Landshark

1 Trinity 2 CovCath 3 Bowling Green 4 Mercer County 5 Ryle 6 Russell 7 Danville 8 NCC

Congratulations, Covington Catholic, you have a very impressive team. I thought Bleser was the difference in the game. That was the best individual performance that I have seen by a quarterback against JC. I think the Golden Eagles would have hung closer if Johnson had not gone down with an injury, but Covington Catholic figured out that it could run wide on JC in the second half. Once JC fell behind, I just didn't have the feeling that they were going to win, even with Johnson in the game. Even before the injury, I thought Johnson Central was starting to look a bit tired. Johnson Central needed to play a near perfect game and they played a near perfect half. I would love to see a rematch next season between these two teams. Good luck next weekend against Bowling Green!

Covington Catholic has sold, or at least taken, 3,000 tickets already and they have requested more. That kind of support is very impressive from a program whose fans will be driving at least 3-1/2 hours to the game. Hopefully, our fans will not be outnumbered. If everybody shows up, JC should have its largest crowd to every watch a football game Friday night.

As I have said, and as I am sure that you know - Massey does not list teams in order or their "power" ranking. If you ask him where he has Highlands ranked, I am pretty sure that he would tell you that he has them ranked below both JC and Covington Catholic. Why do I think so? Because that is the order in which Mr. Massey lists them. Your objections are duly noted, but they should be addressed to the man who compiles the ratings - not to me.

JC may be a better team than Covington Catholic, but we know that Highlands isn't and the Massey ratings are a reflection of that fact. Better? Obviously, we have no way of knowing how Highlands and JC compare.

Actually, my wording was not as precise as it should have been. We know that CCH is better than Highlands. Whether CCH is better than JC has not yet been determined. Regardless of how the game turns out Friday night, we will not know for sure how a game between HHS and JC would turn out.

Only a handful because my work has taken me out of state. I have listened to most of the games that I have missed, although it would be great if WSIP would start webcasting them. I also watched Johnson Central play several of Matney's Sheldon Clark teams over the years and I am not surprised at all that he has turned the program around in such a short time. His teams beat JC when they shouldn't have and the games were closer than they should have been in the games that JC won. I have never seen Matney get outcoached and now he has the numbers to avoid rebuilding years. I wish that he had taken the job in 2001. If you believe that somebody has to see JC play in person to understand how the program has fundamentally changed for the better, then I would have to respectfully disagree. I watched nearly all of the games in 1999 and 2000 and those teams had some great individual talent, but the depth, special teams play, and pass defense were lacking. Those things hurt them against good teams and limited their playoff success. This JC team is best known for its explosive offense, but IMO, defense and depth is what sets it apart from the excellent 2000 team.

Massey uses the stat that he believes provides the most accurate ranking of the teams. If he believed that his own power ranking was the most accurate indicator of team strength, then I am sure that he would use that stat for the rankings. You are grasping at straws to make the case that Highlands is underranked at No. 11 in all classes with 5 losses. Covington Catholic may be a better team than JC, but we know that Highlands isn't and the Massey ratings are a reflection of that fact.

I used the rating that Massey uses to rank the teams. If you have a problem with that the you should address it to Mr. Massey. Something else to consider is that Johnson Central, despite pounding most of its opponents has substituted early and often, given up most of its touchdowns with the second and third team defense on the field, and consequently is ranked a little lower than it could have been. I honestly don't see how Massey has penalized Covington Catholic for playing a tough schedule. They are ranked third overall in all classes, despite losing to 3 strong teams. To believe that the Colonels have been penalized for their schedule, you would have to believe that Covington Catholic is better than St. X. As for Highlands, it is hard to see how a team ranked 11th in all classes with a 7-5 record has been penalized for playing a tough schedule. I like the Massey rankings. Massey is much quicker to recognize when a team just doesn't have the horses in a given year than any of the non-computer systems are. When teams don't live up to pre-season hype, corrections are made fairly quickly and the computer is not reluctant to drop a team 10 spots in the rankings if it fails to perform as expected. Computers seem to have a knack for recognizing the impact that coaching changes and graduation losses have on "traditional" powerhouses - and on traditional doormats. Johnson Central's hiring of Jim Matney three years ago resulted in an entirely different program than the one that was in place before he arrived, and the departure of Chuck Smith from Boyle County had an immediate impact on that program. Massey's rankings recognized that those programs had changed without factoring in tradition and the teams' performance in past years.

Looking at some game results and Massey ratings, three things jump out at me: 1. Covington Catholic has played a tougher schedule than Johnson Central. 2. Of the Colonel's 3 losses, 2 were to higher rated Ohio teams and the third was to an Ohio team ranked below Covington Catholic. 3. Covington Catholic has not beaten a team ranked as high by Massey as Johnson Central. It will take Johnson Central's best game of the year, but Covington Catholic is very beatable if the Golden Eagles play up to their capability. 2.420 Cincy St. X (beat Covington Catholic 23-3) 1.687 Cincy Elder (beat Covington Catholic 13-3) 1;515 Covington Catholic 1.465 Bishop Watterson (beat Covington Catholic 38-13) 1.370 Columbus DeSales (beat Highlands 30-25, lost to Watterson 40-34) 1;245 Johnson Central 1.229 Lexington Catholic (lost to Covington Catholic 56-49) 1.142 Highlands (lost to Covington Catholic 29-27 and 25-15) 0.824 Beechwood (lost to Covington Catholic 34-0) 0.739 Boone County (lost to Covington Catholic 44-2) 0.690 Dixie Heights (lost to Covington Catholic 28-7) 0.684 Rockcastle County (lost to Johnson Central 29-7) 0.618 Newport Central Catholic (lost to Covington Catholic 35-14) 0.520 Ashland Paul Blazer (lost to Johnson Central 35-7 and 28-21)

:laugh: Underdogs? I am a big Golden Eagle fan, but Covington Catholic is a solid favorite in the upcoming game for the same reason that JC was a solid favorite against Rockcastle this past Friday. CovCath is ranked ahead of JC in every computer ranking and poll in existence, I believe, and rightfully so. This is the first game that the relative SOS of JC and its opponent may be a factor. I suspect that the Colonels will also enjoy an overall edge in experience. Don't get me wrong, I think that Johnson Central is capable of upsetting Covington Catholic with a near perfect game, but the home field advantage is not nearly enough to make our NKY friends underdogs in this one.

Here is an interesting fact about JC's strength of schedule. After the win over Rockcastle, JC's SOS (80) nudged ahead of those of both Bell County (83) and Rockcastle County(81) for the season in Massey's ratings. I don't understand how JC could have passed Rockcastle after a game that involved both teams, but it happened. Playing Covington Catholic (3) will give the Golden Eagles' SOS another big boost. (Ashland's SOS jumped to #64). The teams that Johnson Central defeated this season have been climbing in the Massey ratings because of the Golden Eagles' strong playoff performance. Apparently, JC's SOS was not quite as bad as advertised.

I hope that we get a chance to find out how "100%" of CovCath fans view the season following a loss to the Golden Eagles. I think that a great many of your fans are expecting a state title, especially after sweeping Highlands this season. To have the season end in an upset to a team that had never even played in a regional final would be a shock to those fans. IMO, both of these teams have already had great seasons and a loss on Friday will not diminish their accomplishments. I just think that CCH will carry a much heavier burden of expectations into the game than JC.

I never said that JC deserved to be in the preseason top 10 - just that it would be great to see a team that was not there make it to the finals.:confused:

ALL of the pressure will be on Covington Catholic Friday. This Johnson Central team has already exceeded nearly everybody's expectations of them and they will without doubt be remembered as the best team in the school's history for at least a few months. OTOH, Covington Catholic's players and supporters will consider this a disappointing season if they lose to a team that had never even played in a regional title game before Friday night. The Golden Eagles should enter Friday's game with confidence and determination, but they will also be playing the role of an underdog who has nothing to lose. It will take a great effort for Johnson Central to upset the Colonels, but the team has a lot of momentum and the talent to pull it off if the ball bounces in their favor.

Congratulations to the Golden Eagles! The margin was about what I expected but I didn't expect Rockcastle to be forced to the air so early in the game would be great to see a team that did not crack the BGP pre-season top 10 make it to Papa Johns this season! Win or lose, this regional championship should quash some of the weak schedule/chokes in playoffs comments about Johnson Central. They have responded to the bell 13 straight times and the Colonels will know that they have been in a game late Friday night. Richardson may have played his best game of the season Friday night and was a big key to Grim running free in Rock's secondary all night long.

No different than the people picking Rock based on the fact that "they've been there before." Johnson Central won't need to pass often, and three touchdown passes last week is just something else to think about. If Johnson Central does not put the ball on the ground as they did against Madison Southern last year, I don't think that this will be as close as people expect. Turnovers or the lack thereof will be huge in this game, but JC seems better equipped to come from behind than Rock does.

I stand corrected on the length of the field goal attempt (I wasn't there, wasn't smoking at the time, but I was relying on my faulty memory), but there is no need for the personal attacks. Mason County had more than 400 total yards against Rockcastle in that game. The Golden Eagles handled Mason pretty handily last season and this year's Johnson Central team is much stronger than last years was, particularly its defense. On a dry field, I am skeptical that Rockcastle will be able to stop the Golden Eagles on the road any better than they stopped Mason County at home in last season's regional final.

And had Mason County blocked a little better a year ago on a short last second field goal attempt, Rockcastle would not be defending regional champs. Good teams make their own breaks. Let's face it, if your opponent plays mistake-free ball, your team is going to get hammered regardless of the sport. Ashland made more mistakes than Johnson Central, but the Golden Eagles were not just sitting up in the stands watching the Tomcats fumble.

Yes, Ashland totally collapsed and just gave the game away, much like the other 11 opponents the Golden Eagles beat this season. Johnson Central just had the good fortune of showing up on its opponents' worst nights of the season. Hopefully their unbelievable luck will continue and Rockcastle will have its worst night of the millenium. Otherwise, I just don't see how JC has any chance at all.:flame: Seriously, Johnson Central scored twice late, but not twice in two minutes. JC detractors have pointed all year to how the Golden Eagles have collapsed in past playoffs, despite this only being the second JC team to make the playoffs under Matney. They have also said that JC is too one-dimensional to go deep into the playoffs, but they burnt Ashland with three long TD passes. People have suggested that their lack of close calls would probably cause them to fold in a close game, but they stormed back in the fourth quarter to beat Ashland last week. The win was no fluke. Tradition is great, but Rockcastle is the underdog in this game according to every poll and every computer ranking system in existence. That is no guarantee that the Golden Eagles will win, but you guys who are trying to make Johnson Central into an underdog are just engaging in some wishful thinking. Who knows how this game will play out, but on paper the teams are very even and the home field has got to be worth something. I hope that the Rocks roll into Paintsville after a three hour bus trip thinking that the game is just a tune-up for the following week.

I don't know where this notion that Rockcastle has played a killer schedule and JC has played a bunch of cream puffs is coming from. Massey ranks Johnson Central's schedule #117 and Rockcastle's #103. Neither of these teams has played a strong schedule and regardless of who wins Friday night, the teams' schedules will not be a factor. The winning team will have a strength of schedule that will pale in comparison to those sported by either Lexington Catholic or Covington Catholic next week.

Nowhere have I predicted that JC would score 50 points. When I look at Corbin's record, I can't help but notice that the 'Hounds gave up 62 points to Middlesboro and held Rock to 2. Middlesboro probably sees Corbin's defense a little differently than you do. It looks like Leslie County does have a pretty fair defense, but so do Mason Co. and Ashland and they are 3A schools. So, you may feel safe saying that both Leslie and Corbin have better defenses than anything JC has faced this year, but that doesn't make it so. Massey does not think that the difference in SOX between JC and RC is that big a deal. All I am saying is that the early flow of the game could lead to a much different result than you are expecting. Rock may win 42-40 or JC may win 14-12. It all depends on whose style sets the pace early, IMO, and whether turnovers become a factor or not.

The Rocks have scored a lot of points against the weaker teams on their schedule. Of the teams that you listed, I will concede that Harrison had a decent team. With nearly everybody returning from a regional championship team, I don't think anybody expected Rockcastle to struggle against Corbin, regardless of when the game was played. Everybody knows that the Rocks are a much better team than they were then, but what did they do in the off season to get off to such a slow start with so many starters returning?

Let's also not act like Leslie County and Corbin are worldbeaters either, Jim. You have seen both teams play this season and I haven't. You may very well be right about the game being a low scoring affair, but this one could easily turn into a shootout if JC jumps out to an early lead. I agree with you about Bell County's schedule, but JC isn't playing the Bobcats and there is very little difference in the strengths of schedule between JC and RC.

Big difference between averaging 28 ppg and being held to 28 points in your lowest offensive output of the year. Rockcastle has struggled more to put points on the board this season (and Corbin is now powerhouse) than Johnson Central. The game may be a defensive struggle, but if Johnson Central continues taking care of the football, they will make a much better showing than Bell County did.