REDDEVILMVP'06

Everyone assumes Devils have to play at some very high level to beat Mercer. If Devils play solid football and Mercer does the same , Devils win , for most the intangibles are in favor of Russell .... I am hoping someone can help me with specifics of why Mercer can or will dominate the Devils ... I don't see it .. I was at the game last year , injecting talent from Harrodsburg makes us even at best. One intangible we have going for us it the " curse of the Scottie " .... Long standing Mercer mascot , kicked to the curb by the merger ... His last official football game was against the Devils .... Did the Scotty know then how this would all play out ? ( a little humor )

Raceland had an outstanding year .... I was at the Ashland game , atmosphere was electric for a small school to play so very well against a larger neighbor ... Everyone in Greenup Co is proud of this program , which always competes. Coaching staff at Raceland provides real leadership for this community... Ps ... How can Raceland not be on cloud nine for performance on the field this year and Aaron Pettrey every saturday from " Raceland Kentucky " .. This shows what can come out of every level of play ....

Only info I have on Mercer is the tape of last year .... I have watched several times .... so I read looking for insight .... Devils will compete , into the fourth .. looking for a great game

We all agree on that .... Tremendous opportunity for kids .... Go Devils ..... no doubt you can do it again .... or you wouldn't be going ...

I thought the same thing about the bulletin board .... Guarentee , Ivan has no bulletin board , last night on the radio , he said he didn't want any pep rallies .... Devils are coming to " take care of business"

Devils and Belfry have won last three 2a state championships in convincing fashion against teams west of Lexington. So I bet Mercer coaches are pouring thru this game right now .. Those are valid points ... 2A games are hard to judge who shows up ... My post stated facts ... Devils hitting on all cylinders ,take care of the ball with no penalties ... Very tough out for a first timer ( Devils spent years getting over first time hump ). Ps .. Mercer will also be battling " the curse of the Scottie "

Forget the monkey bring the 5a Scottie .... The Scottie feels abandoned and puts " the curse of the Bambino - Scottie " on the Titans ... Remember the Scottie ....

What was learned from the Belfry Game ... 1) Cannot run inside on the Devils ... Lb's and Secondary overwhelmed the line of scrimmage .. ( this surprised me ) 2) Cannot outside on the Devils ... Lb's and Secondary rally to the football - sideline to sideline , very fast ... I hope Mercer is just about running the edges .. 3) Belfry is a running team so 1 and 2 were validated last night ... 4) Defense wins championships ... 5) Coaching ... this team is in tune with coaching and the game play ... it's obvious ... this is rare in high school ... Bottom line , Mercer will have to show balance down the field to have any chance to beat the Devils ... Devils win in a close one that might not be that close ... last year Devils learned how to win the close ones ....

Devils and Mercer game will be back and fourth ..... Running wide on the Devils won't happen ... Running inside on the Devils won't happen. Penalties will kill you against the Devils. Mercer's season long - 5a monkey will be very heavy .... This will be a very close game ..... Devils showed much better than even I thought ... Coaching has these kids playing at a high level .. Nice game against OC .... good luck to both teams

Devils will win this game .... Devil staff is a good as any in the state ... Cannot say enough about the coaching .. these kids are prepared and in postion to make plays .... Dominated the Red Army ... Start sizing the rings .... Mercer could win this game , but the monkey is heavy and you folks have to beat the Devil players and coaching ... Good luck to both .. should be a dandy ...

Belfry just wasn't Belfry tonight. Devils impressed ... Russell coaches had this team prepared ... great job .... Mercer and the Devils will go late into the 4th .... no more blowouts , can Mercer win a close game ?

Leaving in 25 minutes .... Devils 35 Red Army 31

Agree with cart and horses .... but Mercer will not dominate Devils or Belfry ... just will not happen ... Both these are long standing programs ...

Agree with analysis ... Devils better at protecting the ball ... :fire:

Mercer will not romp the Devils ... No way , no how ... We played last year ... even with the combined schools Devils can match .. Devils strength is athletes who can play football ... Sounds like Mercer is the same .... Power teams who can dominate between the tackles give Devils fits ... Everything else the Devils have covered ...

Agree with Jeepman , if Devils and Rams joined in 2a would be unbeatable... But I think Devils can play with anyone , especially Mercer .... Skill and speed is what the devils have top to bottom .... This is another game that will go late into the 4th and the team who takes care of the ball wins .... I think Clark is the difference ...

Belfry started slow last year and was close to getting run off the field. That won't happen this year. Belfry will be focused on a faster start. Devils are full of skill , speed but Clark has D1 potential. No one will run the Devils off the field ,nor will this happen to Befry at home. Close game that team with most playmakers wins .... Based upon last year this is the Devils because they take care of the ball better than the Pirates ...

Reading all the posts ..... Aces pass in for awhile but the dog's to much ... Mercer ( former Scotties ) 48 OC Aces 21 Mercer a week from friday , Scotty will be eating from a Pizza Box in the ville .... Either way ( Devils or Belfry) bring your lunch - one game season that will go down to the last possession ...

Reading all the posts , both teams will move the ball .. very exciting hard fought game between legit 2A schools with long standing programs Belfry starts fast in this one But Devils ( protect the football) and win by out scoring Red Army - barely ... Russell 35 Belfry 31 Clark's speed ,skill and power on both sides of the ball is the difference ...

No way .... meaningless record .... represents nothing

If it's close late , Devils will win it ..... Just when I thought Belfry was coming back last year , Clark made a play ... Several other were made down the stretch and Belfry helped us with some wild looking plays .. Making a play is what the Devils can do as well as much bigger schools .... Devils are loaded with kids on 2A level that can make plays .... But with all that said Devils can be beat up in a ground and pound game , like the red army hammered us with in 2004 ... In 2005 Belfry couldn't dominate us physically ... last years seniors saw to that ... It's this years - large - senior classes turn to stand toe to toe with the Red Army ... The game hinges on this matchup .. I cannot wait ....

No way OC wins against a running team unless the running team helps them ... I think OC has the kids with talent , need dose of tackling fundamentals - did last year anyway... Good luck to both teams ... Both are programs with class .... kids reflect coaching ... all 4 left have good programs ... Still would like to see the scotty again ... live mascots are the best ...

If goes into 4th quarter close .. Devils win ... Lot's of playmakers on the Devils. Clark , Sizemore, Gullet,Lewis , Wills, Wells,Sutton,Beekman, Jones and others have played alot of football for the Devils .... This experience will bring home a close game. My only concern is if the red army can ground and pound the ball down the field with #20 - that kid stood out last year ... We have to be able to stop this kid , who is a year stronger ..... Lot's of respect for Pirates , if they hit like they did in 2004 this will be a slugfest. 2004 game was hardest hitting I've seen on this side of the Ohio River .... Looking forward to a dandy ... Devils will not get blown out by anyone ( Mercer included) to much skill and talent .... I bet money on the O line we see Big Seth ... O Line needs some push ... Wouldn't surprise me to see him in power situations at guard - between Ethan and Toby or in an unbalance situation .... Kasey is a Power type back , with low mileage this year ... I look for Ivan to attempt to do some ground and pound.... Mixed in with passing , especially if Belfry's d line is small and quick ..

If Russell wins this year will be as last year Kasey and others as recievers. Belfry will take away the run .... Just like 2nd half of last year... Jones can be the wild card in Troy Smith fashion , rolling with run/pass options .but he will have to be able to out run Mr May ... Looking forward to old fashion slug fest ... Between real programs that always have something ...

How has Belfry's D Line faired against line with size. Also can your D line come off big people ,run down the wing t and make plays ... In 2004 you folks had a kid #37 - d line ,that wasn't very big but ran sideline to sideline and really got some good hits on Gross .. Is your line as talented as that kid ..