mountainmutt

Whitley has a three hour bus trip and they are coming off a thrashing at North Hardin. Shelby is also coming off a loss. Last years game was a hard fought contest with Shelby prevailing at the end. Shelby is favored coming into the game and they are at home. Smart Money Shelby 34 Whitley 20 Prediction from the Heart Whitley 26 Shelby 24

North has not looked good but, Leslie is the the weakest team they faced. North should win this one in an ugly smasthmouth game. NL 20 Leslie 16

Williamsburg 66 McCreary 12

The Hounds will look good in this one. Corbin 42 South 13

David Estes and David Lennon do a terrific job covering games for Whitley County. They also cover the University of the Cumberlands. They do pregame and post-game shows for every ball game. This duo has been at it, for many years and they are flat out good. They have excellent knowledge of the game, they study and breakdown opponents, they are always up to date on the personalities and intriguing stories involving the oppositions players and coaches, and of course, they do a great job covering the personalities and issues going on with Whitley's players and coaches. These guys simply do a fantistic job entertaining and informing the Whitley fanbase. I can not imagine a better local crew than Whitley's. They cover Whitley, like they were an NFL franchise. Players, fans and parents love the job these guys do, as evidenced by headphones, seen all over Colonel Stadium. I am convinced this crew could easily do Div. 1 College Football or NFL games on a national network basis. I do not know if there are state wide competitions for broadcast crews but, Whitley's crew has to be among the best in the state.

This should be a great game. Whitley is better than their preseason projections. North Hardin looked like they had not fully grasped their offense in their opener. This is not unusual early in the season. Defensively, North Hardin looked big, fast and tough. Whitley has shown the ability to move the ball between the 20's against very tough competition. Morris Town West and Knoxville Fulton are as good as anyone in Kentucky 4A except T, X, and Male. Whitley moved the ball well against them although they did have a tough time knocking the ball once inside the red zone. They have had an even tougher time converting extra points. Whitley has to get better in both areas if they expect to beat good teams. On the defensive side of the ball Whitley's line is big, strong and experienced. North Hardin will not simply line up and run over Whitley's line. Hardin may move the ball against Whitleys line but, they will have to fight for every yard. The key for Whitley is to stop or least minimize the big plays. Whitley has to contain the corners (which means the defensive ends and outside linebackers have to shed blocks and keep the corners out of one on one situations) and the down 4 linemen have to pressure the North QB to prevent frequent one on one pass coverage situations. Whitley is thin, not particularly athletic and unexperienced in the secondary. To be effective, the secondary has to be extremely physical, make solid group tackles, play the deep ball downs conservatively and hope that the line minimizes the time they are in coverage. Whitley must convert in the redzone and convert their extra point opportunities. They also must use the short passing game to control the clock and keep North Hardin's offense off the field. Whitley again on defense, must force North to try the pound and ground approach to shorten the game, minimize their speed disadvantage and keep the score low. If Whitley wins the time of possession game by 4 minutes per half and they hold Hardin to 3 touchdowns they should win. Whitley 26 North Hardin 24

Everyone is jumping the gun. It is way to early to determine whether or not the Laurel County teams are going to be successful. Keep this in mind, they play in one of, if not the weakest district in 4A football. Several of the teams in this district could enter district play with a losing record or even no wins and still be in the race for district champs. A district championship is about the only thing any one in this distrcit can hope for since they face the Lexington schools in the regional. Either HenryClay, Tates Creek, Dunbar or Scott County would most likely mow through this district undefeated. The teams in this division are going to benefit tremendously in next years realignment.

North Hardin is a preseason top 10 in most 4A polls. The game also involves a 3 hour bus ride for the Whitley kids. I am not sure what to expect. If Whitley brings their A game, they should compete however, on paper I suspect they are 30 point underdogs. I think I will hold off making a prediction until I have seen North Hardin on tape.

North Hardin is a preseason top 10 in most 4A polls. I do not know much about them but, based on everything I have read they are good. For Whitley it is going to be pretty much the same story as last week. Whitley has to be effective on the offensive and defensive lines to win. Whitley's line is the heart of the team. It is composed of primarily very experienced seniors that have worked their buts off to be good. If McCumbers has time to throw Whitley will move the ball. If Whitleys D-line can contain the ends and pressure the North Hardin QB forcing North Hardin into a power running game, Whitley will have a chance to win. If the corners break down or if the D-line cannot pressure the QB resulting in 1 on 1 coverage in the secondary, Whitley will have a long night. Due to injury, Whitley is going to have trouble matching up with quickness.

The Lawson kid is a sophmore. He has been playing with a sprained, jammed wrist incurred against Knoxville Fulton. He did a nice job Friday but, I thought the whole team's defensive effort was very sound. I look for another sophmore Jason Powers who has been out injured to make a major contribution on the defensive side of the ball this week. Freshman Josh Wynn is another young player that will most likely be starting on the defensive side of the ball in the near future. Whitley has a some very talented young players. The freshman line looks as good as any that I have ever seen at Whitley. Nobody said much about it but, I thought Phil Sasser (6-6 250) senior played a very nice ball game. Phil is so consistantly good that people sometimes fail to compliment his play. I hear he has verbaled to Western Kentucky. Congatulations Phil!

I doubt that anyone in the mountains will have better numbers than Jordam McCumbers at Whitley.

Mastermind, I do not think the referees can ever be blamed for a lose but, there were a couple of calls that really hurt Whitley. The holding call on the touchdown was definitely an iffy call. I do not think the refereeing was any worse than you or I would have guessed before hand. With Hilton and Greer on the sidelines in Bell County playing a non-district game, I do not think anyone that knows a hoot about Mountain football would have expected any better. Whitley played well and they had a chance to win the ball game until the final whistle. In Whitley County, the result would have probably been different but, the Bell kids played well enough to win. The last Bell County drive really showed a lot guts. Whitley had the momentum and had beat up the Bell line the whole game. Despite the adversity the Bell kids stuck in there and did what they had to. A very good high school ball game.

I agree Apex, the hitting on both sides was outstanding. Lots of leather popping and head cracking in this one. A very entertaining game to watch. I also agree with you that Whitley will improve significantly as the season progresses. Everything is new for the Whitley kids and they did not have spring pradctice to begin acclimating to the system. I think the redzone efficiency will definitely improve as Coach Black puts in more of his offensive scheme and adjusts the system to his players. We have to remember Coach Black has only had these kids for about a month. Whitley also has a couple of key players that will be returning from injury. Jason Powers has been out about a month with a sprained ankle. He should be back in the starting lineup next week. Jason is a big hitter and has a nose for the ball, his return will be noticable. Mark Teague should be back by September, Mark will probably start both ways. He is Whitley's fastest player and he should excel in the new offense. I am excited about Whitley Football. This should be a very entertaining season. I did not mention Jordan McCumbers above. Has he been terrific or what? Jordan has really shown a lot of poise and maturity running the offense. I knew he had a very good arm but, his ability to run the ball and his willingness to take a lick has surprised me. Jordan is tough little hombre and a fine QB.

Knox Central would win the Kentucky 2A title. They are very deep and talented. Middlesboro played them tough at the line of scrimmage and they move the ball well at times. Middlesboro is going to have a very nice season and be competitive in thier region.

Both teams played well. Whitley actually had a touchdown called back on a very questionable holding call. The call was made in the endzone after the ball carrier had crossed the goal line. The penalty had nothing to do with play but, no doubt there was a hold. Whitley ended up turning the ball over on downs that series therefore, the penalty ultimately decided the ball game. Whitley also failed on two extra point conversions, which also hurt them, as Bell convertred all their tries. Whitley moved the ball well between the twenties but, had difficulty converting. Whitley will probably end up having to supplement their Franklin Offense inside the 20 with some type of power set. With only one back in the backfield, power running is difficult. Kentucky had the same problem with red zone conversions. Once inside the 20, the linebackers no longer have to drop very deep to cover the 4 and 5 receivers, which allows them enough time to respond to the run and it congests the intermediate passing lanes. This is the primary weekness in the system. On defense, Whitley played pretty well as they shut down the pass and allowed only one big yardage corner sweep. Bell County's power running game was effective when it had to be. Bell took the ball down the field on a prototype Hilton drive inside the last 6 minutes leading 17 to 14 to take a 24 to 14 lead. Christopher is by leaps and bounds Bell's best offensive player. Corbin would have challeged for a state title with Christopher in the backfield. He is big, strong, fast and sees the field. He is a good one. Kyle Nelson played great in the secondary as well. Nelson had more big hits than any other player in the game. Nelson's crushing hits definitely resulted in some dropped balls as the game progressed. Bell is as good as advertised. They are very well coached and they have good size and quickness. As usual Bell has 4 or 5 five college bound ball players capable of breaking a big play at any time. Whitley is a little better than many thought. Both teams will compete for a district title. Bell is one of the best 5 teams in 3A.

Dadgone Southeast Bell after reading that column, I am wondering if Whitley should show up. It might be better to forfeit, save the bruises and embarrassment and maybe practice for next week. WoW Bell sounds loaded.

Joesgym, difference of opinion is why they Tee it up and also why grown men like us love the game so much. I hope the Jumpers have a great season. I think the Jumpers have a good shot at a regional championship. Good Luck Jumpers

The Watts kid from McCreary Central is very good. As an 8th grader playing varsity he averaged over 20 per game. He is very quick, strong, handles the ball well, has nice hops and can shoot the 3. He looks like he is going to be in the 6-3 200lb size range. He will be the best player in the 12th region this season as a freshman.

I think it would be a tremendous boost to the waning interest in Kentucky High School Basketball. An even better idea would be 6 State Champions with a Champions Tourney after the divisional championships. I would give the !A and 2A teams a bye in the first round. 6A VS 5A-- winner versus 2A----> Champ 4A VS 3A-- winner versus 1A----> This format would bring about a complete resurgance in Kentucky Basketball.

I did mean Southwestern Pulaski Joesgym, thank you for correcting me. Do not get "PEOD" I am not trying to run down any team. As I said, in any given season, Middlesboro, Corbin or Somerset may have a top 5 (all classes included) team. This is especially true for Corbin who has a tradition as fine anyone in the USA. I do not believe that all time records hold much snuff these days. Until the 1990's most of the Big County Schools (Bell County included) had terrible football programs. Infact, at one time, good football players were expected to transfer from County elementaries to the city highschools, if they wanted to play football. Even in recent history, the best 9th grade player coming from the Whitley Feeder Program in 2000, 2001 and 2002 transfered to Corbin (Jarrod Lawson, Brad Lawson and Dustin Gray). Brad and Jarrod went on to become all state players at Corbin. These transfers, along with the Brock Brothers, transfer created a lot of friction between the school systems unlike in the past when such transfers were almost consisdered obligatory. I do not think you will see much of this activity in the future. At any rate, it is time to move on and forget the past. For many years, the large rural county schools did not have the money, tradition or quite frankly the interest to field good football teams. Lets face it, most kids are not going to walk 15 to 30 miles to get home from practice or games (School Buses now provide transportation for all players to and from games and practice). Laurel County and Knox County did not even have a feeder program (none below middle school) until the past 5 or 6 years. Whitley County diid not start 3rd and 4th grade football until 1996 and their 5th and 6th grade programs were really non-existant until 1992. Mike Campbell did a great job establishing the Whitley feeder program and it continues to improve every year. I do not believe any of these county programs have grasshopper football as we speak. I expect this to happen soon in Whitley County. The larger school systems are now developing the financial support and interest needed to produce good football programs. The results are going to be evident on the field. Whitleys program has almost linearly improved with the improvement of their feeder program. (Whitley has not had great records as a 4A school but, their teams have consistently been competitive in 4A and on par with Bell, Rock, and Southwestern talent wise.) As I stated above, I believe that Whitley and South Laurel have now developed their programs, to the extent, that in most seasons, they would beat Corbin, Middlesboro, and Somerset. Knox County is also improving rapidly. As examples, I think South has beaten Corbin two years in a row and Whitley has beaten Middlesboro the last three times thay have played including one complete blowout. Times, they are a changing. For the record concerning historical matchup results, Whitley has never beaten Corbin in a football game nor have they ever beaten Williamsburg in a football game. However, they have not played Corbin since 1980 and they have not played Williamsburg since 1978. The games were stopped (supposedly) due to fighting between the players off the field. These days it seems the players get along very well off the field. I know that my son (a Whitley Player) socializes on a regular basis with several Williamsburg and Corbin players. It is time that Corbin and Whitley play football against each other. It would very good for both schools and the community. It would also be all right with me if Whitley and Williamsburg played each other occasionally although, to be honest, Williamsburg is such a small school, that most seasons, they would be competitive against Whitley. :thumb:

The top 4 look about right but, the bottom 6 are skewed. Neither Corbin, Middlesboro, South, nor Somerset is better than Whitley or Pulaski. I do not know anything about Sheldon Clark this season but, they are usually good. Whitley would beat Corbin, Middlesboro, Somerset and probably South. Lynn Camp would give either Middlesboro or Somerset all they want. I would also expect Pulaski County to beat either Middlesboro or Somerset and they would play well with either Corbin or South.. Knox Central is another team is good as anyone in the bottom five. These ratings may be meant to reflect the teams that are most likely to be factors in the playoffs. If this is a reflection of playoff potential, I think it is accurate other than the inclusion of South and the exclusion of Lynn Camp. South will probably be no better than 3rd or 4th in their district. Lynn Camp will be competitive in their region. Somerset, Middlesboro and Corbin should all be big dogs in their districts and compete for their regional championship. This does not mean that they would fare well against the larger 3A and 4A schools in the mountains. In my opinion, they would not. The larger schools typically have too much size and depth for the smaller schools. Granted,there always always season to season exceptions. Corbin for example will occationally field a team that can compete with anyone in the state other than Trinity, X, and Male. Whitley should play Corbin every year for the County Championship. Man, that would be a fun ball game every season. Although Lynn Camp has some fine 1A teams, Whitley should replace them with Corbin as an annual smash mouth, back yard brawl. I would like to see a Lynn Camp/KnoxCentral, Whitley/Corbin "County Championship Bowl" every season. This bowl should be held at Cumberland College (a neutral site and a nice stadium). I think it would draw as many as 10,000 people. At $10 a head, each school would pocket $25,000, enough to cover close to half of each schools football budget. I would like to see the game preceded with a parade, a banquet for the players and boosters and maybe a pregame mixer for the boosters/fans. A good Nibroc type band (a rock or country legend like David Allen Coe or Molly Hatchett) after the games and maybe before the games would also be a hit with the kids. This bowl would also be a great marketing tool for Cumberland College.

Southeastbell, Your comment bodes poorly for Whitley. The Colonels were the worst pass defense team that I saw last year. Almost everyone passed at will against Whitley. I do not know if this year's bunch is any better. There are new faces in the secondary but, I do not know if any of them can cover their own shadow. They looked terrible down in Knoxville but, they looked respectable against Campbell County. Whitley's defensive line has looked pretty good during the scimmages but, I doubt that they have faced a line as good as Bell County's. If the D-line does not get pressure on the QB, it could be a long night for the untested secondary.

Bell is a three or four touchdown favorite on paper. The Mutt hopes the Bell kids are reading the paper and come in a little flat. If Bell does not bring their best game and Whitley brings their "A" game, this will be a dog fight as this matchup usually is. Prediction: Whitley 28 Bell 27

MountainThunder Whitley County: McCumbers is a junior but, I agree he should put op some big numbers. Other players at Whitley that have not been mentioned much in the press but, will be college prospects: Seniors: Cody Jeffries, Shaun Monhollan, Rob Cureton, Jonathon Bowman and Phillip Sasser.

Jamie Labanion (Ky. Patriots AAU) will be a very nice player at Whitley.