westsider

I realize that your perception is that I'm against private schools. That is completely erroneous. I was against the private-public split, and I think the split in Tennessee hasn't been good for that state, either. However, I think it's apparent that some private schools have some competitive advantages, as evidence by the number of state titles won in various sports in relation to the percentage of private schools in the state. I should be able to feel that way without having it characterized as an anti-private school attitude.

Then again, what is wrong with reading the post without ascribing motives to the poster?

To promote discussion ... isn't that what we do here? My primary point was the margins of victory were very similar to what happened in Kentucky last year.

I'm not complaining. I'm simply stating facts.

I said this in the Mayfield-Beechwood game thread, and I'll repeat it here. In my eyes, the penalties do little to diminish the Beechwood program ... players and coaches were frustrated at a non-call that occurred on the play that ended their season. That happens in the heat of the moment. It isn't like Beechwood's players were taking cheap shots on Mayfield's guys or anything.

Two out of 12 is 16.7 percent. Three out of 24 is 12.5 percent. Private schools make up about 6 percent of the football programs in this state. Of course, if Trinity and St. Xavier weren't in the same district, the number might have been upped a bit.

I don't know Indiana well enough to make that proposal. They have something like 60 teams per class, so I don't see that as an issue, being that it isn't nearly as watered down as Kentucky's six-class format. A multiplier on private schools would be in order, similar to what is done in some other states. I was primarily talking about the margin of victory in the five games, which is similar to what happened in Kentucky last year.

The Indiana state finals were this past weekend, and they were ugly ... five games decided by an average of 31.6 points, with the closest game being 21-7. Four of the five state champions were private schools, and the lower three classes each had two private schools playing each other. Seven of the 10 teams in the finals were private schools. The games were more competitive in 2010, but otherwise it was much the same story ... two all-private championship games, four private-school champions and six of the 10 teams were private schools.

I think Walker is correct. Redd's run in 1989 was one of the better ones I've seen on the high school level.

There is a production company based in Marshall County that does telecasts of one or two high school football games each week for broadcast on some local cable TV systems. I assume that's where bugatti saw it.

The officiating crew was from the Owensboro area. Usually, we get Louisville-area officials for state semifinals.

I know a lot of Mayfield people were happy to see this score ...

Holy Cross ... wow. This is the same team that gave up 69 points to Beechwood in midseason?

Great game, with two great defenses. Beechwood did a fantastic job covering the curl and hitch routes and the inside screens that gave them so much trouble last year. Every time a Mayfield receiver caught a ball on a short route, he had one or two guys around him in a hurry. Nussbaum went over the 100-yard mark on the final drive. Jackson had a little over 180 and three touchdowns. It's a shame the rest of the state couldn't see the game, but for that we can thank six classes and some weird geography. Hope all the Beechwood fans made it home safely. I got to talk to a few of them and they were very gracious visitors. I overlook the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties because those things happen in the heat of the moment and none of them involved a cheap shot on an opposing player. Beechwood is a class program. I just we could've watched this game next week in Bowling Green.

I think the play occurred somewhere between the goal line and the 5 ... in the heat of the moment, I didn't see where the play was, but a guy that was charting the game told me Vocke was at the 4. There were three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called ... my guess is there was one on the coach and two on players. I thought a player from Beechwood that was yelling and gesturing might get another one while the officials were marking off the third flag.

I doubt that anybody that has been around the program on a regular basis sees the 2010 team as the best ever at Mayfield. I suspect that distinction goes to one of the late-1970s teams.

No, I didn't take it seriously. It did, however, get to be very annoying.

There was a notable Beechwood supporter last year (I would mention him by name but he'll probably send me another nasty PM) that was calling Mayfield "the greatest Class A team ever" long before the Cardinals won the state championship. I'll stand by my comment. By the way, anybody that believes that last year's team was the best ever at Mayfield probably hasn't been around since the 1970s.

5 ... Mayfield 3 ... Central 3 ... Highlands 1 ... Southwestern 1 ... Franklin-Simpson 1 ... Belfry 1 ... Glasgow 1 ... Somerset 1 ... Scott County 1 ... Hazard 44

Only by a very vocal Beechwood-affiliated poster with either an axe to grind or bulletin-board material to generate.

That was a Paul Leahy thing. He liked to play those semifinal games on Friday afternoon, reasoning that it was Thanksgiving weekend and many people were off work anyway. Mayfield played Fort Knox in the afternoon in 1993, too. In 2003, a lot of us were hoping that Mayfield would play Danville in the afternoon, allowing fans of both teams to also watch the Paducah Tilghman-Boyle County semifinal that night. Best I remember, that game started at 5 with the Tilghman-Boyle game at 7:30.

Uh, that's because Mayfield often had Danville in the same bracket. On the other hand, Newport Catholic knocked out Beechwood one year when they could've had a winnable shot against Mayfield.

On the first point, I suspect Wyatt did so to send a message. I'm not defending it, but I don't see anything wrong with scoring a touchdown at that juncture of the game. What did Wyatt say that you think was disrespectful?

Examples?

I think it's a little bit of an upset. Murray has a solid team but probably isn't as good as they were in 2009 and 2010, when they lost regional finals to Fort Campbell and Owensboro Catholic in the last minute.