Buffalo Gap

Calhoun and Miller have good speed but Jackson, Ford and Walker from Mercer are a little faster.Go to a track meet this spring and watch them run against each other. Lincoln has a good team with a couple of guys with good speed but their team speed is not nearly as good as Mercer's or Danville's.Lincoln has beaten Danville one time in school history. I'm not counting 2004 when Danville won by 50 and had to forfeit because of inelgible player playing the last play of the game but that's another story.They haven't played since and probably won't for a long time.

Abney is bigger, just trust me on this, but as Im sure you know, theres also a big difference in the physiology of that of a 17 year old 5'7 160 KID and a 25 year old, 3 year veteran of the NFL 5'9 (barefoot) 180 MAN. I know this much, on talent and speed a lone, Jackson has the tools to do what made Abney a target for UK, it would be great to see some big schools jump on board, that would be great, and they might have already. If you'll remember though, Abney was on EVERYBODY's list, either, though. Jackson does have the ability to return punts and kick-offs like Abney, no doubt, the only problem with that has been that there arent too many people in HS who are going to kick to him, and rightfully so, I wouldnt either.

He's 5'7 160. That's why every major college, UNFORTUNATELY, isnt after him.

Walker isnt that fast?! WRONG.

Im with a couple others, I wish this thread would just close. Im a Mercer fan, true and through, but to be talking about walking their way too a state chamipionship is ridiculous. Why?! Because they're other GOOD football teams that stand in Mercer's way, for starters Newport, and for all those who thought is was just NEWPORT and MERCER, well, you're wrong, now Spencer Co. has put themselves on the map with a win over a VERY GOOD (especially defensively) Newport team. Secondly, you have the possibility of playing LaRue Couny or Western in the regional finals, then if Mercer makes it through that tough game, then they would have to play the likes of someone like Ft. Campbell, Caldwell Co, Trigg Co., etc...before they would even get to RUSSELL..so, close this thread and learn to think like I know the players and coaches are, and take this thing one game at a time!!! I love the support that is being shown on here and at the games from Mercer Co. fans, it's awesome, absoulutely awesome, but remember, that these KIDS have won only 7 games, not 7 state championships like some of you think. Should we all be excited about the GREAT chance of this happening?! Yes!! By all means we should, but some of us need to realize that their is already a BIG ENOUGH BULLS EYE on this team as is, no need to make it any bigger!!! As for Mercer's speed, do they have it?! You dang right they have it. Their three backs (Cory Jackson, Brandon Ford, Donald Walker) can run with anybody. Put it this way, this year in track, they'll all three at some point, will be favored to win their region in the 100, 200 and 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Jackson last year had the fastest time recorded in ALL CLASSES last year in the 100, he ran a 10.71 to win the region, that my friends who doubt this young mans speed, is LEGIT!! Ford and Jackson both finished in the top four in the 200 at state. Donald Walker won his AA region in the 100 and 200 (11.1 in the 100), but didnt compete in the state meet because he pulled his hamstring in the regional 4x100 relays. The kids are fast, are they low 4.3 speed, NO!! Cory Jackson, possibly might really be in the high 4.3's with Ford and Walker being everybit in the low 4.4's. Jackson is FAST, i mean, FAST. You just have to see to believe..but, please, let the 4.31 time go. This veteran backfield mixed with a VERY youn offensive line has been a great mix, one that will hopefully continue to get better each and every week!! Does Mercer have the talent, coaching, etc. to win the state championship?! You better believe it, but anybody that knows anything whatsoever about winning a state championship would know that is not anywhere near everything that one has to have to win a state championship. You have to have a little thing most of us like to call "LUCK". If great talent and coaching alone was all that you needed to win a state championship, Danville, Male, Highlands, Paducah Tilghman, etc. would win EVERY YEAR. So, all of us Mercer fans, lets be excited, real excited, but at the sametime keep in mind that until someone beats RUSSELL or BELFRY, that they still deserve the RESPECT of state champions, b/c as of the past three years, that's what they are! When and if Mercer wins the state championship this year, then we can celebrate, even at that, have class in doing so! Best of luck to Russell, Belfry, Ft. Campbell, Wester, LaRue, Caldwell Co, Sheldon Clark, etc. and of course the TITANS on all of yours quest to be crowned the 2006 Class AA State Champion!!!

The score last year before the merger was 50- 7 , so let's see 68-7 this year. The extra 200 students from Harrodsburg helped the offense out a little less than 1 pt. per student.The extra 200 had no effect on the defense.:ylsuper:

I'd agree with that completely. Rock just had more size and power than Mercer's kids, especially upfront, but that's the good thing about freshman, especially those who arent as physically matured as some freshmen who dont grow much past their freshman year..Mercer's kids are going to get a lot bigger and stronger. As I said earlier, though Mercer was missing their best O/D Lineman, for being 14 years old, he's a 6'2 300 pounder that can move and for the most part, considering his age, is a solid 300, not much "flab". I know one man doenst make a team, but he would've evened things out on the line a lot more than what they were. Congrats to both teams! Mercer's freshmen played a very good game against a very, very good Rock freshman group. I definately saw some signs of great things for both teams in the future!:thumb:

You must have been watching a different game than I was.The teams traded leads and TD's until the last minute of the game when Rock scored their last td.

Mercer's biggest and best ol/dl didn't play. He would of helped alot considering he's about 6'2 300.

Danville ended the streak a couple of weeks before West J.

If you dont have a quarterback that can pick a defense apart, WR's that can not only run, but run the routes efficiently and catch the ball then one might as well be beatin a dead horse, b/c you'll get more out of doing that than you will with trying to run the Tony Franklin system. If you dont have that, then you'll certainly just be "throwing" the ball, b/c therer definately wont be any "receiving" involved. People forget that Franklin has made it look good in college and even at the HS level at places like HOOVER and O'Cath, E-town, but those places have also had the ATHLETES to make that system productive. If you have the people to do it, then I'm all about it, but if you dont, then, well, look like you know what you're doing, literally just THROW (not catch) the ball around, only complete 40% of your passes, let the clock stop over and over and over, let the other team get the ball back, them run it down your throat and let the score get more out of hand than it would if you would have simply just lined up and ran a more conservative, effective offense given the talent of lack of that you have to run that Franklin's offense..instead of trying to look innovative!!! In saying all of this, though, Tony Franklin really is a genious. When it is run properly, meaning when one has all the tools (QB, WR's, O-line, etc.) then it is a beauty to watch, like Hoover for example or O'Cath and E-town of the past couple years..might I add that, ALL of these are schools who have had their starting QB's of years past sign with Alabama, Marshall and Texas Tech.

The posts that are somewhat in the way are going to moved over completely during x-mas break, the only reason why they didnt do it before the facility was "finished" this summer was b/c it was going to delay the whole opening of it's completion.... the posts are over on the side of the mens locker room, so that would've thrown things a little off kilter for the football kids.

I've heard great things about the one you all have down in Corbin, but you havent seen Mercer's I take it?!! If the outside of it (the front part facing the field) was brick, it would look just like UL's at Papa Johns. *43 yds of the new indoor sports turf(regular/old cardinal stadium turf around it for walking throughout the bottom floor) *weight room is the entire length of the turf and 10-15 yds wide, with 10 of the new platforms that you can do bench, power clean and squats, all in one in..with the MERCER logo scribed into the wood of each platform *assistant coaches office w/ lockers *head coach office *athletic director's office *mens varsity lockers (90), restroom connecting with the freshmen locker room (30 lockers) *classroom/film room * a two hundred meter, 2 lane track around the top. *two womens locker rooms. *two(2) laundry rooms, 4 super duty washers/dryers* *open lobby area *two trainers rooms

Coach Jaggers, the father, not the son (his son Josh joined the staff in the summer) is still calling the offense, and the defensive coordinating has been handed to Bill Mason (former Nelson County H/C) and Keith Brown (longtime Harrodsburg assistant/coordinator).

Really? Never would've guessed that. :jump: Secondly, Mercer wont be playing Christian County, Hopkinsville, BG unless they were to make it to the State Championship..or unless they were to play a non-district regular season game...nor will they have to play CovCath or Highlands until the Semi-State. Thirdly, and I dont know about West Carter or Estill Co, Mercer hasnt had to play them in a couple/few years, but if you dont thing Newport and Lloyd dont have some athletes and football players on their squads year in, year out, then you're completely mistaken. Of course next year will be next year, and what happenened a few weeks ago is in the past, but Mercer beat South Laurel 57-6 in week 2..South Laurel, is a current 4A school and will be in Mercer's district next year. South Laurel at that, is a very sound, good, more than respectable football team. Will the competition as a whole be more next year when the realignment happes, well heck yes, but instead of some of you thinking that Mercer will be thrown for a shock, Im thinking that a lot of you will be thrown for a shock in how well Mercer will compete and win in the new 5A. Now interpret myself saying WIN into winning multiple state championships, that would be great, but what Mercer will do is win and be very, very competitive in the new 5A..that's 330 days away though, too far down the road to even be considered, especially with this years football season really just beginning (meaning, moving into district play).

Again, another comment from someone who doesn't know the whole story of what's going on in Mercer! Quite shocking, isnt it?! Why, that's the first time I have ever heard of such!haha They are in the same classroom together!!! They just arent all in the same school at the sametime. A great deal of kids, both athletes and non-athletes spend half of the day on one campus(Harrodsburg HS) and half on another (Mercer Co. HS), considering this fact that all of the kids are intermingled between two different school campuses the way they are throughout the day is quite amazing, GREAT cooperation amongst the administration, staff, kids and especially the BUS DRIVERS!! So, before you go and spout off about something, get your facts straight.:fight: :jump:

If you watched the game against Boyle and South Laurel, closely, then you would have seen more than just two or three that were going both ways. The players that dont play both ways are talking with their coach, and if the players are scatterend between the 25 and 25, it's usually after they have talked with their position coach from the side of the ball they just came off the field from, and then are with their position coach on the other side of the ball, along the sidelines, wherever that coach might be...to be ready to go, when needed, if called upon.

Chris Lewis isnt the only one that plays a lot both ways. The other nite, Sam Blackburn (OL/DL), Freeman Edwards (S/TE), Ellis Delahousay (OL/DL), Hunter Robinson (C/DL), William Harris (OL/DL), Nathan Griffieth (FB/LB) all played significant amounts on both sides of the ball...not too mention, kids like Aaron Bee (WR/Secondary) and a couple others out there who got a some spot play on the other side of the ball that they dont start on. Their is about 8 kids who play a great deal, both ways. When a kid isnt in the game, then they are over on the sideline close to THEIR position(s) coach. Coaches in HS dont have the luxury of having images of the plays from the previous series photocopied for review, like all NFL teams and some college teams. What they do though, is make adjustments the best they can on the run (during the games), until halftime when MOST adjustments are made because, during halftime you have ALL of the players within their position off the field, and a not just a couple, so a position coach can talk with their ENTIRE group, and the coordinators (Jaggers Offense...Mason/Brown Defense) can talk to them as whole unit. This especially applies when it comes to the offensive and defensive lines, when four of them (mentioned above) are playing on both side, significantly. I can guarantee you, though, that those kids who are only playing on one side of the ball are meeting with their position coaches after they come of the field. Colleges and NFL, with the likes of your St.X and Trinity's truly platoon. Having only a few on both sides of the ball that actually just play one way, isnt platooning.

Im sure everybody remember Mike Williams, WR for USC and now for the Detroit Lions, well, that's the kind of frame this kid has. ATHLETE, but everyone needs to keep in mind that he is only 15-16 yrs old, so if he doesnt make a catch that YOU think he should make, don't hate on the kid and say negative things. It's like Sam Harp said in the article, it's what Leonard will be like in a few years, on top of the young talent he is now that has everyone excited! Best of luck Leonard!!!

That has been a misconception all year, Mercer has several players who play both ways. Now, they may not "start" both ways at the beginning, but several of them play significant amounts on both sides of the ball during the game.

Defensively 8 out of 11 started for Mercer last year.Closer to 50/50 on offense.

I just want to make one last comment about the game, and especially Boyle. Henry Clay, Danville and Lafayette, three of the teams that Boyle has lost too will make it DEEP into the playoffs, and if it werent for Henry Clay and Lafayette being in the same district/region, BOTH of them would make it far, but only one will..because one will beat the other out. One of those two teams will make it too the state semi's v.s Trinity, write it down!! Secondly, noone is beating Danville, they'll be 15-0 and have their 11th state championship, Boyle lossed by 2 too them. As for Mercer, too be determined, they definately have the FULL potential to do some big things. Im going to say, in full confidence, that Boyle will go on a BIG winnding streak, one that may carry them through the first weekend in December at the Pizza Box. So, to you Boyle fans who think they are down, they arent that down. If you'll remember correctly, when Brandon Smith was a sophomore, they took a couple bumps along the road and had a great number of other sophomores starting, just like they do this year, what was the outcome, ANOTHER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. They have a great coaching staff and kids that EXPECT to win, they will be fine... In saying all this, also give credit where credit is due, Mercer Co. earned and won the game, their were BAD calls for both teams and plenty of them. Quit bringing up the enrollment #s of Mercer, they dont have but somewhere around 50 or so more kids than Boyle has enrolled, if that. Quit bringing up the "5A school playing 2A", bc that is NEXT YEAR, this year they are playing with low-mid 3A #s as far as enrollement goes . You dont ever hear DANVILLE fans bringing up that excuse when they lose to Boyle, so I wouldnt expect fans from a 5 time state champion to bring them up either. Friday nite was the beginning to what I believe will be a VERY LONG lasting rivalry, one like that of a Tennessee/Florida...except on a high school level..where one will not only win some in the series, but also lose. Both of the teams that 7,000 people saw friday nite have the full capabilities of playing for a state championship, give the kids, on both sides some credit. Were their mistakes?! Heck yes, we're talking about 15, 16, 17 year old KIDS, and for a lot of the MERCER kids, it was the first time they had EVER played in an environment like that. Where would the world be without "Message Board Coaches"?!? Marty Jaggers, Chris Pardue, Sam Harp etc. and their staffs have about 20-30 seconds to make a call, it sure would be nice to think about a certain play in the first quarter, then say what should've been called come 5 mins afterwards, then ask the refs, "Um, can we have a re-do"??!! Wouldnt that be a GREAT luxury for them??!! Fact is, they, nor any other coaches, in ANY sport have the ability to do that. But, EVERYBODY is a coach on Friday nites, right?! So, now that Boyle/Danville and Boyle/Mercer is over with, how about SOME of us GROW up on here and, think about, even though it is a LONG way down the road, the possibility of having 3 relatively small town schools playing at Papa Johns in December??! How great would that be?!! If you are going to make negative comments about any of OUR area schools, in any way,dont do it on dang message board!!( Lets also not forget about Lincoln Co. in 4A, Larry French and his staff is restoring things over their in Stanford, how great would it be to see them make it DEEP in November, as well!!) :jump: :thumb: :ylsuper:

Mercer was penalized 115 yards according to the paper.

There is no horse collar rule in high school football. That is a NFL rule.

According to the KHSAA, and the current alignments, Mercer isnt a LARGE 3A school, or even bordering a 4A school. Actually, with an enrollment of around 920 give or take a couple, they are in the middle of the pack of the 3A enrollments, check the site if you want to see for yourself. One of the smallest 4A schools is Lincoln Co., and going off of last years enrollment, they have one of 1,160. Personally, I dont consider a difference of 220-2400 borderline. For Mercer to be a bordering 4A school, they would need to be within the enrollent range of 1,160. Which, THEY ARE NOT. Mercer, from outsiders points of view are in a "Danged if they do, Danged if they dont" situation. IF they win a state champioship, people will be downplaying it b/c of their #'s and if they dont win IT, then people will be making bashing comments because they didnt, b/c of their #s. A middle of the pack 3A school, yes, borderline 4A school false.