Landshark

Matney has had three years to fish from a bigger pool of talent than he ever had at Sheldon Clark, and he still managed to field some strong Card teams that were competitive with much bigger 3A schools. I am assuming that Rockcastle will have an edge in experience because many of the key JC players are still sophs and juniors and that could be a factor, but I don't put much stock in the "Matney has never beaten the Rocks theory." How many of his teams have played them? Two? And one of the games was decided by a 7-6 margin. That doesn't sound like a very big monkey to me.

Regardless of how Johnson Central ends this season, they will return a ton of talent for the next two seasons. I realize that mention of the Golden Eagles does not strike any fear in the hearts of the traditional NKY powers, but Johnson Central will be a contender for playoff titles over the next few seasons. Whether they fall short of a state title or not, I don't think that many people will be characterizing Johnson Central as "incredibly weak" by the end of the 2007 playoffs.

I am not going to predict a score in this game (at least not yet), but I really don't think that it will necessarily be a close game. Either Rockcastle's line will dominate and allow them to march down the field and keep JC's offense off the field OR Johnson Central's team speed will enable them to break some big plays and force Rockcastle out of its plodding ground game. What kind of passing game does Rockcastle have in the event that they are forced to play catch-up? I noticed that the Rockets dominated the stats against Bell County in both games, but really struggled to pull away from the Bobcats. Why was Rockcastle's offense so inefficient in those games despite its dominant defense and huge time of possession advantage? Will Central's speed create the kind of problems for Rockcastle that nearly cost the Rockets' a playoff game against Mason County last year?

The new system is much more fair to all teams in the state. If Louisville's big privates want to play opposite of Male then they are free to pull up stakes and move their campuses to some more easterly locale.

Your comments about JC's hospitality are way out of line but I totally agree with you on this point. Both teams entered the game believing they could win this game and rarely, if ever, in a game between two good teams does one team "want it more" than the other. That is one of the most nonsensical, worn sports cliches around. My wife told me how crushed the Tomcat players were after the game and the team left no doubt in her mind how much Ashland wanted to win the game. That also came across in Coach Hart's postgame radio interview. He seemed much more disappointed in the result of last night's game than he was following the regular season loss. BTW, and you may have already read this in another thread, Johnson Central will be demolishing the current facility and replacing it with a new one next season. I am not sure, but my guess is that the visitors' will get their own stands and I expect that they will on par with any of the newer fields in eastern Kentucky. Johnson Central has always gone the extra mile to provide safe, secure, and comfortable facilities for visiting fans.

You are entitled to your opinion but at least give me some credit for the nice things that I said about Mr. Martin and Coach Hart. I don't see how some constructive criticism of the play-by-play detracts from the kids. You saw the game in person and commented on your experience. I was not so fortunate and offered some comments on my listening experience. Nobody forced me to listen to the game and it would have been my loss if I had chosen to tune out. As I said, I am thankful for Dickie doing such a good job crediting both teams' players for making plays. Many play-by-play guys do a worse job of identifying their own teams' players than Dickie does singling out Johnson Central players for recognition. So, please don't characterize my comments as whining.

:laugh: One can always hope!

Congratulations, Rams! :thumb: You have my support all the way to the carpet now that Pikeville is out of the picture. I think NCC is in for a battle next week.

I know what you meant, and I agree. I was just adding my 2 cents, not disputing yours.:thumb: I think any JC opponent is going to have to give a lot up to hold Grim in check, so even when his numbers are down he is going to be a big factor in any JC win.

The only thing better would be an audio clip of Rockcastle's announcer predicting a blowout win. Seriously, I thank the Ashland station for webcasting the Tomcat games and Dickie for doing such a good job identifying both Ashland playmakers and its opponent's playmakers. Parents, grandparents, etc. who can't make it to the road games really appreciate their commitment to high school sports.:thumb: (Why can't WSIP do the same for Johnson Central sports and webcast its games? :irked: )

They didn't exactly win without Grim. He did deliver the game winner to Taylor and had some good runs down the stretch. I don't think that any team will shutdown Grim without opening an opportunity for one of JC's other weapons. The Golden Eagles just need to keep executing when they go to Plan B or Plan C like they did tonight.

You're right. Dickie's not my problem. He's yours. :thumb: But...please keep me posted and tell me the next time that Ashland wins a district championship and Dickie predicts that they don't stand a chance in their next game. Not that I doubt your assessment of the objectivity of Dickie Martin, but I would like to see it demonstrated in such a case.:lol:

When you deliver a sneering prediction just minutes after the team that beat your team twice to the effect that JC has no chance next week, you have no class. Will it occur to him that he just smacked his beloved Tomcats in the face as he belittled the Golden Eagles? Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I somehow doubt that good ole Dickie would have proclaimed that Rockcastle was a shoe in next week if the Tomcats had pulled this game out. He should think a little bit during his commercial breaks before keying up the mike after a loss.

I can't say enough about how Coach Hart handles himself in his post game comments. Dickie's sidekick started rattling on on and about how bad the refs were in the first game and how they were even worse tonight, and Coach Hart declined to chime in and refocused the interview on how proud he was of his players and how they had opportunities to win and just came up a big play or two short:thumb: . Ashland has a keeper in Leon Hart, IMO.

Sorry to quote myself, but just to clarify, there is nothing wrong with Dickie predicting a Rockcastle win next week, but the timing, tone, and manner in which he made the comment was inexcusable. I wish that I had a clip to post.

On a sour note, Dickie says that there is no way the Golden Eagles will beat Rockcastle next week. In other words, he just belittled both teams that played tonight. Dickie does not do much to promote goodwill for the excellent Tomcat program and its classy coach. To his credit, he does a great job of letting you know who made the plays on both sides of the ball, but there is no excuse for his classless commentary.

Great game, Tomcats! Hopefully Rockcastle will not prepare for the Golden Eagles as well as Coach Hart and his staff prepared Ashland for tonight's game. I really expected Matney to run something for Taylor or Welch with time running down. Tommy Taylor has been overshadowed this season by Grim's gaudy numbers, but he really rose to the occasion tonight. This game should answer questions about whether Johnson Central would wilt under pressure in a nail biter. Both teams made big plays under a lot of pressure tonight. Again, congratulations to both teams on an outstanding display of high school football!:thumb:

B97fm.com

WSIP doesn't webcast anything, so you are stuck listening to Dickie Martin. If you haven't listened to him call a game, I think that you will enjoy it - assuming Johnson Central leads the entire way. If one of the Ashland fans doesn't post a link, I will try to find one for you. Dickie does a good job of calling the play-by-play and as long as the Tomcats are losing, it's not too hard to overlook his editorializing.

Let me be the first to predict that Ashland's record will be no better than 5-5 following the next three contests between the two teams. Tomorrow night will be the Tomcats' best opportunity for a win against the Golden Eagles for at least the next two years. Johnson Central fans and players are looking to the future instead of dwelling on the past.

There are several JC players on this team who played on the team that went 1-9. All of them know that this team is not that team, nor is it the 2005 team. Unless Holbrook and the other graduated seniors is plan to suit up tomorrow night, Ashland's chances of winning appear to be about the same as they were entering the previous match-up, which was also played in 2006. If Ashland wins - it will be a major upset.

Several other running backs on Russell's team have rings, but it really does not make them better running backs than Grim, does it?

That is the most often repeated myth posted on BGP. How much did Belfry pass enroute to its state titles? Russell? Yes, you need to be able to complete an occasional pass in case the defense stacks the box against the run but you really do not need a "balanced attack" to win titles if you run or pass the ball extremely well. Johnson Central haa a big quarterback with a strong arm and several capable receivers. JC has not been involved in any close games this season, so it is likely that Coach Matney and his staff have kept quite a bit of the offense under wraps, just in case it is needed. JC scored quite a few TD's by passing last season, when it was involved in more competitive games. I am sure that Coach Matney expects better teams to have some success shutting down Shawn Grimm and has Plans B and C available when that happens. This time of year, it is much more important for most teams to have a great running game and strong defense than a strong passing attack. One mud bowl game in the playoffs can end the season for a team that depends too much on its passing attack. As I understand it, JC will play at home as long as they continue winning until the state title game. That means that there is a good chance that at least a game or two will be played in rain or snow.

That is the most often repeated myth posted on BGP. How much did Belfry pass enroute to its state titles? Russell? What about the Warren Central, Indiana team? Yes, you need to be able to complete an occasional pass in case the defense stacks the box against the run but you really do not need a "balanced attack" to win titles if you run or pass the ball extremely well. Johnson Central haa a big quarterback with a strong arm and several capable receivers. JC has not been involved in any close games this season, so it is likely that Coach Matney and his staff have kept quite a bit of the offense under wraps, just in case it is needed. JC scored quite a few TD's by passing last season, when it was involved in more competitive games. I am sure that Coach Matney expects better teams to have some success shutting down Shawn Grimm and has Plans B and C available when that happens. This time of year, it is much more important for most teams to have a great running game and strong defense than a strong passing attack. One mud bowl game in the playoffs can end the season for a team that depends too much on its passing attack. As I understand it, JC will play at home as long as they continue winning until the state title game. That means that there is a good chance that at least a game or two will be played in rain or snow.

1A Bardstown 2A Russell 3A Bowling Green 4A Male