Youth Coach

Using HDE's comment to rank them, this is what you might have: Football Cumberland (4) Cawood (3) - played in higher class Harlan/Evarts (2) Boys Basketball Harlan (4) Cumberland (3) - went to Sweet 16 Cawood (2) Evarts (1) Girls Basketball Cumberland/Cawood (4) Harlan (2) Evarts (1) Baseball Cumberland (4) Cawood/Harlan (3) Evarts (1) Track Harlan (4) Evarts (3) Cumberland (2) Cawood (1) TOTALS Cumberland (17) Harlan (15) Cawood (13) Evarts (8) If you give me volleyball, softball, golf, tennis and cross country, we can add them in also.

That shouldn't be...your comments about are usually entertaining and always spark conversation. Your debates with Pappy and now Bayshore are fun to read. Please continue.

I hear you joking, but I can't figure out who knows me so well. Sadly, both teachers from the county (Carol Howard, Trina Cornett, Phillip Smith, Pat Scott, Sue Hall, Christine Turner) and the city (Joe Bill Clark, Jeff Lunsford, David Davies, Charlotte Nolan, Tolbert Walker, Alfreda Watts, Amme Morgan) have to take credit for me, if they would...not to mention coaches Wendell Wheeler and Damon Alred (Loyall) and Billy Hicks, Doc Gray, Rick McCreary and Frank Smith (Harlan). As for Harlan's district, the above is correct and Coach D's team should be favored to be a 2nd seed behind Hazard, especially since Pineville and Jenkins both come to Harlan this year (I think). That would mean a home playoff game and a good season coming off last year.

Let's get this thread back on track... I like HC to open triumphantly with wins at Lynn Camp and Fleming Co., but a third straight road game at Lee Co. will be too tough. They will then be very competitive in an emotional home-opening loss to Breathitt before a huge crowd as Larkey is still working out some kinks. At 2-2, HC splits with Powell (win) and Middlesboro (high-scoring OT loss) to make it 3-3. At that point though, HC hits its stride and takes Estill, Grayson and Somerset to close at 6-3 on a 3 game winning streak heading to the playoffs. Keeping in mind I have no idea what most of these teams have, that's my discussion starter. What do you say HDE?

Sadly it is usually a vocal unreasonable minority causing a problem, but that is the case in most things. The majority of folks in the city and county are good people that want to see all the kids have success. Back to football, I expect Coach Donahue & Co. to get a few more wins this season and be very competitive even in the losses. The strength of the team will be on the line, and Coach Donahue has always fared better with a good line and average skill as opposed to the other way.

Having been on both sides of this fence, I honestly think that if HC ends up with even half of what is hoped for with Jones, Larkey, new facilities, etc. then any kid/family would be very much unwise to leave for HHS, especially considering sitting out, paying high tuition and the lack of sports emphasis and offerings at HHS right now. In fact, I would think a serious athlete would contemplate joining HC from HHS as opposed to the other way around. As stated, the primary athletic reason to go to HHS would be to play as a "big fish" attempting to succeed in the smaller pond of Class A Football and the All "A" Classic in basketball and baseball. Lately, though, with the exception of football on most years, Harlan hasn't been able to promise that.

I am anxious for the Black Bears to do well. Caldwell (Cawood) in the post will be their best known commodity, but I look for Brandon McCoun (Cawood) to play with more passion and discipline and blossom under Jones.

Congrats to Justice and Shelby Valley.

As a KWC grad, I wish him well.

Good luck to the new HC.

Harlan goes 33 miles to Pineville, 58 miles to Jenkins or 60 miles to Hazard. I doubt anyone can top Campbellsville.

Casey Lester at Harlan has his father, Bruce, as an assistant.

Any word on how the middle school team will look as Morgan builds for the future?

Congratulations to a solid young man. He and his parents deserve to be proud. It is nice to see he has a plan for what will hopefully be future success.

NCC will now go on to win the title.

Highlands is on their way to another title.

I am torn between wanting to see one of the closing schools (Cumberland) pull off some magic and wanting to see top-ranked Hazard make a deep run to bring respect to the local Class A district and back up their ranking, which much of the folks outside the mountains spit on. I will hope for a terrific game and guess that the home team slips through. Hazard 34-32 in OT.

I don't like the current system, especially with 0-10 teams in the playoffs and #4 seeds that lost 70-0 in the regular season having to travel to the same team to do it again, BUT it is possible that the overall chance of upsets will be greater in the current format, because a team with a legitimate shot at the favorite is tougher, in my opinion, the second time after correcting mistakes and schemes from the first game. Also, I think emotionally that the favorites are less intimidating the second time around. Again, this is irrelevant in the lopsided matchups. So, to summarize, I think you will see a few more lower seeds winning state-wide, but many more complete blowouts among the top seeds that win.

Rock hangs only if Bell overlooks them and that would be possible based on the rankings and scores of prior games this season, but the traditional rivalry and heat between these two teams will keep that from happening. Bell 28-7.

Corbin wins and is a legitimate title contender.

I agree with playing another district in the first two rounds AND would like to see only the top two from each four team district make the playoffs. The 0-10, 1-9 or 2-8 teams that just get in because they completed the regular season are still going to get shutout by the neighboring #1 seeds as well.

I echo the sentiments on Coach Mitchell...he is a credit to high school football. LC99, or any other LC alum, is there one major event that led to the LC/W'burg heated rivalry or just years of buildup? I am just curious. I know they have been in the same district for years.

Evarts back on track TONIGHT!

Sorry for the injury, yet a great career to be proud of.

Nothing new here...Mayfield wins by 2 scores.