westsider

OK guys, you want to know why I'm so skeptical ... you act like Breathitt's state championship reflects some new period of dominance by the mountain schools ... for starters, Breathitt was the state champion in 2A, and the east was unquestionably the strongest side in Class 2A ... of course, 2A is unquestionably the state's weakest class.

The mountains sure weren't very dominant before ... Bardstown destroyed Prestonsburg in 01, Boyle County won two before that ... Breathitt's title this year was the mountains' first 2A state title since the great Breathitt run in 95 and 96.

The mountains have produced, by my count, four state titles in the last 10 years (Breathitt in 95, 96 and 02 and Middlesboro in 98) ... that hardly is a show of dominance ... by the way, the west has five (Mayfield in 93, 95 and 02, Bowling Green in 95, Caldwell County in 98) in the same time frame.

I don't claim the west to be the state's best area for football ... northern Kentucky has generally had our number for 15 years (notable exception ... Mayfield vs. Beechwood) and Louisville and central Kentucky are strong ... I think the numbers will bear me out when I say the west generally produces more talent than the east.

Originally posted by Breathittguy

" And you'll have a tough time favorably comparing mountain skill kids with those from the rest of the state."

 

 

for westsider---- the above statement is only one sentence from a previous quote you placed.I would be very interested in hearing why you feel this way.Please explain.:confused:

 

 

Because in most years, the top quarterbacks, backs and receivers from the mountains are generally not as talented as those from other parts of the state. There isn't as much speed and quickness in the mountains, and the week-in, week-out level of competition isn't as good as it is in other areas.

 

There are notable exceptions, of course ... Couch, Chapman, Gerad Parker just to name three off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.

I saw Breathitt and Corbin ... impressive to win 51-0 with all those guys wearing ankle weights ...

Originally posted by breathitt fan

How many times must I repeat myself. Yes I Do! Whats makes your players better? They get more Pub. Thats about all I can see.

You've been sampling way too much of the local cash crop ...

Originally posted by NamecipS

And before that they were in 3A right? What did they do prior to Boyle Co's arrival in 3A?

No excuses, dude, just facts ... lost to Highlands 21-14 in the 3A title game in 96, lost to CovCath 21-13 in the 97 finals ... stopped at the 2, I think, as time ran out.

Hoptown was in 4A the previous two years ... lost to St. X on a touchdown in the final seconds in 1999, got beat pretty soundly at Male in 2000.

Originally posted by 3wishes

They added Larue County and Southwestern Pulaski...

Kinda says it all, doesn't it? ... Tilghman goes out and picks up Henry Clay and Ballard, Hoptown and Male have become an annual thing and Rockcastle picks up ... LaRue and Southwestern.

Two observations ...

Wildman, if you think Lawson is the best junior RB in the state, you've never seen Joe Casey. And you'll have a tough time favorably comparing mountain skill kids with those from the rest of the state.

3wishes, the only reason you haven't seen Hopkinsville in Louisville is because they had to play Boyle before the mighty Rock did ... Hoptown played Boyle tougher than anyone the last two years ... when Rockcastle makes Boyle actually break a sweat, then we'll talk.

Originally posted by password

In the 2000s.

 

5. Western Kentucky: Just not consistant enough in all classes and depth is suspect. Quick who jumps to mind in 1A after Mayfield? Some good, not great teams.

I'd say Hopkinsville's been pretty great the last few years: lost close ones in the finals in 1996 and 1997, lost to St. X on a last-second TD in the semifinals in 1999, then lost to Boyle by a touchdown in the semis in 2001 and 2002. Ask the Boyle people who they'd rather play, Rockcastle or Hoptown? The Tigers have been much more competitive.

Mayfield dominates this region in Class A, much like Danville and the Beechwood-NewCath duo in their areas. Danville hasn't been tested in their region since Bardstown was moved up to 2A ... NewCath and Beechwood have almost had free passes in the semifinals in recent years against ... eastern Kentucky.

2A and 4A are our weak links, no doubt about it.

I'm in total agreement with you, but ...

Originally posted by BigRebel

6. Eastern Kentucky, although a few teams have showed some promise as of late, this area is still the weakest area for football in Kentucky by far.

... oh man, you're going to ruffle a few feathers ...

Wanna level the playing field? Build another Catholic school on the East End to siphon some of the students away from St. X and Trinity ... it might take a few years, but the new school would eventually put a dent in the Tigers and Shamrocks.

Originally posted by Bert

In 1999, Coach Wright left Trinity to return to Indiana due to family sicknesses, a death if the family etc.. He know coaches Warren up near Indianapolis which is the 3rd ranked team in Indiana and beat Ben Davis in the regular season.

 

Take coach Beatty, Redman, Smith or Wright to the smallest school in KY and I bet all four could build a winning program.

 

Size matters but, coaching is the key in pretty much all high school sports.

FYI, Warren Central has 3,100 students ... more boys than Trinity

As for Trinity's coaching staff, send them to somewhere like Fulton City or Fulton County or Todd Central and see how Beatty and Co. would do ... if you're gonna win the race, you gotta have the horses.

Guru,

I should've made it clear in my post that Hergott didn't release the ball until after the referee blew his whistle. The tape clearly shows that.

As for the officials ... yes, they claimed Hergott was out of bounds. In response to a media request, the KHSAA released a statement from the officials (a mountain-area crew) that said the whistle was blown because Hergott was out of bounds. That was reported in the newspaper here.

I don't doubt that Hergott threw the ball in the air in response to the whistle ... it was the officials' mistake first and foremost.

On the Murray-Beechwood game ...

Just a weird play all around. The Beechwood QB (can't remember his name) was on the "L" in "Louisville" when he threw the ball up in the air, this after the clock had hit 0:00. One of Murray's LBs (John Bell) caught the ball in the air in the end zone.

I swear I saw one official signal a touchdown, but many fans I know said he later brought them together to signal a safety. Murray, trailing 18-14 at the time, wanted a TD but the officials ruled it a safety, and the final score was officially 18-16.

The officials blew the whole play. One blew his whistle after the clock hit 0:00 and the scoreboard horn went off but before the play had been run to completion. After the game, the officials messed up by saying they blew the whistle because the QB was out of bounds, which was totally false.

Some Murray fans still feel as if they were cheated out of a state title, but the real reason they lost is because they were inside Beechwood's 25 twice in the fourth quarter and came up empty.

Hope that clears it up ... mesh with your recollection, guru?

Sorry to get off thread about that ... but someone did ask ...

Guru,

Sorry ... was kidding about the grudge remark.

On the 94 title game ... of course, all I have to go on is what I saw that day. If I remember correctly, Murray outgained Beechwood but missed two scoring chances in the fourth quarter. You saw Beechwood all season and In respect your opinion ... but four TDs better? Come on. I still don't see how a team can overlook another in the state championship game.

That Murray team was actually pretty good ... the Tigers beat a good Russellville team and drilled Harrodsburg, both on the road, to get to the finals.

And in the 95 game, Mayfield's starting QB came back in the second half and led the Cardinals to the win. Blessing in disguise, huh? He wasn't the biggest and most athletic kid, but he got the job done.

Amazing how people think their teams don't come ready to play for the state finals. Shouldn't the other team, which earned its way to Louisville just the same, get some credit for that?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snakesnot,

I was at the classic Mayfield-Hoptown game that year, and I wouldn't call it a fluke. That Hoptown team had at least half a dozen D-1 players. If Bright had scored at the end, it would have been a bigger fluke than Hoptown's last score.

Some observations about 95 and 98 ...

In my opinion, both of Paul Leahy's state titles at Mayfield came against teams that were better than the Cardinals. No doubt that Prestonsburg was the better team in 93, but they just fell apart after taking a 12-0 lead in the fourth quarter.

I feel the Beechwood team of 95 was better than Mayfield, but the Cardinals simply managed to find a way to win. A backup quarterback threw a big touchdown pass right before the end of the first half when it appeared Beechwood might be in control of the game and guys like Bright, Concentine and Starks made huge plays when needed.

The reason Mayfield didn't look like the same team that day ... they were playing Beechwood. Mayfield played two exceptional teams that season, going 1-1 -- the loss to Hopkinsville and the win over Beechwood. Personally, I can't believe any team would overlook another in the state championship game.

Just a side note ... on the other hand, I felt the lesser team won the 94 title game. I still think Murray (an 18-16 loser to Beechwood with a controversial ending) was the better ballclub, but they came up empty on two drives inside the 25 in the fourth quarter. Credit to Beechwood ... great teams find ways to win big games.

As for 98 ... Middlesboro was the better team that day, no question about it. Mayfield didn't play well, and Middlesboro had a lot to do with that. I doubt the Yellow Jackets were 20 points better, but they were that day. Honestly, the game was never in doubt.

Guru, if I didn't know better I'd say you sound like you have a bit of a grudge against Mayfield ...