Trimmer308

I have been to almost every Ashland football practice, and I have watched as this team has pulled together. I tell you this, its not because they went to ground game, it’s not because they changed a lot of linemen... The truth is Ashland just wasn’t ready for its first game; linemen were hurt so guys had been shifted out of position, Mahan was making mistakes and the coaching staff felt that Drew had more experience and tried using him at QB for the first game giving Mahan more time to get his timing down. Then Walters got off the injured list and returned to center, the position he played last year, the line got some time to jell since they all had been moved around to make up for hurt players. Now we see lacy winning back his old spot at left tackle as he recovers from his injury. Believe me when I say Darrel will throw the football, Ashland was smart enough to see the weakness in the stamina of the W/Portsmouth defense and the ground was the best way to make that work for us. Every team and every night is different and Ashland may still loose a few games but all in all they are a good football team, as the season progresses they should just get better if they can keep their players healthy. One other thing I would like to say. Everyone lets on like it was some kind of complete screw up that Raceland beat Ashland... on that night, on that day, Raceland was able to put the points on the board, you can’t take that away from them, they are a better team than a lot of people gave them credit for.. It’s not the end of the world to loose your first game. It’s the end of the season that counts and Ashland will be ready ! Trimmer :thumb:

Well I remember the last trip to Prestonsburg, "jumping out of the grass at you" LOL All I can say is; I pray for a good clean game and I hope Ashland can keep the ball rolling and play a good game. Ashland 28 Prestonsburg 21 Trimmer

Portsmouth West vs. Ashland Ashland just seems to just keep improving as they get their injured players back into the line Matt Thomas and Fields Davis both had a good night as the ground game becomes more solid every week. Portsmouth played a risky defense in the first half blitzing a lot, a move that kept them in the game in the first half, but as the game moved into the late quarters Ashland’s size and strength proved to be too much for Portsmouth West. Ashland didn’t make as many mistakes as they had been something that is good news as Ashland gets closer to district play. Lacy Snodgrass seen limited play on both offence and defense, Lacy has seen action in the last two games but I understand he is still not at a 100% but improving we hope that he gets completely healed as soon as possible. A lot has been said about the great play from the backs, they deserve all the kind words that everyone has said about them, but the line has been one of the reason why the backs have been able to make to the secondary this is who they are. From left to right, # 71 lacy Snodgrass, #58 Travis Gallaher, #63 Michael Walters, #55 Jesse Parsley, #77 Aaron Erwin These guys are starting to really come together to make tough big line and I waned to give them a big thumbs up! Ashland defense has also came through when it really counted, Ashland is rotating so many players on defense I won’t list them today but I will try to kept track of them in the next few games and pass it along. All in all a very good game for Ashland Trimmer PS I had some pictures but was unable to up load them with a 48.px limit

I totally agrre with devil on this one, JV games are about teaching and learning but they are still fun to watch.. congrads to Russell Trimmer

Good Luck!

Belfry - 35 East Ridge - 14 enought said

I think this is a must win for Russell:jump: If they loose this game it could be a long year for the:devil: I don't look for that to happen Russell 28 Boyd 14 trimmer

Ashland will have its hands full with Portsmouth West, and I’m afraid your not going to see any help from the officials, Portsmouth plays a good ground game, they run the ball right at you and make very few mistakes. I for one hope that the flew bug.. runs it course before Friday I understand it running through the school bad right now. I think the “running back” that suppose to be their go to guy was number 10 can’t think of his name right now. Ashland line has been the flower that’s beginning to bud; if they stay on course I see this being a good game... there nothing that makes a back look better than a line that makes a hole, and they did it all night last week let hope they can keep it up. Good luck cats... lets put on them sticky fingers and hold on to the ball Ashland 28 Portsmouth 21 Trimmer :thumb:

58 Devils, You are very well spoken, and I agree with most of what you have said, but One thing that you must consider is how bad a team wants to win, football is a game where mistakes or big plays can give strength or break the back of a team This game will have both.. Ashland is improving every week and they know Russell as well as any team that they will play all year.. In my opinion this game is to close to call, but if I must pick one side I have to go with the home team by 7 This game also has a potential of being a high scoring game, so I’m just saying Ashland by 7 Trimmer

If you were watching this game, think back.. this was the second try at the 2 point play, and they did it the first time.. this wasn't the wrong decision Belfry had moved the ball the whole game.. if he had it to do over.. I would bet he would have taken the snap under center..but man thats football.. on that play Ashland just gave it all they had with a 11 man blitz and they had no time to do anything.. like I said.. someone had to loose, I'm just glad our boys wanted it as bad as they did.. good luck to both teams Trimmer

Ashland Vs. Belfry review; I would just like to say that Belfry was a class act and they have nothing to hold their head down about, this was a good game from both schools, but in the end, someone had to win. Ashland, we seen vast improvements in the OL line and Mahan showed he could do the job, his first start although not perfect it was a good effort, and one that I think will only get better. Ashland defense had all they could stand with a very good Belfry offence, in the end Ashland 11 man blitz was more than a shot gun snap had time to deal with, great job cats! Ashland special teams still struggled, but some improvement was noticed; we have our fingers crossed that the punt and kick off returns will improve. I have to say, I was on the edge of my seat the whole second half, this game was a thriller And it put to rest some of the people that were saying the Tomcats wouldn’t have much this year. This was High School Football at its best. I would also like to say, I felt that the play selection was also much improved, Ashland showed in the first red zone attempt that they were willing to throw the football, this kept the defense honest and proved that Ashland could score once they got in striking distance. My hats off to the coaching staff, and players for a good game played with a lot of heart! Trimmer

Hmmm man.. this thread sound like a lot of upset Ashland fans want to see some changes I personally feel that is the very wrong thing to do. Ashland’s defense did a good job the real let down was the punt team. Ashland Offence also played better than it had in any previous scrimmage, after the first quarter they started moving the football and seem to be getting on track. It was the red zone play that needed work. Ashland refused to pass the ball once in the red zone which didn’t keep the Raceland defense honest. If we see a bunch of changes instead of better red zone offence Belfry will hand Ashland their second loss.. If they build on what they have, and quit starting over then we may see a better football team on the field. Play selection in the red zone was poor. Over all Ashland play didn’t reflect the score. Build on what you have: Ashland 21 Belfry 14 Move a bunch of players Ashland 7 Belfry 28 Trimmer

Ashland Vs Raceland Review As Monday morning reflections set in I thought I would post my review of this game. I would like to send out congratulations to Raceland for a good game, they played hard and it paid off. As far as Ashland is concerned, I would like to review some of the good point and then what this fan felt was the break down that cost Ashland its opening game. The defensive effort looked pretty good if you don’t count the 94 yard run back, that the special teams failed to cover, not counting this mistake Ashland would have held Raceland to 14 point. Ashland’s effort on offence seem to get rolling after the first quarter, Ashland moved the football better than they had in any of the scrimmages up to this point, getting into the red zone didn’t seem to be a problem. It was at this point that Ashland’s problems began to appear. Ashland seem to be unwilling to throw the ball once it got into the Red zone, this seem to give Raceland the go ahead to stack and blitz, this move held Ashland out of the end zone. A lot of credit must be given to Raceland for a good goal line defense that was willing to gamble on Ashland play selection inside the 25 I have watched every outing that Ashland has played in so far, it may be just me, but it seems that they can’t settle on who they want to play what. Every week we keep seeing a different OL. Until Lacy gets back in the line, I would think it would be more productive to stick with the line we seen most of this game and work on a goal line offensive set that includes plays to keep the defense honest. It will be easy for the coaching staff to have a knee jerk reaction to this game doing a lot of changing, but the truth is this team didn’t play that bad, they move the football and their regular defense (not special teams) held their opponents to 14 points against a good running team. Ashland next game will be another tough game, if they choose to do a lot of changing instead of working on the plays they need in the red zone. If Ashland builds on what they have, working on special teams along with expanding their options on Offence inside the red zone, Ashland will be ok. It’s very easy to be a Monday morning arm chair critic but that’s just how I seen the game. Only time will tell how Ashland uses this set back. My best wishes to team Trimmer

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I hear That Drew McDavid will start in QB slot guess we'll see meet the cats tonight should be fun:dancingpa see you there Trimmer

Walters looked good today.. told some of his team mates that he felt good and was having no pain..now if he just wakes up tomorrow and feels the same way, I think the cats may have helped the OL a great deal Looks like this is shaping up to be a good game meet the cats Thursday should be fun!:thumb:

The word I got last night was that Walters will dress tonight and if he doesn't have any problems, he will start Friday night. If you watched the practice last night you know why they were a little upset, but it was a minor thing but they just kept doing it.. first one guy, then another.. it seem to cure itself after a round of Up- Downs.. LOL This probity more than anyone needs to know. Walters is a good tough kid and I know he will do his best to play.but a protruding dish is a serious injury, one that may have life long persistence if he goes to soon, I've got my fingers crossed that he will be ok. To the question, is Ashland deep enough to play without Walters.. yes they are, without question, but they are a better team with him on the field so, we wish him the best, and hope he has healed enough to go full out! Trimmer

GodIsATomcat, I hope your right about the two starters being able to play and actually they are three starters out.. but so far thats not what I'm hearing, Lacy has the best chance but he did dress the other day and couldn't finish the V lap, and had to go to the showers, he wasn't dressing as of yesterday.. I will be stopping by in a few minutes to see how its going today.. one thing you can count on this team will be ready to play..no matter who straps on the helmet and walks out on the field..and if it goes a few weeks these guy will have to win back their spots.. no slackers on this team! Trimmer:thumb:

Ashland Vs. Raceland As this season opens Ashland will have its work cut out for them, with two starting O lineman on the sidelines with injuries, it will be Raceland’s’ best hope for a win. Ashland will be starting an O line that has had limited time working together but they have shown vast improvement over the last week. At this point it looks like Darrel Mahan will man the QB spot or at leased start in that position. If Ashland can prove they can move the football along with protecting the ball it could be a long night for Raceland, a lot is riding on Raceland ability to stop the run. The DL line has yet to be in a real game situation but at this point they look solid and I think they will give Raceland trouble. My prediction is Ashland by two touchdowns... I may be in dream land, time will tell

Ashland Football, After watching both scrimmages it is painfully clear that the Tomcats have some work to do.. The scrimmage against Ironton was a vast improvement over the first one, although these two teams were a stark contrast to each other. One being a fast and ultra quick team, and the other being a strong big team.. At this point Ashland is much better equip to handle big teams than it is to handle really quick teams. I’m sure as timing and an OL line gets to work together this will change... Ashland Vs. Ironton... started with an OL that didn’t last the first set of downs, removing the center shifting Jesse Parsley (55) to center, moving Andrew Dillon (53)to guard , Aaron Erwin(77 Tackle) and Robby Renfroe (72 Tackle) the only lineman not moved was Travis Gallaher (58 Guard) This line seem to do a lot better showing they could pass block and giving Darrell Mahan time to show the fans that he could pass the football, the backfield also showed some improvement, if they settle in using Mahan as QB I think the timing will just get better. The DL line looked solid and Ironton had their problems running the football against the DL line(1st team), I’m sure it is still a work in progress but, the Raceland game will give us more answers. When the second team came in the game, Ironton seem to run over them. I know that a lot of people wonder about the two lineman that are injured. We all hope that both can recover and get back in the game... Ashland is not lacking in lineman but it takes` a little time to adjust when you have to change personal, with or without them Ashland will have a good line. I understand that Walters may be able to play by the Portsmouth West game, but I’m sure that will depend on his ability to recover from the protruding disk injury and Lacy Snodgrass may get to dress before long, although he didn’t dress today in practice I’m excited to see the football season start. It should be a ton of fun to watch Go Tomcats!