TigerDude13

Here is a far-fetched idea...it would never happen...but hey it least it would be fun to think about: To eliminate the long season that includes the playoffs, why not take the top 2 teams in each district and let them battle it out for the state championship and then (for the crazy idea): Why not have the state set up a "bowl" series where each team that finishes with a certain record (at least .500 for the sake of argument) get selected to play in an end of season bowl game vs another team from another region. For instance, in the case of R2D4, Manual with their 6-4 record could play Madison Central (also 6-4) in a bowl game for a trophy and the teams could play at a neutral site (like EKU, WKU or some place pretty nice) and they could split the gate. Sure its not the best thing, but at least if you dont make the playoffs you could at least play for a "Bowl Trophy" for your display case. You could then look at the entire Class and say "Ok, this year, based on overall records of all teams, 16 teams will battle for the 4-A trophy while 16 teams will battle for "Bowl Spots". You look at the average record and say ok, the magic record in this case is 5-5" so if you finish at least with a 5-5 record, you will be "bowl eligible" and you will be paired up with a team that has a similar record to yours (Hey who wouldnt like to see Scott Co. & Apollo and play in a bowl game with both being 7-3 this year at Commonthwealth Stadium). Im sure the state wouldnt have a problem finding a sponsor to donate money for a nice trophy and some pizza for the players. Like I said...it would never happen...but at least it shortens the season a bit, it gives teams who dont make the playoffs something to play for and it would at least be fun to play for some kind of trophy in the end.

I thought it would be interesting to do some checking into some statistics for this thread. I found out some interesting things (Of course, I only had to time to do 4-A schools) If you take into account every 4-A team's opponents winning percentage, here are some interesting details. However keep in mind, this is not a fool proof strength of schedule (sos) calculation, but when you look at the numbers (when i refer to winning %, i am talking about their opponents win %): The team that that played the toughest schedule was Paul Dunbar with their opponents win% at 67% Here is a breakdown of opponents win% of all 54 4-A teams: Team Record Opp. Win% 1. Paul Dunbar 1-9 67% 2. Manual 6-4 66% 3. St. X 8-2 64% 4. Scott Co 7-3 63% 5. PRP 7-3 62% 6. Christian Co 7-3 62% 7. Bryan Station 2-8 62% 8. Butler 3-7 61% 9. Henry Clay 9-1 60% 10. Nelson Co. 3-7 59% 11. North Laurel 3-7 59% 12. Henderson Co. 7-2 57% 13. Tates Creek 6-4 57% 14. South Laurel 3-7 57% 15. Male 9-0 56% 16. Dixie Heights 5-5 56% 17. Scott 1-9 56% 18. Warren Central 8-2 55% 19. Greenwood 3-7 55% 20. John Hardin 6-3 54% 21. Simon Kenton 6-4 54% 22. Seneca 5-5 54% 23. Whitley Co. 2-8 54% 24. Barren Co. 2-8 54% 25. Boone Co. 6-4 53% 26. Lafayette 10-0 53% 27. Owensboro 8-1 52% 28. Marshall Co. 7-3 52% 29. Daviess Co. 3-7 52% 30. Ohio Co. 2-8 52% 31. Graves Co. 8-2 51% 32. Conner 3-7 51% 33. Fern Creek 2-8 51% 34. Oldham co 2-8 51% 35. Woodford Co. 7-3 50% 36. Holmes 4-6 50% 37. Ballard 6-4 49% 38. Eastern 3-7 49% 39. Lincoln Co. 9-1 48% 40. Apollo 7-3 48% 41. North Hardin 6-4 48% 42. Shelby Co 5-5 48% 43. Iroquois 4-6 48% 44. Meade Co. 5-5 47% 45. Central Hardin 3-7 47% 46. Trinity 9-1 46% 47. Montgomery Co 5-5 46% 48. G.R. Clark 6-4 44% 49. Southern 5-5 44% 50. Ryle 8-2 43% 51. Bullitt Central 3-7 43% 52. Grayson Co. 3-7 42% 53. Madison Central 6-4 41% 54. Campbell Co. 7-3 38%

I am going to go on record and say that I even though PRP made the playoffs, they had to do so by eeking by Iroquois in a rain soaked game (12-6). I really felt that PRP would have a much better showing this year than what they did and felt they would give Male & X a better run for their money, especially with a year under Wolfe's system gone by. Despite bing 7-3, I really felt they were more of a 9-1, MAYBE 8-2 team. Didnt expect the loss to Manual, the blow outs to Male and X. Just goes to show you, you just never really know. And I will also say that Manual surpassed my expectations but they deserve their kudos. A sophomore QB led the way for them and I think he will get better with each year. Young team played hard and aggressive and I think could be a REAL threat in the coming years. Iroquois certainly was my biggest surprise, but in a way, I guess im not surprised. A lot of wasted talent this year for a team that did manage a 4-6 record. But I guess when your district is comprised of Male, X, Manual, PRP,etc, you take what you can get. This team single handedly made my predictions at the beginning blow up in my face. Nevertheless, I did see a lot of positives (like never giving up, always playing hard, kept battling, etc). Better luck next year in a district that is more suitable to their level of talent!

I have been on the road and in the air and just now got a chance to reply to this thread.....btw..I heard the first half of the game was actually pretty good to watch. I called My buddy's son to find out what happened but I couldnt get a hold of him (His dad told me he has been really sick all week and may not get to coach their last game against PRP)...anyway, based on what his father told me.... Manual jumped up 14-0 in the first quarter and Iroquois responded with a 70 yard TD pass and then after forcing a turnover on downs, drove the ball nearly 70 yards to score on QB sneak to tie the game and had momentum going into the 2nd half and then Manual went to a run-dominated offense the 2nd half (hey, I was right on my prediction!!!) and just overwhelmed the Raider defense. As many people have hinted, the problem has been numbers and quality of talent (or lack thereof in the reserves). The varsity dresses about 30 kids but after the starting 11, there are only about 2 players that are good enough to compete on the varsity level. By the 3rd quarter, these kids are just worn out. My understanding is that Iroquois struggles with getting quality athletes for various reasons (Grades, interest, transfer rules, etc, etc). Im not sure what Iroquois' enrollment is but I hear its pretty high and as long as thats the case, if you are a school with a high enrollment number but low interest (or ability) to field 50 players its going to be tough no matter where you are. Unless you have phenomenal athletes in great shape to play 4 quarters on both sides of the ball, Iroquois is going to continue to struggle no matter who the coach is. I hear their head coach (thompson) has made an effort to get kids out but you cant get players out who are in the wrong grade or are failing half their classes. It has been a tough deal to work with for several years (which may explain the high turnover ratio in coaching there). I thought this was the best team they have had in a long time but considering their best team consists of 7 players who could probably play somewhere else and then the back ups are kids who probably may not even be good enough to play in a freshman game (as juniors) is a huge drop off in talent. The outlook for the future doesnt look all that good either....losing I think 12 or 13 seniors this will REALLY hurt this team next year. At either rate, for what its worth, this team has won more games in the past 2-3 years than they have total in the 3-4 years TOTAL prior to Thompson's arrival says a lot. A good effort but only so much you can do, I guess. Good luck Iroquois vs. PRP. Nothing much to play for except for pride and a 500 season (which IMO is pretty good considering the level of competition). PRP is in a MUST-WIN situation in this game to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

Since I got off simply to watch the Male/X game, I will be bringing my cool wireless laptop to the game. Since the 3rd & 4th spot in the district hinges on these two games I would appreciate if someone could report in the scores of these two games as they come in. I will be checking the scores around half-time and towards the end of the 4th quarter to see how these games transpire. While we are all focusing on the X/ Male game, I will go ahead and make some predictions (take them for what they are worth since my track record for predictions has been terrible thus far: Manual 48 Iroquois 12 Look for Manual to solidfy their spot as the 3 seed in this district. Iroquois has had trouble stopping a quality running game and Manual certainly has that. The Raiders have been beaten up pretty badly over the course of the last few weeks and word is that some starters on defense are out of action for various reasons. Manual will control the clock with their offense and just pound it and pound it. Iroquois starts off fairly well but whither as the game wears on. Manual rushes for 300 yards and dominates 2nd half. I predict Iroquois will counter with a spread offense and have some success early on but dont adjust to changes by Manual. This game is over by the end of the 2nd quarter PRP 35 Butler 30 PRP snaps a 3 game district losing streak but struggles to contain Maurice Coleman. Josh Deacon has an awesome game that keeps Butler off balance and the running game aids in protecting the game. Butler may get off to a good start but eventually wears down. Coleman rushes for 2 TDs and catches a 3rd TD but Jherray Smith goes for over 100 yards and a couple of TDs and Deacon throws for 2 more. PRP wins a close one in the 4th quarter.

:laugh:

One thing that I didnt consider when I was typing my earlier post and I was talking to coach Williams (Male) last night and he told me one thing that concerns him and Redman about going into tonight's game is that neither of the two feel like Male has faced a true "test" this year. The question on their minds is: "we dont know yet if we have just been that good or or the other teams have just played that bad against us...but we will find out". The other thing that Redman is hoping for is that they can keep this game from having to come down to the kicking game. Williams concedes at this point X has the better kicking game. I asked Williams what he felt is their biggest weakness and he said "Bob talked the other night at practice about their ability to play defense when they are spread out. Even though we beat Iroquois 80-6 he felt that Iroquois exposed a huge weakness in that they didnt do too well when they were spread out because of their commitment to the man to man defense with 4-5 receiver sets. Prior to the Iroquois game, every team that we played thought the best way to attack our defense was to put 8, sometimes 9 guys in the box to try to help with blocking. Iroquois took a different approach by spreading us out all over the place and we had a tough time adjusting, and many times we just didnt line up right. Now, the difference between Iroquois and X is that X obviously has better players across the board and that scares him a little bit". And yes, I know i said Iroquois would be loaded and the truth is, they are loaded...but I think its pretty obvious now to see what Iroquois is loaded with: potential talent that didnt know how to win the right games. Sorry to say this is the last time I make a prediction like that when it comes to the Raiders. I stand corrected but we all get burned from time to time. GOOD LUCK DAWGS & TIGERS!!! Cant wait to see it tonight!

At the risk of getting blasted on this forum, I will stick my neck out and make a bold prediction...I have seen both of the teams play a few times this year and and I really just do not believe that X has the speed to keep up this time. Male's O-Line is the best I've seen in a long time and I think can actually match up better physically with X's D-Line. Likewise, I just cant see X winning a shootout with Male....so here it goes: Male 49 St. X 14

Eagle- Thanks for the comment....I thought it would be a good topic to discuss. As for Manual, since most of you all know I really follow R2D4, I have to say that I am surprised at their performance. I think most have stated it correct that with the low expectations and the emphasis on PRP, Manual has just done a fantastic job of going out there and getting good wins. Offensively, I think they are clicking pretty well. Defense is doing a good enough job to hold opponents down, while it might not be the prettiest defense, its working to their advantage. I think this week, as they gear up for Iroquois, this will be a good week for them to fine tune their defense to prepare for Male. I watched the PRP-Manual game and still dont think they have what it takes to slow down the Bulldog High Octane Offense, but I think you HAVE to commend them for what they have accomplished. They will probably finish out at least 3rd in the district. I just hope that they dont have a hiccup against Iroquois. Iroquois still just seems to me that they are waiting for the one game where it can all come together and after taking some severe beatings from Male and X back to back, who knows...they may come out fighting and give Manual a good game. We'll just have to wait and see. GOOD JOB & GOOD LUCK RAMS!

Now that the district races are getting close to wrapping up and teams are starting to fill out their places, what teams have shown the biggest surprises so far this year. OR What teams have shown the biggest disappointments? I for one am surprised at the following: PRP- I really felt that they would have a better showing this year. However, they are currently 0-3 in District play and with 2 games left against Butler and Iroquois, they maybe looking at being 1-4 (or worse, 0-5) and missing the playoffs. I think many people felt they would perform better vs their district but two huge losses to St. X & Male have shown that they are not as competitive as originally thought (especially by me). PRP must beat Butler and Iroquois to remain alive for playoff hopes. Iroquois- A team with tons of senior leadership and decent athletes started off very well going 4-1 with a quality win against Central Hardin, despite a tough loss to (what now doesnt look so bad) Valley to begin the season. Yet their performance against Male, Butler & St. X have shown that they are still in no position to run with the "big boys" of 4-A. Butler loss reaffirms that once this team enters district play, they just seem to be missing that key element that can get them over the hump. At some point in time I wonder when does "They played the other team tough despite the score" get old?

I think people should also note that in the X game, Iroquois didnt allow St. X to run as freely as they did against Male. The tackling was a lot better against St. X and Iroquois even forced a couple of punts from X (yes, including X's first team). Could things have been different had Anderson played 4 quarters? Probably...but that fact still remains that after seeing both games, there was a huge difference in the effort on the part of the Raiders. And effort and tackling will make a big difference in whether a team scores 80 points vs. 40 points.....sadly, either way its a blow out...unless of course the other team can score 30-40 points too. :laugh:

While this certainly could be true (about the points scored), I think that some things should be noted: First, Iroquois appeared to be a lot more physical this week than their last showing against Male and tackled a lot better than they did against Male. Second, and I dont normally blame officials for anything but from what I saw, this was certainly one of the most horrendously officiated games I've seen in a long time. I know that the Raiders wouldnt have beaten X if there had been no penalties at all, but I will say this: I can name at least 4 instances where there was just a blatant dsiplay of poor judgment it on the part of the officials. I witnessed one incident where the ball was well short of the first down chain and the official moved the chain backward to make the ball be beyond the chain for an X first down, a couple of helmet to helmet no calls to the Iroquois QB after he was tackled, MANY dangerous block in the backs not called (and I dont want to get started on hold calls since they happen on just about every play). 3rd, Iroquois seemed to me to be playing with a little bit better effort on defense. X no doubt wore them down with their numbers but towards the end of the game, injuries obviously took a toll on the Raiders and lack of quality talent to back up the starters were evident....tis the story of Raider program Nevertheless, Iroquois did run the ball fairly well against X. A good job by the Tiger defense to not allow Iroquois to throw the ball as well as they did against Male however if I was X I would be concerned about some 'holes" in the secondary that Iroquois found but could never get completed. Overall, I still think Iroquois has some good athletes and its just a shame they have to play in such a tough district. Perhaps the last 2 games vs Male & X will be good preparation for them for their last 2 games vs. Manual and PRP. This could make for an interesting battle for the last 2 spots in this district race. Good luck all teams and may the best team win in X vs. Male!

I think when one of your weaknesses is playing strictly man to man defense and your Mr. Football candidate gets burned a couple of times, its a good idea to drop another safety. Problem was, Iroquois often times lined up with 4& 5 receiver sets, which forced the safeties to go man to man too. Like I said, I think Redman was right when he said that Iroquois exposed their weaknesses. Pretty amazing that a team you blast 80-6 can still be the one team that exposes you. Personally, the one thing that I think helped was that Williams coached with Redman for a few years and knew early on what the weaknesses were. I believe, personally, that Williams had a great plan. Spread the defense out...get those 9 men out of the box, force them to respect your pass game and then run it. It certainly worked well a lot of times. Then again, I think this has always been the ONE criticism of Redman's pressure defense.

I have to put my two cents into this and perhaps this will shed some light on what took place (and afterwards). One of my long time friends, Larry Williams, is an assistant coach at Male. Williams' son is the Offensive Coordinator for Iroquois. I had to watch this game because of my connections to both of these men. I sat on the Iroquois sideline because I like to root for the underdog. Here are some things I think people should know about this game: 1. Iroquois was able to put up a little over 200 yards of offense in the first half (since they only had the ball twice in the 2nd half due to the clock running rule). Young Williams was very pleased at this effort against a team that has so much talent on defense and is only giving up about 100 yards of offense per game. 2. Despite the score, Young Williams was on the sideline being very enthusiastic whenever his offense made big plays. They had several plays that went for over 40 yards or more against Male's starting defense. 3. QB Raydell Williams (No relation) of Iroqouis had an outstanding game. This was his best game as far as passing the ball. Despite only completing 5 passes (out of 11), all of his passes except for 1 were within the fingertips of Iroquois receivers. Williams (QB) completed 5 passes for over 160 yards and ran for a TD. 4. The offense never quit and took it right to Male's starting defense (inlcuding one play where an Iroquois RB ran OVER Beaumont in the open field) 5. #12 ( I cant think of his name) of Iroquois had some SPECTACULAR catches against Beaumont, including 1 where he broke free and scampered almost 60 yards before being tackled at the 3 yard line (By beaumont). 6. Elder Williams told me at Half time that Bobby Redman was not happy with the way his defense played but at the same time stated this Iroquois team is the best he's seen since the early 70's. You put this Iroquois team in another district and they are legitimate contenders. Hard to play against 5 other teams that are fielding 80-90 players vs. the 30 that Iroquois has. 7. Redman was overheard at the end of the game congratulating Young Williams on giving Male the best look they have had all year long. Young Williams (who once coached with Bobby Redman from 93 to 95) told me that his game plan the whole week was to give Male a different look then what they have seen all year. And i think he did. He forced Male to drop two safeties and when that happened, Iroquois had some success running the football. 8. Elder Williams said that he and Redman feel that Iroquois did more to expose their weakness then any time has done this year. 9. Iroquois took the 2nd half opening kick off to the Iroquois 35 yard line and in 4 plays, scored. (They also scored in the first half, but it was called back due to a penalty) 10. Say what you will about the score....the bottom line is that defensively, Iroquois couldnt tackle for squat. Male scored so many touchdowns on 1st & 2nd down runs that would normally go for about 5 or 6 yards. Iroquois just couldnt make the tackles...PERIOD. How do you tell your kids not to run hard? 11. Despite the score, the Iroquois players weren't totally dejected. They played hard for 4 quarters (especially on offense) and Young Williams said offensively, this was the best they had played all year long considering the competition. 12. Even though they were getting wiped off the field, the defense still played hard enough to block 2 extra point attempts. I asked Young Williams about his feelings about the score and he responded "You can only do so much. When your team cant tackle, what do you expect your opponent to do? Fall down? Male has to get ready for Butler & St. X and we didnt really give them an opportunity to work on anything since they were scoring at will on basic run plays. The fault is not Coach Redman's. The fault lies on us for not being better at fundamentals of tackling." I dare say to anyone who just saw the score and not the game really didnt see the same game I saw. Im sure Alabama Larry would agree (as he said earlier) that after the game, both teams were very positive towards each other and wished each other well. Even the Male coaches were impressed with (at least offensively from what I heard) the way the Raiders played. The score is not indicative of the effort and class displayed on the field by both teams. Lastly, I must say this: It was fun to watch a coach (Young Williams) keep his enthusiasm up even though he is getting blown out. After the 1st quarter, it could have been so easy just to give up and throw away the playbook...yet he didnt. He got excited on good plays, he made good calls to challenge Male's defense and even he said that he got more good things out of this game from an offensive standpoint than most people would. I spoke to Redman the day after the game and he believes that Young WIlliams will be an outstanding Head Coach somewhere because of his attitude, his committment to his players and his offensive scheming abilities. Quote Redman "If he takes that offense to a team that has a good group of athletes, that school is going to be extremely dangerous and a lot of fun to watch. You remember I said this". A LOT OF POSITIVES OUT OF WHAT MOST CONSIDER A NEGATIVE GAME

In all the years that I followed KY High school football, I have never understood how the LIT ratings are compiled. Does anyone know? Because every week it just seems to me that some teams are a little overrated while others are getting the shaft and that is across the board in all classes.

Funny that someone brought this up....a guy that I play softball with works for EA and I ran this past him...here is what he said "EA knows there is a potential market out there for high school football with its ever increasing popularity amongst gamers between the ages of 15-35. However, due to legal concerns over not being able to include every high school football team in the country, licensing regulations, fear of lawsuits from players and/or parents for not being included, and the amount of money involved with development and research involving the thousands of programs out there, EA would more than likely not attempt to create such a game." Interesting concept...but, alas, it appears the only way to do it would be to create your own schools in the game itself and go from there.

I think you cant count out PRP. Last year, Coach Redman stated that out of all the teams on his schedule, PRP was the one he feared preparing for the most. He has gone up against X for so long, he knows what they are going to do...but PRP has the speed and talent overall to match up. I dont know if the Panthers win...but I bet its a lot closer than what many people will think...especially since PRP is trying to make some noise in this district. With this game being the District Opener for both of them...I look for a 35-31 score in that game.

I think one thing that needs to be considered is tight games. Lets say Team A is the favorite...they score with 2:00 minutes to go over Team B and go up 27-20. Team A has the great kicker. Now Team B gets the kickoff and fields it a half yad inside the endzone....OOOOPS...now Team B has to go 80 yards for a score to tie the game.....I HATE IT. A better way to end it is to let Team B return it and get a chance to get good field position to make for a better chance at tying (or winning). It penalizes the team that is down by ruling an automatic touchback. I would think that if you allowed the rule that they can return it, then it makes the coach have to strategize a little more about the ensuing kickoff (do we kick it deep or do we squib it or what???) Plus, how exciting is it if Team B returns it to the 50 or better yet, returns it all the way? A lot more exciting. I have always hated this rule. Its not like its a safety issue, is it? I just dont think its fair to the team that needs to score and has the potential to do it on a big kickoff return.

Sorry I havent been on here in a while....job requires so much travel now its ridiculous.... As most of you know, this is my favorite district...I havent had been able to attend as many games as I wanted (thank you career choice)...but I have had numerous conversations with coaches across the city and here are some of the inputs I've received.. Male: Obviously has shown they are still dangerous. Showed last week they dont need Beaumont to win...Josh Williams is flashing signs of brillance at receiver. Bye week helps Beaumont get healthy. X- Jeez this teams continues to impress me....I have taken off for the weekend X & Male play because I know this is going to be dynamite game...I CANT WAIT!!! PRP- A little puzzled here with this team...they show so many awesome signs and then struggle here and there. Many coaches are saying they are just waiting until district to pounce on their district opponents...tweaking the offense and defense in the meantime Manual- Loss to Brentwood seems to have helped but their inexperience shows in many games. When they are good...they play good...when they are bad....well...they struggle. Butler- Maurice Coleman is having a good year and is tough as nails but otherwise the offense isnt really putting up the numbers most are used to. Need to find other weapons and soon. Iroquois-Following loss to Valley, this team has gone on a roll. Defense is scaring many coaches with their speed and aggressiveness. Only given up a total of 12 points in 3 games on defense. Offense seems to still be adjusting to new QB and play schemes. Against Valley they were wide open...Against Moore they ran it. One coach said "This is not the same team that people are used to in the past. In any other district, they would be my top pick...its just a shame they have to play in the same district as Male, St. X, PRP, Manual & Butler". Real test will be against Central Hardin this week. GOOD LUCK R2D4 this week!!! Make us proud!!!

Fern Creek also has a new Def. Coord this year in LaKunta Farmer. A former Male player who played & learned Bobby Redman's 8 man front pressure defense and has a lot of experience in playing against the mighty X offense. He came over from Ballard HS where he helped the defense there for several years before going to Creek. I think with Fern Creek's youth they will be very tough in the coming years. This is a defense (as most know) that relies heavily on speed and Fern Creek has that and continues to get more. I think X's depth, discipline and experience wins big on this one, and its not like X is known for having down games after big wins. So I expect that this really wont be close at all...but Fern Creek will be ready. Freshmen players typically dont do well against teams like St. X so this new QB will get an important lesson from this game. Im going to say X wins this one 51-14.

Congratulations to all the teams in this tough district. Male 56 Hoptown 7 St. X 47 Lex Cath- 0 PRP 36 Doss 6 Manual 32 Eastern 7 Butler 28 Nelson Co. 14 Iroquois 45 Atherton 6 Big wins by the powerhouses....much needed wins for Manual, Butler & Iroquois. Saw Butler play a little bit and they look pretty good, however it appears that this team is still struggling to learn the offense at times. They just dont seem to be in their comfort zone. However this is to be expected with a new coach and system in place. I think they should be ready when they open their district against Iroquois however, I dont think they are going to be as good as they have been in the past. It would suprise me if they finished 6-4 this year as they learn to master a new scheme both offensively and defensively. Manual was a little slow out of the gate but turned it on when they had to. I think they are pretty good on offense but defensively they looked a little out of sync. Coach Nichols has some work to do here to get them where they need to be...but by week 5, I am guessing they will be 10 times better than what I saw against Eastern. I did watch some of the Iroquois-Atherton game and was impressed with the changes they made. Looked like they scrapped the passing game and focused on the running game and it worked well for them, racking up over 300 yards rushing. I know Atherton is no real test, but to be honest...I didnt think Atherton was really that bad defensively. (They were pretty rough on offense though). Noticed that they moved their TB to QB against the Rebels and he looked good running the offense. Hope that this works out for them in the long run.

Well we are off and running for the 2006 season and as you all know, I love R2D4. Here are some of my first week impressions and notes: Male- What can you say. Bob Redman believes this is the best team he has had since he took over at Male (Hard to believe considering he has the likes of his son, Bush, Barclay, Green, etc). But this team has unbelievable team speed. I saw them in Old Rivalry Bowl and I have to say...they really are for real. St.X- Didnt get a chance to see them this week, but I am sure they will be in great shape come District. Lets face it....you could 0-5 and still win the Championship because all that matters is District. I still think they will give Male all they can handle this year and I am sure that will be a sell out game no question. Looking forward to watching that one. PRP- Man, this team looks really good. Coach Wolf continues to impress me with his ability to get his players to perform on Friday nights. Am planning on watching them in the next few weeks if my job will let me stay in town sometime soon. Manual- Their lack of real experience showed last week. Even though Brentwood is the cream of the crop in football in many people's eyes, it was still evident that they are still trying to come together and gel. I look for them to bounce back this week against Eastern. A good game and win would really help them Iroquois- This team continues to puzzle me. Offense showed signs of brillance against a pretty good Valley team, but it is a totally different team without the QB (Marshall) that they were expecting to have this year. They dont throw well, but they did run the ball very well against Valley at times. I saw them last week and really expected more out this offense. Defense is pretty good creates a lot of confusion for the opponent offensive line. Tackling is suspect though...and if you dont tackle...why play defense??? Some Notes- Found out that Justin Green at Male is still bouncing back and forth as to whether he can be cleared to play or not. Last word is that he HAS been cleared to play despite the number of concussions he has had in his football career. Here's hoping the kid can play. Iroquois projected QB Mike Marshall was ruled ineligible and will not be able to play this year. Tough break for the Raiders. This kid could have really helped them turn things around this year. After last week's poor outing against Valley, no word on whether or not the Raiders will continue with Replacement QB Marquise MacAffee or if changes will be made at QB. I did learn that the Raiders did pick up some new athletes after school started who could be of some much needed help to this team. Only time will tell. GOOD LUCK TO ALL R2D4 TEAMS THIS WEEK!!!

Grant Co. Hosted a 7 on 7 a few weeks ago with a couple of teams from around the state. I had to go to Dayton that week so I thought I would stop by and check it out. Saw some good things from Grant Co. QB was pretty good, receivers are not that quick and dropped a lot of sure passes. Defensively they didnt seem to be very aggressive but then again its hard to be aggressive when you dont have pads and cant have any real contact. Nevertheless, they did have one WR who had some good hands and made some spectacular catches, but he seemed to be the only one who seemed pretty confident out there. I personally dont believe passing leagues/tourneys are good indicators of what will come but I think Grant Co has a lot of work to do in the passing game. At times, the QB got frustrated and the coach was pretty frustrated as well. Seemed to me like the receiver corps was young and inexperienced. Secondary appeared to be confused at times with their coverage responsibilities. Grant Co. ran a no-huddle spread offense with 4-5 receiver sets and it didnt seem like the kids were entirely comfortable...with many of the players asking questions about routes. I overheard one coach telling someone that this was kind of an experimental offense to see whether or not its something they will want to use in the regular season. We'll have to see. From what I saw, Grant Co. may have difficulty with teams that have any speed. Bryan Station & Iroquois had a lot of success against them with their speed, Bell Co. did pretty good with disciplined routes but didnt get much of anything deep against them. Overall, if I had to predict (which again, I dont put much water in the bucket since it is only a passing league) I would say Grant Co. could be a 6-4 team. I dont know who they really play but I would venture a guess that any team they play that has at least 4 or 5 talented players will give them problems. On a positive note for Grant Co. they did seem to be pretty well conditioned, good size and build overall. I had a chance to see some of the linemen and they looked pretty good in regards to size. If Grant Co. has success running the ball, then they wont have to rely too heavily on the passing game.

I umpired hs baseball for 24 years...so hopefully if anyone is still reading this thread it will shed some light on the issue: 1. The Plate Umpire is responsible for all calls at the plate..balls strikes, swing/no swing, etc. The catcher or coach may ask for an appeal to a properly positioned umpire but the umpire DOES NOT have to grant the request. IF the batter checked his swing and the umpire did not come up and say "YES HE DID" or YES HE WENT", then the pitch is ruled a ball. The umpire should have clearly said "BALL" so the catcher would not have thrown the ball to 1st. In any event, the fact that the umpire did not signal or call strike 3, this negates any calls that result from the play (Unless the catcher is attempting to throw out a runner on another base). What should have occured in this instance: Home plate umpire calls time, advises 1st base umpire that the call was a ball, batter has a 1-2 count (or however many balls he has on him in the count) and the batter remains in the box. If the field umpired signaled that he went (whether inadvertently or not), the call is overruled because the home plate umpire DID NOT seek assistance. Right or wrong (and I have had this happen many times) coaches can say what they want, but the plain fact is the HP Umpire has the authority of the game and if he says "Coach, in my judgment the batter did not take a swing at the pitch, I did not need any assistance, its my call, not the field umpire's" and that becomes the end of discussion. The field umpire will then have a discussion with the HP umpire after the game to insure that he understands that he is NOT to make a call on a check swing without first being asked by the HP umpire. If the field umpire was signaling "out" as a result of the throw, he must then confer with the HP umpire to get a ruling on what the HP umpire called. Based on that conversation the umpires will explain the ruling, clarify and answer questions and then move on. KEEP IN MIND: In MLB & College, if players or coaches ask for an appeal on a check swing, it is automatically granted (at least in most college conferences. There are some conferences and divisions that do not stipulate it is an automatic grant by the umpire). However in high school, it is NOT automatic and is only given at the sole discretion of the HP umpire.

I am willing to bet that no matter how many classes there are, 5, 6 or 7...you can bet the KHSAA will find a way to keep Male, X & Trinity in the top class. Enrollment or not, they will find SOME way to do it. Perhaps they will do it by means of allowing schools to "apply" for exemption from playing in a class other than their assigned class based on enrollment. But there is NO way they will allow the Big 3 to be broken up...at least I just cant see that happening. BUt, i guess I could be wrong. I also think that classifying teams based on enrollment numbers is a joke. I think it really ought to be determined by other factors. My case is (again, using a R2D4 school) Iroquois. Here is a school that brings in approximately 1500 students into their building but can only find, at best, 30 football players. Now, I know it may take a lot of time to rebuild that program but if you look at history, this is not exactly a school that should even be competing in the same district as Male, X, Manual, PRP & BUtler. I you are 0-25 in the last 5 years vs. your district you really ought to be able to apply for some time of exemption to be placed into a district or class that you can be a little more competitive. All Im really saying is that I think there ought to be more considerations and factors into determing what class a school plays in other than enrollment numbers. Just becuase a school has a large enrollment isnt always reflected in their sports programs. What good is 1500 students when perhaps over 3/4 of them are in the wrong grade or ineligible???