Diogenes

Well, I picked PRP over Male as a possible upset the first time they met and learned a painful lesson picking against the Bulldogs. A top 20 Manual team could pull a shocker against an inconsistant St. X on Friday.

An improved Manual team that has exceeded all expectations and moved up in the Lit and Cantrell ratings comes into the game against an inconsistant Tiger squad. Will the X men who played the first half against Male or the ten minutes against Trinity show up, or will it be the second half vs. Male and the Lex Cath St. X team? Also, the kicking game may yet bite St. X this year. St. X 20 Manual 14 Good luck to both teams.

Southern had a fine season, exceeding all expectations. Friday their season ends. They will not beat the Rocks at Marshall Stadium. Trinity 42 Southern 6

Manual is a top 20 team in the Lit ratings and Cantrell. They have a long and illustrious football history. X struggled with them earlier, and I foresee another tight contest. RockPride made an astute comment, the shaky kicking game could lead to the demise of the 2006 Tigers at some point. St. X 20 Manual 14 Good luck to both teams.

Take a deep breath and reread the posts. A Trinity poster originally broached the "Tradition Unequaled" motto, and he misunderstood it. I simply clarified the term for him. It seems that the explanation touched a nerve with you. If you do not care to be reminded about St. X's winning over three times the total athletic state championships of any other school and being recognized by Sports Illustrated as the 14th best sports school in the USA (No other Kentucky school was in the top 100) or St. X having two or three or even four times more National Merit winners than any other Catholic school in Kentucky do not first bring up the topic of "Tradition Unequaled" on the thread. Now, as to "Tradition is really Unequaled... how about 16 titles" comment, another misunderstanding. Many feel that single accomplishment has been equaled or even exceeded in Kentucky by Fort Thomas Highlands, a school that has also won 16 titles but against mainly schools with the same or greater male enrollment. Thanks for the explanation regarding the Trinity first team quarterback throwing a touchdown to the first team receiver with 5:41 in the game, up 31-7. jimmyref is right. Everyone put the fangs away, it's playoff time!! May Jefferson County crown another champion in 5 weeks.

Thanks for the kind post about X. And really, the only reason we were on the tangent about non-football issues was the explanation I provided you about your "Tradition Unequaled" comment.:thumb:

I accept your apology for the misunderstanding. You probably do not attend a lot of St. X academic functions, and that is understandable, Don't forget, though, that I also pointed out that Tradition Unequaled also included winning over three times the total athletic state championships of any other school and being recognized by Sports Illustrated as the 14th best sports school in the USA. (No other Kentucky school was in the top 100). Perhaps you prefer not to comment on that component of Tradition Unequaled. By the way, you have also yet to comment on the first team quarterback throwing a touchdown to the first team receiver with 5:41 in the game, up 31-7. It is fair game to discuss this "sportsmanship". And, really, you need not discuss equations. Remember "the St. X has two or three or even four times more National Merit winners than any other Catholic school in Kentucky" equation?

Relax, my friend. Tiger2023 was just noting that the first team quarterback threw a touchdown to the first team receiver with 5:41 in the game, up 31-7. This happened. Without unloading on X (which is not the topic of the thread) do you care to comment? His statement seems to have hit a nerve. By the way, your comment misunderstands the St. X motto "Tradition Unequaled". If St. X were a smaller school (not physical size or enrollment) or had a myopic focus only on football, your comment may be meaningful. But Tradition Unequaled refers to the all-around facets regarding a school. For example, the core component of a school is academics. Most years St. X has two or three or even four times more National Merit winners than any other Catholic school in Kentucky, and far more than any school with similar or smaller enrollment. (Kudos to Manual, also a National Merit titan). Tradition Unequaled also refers to a history of more than three times more total state championships than any other Kentucky school, and to a school two years ago recognized by Sports Illustrated as the 14th best sports school in the USA. (No other Kentucky school was in the top 100). Thus, academics and all sports over a long period of time, not a narrow focus on just one small facet of a school, over a short period defines the term Tradition Unequaled

Last night marked the final regular season home game ever for St. X in this historic stadium. I believe it is the largest high school stadium in the Commonwealth. I have heard that DeSales will be the new tenant. Is this confirmed? Also, does anyone know when X first became a tenant there? Originally built as a bowl, over the years it lost its endzone seats. It has hosted a college game(s), the St. X vs. Trinity games, the Flaget Braves, as well as the Male-Manual series. Anyone with other information on a stadium that has hosted many of Kentucky's legendary teams and programs?

Could you be a little more specific? Just kidding! Sounds like you put some thought into it and you are willing to stick your neck out on a few predictions.:thumb:

Well, yes, T may have in that game. I was more reflecting on the 48-16 2005 X win and the 36-18 2004 X victory when a number of my Trinity buddies were upset with the lack of substitutions by T when the game was out of hand, or the 45-19 victory for state over Male in 2001 that I attended with 5 or 6 of my Trinity friends who were upset because T only played 13 total on defense throughout the entire game.

My guess is Trinity names the score. Cantrell had Shelby 32 out of 54 4A teams. Interestingly, much of that district is clustered together. 32. Shelby Co. 33. Fern Creek 34. Eastern 35. Seneca. Interesting use of words "I look for the Rocks to play a ton of kids on defense (as they have been doing all season)." Did they not use many kids in the past? I only saw them once or twice a year in the past few years and substitutions were sparse then.

X should win without much trouble. On a historic note, this will be the final game ever for X as the home team at Manual Stadium.

It is the night in the season that children can attend an X game, have pre-game pizza and cookies, come out on the field prior to the game and form parallel lines for the team to run through as it enters the field, and then come onto the field post-game and meet the players. I am glad you asked, because it provides an opportunity to note an aspect of Friday evening that has not been mentioned in this thread. Although St. X had come up just short in overtime to their district arch rivals, the players and coaches remained on the field post game to talk with and sign autographs for hundreds of children. It was remarkable to watch young men and coaches, having just suffered a major disappointment, remain on the field with these children.Two points I observed to illustrate this: I overheard a father, with his son, approach a player for an autograph. The father noted that the player was from a parish the father had previously lived in, and asked the player if he knew his older son, who had apparently been killed in an auto accident. The player comforted the man with some kind words about the deceased. Finally, the kicker remained on the field with the children, smiling and talking to them even though his red eyes showed his emotions. Didn't someone once define class as grace under pressure?

Upon reflection, this was a game of missed opportunities for both teams. Male failed to score from the X one foot line and in a later series threw from X's 15, resulting in a penalty against Male rather than kicking the field goal. X misfired on passes to open receivers Hottel and Simmons on the Male 5 and 10 in separate drives. Male bobbled a snap on an extra point but converted for two. X missed the conversion in OT. These things occur in a high intensity game involving high school youngsters. That is part of the charm of high school football. Manual stadium is the largest high school stadium in Kentucky. The X side was sold out and the Male side was nearly sold out. Fans lined the field. Considering the quality of the teams and the intensity of play, it was the finest game I have seen this season. If there is a rematch it could be a doozy.

Yes, I was there for the game It was a sold out Nelson County forum, with the crowd ringing the field. If memory serves, the Nelson QB was named Gabe Paul, and he was left-handed. I may be wrong but I thought he went out of the game in the first quarter. Anyway, even sans Paul it was a tight game with a 22-12 final score. I also seem to recall that the loss was the first suffered by Nelson County since 1995.

And only if they don't have the same name as their father. Then they would be juniors.

I have said before that one of the more improbable drives to a state football championship in Kentucky occurred in the 1999 4A playoffs. There were a number of viable contenders for the title that year. Teams outside of Jefferson County may have been overall as powerful as any in the history of 4A football. A strong argument could be made that Lexington Henry Clay, led by Shane Boyd and a host of other Division 1 players, was the best team in the state. Lexington Bryan Station had Shelton, one of the finer running backs in the state in the past decade. Out West, the Hopkinsville Tigers had a potent offense that many believed would lead them to the crown. In Louisville, the big three were dominant, although St. X, led by one of the finer offensive lines in their history, was generally felt to be the team to beat from Jefferson County. St. X's second round game against PRP was closer than expected (20 to 10), but the fireworks began in round three. X had vanquished Male with little problem in the regular-season game at Manual Stadium. The playoff game was also at Manual Stadium and was played in a driving rain. Going into the fourth quarter, Male was leading, but X righted the ship and held on for a hard fought 19-10 victory. The semifinal game was played in Hopkinsville, and the Hoptown Tigers raced to a huge early lead. X clawed back and with about one minute left in the game an X receiver outjumped a Hoptown defender for the winning tally. The title game at the old Fairgrounds was a seesaw battle with both Bryan Station and X holding leads at one time or another. Regulation ended in a tie. Trailing 31-28 and facing fourth and one St. X ran the ball (I know that this will come as a shock to many that X would actually run the ball:D ) and Ryan Payne followed all-state offensive lineman Will Rabitin in the end zone for the victory, and the state title. Thus, in the third round X was trailing going into the first play of the fourth quarter. In the semifinal they were trailing going into the final minute. In the state championship game they were trailing going into the final play of overtime. If there have ever been more stirring and dramatic finishes in three consecutive games on the road to a state title I do not recall them.

Good memory. X was stopped on the one yard line on the final play of the game, alsodriving for a tie. You can play a little football when you smack both of these Catholic powers on successive weekends. Trinity had a very good team that year, losing only once in regular season, the memorable 15-14 loss to Holy Cross. Clark County was deserving of the title that year.

I was there. A driving, torrential rain drenched the field. The Creater "watered" the field. So...wait a moment... X is a Catholic school...

PepRock01 You really seem to have a serious problem with Male. Good lord man give it a rest. Alabama Larry Jeepman...People read your comments on here by the way. Show some class man. Wait a moment, gentlemen. His comment was germaine to the post, in that he contrasted the manner that X played Iroquois versus Male's treatment of Iroquois. If a coach or a school runs up a score, many of us view this behavior as an indicater of the class of that coach or school. I did not attend the Male- Iroquois game, but the score at least raises a red flag to those of us that consider this form of football boorish. As I have noted on another thread, the score is only an indicator, or a factor in "running up the score". Other factors are whether the first string was in long after the game was out of reach, or whether the offensive play calling evidenced a desperation to pile up more points. An example may be going for the first down with fourth and one at the opponent's 40 rather than punting long after the game is decided. Or, for example, if a team was leading 54-0 late in the first half with time running out and the first string in and they called a time out to stop the clock to be able to let the first string or the star score again. There is, of course, no rule against this, but it is the type of behavior many consider crass, and where there is a pattern of this type of behavior many coaches/schools/fans begin to dislike the offending coach/school, not because of the kids on the team, but because of their coaches' behavior.

I saw that excellent team! As I recall, they defeated T and X in succession (the X game was a thriller) to win the title. Whatever happened to the rb's on that team? BTW, very good idea for a thread.

Correct, correct, correct and thanks for the encouragement against the Dawgs. Zoeller is the starter now, more in the mold of recent X QBs - good athlete, good runner. Wilkerson is a strong legged youngster who is also quite a soccer player. Wyatt Grey is doing well, and should be the guy next year. You are following the Tigers closely: Do we have a closeted Tiger fan?

Broken thumb.

Then I suppose I should be flattered that so many take my comments from earlier this year to heart and remember them for so long. It occurs to me that you may be speaking about threads where others may have cast aspersions on T's title. Although any game is fair game for speculation, I thought the best team won that game. If you go back several years you can find any number of examples where the best team did not win state because of a bad draw, and the winning team lallygagged into the finals on a weak draw. It happens, and it is just a fact of sports, and really, a fact of life. It would be interesting to have a thread something like "The most unexpected winner of a state football championship in Kentucky history". Sometimes, though, as time goes on it becomes apparent that the unexpected champion truly deserved the title. As to this thread, I still think if anyone gets 17 this year it will be T and not Highlands. As I understand it, Highlands will probably have to play Cov Cath and BG to get 17, and T will probably only have to play X or Male as a major obstacle to 17.