game, along with the B'ville-Cawood game, and to a lighter degree the Clay-Corbin game, were complete toss ups. I do think the fact that North has been battle tested against the best in the state, whereas Bell hasnt probably made the difference in this game. Take pride in thinking you proved something to me Les, but the fact remains that even in my prediction I said that the game could go either way. I simply thought it would go Bell's, mostly because I was supporting my alma mater.

Totally agree. I think the difference in this game was the fact that NL has been battle tested all season against some of the best teams in the state, and Bell hasnt been.

Totally agree. I think if any team is going to upset SL it will be NL. However, I dont see that happening. It may be a good game though.

I actually saw Brent at the FLA KY basketball game with Coach Ortameyer, the specials team coach. From what I understand UK is very interested.

Wish my Bobcats could have pulled this one out, but NL is a very solid team. It's gonna be fun to see NL and SL duke it out in the region semifinals.

At the time West was the leading rusher in the state. One thing you left out on those stats was # of games played. The 3 guys above him all got 1 or 2 more games, whereas West just got 11. At the time of the regional semifinals, West was leading the state in rushing. Needless to say his 18 yards against Bell in that 11th game didnt help that stat out, not to mention he didnt get to play anymore. That is why the season ending stats have West at #4, instead of #1. Going into the Bell game West was #1. I also stated that he was going for the leading rusher in the state for a career. Did my research and found out it he needed 100+ yards to reach #2 for a career, and surpass Jeremy Britt of Danville. Alot of ppl thought he would come by that 100+ easily against BC. Irregardless. To say that an 11-0 team that featured a Marshall signee, a Miami of Ohio signee, and a UT signee wasnt as talented as pictured is pretty laughable. I never said I thought they could knock off Boyle, because I dont think anyone was going to do that. I simply said alot of ppl on these boards were saying that they had the talent to do so, and that if it was going to happen it would have to be LC to do it. I too remember the undefeated Rock team you mentioned. We played them the next week and were beaten 28-14 in another physical, tough game. Still........ Lawrence was the favorite to win the region in most minds, although Rock was seen as the only other team in the region capable of winning it. Very few thought that a young, inexperienced Bell team should have been in the region finals, let alone beat LC and hang tough with a Rock team that had destroyed them earlier in the season by 30 points or so.

Terrible analogy. Look at the situations you are comparing: 1.) A school with the tradition and program of Trinity being defeated by a school like Seneca just because Seneca has alot of seniors and is playing at home. 2. ) Very similar programs like BC and LC. Not to mention that my standard included 3 MAJOR D1 signees, an undefeated record at 11-0, a team that was the regional favorite, and a team that had one of the states top rushers. When was the last time Seneca had 3 major D1 signees on one team, was undefeated in the regular season, was the favorite to win their region, and had a record breaking RB??? Once again, a terrible analogy. LC was good, really good...... and coming from a participant in that game and someone who is fairly knowledgable about the game and witnessed different levels of talent, BC was completely overmatched and undermanned. We should not have been in that game. But when it was 0-0 heading into the 4th, something clicked and we knew it was our game for the taking, and we did that. I know that most ppl throughout the region were banking on Lawrence to win by at least 21, and some were even saying up to a 40 point blowout. The fact is that BC's win over LC put BC back on the map in mountain football, and it helped Bell to reestablish their reputation as one of the top 2 or 3 mountain teams every year, as well as a consistent 3A contender.

Totally agree...... almost!!! I think that the NL and Bell scores and Cawood and B'ville scores should be reversed, although either way could end up being correct. I think Bell has the advantage over NL just because of how hot they are at this point, although IMO NL is probably the more athletic/talented team. I think that B'ville has the advantage over Cawood because of their plethora of weapons.

May have been....... but I doubt it. They were still undefeated, had a TON of talent (just look at the college signees off that team that I mentioned), and were the favorites to win by as much as 40 according to some ppl. They were also the favorites to win the region, and featured one of the top backs in the history of this state (at least in regards to records.) Every team has a bad game. I think you could probably contribute LC's win against Belfry to that. Even if they were overrated, that doesnt cheapen Bell Co's upset over them, because Bell was supposed to have ZERO chance in winning that game.

I think the best draw for Corbin, or any team in the region for that matter, would not have been Bell, it would have been Lynn Camp, and then probably Cawood. Bell is as hot as any team at this point, and as inconsistently as Corbin as been playing, Bell is not who the Hounds wanted to face. As far as Barbourville goes..... yes there strength of schedule hurts them, and so does there loss to Bell Co if we are taking your point of view. If Bell Co. isnt even the best team in the county, as you asserted earlier, then Barbourville's loss to Bell looks pretty bad. I think you can make an argument for B'ville being the #2 team, but at this point, I dont think they are the #2 team. It will be interesting to see how they fair in the region tourney. They may not even get past Cawood. Then again Bell may not get past North. I am not trying to cut down Lynn Camp's accomplishment of making it to the region tourney. Is it a crime to believe that Lynn Camp is totally overmatched and that they cant win against any of the teams in the region tourney? Just because my opinion differs from yours doesnt mean that I am trying to make a joke of anything. As far as your UK analogy...... if we made it to any bowl game I wouldnt give a rats behind what any other SEC team had to say about it. I am pretty sure that Lynn Camp doesnt give a hoot what I am saying about there trip to the region tourney. Some people on this board love to get sooooooooo personal with there comments, as well as take some things I say wayyyyyyyy too personal. I am simply arguing KY HS sports, and have no hard feelings or personal interests whatsoever. If you disagree with me thats cool, but understand that I call them like I see them (and I try to be as objective, and level headed as possible), and if that offends someone then just ignore my posts.

I am not saying that "because team A beat team B that team A can beat team C who lost to team B." I am not saying anything like that at all. If you think that then you are misunderstanding me. I totally understand matchups, and that is why I think LC is totally undermanned and overmatched when playing any team in the region tourney. I agree. SL is the best, followed by EITHER Bell or Clay. Probably Clay considering the region is at Clay, but Bell is as hot as any team at this point. I dont think you can make a good argument that 2-8 are even. I think you can make a good argument for 2-7 being even. But IMO SL and LC are the 2 outliers. SL is the definitive best and LC is the definitive worst. Everyone else is pretty much even, with Clay having a slight advantage since they play at home. If you want to see how I think the teams are ranked and why, then check out the 13th region rankings thread. I am not saying that LC cant play with the 2-7 teams, because anything is possible, and that is why they play the games. However this is extremely unlikely, and its even more unlikely that they would win against any of those teams. If someone can make a good argument for LC being able to win against any team in the regional tourney then please make it. Besides their win over P'ville and the close game they had against Clay, there is no legit argument for them being able to EVEN play with any team in this regional tourney. Since the New Year LC has lost to Barbourville, Jackson Co, Red Bird, Clay, and Harlan. 3 of those teams are sitting at the house right now. Barbourville waxed LC twice. Lynn Camp isnt that good IMO. They got lucky and beat P'ville, who also isnt that good IMO, and was the most overrated 20 win team in the region. Who did they beat besides Corbin??? The only way to think that LC could possibly upset SL, or play with any other team in the region, is blind faith and irrational hope. I totally respect that....... but I just think its unrealistic.

Lynn Camp cant play with any of the teams in the region tourney, period. What makes you even think they can? Because they beat Pineville, who beat Corbin. :sssh: Comeon man. Here is LC's season for you.....Harlan destroyed them by 19, Bell beat them by 14, Barbourville waxed them twice. P'ville destroyed them by 20 earlier in the season. I understand that their win over P'ville is what got them into the region tourney and a win is a win, you cant take that away from LC. That is exactly why I said it is the only notable region win that Lynn Camp has at this point, and it will be the only notable region win that Lynn Camp will have this season. So P'ville is the best team in Bell Co.??? That has got to be the funniest thing I have heard all year. Are we forgetting Bell Co., a team that is STILL PLAYING, and playing as good as any team in the region right now (besides SL of course)? Pineville was the result of a cake schedule, period. Not taking anything away from them. They were a solid team, capable of playing with anyone in the region at times, and Coach Strange did a wonderful job. If they had played Bell it would have been the same ole story it has been for as long as I can remember. Just because P'ville beat one good region team (Corbin), and then LC upsets P'ville because, doesnt mean LC can hang with the best in the region. LC beating P'ville is a complete anomoly. I guess you would say that P'ville is the best in Bell Co. considering P'ville did beat Corbin late in the season. :sssh: Something that Bell Co. didnt do early in the season, but that they would do at this point. Barbourville is the second most talented team in the region??? Are we forgetting Bell, a team that beat Barbourville late in the season? Are we forgetting Clay or NL? Sure Barbourville is good, but not at all the second most talented. They are right in line with about 6 other teams in this region as far as talent goes. I guess you would say that Barbourville is the 2nd most talented considering they won Corbin's Cumberland Falls Invite. :sssh:

:laugh: No, not all of them. Just those interested in getting involved in KY HS sports later on in life. So did I. I am taking it you talked to him at the SL Bell game or SL Corbin game???

All those teams LC beat, in case you havent noticed, are the bottom of the rung when it comes to the 13th. Not to mention that both Red Bird and Jackson also beat LC later on in the season. Lynn Camp has 1 good region win, and that is against P'ville. Besides that, they shouldnt even still be playing.

Taking that post a little personal arent you. I dont think it was as much a knock on Lynn Camp as it was a compliment to SL. I agree Lynn Camp is still playing and they deserve credit for that, but they are also very very LUCKY to still be playing. If not for the fact that they play in the weakest district in the region they wouldnt even be in the region tourney. To think that LC will play with SL is pretty unrealistic, and to hate SL so bad that you hope they lose to any team they play against is pretty ridiculous. SL could very easily score in the 100's if they are hot and Wright doesnt rest his boys until late. Lynn Camp could very easily be held to under 40 if SL plays the defense they are capable of.

:laugh: I may not be a Clay fan, but I have given them credit where credit is due all year long. I think that North could beat Bell, and that game is a toss up. I think SL rolls all over Lynn Camp for sure. I think Barbourville has the advantage over Cawood, although that game could go either way as well. I think the best game of the first round will be Clay and Corbin. Whoever wins that game, IMO, will be in the finals along with SL. I see Clay winning that game for 2 reasons. Its at Clay, and Clay has a mental edge over Corbin IMO. I dont see Bell upsetting SL. However, if NL gets past Bell and plays SL in the second round, I think there is a possibility for an upset, albeit a long shot.

Totally agree. It will be Clay and SL in the finals.

I was being totally sarcastic in my previous statement. You should read further on in this thread and notice that I stated this already. I hate repeating myself. It has been a HUGE misperception all season that SL is a "bunch of non-athletic East KY boys." This is obviously NOT TRUE. I was simply playing on that misperception. As far as NL is concerned. They should absolutely be ranked better then #7, although not by much. They should be ranked #6, ahead of Cawood. If all that matters is production as you say, then I think the fact that NL produced a win against Cawood early in the year, and almost produced a district championship against Clay at Clay is pretty impressive.

THIS IS LONG, BUT WORTH THE READ IMO: I have never been big on comparing scores of close games, whether a loss or a win. The 13th region is so wide open, and you could rank alot of teams in alot of different orders and still be dead on accurate. That is why I dont think that the method of ranking the 13th region by comparative scores works. My method of ranking the teams all season long has been to see what team WON which games (after all, isnt winning all that matters), and WHEN they won those games (after all, teams do progress or digress throughout the season). Having said that, I went back and looked at my rankings for this week (which I based off of the district tournament scores ONLY, as well as looking at those scores in the context of the last few games of the season.) I probably made a mistake in putting North Laurel so high, and Corbin and Barbourville to low. North Laurel should really be ranked behind Corbin, and maybe even Barbourville, but I doubt the latter. So here it goes. REMEMBER, these rankings are not based on comparative scores, they are based soley on who won or lost which ball games, and when they won or lost those ball games. 1.) South Laurel 12-0 in region play. The closest any region team has played them is to within 17 points (Corbin and North Laurel) and 19 points (Bell). They also have a notable win over Cawood. 2.) Bell Co. 15-4 in region play. There 4 losses came to Cawood, Barbourville, Corbin, and SL. They have avenged there losses to Cawood and Barbourville, beating Cawood twice (one of those wins being the district championship) and Barbourville once (while B'ville was ranked in the top 3 of the region). These wins are coming at the time when it matters most, so these wins trump there early season losses. Of course the loss to SL really doesnt hurt Bell because no other region team has beat SL. Bell's loss to Corbin makes things a little messy, however Bell has recently beat Clay, who was the #2 team in the region at the time. 3.) Clay Co. 15-1 in region play, with there only loss coming to Bell Co. They have beat North Laurel twice (one of those being for the district championship.) They also have a notable win over Corbin, which came late in the season. 4.) Barbourville 21-2 in region play. There 2 losses are to Bell and Cawood. The loss to Cawood was very early in the season, and they did avenge that loss with a win over Cawood near the end of the season. Barbourville's loss to Bell late in the season really hurts them in the rankings, despite the fact they beat Bell earlier in the season. Their weak regional schedule also hurts them IMO (they have played no region team ranked in the top 5, besides Bell, all season long, and Bell wasnt ranked in the top 5 until after B'ville played them). Barbourville has alot to prove in the region tourney IMO. 5.) Corbin 11-7 in region play. Losses to Cawood, South Laurel (3 times), Clay Co, Pineville, and Jackson Co. Notable wins against Bell Co. and North Laurel. Corbin is a real puzzler to me. There loss to Cawood was very early in the season. However, there losses to Pineville and Jackson Co. came late in the season, as did there loss to Clay (although Clay is a top 5 team, unlike P'ville and Jackson, 2 teams which are not even playing anymore.) There win over Bell Co is notable, but it too came early in the year. There win over NL is important, but it came at a time when NL was really in a slump. It seems to me that Corbin is hanging there hat on playing SL closer then anyone, as well as beating an inconsistent NL team and a Bell Co. squad that has greatly improved since that loss. 6.) North Laurel 4-5 in region play. Those losses have come to South Laurel (twice), Clay Co (twice), and Corbin. Their only notable win at this point is over Cawood (yet this win came very early in the year). NL is alot like Corbin IMO, very puzzling. They have played SL as close as any team in the region (although that was very early in the year also) and they can't seem to get over the hump against Clay. Their late season loss to Corbin really hurts them in the rankings IMO, as does the fact that they really havent played alot of region games, and the region games that they have played, they have lost. 7.) Cawood 13-7 in region play. They have notable wins against Bell Co., Corbin, and Barbourville. However, all of these wins came early in the season, and Bell Co. and Barbourville have both since beaten Cawood, with Bell Co. doing it twice. They also have losses to North Laurel (albeit an early season loss) and South Laurel, as well as a notable late season loss to Clay Co. It seems that Cawood is a solid team, but all they really have to speak of is a early season win over Corbin. 8.) Lynn Camp 11-8 in region play. They have losses to Bell Co., Barbourville, and Clay Co. They also have notable losses to Pineville, Red Bird, Jackson Co, and Harlan all late in the season (not good). All of those teams have hung up the sneakers for the year (also not good). To Lynn Camp's credit, they also beat Red Bird once (although it was earlier in the year) and Jackson Co. twice (although it was also earlier in the year). Lynn Camp really has no notable region wins on their record, except their win over P'ville in the district tourney. The only reason that win is notable is because Lynn Camp probably should have lost it, not because it was coming against a top tier team. P'ville was a solid team, but never a regional player IMO.

I think Patrick Sparks has been pretty consistent over the last several ball games.

I never said he had no talent. I said he had a "bunch of non athletic East Ky boys", which is the big misconception across the state. I totally agree that there are a bunch of good coaches in this region, that are also great people. This isnt even the "13th region coach of the year" thread, so I dont know why anyone would bring up Wright. However, I think if you come into the 13th region at the #1 team, go undefeated through the entire season despite the bulls eye on your chest, and then win the 13th region title (which remains to be seen), then Coach Wright deserves the coach of the year award.

I see Rock's QB as much more replaceable then Mason's QB. I still think the advantage goes to Rock in this matchup, just like it would if Rock was facing Bell, or JC, or Ashland, or any other region team.

I agree.... true fans, regardless of the situation, should believe. However, when I am making my predicitions I try not to look through "rose colored classes." I love faithful fans, but I hate irrational biasis. I believe Bell Co. has a great shot of making it to the finals, depending on the draw. I am as faithful to the blue and white as anyone. However, I dont see them beating SL, although anything is possible. I think there is alot to be said for reason and logic, and any rational fan would have to say it is a long shot for any team in the 13th region to pull it out. It is gonna be far from a cake walk for anyone to beat SL, especially a team that has already had 3 shots at them, and lost convincingly in each shot.

I would agree. It seems like every year all I hear is how terrible Coach P is. Yet every year, somehow, Corbin is right in the thick of it.