REDDEVILMVP'06

Come on Fleming reload ,,, our District needs you guys to be just as good or better than the last few years .... Is Fritz playing ball someplace ? How about 55 ?

Lawrence County plays football with whoever they have for as long as they can go. Louisa is down but not out. Look for the Kyle Carter on both lines , varnum. I like Dawg football it's physical , no frills similar in style to Ironton. If LCHS can match people skill wise or even close , good times will return in Lousia ... Good luck to both teams ....

As stated earlier best high school faciltiy in this area is Portsmouth's Spartan(Universal) . Former home to the NFL and site of first night game ever in NFL history. The turf isn't what if use to be , but up til the early 80's this facility had it all for every fan , coach and player. The history in this facility is unbelieveable. Portsmouth games on friday night and Notre Dame on saturday night was football heaven in the P Town for lot's of years ...

Ashland , to much skill , speed , size and numbers ..... If Raceland shows up and out hits Ashland they have a chance to overcome. Good luck to both ...

I like the old stadiums ... Tank ,Spartan(Universal) ,Putnam .... Spartan beats them all ... Something about the Echo's ... Ashland could do more with visitors locker room and all the chain link fence in the end zone areas ... Grass at Ashland has really improved ... In the late 70's it was all mud down the middle and very little grass near the sidelines and pure mud on the sidelines But in 2a football , Henry R Evans is in a class of it's own ... travel to West/East Carter , or Powell or Estill or Morgan or Lewis , or Fleming ...

Several things , having been at the last game ever at Vipperman ... For the visitors , fans and players it was like the bad guy at a WWE wrestling match. All the home fans are right behind your bench only a few feet seperating the stands from the playing field. Certainly a home field advantage. The normal visitor support on that night was standing in the mud along the fence at either end or up on the hillside certainly isolated from our kids. I saw a tape of a game at CAM certainly a more normal envirnoment or at least it looked it on TV.. Belfry fans who traveled to Russell last year although alot of them were no factor in the outcome of the game , with following exception. Coming out of the half , I always moved to our locker room area to encourage my son. Coming out of the half , the Devils took the field first , as I was walking back to my seat , the Belfry parents - including mothers , former players and fans were busy jacking the team up in a manner also similar to a WWE match. I like wrestling and also this approach by Belfry. It was clear each Belfry kid knew fan support and how much a winning tradition means to the RED Army Faithful. I knew we were in for a real second half .... Thank heavens we held off the " Boogie Man" and the Red Army .

If Ashland's lines were hurting on both sides of the ball , I am encouraged by the scrimmage last night ... Ashland had equal or better skilled kids other than the tight end. Ashland's recievers were open all night , the qb could really sling the ball , he threw darts , likely hard to catch. Ashland can have a running game .. it was #40 ... Put him at tailback ... he had pop and didn't care to get hit. Others for Ashland slowed down before contact and didn't use there size to deliver a blow... Again , Ashland can go along way if line play improves ... Against the Devils, line #40 up at tailback , Fields at fullback and bring it between the tackles , Like in 2003 you folks might really like the outcome ... 2003 was a long night of getting pounded by your fullback/tailback.

My hat is off to Morgan. For years the were terrible , had no chance to beat the Devils and all the kids , fans , and coaches knew it. No longer the case , Morgan has skilled kids out for football they didn't have before. If their line play can improve , one day they will beat the devils. It won't be a fluke either as with this coaching staff Morgan is building a program that has more of an expectation that they can beat anyone. This is all good ... I think Morgan has earned respect from Devil fans , players and coaches. Whatever is going on at Morgan , please send a dose to Lewis , Powell , and West Carter.

2002 was a balanced team but Gabbard didn't hit the clutch passes Brown did against Mercer, Newport and Belfry. Likely because Ivan stayed with the running game and who wouldn't have. Gabbard never developed into the passer he could have been that kid was smart and an athlete. 2004 , I believe Ivan remembered losing to Lloyd in 2003 which critical interceptions spelled our doom and the game got out of control. But in the loss to Belfry , Ivan remember how effective , late in the game , the pass was. No doubt Belfry was better on the ground and more physical. 2005 , Newport ( and Mercer in the second half) loaded the box and we had to pass to win. Brown responded. Belfry also loaded the box but passing staggered the defending champ in the first half to the point we almost put them away. In the second half after the interception and Horn's injury , play calling went into the shell and Belfry shut us down totally. I go thru this sequence to demonstrate that clutch passing put the 2005 Devils over the hump. Certainly 02 and 04 had more talent but 05 had clutch passing that neither of those teams brought to the table at the most critical times. Last note , this same ability to hit big passes will be a huge factor in how far this group of Devils advance in the playoffs. Just as big as timing ... Because if we cannot pass , 11 in the box is coming .... Looking forward to a huge Devil year , with the athletes they have both running and passing should come balanced and very easy. Good luck to all the kids ...

Ashland was not physical enough to play with Ironton on the ground. Ashland has big play again this year. Ashland has the kids , lot's of coaches and many skilled players. If Ashland can get better on the ground on both sides of the ball they can develope into a good team. #40 for Ashland stood toe to toe with the Tigers but he was about it, that surprised me ... Ironton only had around 34 kids dressed. Their lines were quick , strong and would hit you. I was impressed by Ironton lines and tight end. I truly believe Ashland had equal or better skill players ... Just not as hardnosed as Ironton ... But who is , to be the man you have to beat the man and the Tigers live and die with this ... Good Luck to both Teams

This will certainly play out over the season .... I can't wait .... and in 2004 I remember Ivan saying in the paper and the banquet we had a chance to beat Belfry and it got away. We all learn more from defeat than victory.... Play calling last year showed the old coach is also still learning. Passes to Horn against Belfry. Moving Kasey to corner on the interception to beat Belfry was based upon learning. Without Horn this corner was being exploited ... I certainly am not coaching just observing. Sharing observations ( not coaching) is the intent of Bluegrass Preps.. One thing is for sure any observations will be played out by the kids on the field. That's what makes this interesting. Good Luck Devils ....

Been going to Russell games for 21 years and played against the Devils in high school including a scrimmage against the state champs. Russell is alot of things but not a quarterback developement factory... Brown was special in the clutch... I can remember the center who high stepped out of the huddle ...

Looking forward to Tigers and Tomcats... Both will want this one bad , be more like a playoff than a scrimmage .... I am going for sure ....

Morgan is coming ... If they stay on track , one day they will beat the Devils in the ditch , but not this year ... The better you folks get , the better we all get ... Morgan kids play hard and have a good scheme , which means well coached and things are clicking ... Ps .. Morgan fans are always friendly ....

You might be right , but the best chance for a repeat is with Sizemore. Brown was most all around athlete on last years team. This year that is likely Sizemore.... Think back , Mullins , Gabbard ,Wyant , etc , etc ... none were as clutch in big moments as Brown's passing. He was the wild card last year , who is going to be that this year ? Tyler might be this as a Senior.... One thing for sure , Ivan learned a lesson at Belfry in 2004 , in big games from then on the Devils passed the football ( with exception of State game as OC were poor tacklers) ... 2004 we waited to long to begin passing. Look for whoever to throw the ball alot ( for the devils ) this year. Especially with the athletes on this years team.

Kasey is good ... for sure but no Jim Brown ... Two running plays back to back at Newport , in a very critical late game situation, we got stuffed. Jim Brown would not have been stuffed by 2A Newport. Kasey strengths are overall athletic ability. Would not call him a power runner , yet ... Hope to see more strength this year ... Kasey came a long way last year in running it right at people ... State Champ showed this but so did very poor tackling by OC...especially in the secondary.

Russell Red Devils Defending 2005 AA State Champs ..... Early Season 3-0 against big three Muskie's, Cats , Lions Cup Cake season 7 - 0 Playoffs ....warmups ... Two easy wins 2 -0 Brings us to 12 -0 Real Season.... early yet , but if Devils develope toughness , clutch passing game and get a few breaks , we'll be driving to the 'ville again. Hope the weather is better this time ...

Short passing to Horn was saved all year and run several times at key moments against Belfry last year. If 2006 lines up like 2004 , all run Kasey , replacing Josh ... The road to the ville is going to be very tough as Belfry and others will put 11 in the box. Look for Ivan to really work the passing game this year , even against the cupcakes. No doubt Jones is a player , just see Sizemore providing a better chance for clutch passing in big games. Brown was likely best QB at Russell I have ever seen in the clutch... His passing at Newport won that game , that other Russell teams found ways to lose...

Apparently Cubster you were not watching the game closley at all... The red devils used passing plays to help set up all of their scoring drives... 8 sprint left was the call to be exact... Brown to Horn on the little dink and dunk passes set up the touchdowns...

Jones cannot replace T Brown this year. Devils cannot win state again without a passing game. So look for alot of Sizemore in each game ... Ivan isn't stupid ... No chance to beat Belfry's red army without passing. Gross couldn't do it and neither will Kasey unless he gets some balls via the pass. Beekman is very small but a player in the wing t ... If they go power , better bring back Timberlake and Mell ... Did see some power but backfield was very small , except Kasey...

Powell has nice facilty for football and the kids look big enough and athletic enough. But this doesn't translate into a success. What is the story at Powell someone told me they we moving out of 2A .... Does Powell have youth football ?

The only grabbing done in the Champ game was by OC's linebackers and secondary. That's the problem... I agree with whoever , put more in the box , come up and hit someone ....

Ironton Ohio ... the whole deal .. Helmet , uniform . Tiger Clan , Million Dollar Band ,Tank -Home side only ... Visitor side stinks ...

Look at these posts ... Ashland Football should be about football. Again something is wrong when a school the tradition of Ashland is debating Radio announcers. I want the Tomcats to be successful ... Forumla is simple .. pound it with the stump -Fields Davis ... Make the basketball players , quarterbacks or recievers ...

If this coach will run the ball Boyd will be good .. They always have big kids who will hit you ... Although a nice guy ... Dane ( for years) passed the Lions out of winning consistently ... Boyd beat us last year because they were more physical .. not the passing game ... keep this going Lions ...