imsosilly

McCreary Central wins this one.

Pikeville rolls in this one. Raceland is down.

St. X has fallen behind Trinity but will still be hard for other KY schools to deal with. St. X wins by 10-14 points.

Catholic just played a loaded John Hardin team and put a lot of points on the board. I think Catholic wins this one by a couple scores.

Danville in a thriller.

Johnson Central by 2 td's.

Bell County wins easily.

7 - Bell Co. 5 - Fairview 3 - Pikeville 2 - Perry County Central 1 - Leslie Co. TB - Fairview

7 - Valley 5 - Bullitt East 3 - Paris 2 - Collins 1 - Atherton TB - Valley

Western 21 Male 7

Ask anyone that knows anything about high school football and they will tell you everyone south of us plays football at a much higher level at the public school level. If you aren't willing to accept that, then you haven't followed much football. Check out the last time Bell County played a good TN team two years ago. Bell lost 42-14 before running off 12 straight wins, most of which were in the 40-60 point range against KY opponents. Look at the rosters of the best SEC teams. Loaded with players from the south, none of which are usually from KY. We play competitive football in this state, but we are lagging way behind the southern states. Ballard may be down this year, but they still have a very large enrollment and are known for having one of the best public school athletic programs in our state.

This shows the gap between KY public school football and all the other states south of us. Our good public teams and their good public teams aren't even in the same category.

Casey won 8 games last year, including a playoff win. Taylor only scored 12 touchdowns all of last year. Casey scored 34 against Breathitt in their 2nd round playoff loss. Taylor is no better than they were a year ago, so I'll say again not surprised. Taylor will beat Breckinridge, but that will be it. Casey will win several games this year and may very well win their 2nd playoff game in school history.

Shouldn't be a big surprise. This Taylor team hasn't won at any level from middle school on up. They will finish 2-8 this year and not be competitive in most games. I wasn't surprised at all.

One more point and I'll stop my rant. Shawnee football is doing the best they can to put a product on the field. Last year they made it eight games into their season before the had to cancel the remaining games. The baseball team played just five games before folding, while the softball team got nine games in before folding. Volleyball didn't have enough interest to even begin a season. Both the girls and boys basketball teams finished the year with fewer than ten players on the team. You see a trend here? The kids simply aren't willing to do what it takes, or in some cases, just aren't there to begin with in order to fill these teams. Shawnee has some quality coaches in place and have for a long time. Shawnee has a new athletic director that will do a great job. But again, until the board does some things to help them out, they will be spinning their wheels and trying to keep their head above water athletically and academically.

Then you have to talk about test scores. Most of these same schools that suffer athletically have been labeled "failing schools" by the state. Principals were replaced, teachers were moved around after having to reapply for their jobs, and the whole musical chairs act still won't accomplish much in the end. Until the people making the decisions at the board start making better ones, the bottom feeders will continue to be bottom feeders. The point made about kids working hard to stay eligible does apply throughout most places in this state, but not necessarily in some of these schools. Do some research into how many security guards are in place at these schools, how many regular armed cops are in these buildings, and also how many arrests take place at these schools in a given year. I guarantee you some of the numbers you find will startle you. Then watch the news and learn that 11% of Jefferson County students are homeless. These kids aren't ending up at the elite schools. They are placed at the same bottom feeders that continue to fail academically and athletically. Coaches aren't to blame, athletic directors aren't to blame, and even the teachers aren't to blame. You can only teach and coach what the board sends you and if you do your research you will soon find out that there are six or seven schools in Jefferson County that aren't on the same playing field as the others. There is a reason for it and it has nothing to do with the coaches. I won't name the schools, but look back at the past say 7-8 years and you won't have trouble identifying the ones I am talking about.

I'm afraid you don't understand the dynamics of the inner city Louisville schools. I know at one time not many years ago Iroquois had 37 boys eligible in the upper three grades and Iroquois is considerably larger than Shawnee. The kids come from all over town and most don't know each other, have never played together, and many don't get along due to gang influences, etc. If you are familiar with Shawnee, you will know it is in a high crime area where parents are not comfortable sending their children to school. Add to the mix that Jefferson County middle schools only started playing football in the last two years (and some still don't offer it) and it makes it impossible for coaches at several schools to have a shot at a decent season. Now lets talk budget. Jefferson County schools give their athletic programs a budget of ZERO. They have to raise every penny for anything other than equipment and supplies for the field. Fundraising is not easy in the west end of Jefferson County. Travel restrictions are also in place for non-district games, so it is not practical to come in and say we have to play an easier schedule to get the kids some wins and build morale.

Of those 285 boys mentioned above, I guarantee you at least 1/3 of them are ineligible due to grades and/or not being on grade level. 1/3 is a low end estimate. If you knew the real story there, I bet they have less than 75 boys in their upper three classes that are even eligible to try out, much less come to practice, lift weights, and stick with an entire season. Of those 75 many are not athletic minded or have the support from home to participate. Sad situation at Shawnee and many other Jefferson County schools, but the powers that be are fine with it as long as they have a few elite schools still making the grade.

Shawnee has not cancelled their season. They had just 15 kids show up to begin workouts and are trying to round some more up by calling all of their eligible male students. Jefferson County is a mess both academically and athletically but the brass at the board/district AD office keep taking home fat checks every two weeks.

X always beats people in the summer but they fizzle out by late January and can't beat anybody when it matters. Last year's district loss to Collegiate was unbelievable! Any ideas on why they always seem to choke in the post-season?

Yes, their girls assistant coach was moved up to the boys job. Can't remember the name, but saw a link to an article somewhere and it verified the hire.

Not surprising at all. Several coaches were approached to see if they had any interest in this job and well, none of them did. Bad situation having to follow Morrow and especially with him still there teaching in the building. They have some experienced returning seniors, but then the talent drops off quite a bit.

Coach Turley steps down to accept another position, though not a high school coaching position, according to Shelbyville newspaper. Anyone out there surprised?

Bev coached at Bethlehem for several years and then moved on to Webster County. This is a homecoming for him.

He is the self-proclaimed best coach in Kentucky, so I'm sure he won't be out a job for long.