Red Shift

While it is true that BC can win without Owens, tonight proves that the Lions are very vulnerable without him. You must realize that there will be games in which Owens will foul out and teams will be at full strength and playing better basketball. But you are correct in that this is a confidence booster for the other members of the Lions' squad. I look for them to be playing even better by the time the end of February rolls around, as will just about all the other teams. How much room the Lions have to improve and how much the Lions will improve, is yet to be seen.

How many of those come on long rebounds, though? That is not so much the problem as rebounds underneath. Yes, Kasey will help get a few more rebounds on hustle plays and even a few under the basket, but it's up to Gill and Turner to get some of the tough rebounds directly below the rim by positioning. I agree with you on your other points. Kasey probably would have been the difference in the ballgame tonight especially because of his defense, but against Morgan and Fairview, two teams I believe to be better than Boyd, weaknesses will show, even if they are usually covered against weaker opponents by stellar play in other areas.

Having Kasey back will help, but it still doesn't address Russell's rebounding problem. Certainly it would help the transition game, the defense, and give another good player to rotate in and out, but Russell's major problem is getting rebounds and points in the paint.

Play 2 Wins synopsis is brief and correct, all at once... But here are my two cents: Boyd Co. is 2 different teams with and without Owens. He's quick, a pretty good shooter, and an all around play maker. Boyd Co. was very nearly beaten in this game, and it should have been put away long before Russell should have had a chance. It was just as much Russell's fault for losing in OT after they went 1-12 in the FG de- partment. Besides Owens, Boyd Co. (as seen tonight) only has one other good shooter from the field ( I don't remember the number), and one good shooter from the line (#22 I believe), and the former's effectiveness was greatly reduced, though not eliminated totally, once #23 went out. Still, though, Boyd was able to greatly out- rebound Russell, and for that I must credit Boyd. As for Russell... To help their outside shooting, they need to establish Gill underneath. He was in a position to post up for some points in the paint, but Russell didn't get the ball into him. This should free up some room outside and allow VanHoose, Blaire, Simpson, et al, to shoot the 3-ball. This, of course, is in addition to the aforementioned rebouding problems. With all this having been said, I think this was a positive experience for the Devils. They realized that they can capitalize on the weak- nesses of other teams and come back from a large deficit. However, it is still a loss and a tough one at home in overtime, and Russell needs to realize they won't be the best team in the 16th if they do not work on their own weaknesses.

Every little bit helps! :thumb: :lol: Russell looked very good tonight, especially in the first half. I believe K. Clark is getting back into the swing of things defensively and the underneath game was very effective on both sides of the ball. However, Russell will have to win this game by shooting the three-ball and by not turning the ball over. If Russell can do this I think it will help even out the scoring of Owens, from which the Devils supporting cast can take an advantage over the other Lions players.

Good luck to Jackson Co.! Any word on which district they may be in? Logic would probably say that they would be in either of district 6 - close to Estill and Powell County - or 7 - close to Breathitt and Leslie Counties a bit farther away. However, with the size of District 6, I would say 7 is more likely.

Russell takes their first district game of the new year. Gill led all scorers with 26 and I believe he led rebounds with 8.

I did, but I mainly got to see Russell, and a very little bit of the West Carter Bryan Station game because family was in (I probably shouldn't have seen that much b-ball... Guilty pleasures!). But I did have the privilage to sneek down, erm, sit in the new backed seating at Ashland.

I believe that doesn't actually happen until the next week, they're taking this one to recoup...

I like your poll right now, but this week will be the most telling week of the season thus far: Russell plays Raceland and Boyd Co. West Carter plays Lewis and East. Fairview plays Ashland at Ashland. Elliot plays East Carter and Rowan. Russell is probably has the most to prove having a showdown with Owens and Co. at Marvin-Meredith Gymnasium and a tough battle earlier in the week against an always scrappy Raceland team also at home. But this may not even be the biggest week of the month for the Devils as they play @ East Carter, @ Blazer, and in the Central Bank Classic on that Saturday. If they are going to pick it up in January, look for that to be the time it happens.

The Great Frances has returned! Man have I been out of the political forum and not been paying attention to the other 16th region threads for too long. Welcome back!

You shouldn't attack a Lady who can't defend herself, shooter! :cry:

Russell was very impressive in the first half. They moved the ball well and the defensive intensity was their for the first time this season (from what I've seen). Clark seemed to be just starting to find his place on the basketball squad again as he came up with a couple of loose balls and put on the pressure, he also scored about six fast break points in the second half. Vanhoose was extremely impressive in the first half, coming up with 29 points - I believe he was 8-13 from beyond the arc and 3-4 from the line. Russell seemed to be most ineffective, as has been the case thus far, when they were unable to rebound. This occured most in the 3rd quarter, and as a result the Devils put up 9 or 10 fouls due to lack of positioning. Rebounding is the area that Russell must work on the most if they intend to make a run in February, because it seems that all the other elements are beginning to fall into place.

I am very surprised Sizemore came back out this season simply because the last thing I heard from him was he did not want to go to the holiday tournies this year and so he wasn't going to play. What a difference a week makes! Yes, he did quit last season. I think it was because of baseball, but that could be completely off the mark.

AA 1. Russell - Played the toughest post season and won, even with injuries 2. Newport - they were almost as good as the Devils, but the game in question was at Newport, with the Russell win, they get the nod For three on down it is difficult for me, but here goes nothing: 3. Belfry - though they played a horrific first half, they turned it around in the second at Henry R. Evans stadium. Was it the dreaded Russell Relax, a good team not going down without a fight, or the real 2006 Belfry Pirates? The world will never know. 4. Owensboro Catholic - they beat Ft. Campbell; they are better in my book, but I never saw Ft. Campbell, so I can't make the best of calls on this one. 5. Ft. Campbell - they may well have had the most skill in AA, but for whatever reason they could not pull it off. But again, I didn't get to see them.

I don't think I have much to add to the discussion except that OC was simply unable to stop the sweep to the left side by Kasey Clark, and that was because of excellent blocking and strong running. I think that Russell played their most smashmouth football game of the year on Saturday, but I don't believe it was on accident, rather the Russell staff recognized some weakness in the OCath defense. The only other comment that I can make is about Tyler Jones blocked punt. He said that he didn't even realize that he had blocked it, and my initial reaction was that he hadn't even touched it. I think that the picture above kind of shows that the kick might have come off the side of his ankle. It doesn't really make a diffence because the punt only went 3 yards, but I think it was because the kicker hurried it, and not because he got a piece of it. Lastly, and most importantly... WAY TO GO DEVILS!!

Dwaine is actually a Junior.

Half Back? What's a what's a half back? He's the feature back!!! The full back is Chad Edwards,#45 Stat Line: GP...Att..Gain.Lss..Net..Yd/C.TD.Lng..Yd/G 11...61...520...5...515...8.4...7...69...46.8

Someone made the comment that OCath had difficulty with the athleticism of the defensive line, and not necessarily with the size. This characterizes Russell's lines as well. They are not particularly big, but they are smart, quick, physical (at least as physical as anyone we have played this year, but not necessarily as physical as anyone OCath has played), and athletic. What is yet to be seen is how well OCath will match up against the balanced (relative to previous Russell teams) Red Devil attack. Brown may well be the best multi-purpose QB OCath has seen this year and that may present the most problems for the ACES' defense.

Russell definantly has the ability to break a long run if they get into the open field and yes, Russell has been able to score quickly if necessary (see the game tying drive against Newport), but they would definantly prefer to run between the tackles and grind it out. I will take into account that OCath has a good defense, but I doubt it is any better than any team that Russell has already played, though it is really impossible for anyone to tell. The only team to beat Russell this year was Boyd Co. and that was due to a few factors. First, it was a let down game after playing Ashland. Second, Boyd had a coach that was a former Russell player. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Boyd was able to spread the Devil defense and run up the middle. This bothers me because it would seem that OCath runs a similar offense. However, we must re- member, that this is week 16 and that game was week 4, so many things have changed. If the Devils can control the clock like they did for the first half of the Belfry game, they will win. If Russell can keep the ball for about 8 minutes more than OCath, they will have a shot. If Russell gets blown off the ball for most of the game, they will be in trouble. I doubt that will happen however as this o-line has held up well against some huge and talented lines. This should be a good one; I can't wait for Saturday.

Gotcha, NCF :thumb:

Am I correct in saying that the Single wing is the shotgun with a wing-back and is basically a rushing offense? I remember last year, and I know this is a little off topic, that OSU ran with Ted Ginn, Jr. with direct snaps and the announcers kept calling it the Single Wing. So, is this the offense you are referring to?

Well, I don't see why it's so important to be claimed the underdog because we all know that these are two good teams, but it is im- possible to tell how the two teams match up for certain for they haven't played one another. What we do know, however, is that both teams will be ready to play, and the final outcome will have nothing to do with the predictions made here, or the general con- census of who is going to win. This game will come down to the Wing-T vs. the Pirate D and the Wishbone vs. the highly touted Devil defense. Hopefully, there will be a large contingent from both schools that will make up one of the most well attended games in the history of Henry R. Evans Sta- dium, and a memorable game will be put on by both schools that can go down as one of the greatest in Kentucky High School History. I think that it is great to see a once dead rivalry renewed in a pair of state semi-finals with Louisville on the line, and I sin- cerely hope that the game lives up to the hype and the history of these two schools. The lights over at Henry R. Evans Stadium are off now and the ground has frozen over in the icy November air. Years of victory, heart-ache, excitement, and all events there, both recorded and forgotten, add play-off atmosphere. In a little over 19 hours there, on a field that is now resting before its final contest of the year, and before its isolation for 7 months from the beating of cleats that rip at its form that give it its character, two of the best teams in Kentucky will finally conclude this argument that has captivated us for nearly all of the past seven days. One team will then have a chance to become the Champion of Kentucky Division AA football, while the other will suffer defeat, with the seniors of them remembering all the things they could have done, until time palliates the pain, for time may not heal completely all wounds. Good luck to both teams, and to those making a trek to the Hill, have a safe trip.

I think it might be a corruption of the Tank over in Ironton. Because many teams around here used to play both Russell and Ironton, it was found easy to say, "the Tank" for Tanks Memorial Stadium and "the Hank" for Henry R. Evans Stadium. This was made more popular when the Devils played the Tigers with alternating games being played at "the Hank" and "the Tank," as it kind of had a ring to it. This can be related to most any stadium that has a clipped name such as Vipp for Vipperman. However, I like the recently (I believe within the last 10 years, but it could be older) added phrase, "Defend the R," as it can refer to Red Devil Hill, Henry R. Evans Stadium, the Russell Red Devils in general, or the Russell school system. Heck on the Hill is my favorite reference for any Russell athletic complex, it gives it a frightful name and may even tipify a Russell team, but some find it offensive, and I can understand why. After the boring history lesson... I am bouncing off the walls for Friday's game. It's 1:54 on Thanksgiving and I'm wired beyond belief! Only 41 hours, 33 minutes!!

And through the air, which I don't expect Belfry to be doing a lot of.