Carl Luther

Ashland 62 Central 2 Ashland's JV should get in early.

After conquering the "mighty" Belfry Pirates, the arrogant, overconfident, untested Golden Eagles should be a piece of cake.

17-6 in the 3rd quarter, wow, at Putnam! I believe JC led 49-0 at the half against Lawrence County, at Lawrence County, before playing their subs almost the entire second half. Is the 38 points a season high for Ashland? That's an explosive offense, and that strength of schedule is really paying off.

Unbelievable...both ways.

I did. SC had one (mind-boggling) let-down all year. When Johnson Central anihilated Belfry in the pre-season "practice, scrimmage"...you know, Belfry treated it "like a practice" and Central treated it "like a game"... Well, all I can say is "ha ha, hee hee, yee haw"! Enjoy this one 'Cards, and be glad you're 2A because you have just as good a chance to play Mercer at Papa Johns as anyone.

Man, the Ashland offense is rolling up the points. Are they playing their JV yet?

I think he has talking about competitive teams within reasonable distance. I, for one, would love to see Belfry, Russell, Ironton, and Breathitt on the schedule.

Obviously, the "weak" (as it turns out) schedule is a factor, as is the fact that they have demolished every team they've played, while going out of their way not to run the score up, and not having a single let down. Almost every kid on the team (72 of them) sees action every game. The schedule is what it is. And its so obvious that those who harp of Central's schedule are struggling to find anything to criticize the inevitable and obvious changing of the guard in southeast and eastern Kentucky high school football. On the otherhand, Central has to go deep into the playoffs, or it won't likely stop. That's the "unfinished business" and one day soon it'll be "business as usual".

I'm surprised too. The physical abuse up front obviously worked, because if Bell was averaging 6.5 yards a carry, why not run all night? Key injury or something?

First round of the playoffs, possibly.

No, but Central Elementary would give Portsmouth West a good game. Speaking of Central Elementary, they lost like 18 straight football games until 4 or 5 years ago, when Ethan Ward, Neamiah Doderer, Trey Belhasen, and others lost the county championship to W.R. Castle in OT, and even though they've turned football around, Ashland would have to be favored by 14 points or so. Some notables from that year (I think I have the schools right): W.R. Castle: Dennis Dillon, Nathan Dillon, Ian Welch, Kyle Sublett (transferred to Paintsville...ouch); Flat Gap: Shawn Grim, John Holbrook, (the rest lost their eligibility when they turned 19 as freshmen...just a joke...); Highlands: Chase Richardson, J.K. Ratliff, Tyler Deaton, (transferred to Paintsville...sad, but true), Brian Childers; Central Elementary: Blake Castle, Trey Belhasen, Ethan Ward, Neamiah Doderer (hated losing this kid to Paintsville...oh well, he'll eventually put up big numbers down there in Class A); Porter: Wes Preston, Joe Meade (no idea where he's at...Lawrence County, then Paintsville, then Pike Central?). Just some I remember, and completely off the subject.

Ashland 55 Central 2 Ashland's strength of schedule really pays off in this one. Its 55-0 at halftime, and the Tomcats play their freshman team the entire second half. Johnson Central's offense, which has averaged 48 points per game, gets shut out and Grim has -25 yards rushing. The starting defense, which is giving up only 2.8 points per game, is humiliated and toyed with all night. In a show of class, Ashland's freshman QB is directed to run 95 yards back to his own endzone for a safety, just as time expires.

It could have been 70-0. Grim and Ratliff hardly played in the second half, Matney experiemented throughout the game and played several players in different positions, and the second, third and fourth string defense played the entire 4th quarter. Everyone on the team got in for at least a few plays, and Greenup's score came against subs.

It ain't workin'. We be pumpin' up down here for some real competition, and by the way, we ran all over Belfry. What's the largest margin Ashland has ever lost by anyway? I think JC is 75-0 in 3 Qs to Pikeville in the first year or two.

No, they're 0-0.

And also Dino, remember how everyone except a few of us Eagle fans, thought Central would be easier to handle due to the loss of Ron Blume and a couple other key senior leaders (but especially Blume). We knew we'd be better, and there's no question that we are. Shawn Grim is...yes Virginia...a better all-around running back than Blume. He doesn't quite have the speed, but he's stronger, more elusive, more durable, and has great hands (although he hasn't had to use them yet). We lose a few indispensible players this year like Tackett and Johnson, who are great defensive hitters. Can we reload? Can you say Richardson and Dials? There's no drop off in punishment next year.

I'll say it again. A big reason Johnson Central's schedule is rated "weak" by some, is because the Eagles have demolished every single team they have played. Their competition has not been as bad as everyone makes it out to be. North Laurel (46-6...easily could have been 66-6...at North Laurel) and Bryan Station (a decent team with a killer schedule) would beat most, if not all other teams on JC's schedule, IMO. Could Rock, Bell, Ashland, Mason, etc. destroy all 7 teams the way Central has? I don't think so. NL beat Leslie County 17-0, and a week later Bell survived against them 7-0. Rockcastle's offense couldn't score against Corbin, and was beaten by, at best, a decent Lincoln County. Ashland loses on their home field to what turns out to be a good, not great, class A team, and were extremely lucky to beat Belfry and Russell both at home in OT. This Central team couldn't care less about JC's past, or history in the playoffs. That was then, and this is now. You naysayers underestimate the lesson learned last year when Madison Southern embarrassed us on our home field in the playoffs. This is a serious, educated, physical team that remembers. A "let down" is unacceptable to them, because they understand how it happened last year, and they refuse to let it happen again. And remember, they have done nearly all of this after losing one of the best, if not the best quarterback in East Kentucky. This is a special team, and if they lose a game this year it will be because the other team was simply better, and that is the difference.

I'll take it!! Let us never underestimate the power of a "weak" (or is everyone else just weak?) schedule.

I think you're right. When you have 72 kids (probably 80 next year) dying to get in the game, its hard to let up. About 30 of them think they should be starting. Coach Matney won't hesitate to jerk even his best player if he's not satisfied. I'd be shocked if anyone is looking ahead, and there's really no reason to. I hope we show Ashland nothing the first time around, and if its close, so be it. I know we'll save the best for game 12, which should be Ashland at Johnson Central again. Hopefully we won't have to give anything away then either, but its nice to know that no one has seen what this offense is truly capable of.

All the more reason Pikeville should move up to 2A next year.

Until I went to the game last night, I wanted to see it cancelled. If for no other reason, simply because the last 3 blowouts have sort of rendered the game meaningless. I left the game last night and woke up this morning with a different perspective. Many of these kids are best friends off the field, and although loyal to their coaches, schools, parents and selves, this is a different rivalry and a different age. These kids handle it alot better than parents with long memories of the bitterness, brawls, etc. The Paintsville folks were nice hosts last night, and other than enthusiasm (the "We're peppy, we're preppy, we're Paintsville. Jealous?" sign had to be the idea of one of the few remaining idiot parents...by the way, "you missed a pimple") there was a friendly rivalry in the stands and on the field. Nobody wanted to kill anyone, to wit, not a single injury on the field. So, as far as I'm concerned, leave it up to the kids whether to keep playing. After all, they're the ones knocking heads.

For my 2 cents, Boyd gets a slight edge at home: BC 22, LC 19.

Well, not exactly Sherman marching through Atlanta. I'd at least have left the Bluegrass Restaurant standing. Now that's a real loss...what a shame. Back to the game, please keep the smack coming. Its good for the rivalry, and good for BGP, and while I think you are blinded by the light, I totally understand the enthusiasm. Now, if you could wake up the rest of Winchester Avenue we could have some fun. :sleep:

:flame: "Warm" for sure. Sometime in the 4th quarter, after the fire subsides, you will indeed be in "Ash"land. :fire:

Pretty much my sentiments. GIAT is obviously giddy with Ashland's (unexpected...even to die-hard Tomcat fans) turnaround after the Raceland game, and while they are to be commended and respected, he is hoping against hope that Ashland is back to dominant status. They simply aren't, and quite frankly, have had a little luck or they could very easily be 3-3, or 2-4 even. If Central had played Ashland's schedule, we'd still be undefeated and untested. The 27-3 Belfry "scrimmage" at Belfry was, as it were....drum roll please....an accurate indicator. To his credit, he's a true "athletic supporter", and it will be fun to monitor as he feeds the fire. Central's program is moving forward like never before, and there's nothing GIAT or anyone can say to stop the momentum. Success in sports is cyclical, and Ashland will surely once again have its day. It will give the grandchildren something to look forward to!!