TigerDude13

Personally, I think it should have to do with the 2006 year. Everything a player does up to their Senior Year is the "build up" years, as I call it. Just as with the Heisman Trophy doesnt focus on what the player did in his previous years, its awarded to the best College Football player for THAT year. Same as Mr. Football, its awarded to the best SENIOR player...so it stands to reason that the award should be based on what that player does for that YEAR. The only effect a player's stats has for his first 3 years is just provide voters with insight on who should be the front runners at the beginning of the year. On a personal level, I really believe Mr. Football should be expanded to include the best football player period regardless of what year they are. There have been a lot of talented Juniors in the past who could have easily have blown away the Senior selected Mr. Football. But that's my opinion.

I've debated about this and its still a long way off from the start of the season. Things could change once the season nears, but in just looking at what's returning in regards to overall experience...ultimately its hard to bet against the team that has one of the top Front-Runners for Mr. Football. With 9 starters returning on offense and 10 on defense...its just hard to go against that experience and talent. Ultimately, Male's only real "achilles heel" is their defense. They dont have the speed they normally have up front but their experience should make up for that. I know St. X will always be good...but if you look at history...these two teams just routinely switch positions as the top district team almost every 2 years. So in looking at history, Beaumont and the overall experience, I just think at this point it gives them the early edge...but not by much

I remember Dalton. Kid was a little guy with a load of speed and went to Air Force to play football. Talented athlete. My curiosity has gotten the best of me so I started calling around...Spoke to a former coach at Seneca and started asking some questions...he says the OC at Iroquois is Larry Williams. Dalton played QB his JR year and Williams was a WR/DB but they switched Dalton to TB his senior year so Williams could play QB because of his arm. After graduating, Williams went to Male to help Redman and was part of the '93 State Championship team. My guy says that Williams' dad has been an assistant at Male since '92. Dont know what Williams has done since 93 though except that he has been at Iroquois since Shawn Thompson took over 2 years ago. That's all I have gotten so far.

I have made some inquiries....yes, this is the kid I was referring to earlier. I am told he is eligible as now and will be playing. From what I am hearing, this Marshall kid is supposed to be extremely accurate. They only "potential" knock is that he is about 5'9 or 5'10. Also, their new Offensive Coordinator is a guy who played QB & WR at Seneca back in the early 90's. He has worked at Male and has been at Iroquois the last 2 years so he's familiar with the kids. People I have talked to say the offense he will probably run is similar to Male using 3 or more receivers so it looks like it will be a good fit for the Marshall kid. They've got some speed and talent at the Receiver position so it should make for an interesting season.

:thumb: Alabama Larry...give me a few weeks to investigate and I would be happy to offer my opinion. I love the SEC and still believe at heart its one of the best conferences for college football. Heck at this point...I feel ready to give Kirk Herbstreit a run for his job! HA HA Would really be interesting to see a writer or analyst come around and do High School football in Kentucky like a Corso and Herbstreit combination. Probably would really help get some exposure to many teams around the state that otherwise wouldnt get it. Kentucky High School football is on the rise and what a way to help us get more focus on our kids out there.

Macoroni...thanks for the comments. Rockmom, I would love to see them break out too. Here are some more info I got on them this week... They have a lot of potential talent but they seem to have trouble maintaining numbers due to injuries and eligibility issues. They got a kid in from Male HS who is supposed to be a big help. I hear he is a typical Male athlete...speedy and athletic. They also got a QB who transferred in from Fern Creek who, rumor has it, was actually battling KJ Black for the starting position last year. Head Coach Shawn Thompson has hired an Offensive Coordinator who has worked with Bob Redman in the past. I've never heard of him so Im not sure what to expect from them Offensively. A friend of mine tells me that his father is an assistant at Male, so maybe that will serve as a possible idea as to what they will run. I saw them play Central Hardin last season and let me say this: This team can be so good if they want to be. They were down by 14 points in the 3rd qtr and they fought back. Had they caught a sure touchdown pass that would have tied the game, they could have easily started last year 4-1. Their 1st 5 games are Valley, Moore, Shawnee, Atherton and Central Hardin. If they can pull together look out....Iroquois could be 5-0 next year heading into their tough district play. They wont beat Male & St. X, but I do look for their games against PRP, Manual and Butler to closer than what people are used to seeing. I will continue digging for more information and will post more about this district as I get it. Good luck Raiders!

Class AAAA, Semi 1, Region 2, District 4 Although I dont really follow one team, I would like to offer this preview for the above district based on conversations with some area coaches... 1. Male- Early Mr. Football candidate Douglas Beaumont looks to lead a bulldog team returning key starters on both sides of the ball back to the top of district. Replacing QB Anderson will be hard but projected starter will be a kid who is known more for his running abilities rather than throwing. Look for Male utilize more option plays and sprint out plays to take advantage of QB's abilities. Days of 250-300 yard passing yards per game may be over for a while...but ground game could be difficult with all the speed they return. 2- St. X nothing much changes...Glaser will use same philosophy of balanced offense with tough defense to battle through this district. Vic Anderson is sure to be a key focus for most opponents which could open up other aspects of the offense. 3- PRP After a year under Chris Wolfe, Panthers look to unleash their fury on the district and perhaps knock off perennial powers St. X & Male. Combination of speed of aggressive defense will be the key for this team. QB will return with better understanding of offense along with a solid backfield and speedy receivers. This could be the year for Panthers to post some good wins against one of the toughest districts in the state. 4- Manual After losing a lot of starters from last year's teams, Crimsons will have to endure a rebuilding year. Team will still be talented on both sides of the ball but not enough to overtake Male and St. X and look for a struggle against PRP. 5- Butler New coach in town but it will take some time to get to know the offensive schemes. Butler should be ready to make a solid run in the 2007 season but for now they will need to use this year to adjust to new coach. 6- Iroquois Raiders are returning 16 starters on both offense and defense and could very easily begin season 5-0 but when District play begins, Raiders will be battling it out with Butler for 5th place in the district. Key losses include QB and LBs but Seniors Nate Anderson (A potential D1 player) and speedy WR McCaffey could lead Iroquois to at least being a tougher opponent in this district. One coach was quoted as saying "this is a team that doesnt quit even if they are down 50 points...they are just one of those teams that if you arent careful...they can beat you"

Have heard from some people around Jefferson Co. that there has not been a whole lot of response to Atherton's head coaching position. Most comments have centered around the notion that some coaches just dont seem to want put forth the impending rebuilding effort necessary to build this program up to the overall "appearance" of a lack of interest from the students. If any of that is true, that is a shame. Such a nice campus and facilities. And for the life of me, I cant figure out why North Oldham has not been filled yet. As long as this position has been open I would have thought this thing would have been filled a long time ago. Supposedly there is a lot of money that can be put into this program and the facilities are supposed to be really good (not to mention new). Anyone have any ideas?

I think the thing that makes X-Trinity so great is the fact that there is such a strong emphasis and support by alumni and fans ( i read somewhere that it has become the biggest rivalry in high school football). However, I would have to say that when it comes to games that matter the most...X players, coaches and fans would have to agree somewhere that the Male game is by far the one that matters the most because as Glaser and Redman both have repeated for years...its the one game that has more than just bragging rights on the line...this game will pretty much determine the winner of their district yearly, determines the seeding for the playoff picture, and is a warm-up each year before the "real game" which is the game they seem to play every every year against each other in the playoffs (except this past year when Male lost to John Hardin). So I guess ultimately it comes down to one's perspective as to which matters most. If you are talking about bragging rights...then X-Trinity is certainly the one that is hyped up the most and has a certain meaning to it...but if you believe it is the game that means the most and has the most riding on the line...you would almost have to say X-Male because you know both teams are most focused on this game. (Unless of course...the X-Trinity game is for the State Championship...then the stakes are even higher than in the regular season). Even though Manual has developed into a yearly "threat" to the district picture in the last few years...bottom line is that next the hype that papers give to X-Trinity....you can always count on a good build-up prior to the X-Male game in most of the local media outlets. I remember reading a few years back of a former X player who gave this analogy of the two games..."Trinity-St. X is a game like when there are two bears who are in the same family that routinely fight with each other just to kind of play around and toughen each other up...in the end...they are still brothers....but the St. X- Male game is like the two bears who are fighting for ultimate control of their territory...its more vicious because the threat is greater". I liked his point of view on that!

:laugh: I would have played for a hot female coach....worked in the movie "Wildcats" with Goldie Hawn, didnt it? LOL

The good news is that Wright did all of the hard work of building the program. The bad news is that Wright ran an offense very similar to Bob Redman's wing offense and didnt focus a whole lot at building a solid offensive line. This is an offense that relies on speed and they have a lot of that at Western. I dont know what kind of offense Preston will bring to Western but one of the first things he will probably need to address is the basics and fundamentals of the offensive line and getting them stronger. Its good they have 60 signed up but with all of the success they had under Wright, it will be important for the staff to continue as much of that as possible into next year. Unfortunately, with a school like Western it doesnt take but one or two "down" years for the kids to lose interest again and then be right back where they were prior to Wright arriving. Since im not familiar with Preston that much no one can predict what will happen. But at a school like Western, you have to stay on those kids every day, year round and show a real sincere interest in them. Im sure Preston will do this...but its hard filling the shoes when a successful coach leaves. Trust had to be earned immediately. These kids were very loyal to Wright (and rightfully so) and if that isnt established right off the bat...it could be a hard first season.

Was wondering who you all felt are some of the top assistants in the state of Kentucky who we will (or should) be seeing in the head coaching ranks in the next year or two? :flame:

I can say with certainty that Western interviewed 3 coaches. Preston, Shawn Thompson (Currently HC at IroquoisHigh and another coach from outside Jefferson Co. but im not sure who that was. Im not sure how many applied but I was told that these were the only one they actually interviewed.

Question... I was looking at the District alignments for Jefferson County...is there anyone out there who could be set up for failure more worse than Iroquois High School? With a district that includes Male, St.X, Butler, PRP & Manual (and I recall seeing that 4 of these 5 school were in the state's top 20 at various points in the season last year)...how can they possibly have a chance. Doesn't seem fair to me. How do you coach a team that has to look forward to that brutal schedule every year??? Does anyone know of similar teams in the state that are facing as tough of a road to the playoffs?