MLB50

Just trying to get the blood boiling a little on both sides. Let's be realistic. Western Hills can't play with Franklin County. They are much too slow on both sides of the ball; not to mention, Curry will be running for his life once again. In all honesty, I truly believe this will be UGLY!!! I look for Franklin County to call the dogs off the second half and win by 6 or 7 touchdowns... It sure is a shame that Curry is at Western Hills. He would look great playing QB at County. That seems to be the one position that County is struggling with right now.

I just watched both game films of FC and it looks like to me that they have abandoned their strengths. The run game should be established until teams put enough guys in the box to stop you and the passing game should be attacking its opponents with crossing routes and stretching the field deep. So far, all I have seen is 5 to 10 yard passes with an inaccurate qb and a running game that features one back getting all of the carries in one direction. If Hills will blitz the side away from the back, they'll stop the run. If Hills will force them to throw the ball quickly by pressuring the qb, he will make mental mistakes and inaccurate passes.

Who wins? I am going to make a bold prediction that this game is much closer than expected with Hills leading at halftime and County having to fight to leave with a victory. Reasoning behind prediction: Curry has worked hard in the off-season and looks very good. County players will think they can show up and walk all over Hills but this team is better than teams of the past. This Hills team believes they can win this game. Franklin County has issues with the passing game. The QB has been inaccurate with the long-ball so far this year and Hills will press them and stop the run / short-passing game like Lafayette did. The interceptions will cost County several possessions in this one and cost them field position as well. If Western Hills can give Curry time to throw, and force FC to look for 2nd and 3rd options in the passing game, they may win this one.

I heard through the grape vine that Franklin County had the best player down there. I don't know his name but he played wide receiver and defensive back. R any division 1 schools looking at this kid?

That makes a lot of sense. Considering gas is going to $5 a gallon soon, and the KHSAA has stated that districts are to be divided by Geographic Location wouldn't it make more sense to leave the Lexington schools in one district and place the others in a second district. Madison Central is on the complete opposite side of Lexington in reference to Tates Creek. Someone needs to explain that one to me. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep the Lexington schools playing one another for the rivalry games as well. I am sure the Lexington kids would rather play other Lex kids than travel to GRC, Scott Co, and Mad Cent...

Say what you want but it all boils down to one question. If you had a son and lived in Louisville that had potential to play football at the next level, and financially you could afford to send your kid anywhere, where would you send him? My kid would be at Trinity. The bottom line is that these are kids that have parental support, financial support (most of them), and tradition. The private schools offer a better education, less instability and behaviorial problems within the school, better discipline and the opportunity to participate in sports. Also, most schools have super athletes that excel in multiple sports. For the majority of students at Trinity & St X, they stick to one sport because if they don't, they will be passed by someone who is working year round on one sport. The problem lies in the education offered at public schools. Too many public school coaches have to put up with discipline problems and lack of facilities and/or funding to develop a top-notch program year in and year out. Louisville Male has beaten the odds because they were essentially a private school funded w/ public money for many years. They could pick and choose which students they took and which ones they didn't. During this time period, many parents chose to send their kids to Male because the discipline and education was comparable to private schools. This is NO longer the case. Also, I should note that Pleasure Ridge Park has developed this in baseball and Ballard in basketball. However, looking from a coaches perspective, Coach Miller and Coach Redmon have a reputation of putting players in division 1 schools and work much harder than any private school coach would have too (I know some will disagree with the last statement but it is true.) Coach Renner works extremely hard as well but honestly, he took over a program that had already produced Alan Houston and become a feeder program for division 1 basketball signees.

Was it last year or the year before that Trinity was locked to win it all but St X stunned the state. Trinity will win in a nailbiter.

Figure it out. Lex Cath wins 4A easily. Trinity and St X in the finals in 6A once again. 1A championship will be played this Friday in Frankfort.

It sounds like both teams played well. Frankfort has tremendous speed and Danville is always well coached. I am quite surprised that Frankfort was able to run for that many yards while only throwing 1 for 2 and 5 yards. I thought without Fields, Danville would sell-out man for man coverage and bring the house. Fields is a great athlete; however, remember in Frankfort's only loss he fumbled 4 times. Sometimes, a kid like Metcalf can come into a game like this one and focus on the little things that will help his club rather than trying to do too much. It sounds like the Panthers did fine, with and/or without Fields. If you ask me, I think Fields would have been missed moreso on defense and special teams. Like I said, he's an athlete playing quarterback, not a quarterback that's an athlete. You can count on this though. No team in 1A will be able to keep up with the speed. If Frankfort can handle teams pounding it down their throat, they will win 1A. If they can't man up, up front, they will not make it to the championship. The true test for them will be playing a team that can go 5 yards at a time up the middle and out-muscle, out-size them.

Oh brother bucket, I will believe that one when I see it. If he's out, you are in trouble because they are going to bring the house.....

Hills has no chance. Lafayettes j.v. team will outscore them by 20 in the second 1/2 by accident. Hills has no speed and Lafayette is tough. I hear the parents at wh r all over the coaching staff again (imagine that). Stay out of the way and let the staff take their lumps. He's playing 75% freshmen and sophomores. In 2 years, you might be .500 which is one of the top 5 seasons at wh since it opened in 1980. You don't have speed now, you never had speed in the past, and you don't have speed coming up. How do you expect to beat teams on a consistent basis when the soccer team has all of the speed in your building. A coach can't make a kid run a 4.5 (from a 5.0); can't make a 200 pound fat slow kid weigh 250 and full of quickness and strength. He can't teach a kid to cover a receiver that is 5 steps faster than him at corner. Use all of the politics on the west side to close Frankfort High down and get some of their speed. This is the only shot to fix your program.

On the contrary, I think this game is important for both teams. FHS could dominate the game and increase their confidence to realize if they bring the A game, they are looking at a state championship. Danville really needs this win. They have struggled against some teams this year that they have man-handled in the past. If they get blown out this week, it could be a quick post-season for them. They have to build confidence now and if they take it on the chin, it could put some doubt in the ads players minds. Most importantly, these two teams seem to be fairly even. That's usually win it is a war and some injuries could occur. Lastly, don't underestimate the coaching staff in title town; nor should you underestimate the speed at Frankfort. They are possibly the fastest team in the state of any class. If they could just throw the football, it would be a state championship for sure. The ads will blitz often and hit EJ Fields every chance they get. However, if Frankfort gets loose, they are gone to the house. Foley should be working on the slant and the fade all week. It will help him tremendously this week and next week. Also, a good screen game would help as well if the blitzing is killing you up front. Ads should man up and try to punch them in the mouth for the entire game. Some of the Frankfort kids will shy away from contact if they get hit hard once or twice.

Was his dad teaching Math at Trinity before the kid enrolled? If not, I have a huge problem with dad being hired the same year that the kid enrolled. If so, that makes sense for him to drive the kid from Frankfort. However, the way it was explained to coaches from the KHSAA is that if anyone from Frankfort wants to attend a Catholic school, it has to be Lex Cath because we are in the Lexington district of Catholic schools. If this is not the case would someone please clarify this more for me.

How can a kid that lives in Franklin County's east side go to Trinity? Is that legal? I thought that Franklin County was in the arch-diocese of Lexington which means if he was going to go to a Catholic school he must go to Lexington Catholic.

This is what it looked like to me as well. However, the first penalty was for Woodford County throwing a punch. The second penalty came from #10 cursing at the official. Neither penalty was against the coaching staff. After the game Coach Tracy was livid with his team for lack of discipline. The officials could have chosen to eject the kid that threw the punch but didn't. I would say that was as courteous and/or lenient as they could be. The 30 yards definitely made a difference in the drive because Hicks caught the td pass running out of bounds but after the inzone had been crossed. On another topic; it looked like to me FC had 10 players on defense at times. I realize they put the Hicks kid at corner to stop the best receiver from Woodford but the safety was out of position all night and extremely slow of foot. Also, ? Brown was dressed but played very little. Why? After watching FC in 2 games, why not move the Gardner kid to safety or Gardner to Rover and Proct-- (don't know his name) to safety. You are only as good as your weakest link and everyone can see the weak link....

In my opinion, the best thing Frankfort did was play a competitive game against Franklin Co. It will only get them prepared for the playoffs. Whether they won on the scoreboard or not, they won because of the fact that they got to see some tough competition that will be equivalent to Beechwood and Mayfield. With that being said, Frankfort needs to take these light games and work on passing the football. If they can't pass at the end of the year, they are not going to the state finals. If they can get isolation through the passing game with the backs and receivers, as well as, spread the field for E.J. to have the option to pass and/or run, look out. THEY ARE FAST...

That makes sense. I guess I missed the referee signaling that there was a penalty and I didn't see the flag. My apologies to the officiating crew.

You are correct that if it were a penalty, he should throw the flag, mark the spot, and proceed to follow the play. However, there was no penalty on the play. Instead, he retreated 65 yards and claimed that Hicks stepped out of bounds at a particular spot. In the event that a player stepped out of bounds, the official should have marked the spot, waived his hands and continuously blown his whistle. Why he proceeded to follow the play makes no sense.

I have no doubt that he can take it. I just think that the weak schedule early may have caused Frankfort High's fumbles. When you aren't use to getting hit by several guys, and you are a much better athlete than everyone else; sometimes you have a tendency to leave the ball out while breaking tackles. In this case, as he was breaking tackles, someone else was hitting him. Believe me, I think E.J. is a great player and he can hold his own (speed, strength, size, etc.) with any high school player. I'll watch the game on Cable 10 and see how many fumbles he had. I was told he fumbled 4 times. Back to my original post. Anyone have an answer for the illegal substitutions or the 65 yard retreat after the play was over by the zebras.

One thing that I didn't understand was how you get a penalty for illegal substitution when you never huddle. It was called several times tonight as a player went on from Franklin County as a receiver and a receiver was leaving the game. The explanation I got was that the player coming on could NOT cross the numbers unless the player coming off was crossing the numbers as well. I have researched this rule and can't find it anywhere. Anyone have an answer for what the officials were thinking. Secondly, on the 90+ yard return by Hicks, the official followed the play all the way down the sideline. After the whistle was blown, he ran back 65 yards and marked a spot that he said Deron stepped out of bounds. Shouldn't the official mark the spot immediately and continuously blow his whistle if the kid stepped out of bounds. I have never seen an official follow the play for 65 yards and then come back to a spot. Thirdly, FC got a sideline warning flag in the first quarter because the side judge was bumped by someone on the sideline. I saw it happen. It was the cameraman for a news station. However, the official through a flag on FC. I have a hard time with that one. How is FC suppose to control the media. Back to the game. FC benefited from some turnovers but I believe all of those turnovers were forced by hard hits or stripping the ball. It looked like there were two very good athletes on the field (Fields and Hicks) and some other kids with good speed but Fields fumbled 4 times proving he isn't use to being hit. Hicks dropped a pass that hit him directly in the hands but what impressed me was he made a miraculous catch on his next attempt that put the game away. With that being said, if I were a college coach, I would be looking at the defensive linemen for FC. Smither and Barnett were the MEN on the field this night. Frankfort couldn't get much generated because these 2 guys were tackling the entire backfield at the snap of the football. Thompson played good enough to win but he still has a ways to go. The pass he lofted into the endzone was 6 points if he throws it on a line. The kid has a cannon and when he learns which throws to make in what situations, he will be an awesome quarterback. Both teams did a good job coaching and the kids played their hearts out.

I suspect you will be eating crowe come Saturday morning. I don't see either side blowing the other out. When 2 teams are use to winning (in which these 2 are) the kids will battle until the final bell. Frankfort will need to score early in this one and Franklin County will need to keep it close early. The 4th quarter has always gone to county in this rivalry because of depth. With that being said, Thompson must play well early and keep from turning the ball over. Also, FC cannot afford to give up big plays on special teams. Lastly, don't forget that FC has played against Waggener and Lafayette. Both of those teams are as fast as Frankfort. While Frankfort has played 2 cupcakes so far.

I am picking Frankfort for 2 reasons... 1. The weak-link. FC is weak against the run at corner. The 2 corners will not defend against the run and Frankfort has the speed to get outside. If the corners can't get off the blocks and defend the run, Frankfort will have some long plays on sweeps. 2. The kicking game. FC will miss extra points because of inconsistent kicking. Also, FC will think they can kick and cover the kids from Frankfort High. If they were smart, they would kick away from Frankfort and keep the Frankfort athletes from returning punts and kickoffs for touchdowns. A possible third would be that FC thinks all they need to do is show up and they will win (WHHS game). If the defensive line for FC doesn't wreak havic on Frankfort at the snap of the football, Frankfort will win. Also, keep an eye out for Thompson. He could be the deciding factor in this one. If he is inaccurate on the short passing game this week, it will result in turnovers.

I may be crazy. However, if you think Lex Cath is not the favorite going into this 4A state championship season; you have lost your marbles. They have one of, if not the best running backs in the state. They have a great receiver in GUY and almost all returning linemen. The only team that can beat them, but won't, is Franklin County. They are the only team that can come close to matching the speed, strength & size. Boyle County has an outside chance as well but must win the turnover battle to pull off a major upset. However, Franklin Co has come so close the last couple of years, they are no longer scared of Lex Cath. This has become a huge rivalry game and Franklin Co gave them all they wanted last year, not once, but twice. I realize Ammons is gone but so is Revere and without Revere, Lex Cath loses twice last year. Franklin County will stop the run and will score; how they defend the pass and how special teams plays out is the big question mark?

Israel (Lex Cath) will win it. They are the only team that will go undefeated and win a state championship in the central kentucky area. Fields is a spectacular athlete but he will lose 2 games this year at the least. Israel and the knights will walk to a state championship uncontested this year in 4A. Boyle could possibly upset them but not likely. The only loss Israel will have is to St X and he will do his fair share to win it but too many big horses. Look out St X, you might see the Princeton Spread (oops, Revere graduated, scratch that.) Great coaches take advantage of what they have and I thought using the Princeton spread against Franklin Co to come back from a 35 point 1/2 time deficit was great coaching. If you had not made that adjustment and gotten the ball in Revere's hands, the offensive & defensive line was going to quit on you. They were getting man-handled by the Newland kid. By the way Kentucky, Newland went to a prep-school and you may want to get him. HE IS A STUD!!! How can you turn down 6'3" 275 of muscle that runs a 4.8 and plays offense and/or defensive line. By the way, Revere is the best athlete I have seen in my tenure. Congrats on the success in professional baseball and I look forward to seeing you on the screen.

Don't count on them scoring big guy. GRC must play flawless and must squeek out a run win given the opportunity. The pitching at Dunbar is unreal.