stinkyboy II

The school system and administration did not want one more game to pass without the kids playing at home. They had waited long enough. The video board will be used to its fullest capacity in the future. The gym ventilation and lighting are much improved. It will be a work in progress to get all these new systems right. The options were to wait until all aspects of the project were complete or get the kids games at HHS. I am all for working through these hiccups while watching the kids compete on campus.

I would like to thank Bball5088 for sending me clips from the game last year. He said he had the video and audio and he sent it to me as I requested. The audio portion does contain a couple - important point here - of parents questioning calls late in the game. They are loud and the statements are directed at the officials for calls made in a close, contested game. It is not all HMS parents. It is not even close to the worst I have heard at games over the years. It happened and no it didn't change the outcome. Now for "the punch". The video is 100% clear. Not even close to a punch. Ahlfeld and the big boy from SV were in close contact after a SV missed shot. HMS rebounded and were headed up court. Ahlfeld's jerked his left arm and elbow to free himself from contact with the SV player. His right hand nor arm never got close to the SV player. The official had no angle to see what he called. He was blocked by both players. The ejection never should have happened. There was no punch. Now if you want to state that there was a foul during the contact, I could be convinced of that. Thanks Bball5088 for providing the video for the play. I have heard it described by dozens of people who were at the game and those with second and third hand information. None of which had it right.

Just checked with the HMS Principal from last year. He received an email with information about a video. He encouraged you to send it to him, but it was never received as you stated above. I know him too well. If he would have received a video with audio as you describe, he would have taken action. Please check your PM as I will give you the opportunity to provide the information to me.

I agree in premise with the comments of Truthwilliams. There have been three games in particular where the fans/players have not exhibited the exemplary behavior. The game versus St Pius, Camp Ernest, and the most recent at the Dayton tourney versus Summit View. All extremely competitive games featuring talented teams. I also agree with BCHS-Bluebird that this is NOT the entire Highlands Middle School team and it is NOT all HHS athletes, and it is NOT all HHS parents. Categorizing a team or a group is never a fair evaluation. I will add that in addition to Clyde's 2 people on the floor that can control such activity, there is one on the bench that can do it also. There is one that leads the program at the high school level that can do the same. There are so many posters out there waiting to pounce on a negative HHS thread and pile on when things go bad. It has happened in the high school basketball threads for a few years, it was evident during the baseball incident, people relished in the bad start by the football team, and now its the HMS parents and players turn. The taunting and screaming and gesturing needs to stop. Let's hope that these posts are being read by those that can make it stop. What also needs to stop is the constant HHS/HMS bashing. The "most" this and "worst" that - please, give me a break.

What were the team foul totals?? Birds getting called out for not playing Naismith basketball. Give us the foul differential to make a comparison.

TMC turned out to be a great venue while the Birds home court still unplayable. I like watching a game from the end line balcony. Nice perspective.

HHS tried to take advantage of the big floor. Run, run, run. Sub, sub,sub. Run some more. Sub some more. Lots of fouls called. Lots of free throws converted by the Mustangs. They must have had over 25 points from the line.

Only two undefeated teams remain in the 9th region. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds and the Highlands Bluebirds both remain undefeated to date. The teams have a combined record of 6 wins and 0 losses. HHS puts their undefeated record on the line tonight against Brossart while NCC nexts plays on Tuesday.

So that means HC scores 78.3. Scott has been averaging 90 a game. HC defense will hold them below their average by about 15%. Prediction - Holy Cross 78 - Scott 75

Touchlines for both.

I never said the officiating was terrible. I never blamed the officals. I think that's what you just did. Did I post something that was not true? Was Ahlfeld not grabbed from behind? Was he not tackled at the end of the game? If you want to give some perspective on the game, have at it. Site some plays that were key to the Blazers win. Don't insult me with the the ole' here we go again stuff.

As an aside, I thought Kanarack retired from officiating. Didn't appear as so last night. He made so many calls from the coaches box that I thought we had a three man crew at the HHS/CEMS game.

CEMS / HHS game was very entertaining and exciting. Highlands trailed at half, opened up a lead early in third quarter. Kept the lead until late in the game. Salter picked up five fouls, all in the second half. The last with 2 minutes left in the game which really hurt the Birds ability to rebound the defensive board. One trip CE got 7 shots before scoring. A couple of calls/no calls really hurt the Birds down the stretch. Ahlfeld mad a steal with 28 seconds left and quickly headed up court. He was grabbed around the waist with two hands to prevent him from breaking free. Foul was called. It was a textbook intentional foul but the intentional part was not called. Key possession lost. The other was the final inbound. Play was designed to get the ball to Ahlfeld with 7 seconds left and the Birds down one. He was double teamed and broke toward the inbounder. He was grabbed and knocked to the floor. No call. Ball stolen. Game over. Final score was 39-37

Spot on. HHS administration is not petitioning to play up or down based on the competition throughout the state. A complete local district is the key.

Are you stating that he had a triple double and 8 boards. Was the triple double - points, blocks, and assists?? steals??? That would be a huge night in a 24 minute Middle School game.

Please make sure you are wearing your NCC garb while walking around the city or attending a HHS soccer game. Wouldn't want anyone mistaking you for a Highlands guy now would we...

^^^^Not comparing style of play or ability. Simply stating that I don't think playing JV against smaller less physical players helps development. That's all.

Not to rain on your development parade, but what kind of development occurs when you are defended by a JV kid giving up 10 inches and 100 pounds. He is getting much better development working in practice going against Z and Heppler than he will ever get in a JV game. I liken it to the development of Ben Weyer at NCC when he was young. Going up against Schulte and McDonald every day in practice was a huge asset.

This one game reminds me of the final HHS game from the 2013 season and the 2014 season, but for completely different reasons. This 2015 Pulaski teams reminds me of the 2013 Collins team. About 6 or 7 very good players. Game changers. Team in a two-platoon system that allows these 6/7 players to be substituted in on the other side of the ball when needed. Jackson got several snaps at safety ( great wide out ). Helton ran the wildcat and made the crucial first down catch (LB). Mosely inserted at slot back or tight end (OLB). There were others but you get the point. Collins HS did the same thing in 2013 to end the Birds string of state championships. I am reminded of 2014 as both that game and this game were a tale of two halves. I now know how the Owensboro fans felt after last years state game. Last years adjustments and second half domination by HHS, became this years signature for the Maroons.

It was stated in the varsity thread that the JV team is so good that they would be ranked between 5-7 in the 9th region. That's a strong statement. A group of frosh and sophomores would rank ahead of the likes of Dixie, Ryle, Holy Cross, Highlands, Boone Co, St Henry and Conner. Going to be a boring season for these boys playing against the JV teams of inferior varsity squads. Not so sure they would rank that high, but if some believe this to be so we need to resurrect the theme from last year. #Dynasty

You can walk in at kickoff and get a good seat. Parking is a whole different situation. If you get there an hour before kickoff you can park on the street on the North end of the stadium and upon leaving you can head straight to the expressway on Memorial Pkwy. Five minutes from car to I-471 tops.

That's all great information. Helps to put into perspective why Pulaski only scored 34 points against an average 4A school that gave up 43 to a weak 4A school just 7 days earlier. Doesn't help explain why Bourbon was able to put up 27 points in the contest. A dominate 5A school should shut down an opponent like Bourbon. Like I said, this is the game I see in Pulaski's season that makes me believe HHS has a great shot of moving on. Fool's gold. Maybe. We'll see.

Throughout the season I bought in to the Pulaski is the best team from the east. Pulaski will cruise to BG. I recognized that HHS and CovCath were the major competition and were not having favorable results. Even with the common opponent score comparison of each HHS and Pulaski versus Scott Co being similar, the games were very different. Huge advantage to Pulaski. Then October 30th happened. Pulaski versus 4A Bourbon County. A team coming off a loss to Harrison County. Not your state championship level competitive teams. Pulaski came from behind to defeat Bourbon. It was a win, but very unimpressive for a team with high expectations. Injuries or penalties or turnovers - whatever the reason - Pulaski is no longer the beast in the east.

Are you overlooking Lafayette????

HHS fans know and expect great efforts from Tyler Robinson, Jared Dougherty, and Nick Kendall. All excelled tonight. How about the play of WR Eric Miller and OLB Luke Lindeman. Outstanding.