kyball26

The pass interference no-call was flat out missed but the two grounding calls would not have been called by anybody in our region. I thought refs did a nice job except for the interference. I wouldn't called grounding but I know why he called it. In my long association with football playoffs, you always get different emphasis or interpretation of rules from region to region. That is just something coaches have to be aware of and not blow gaskets over.

The problem is that Fairview beat both East and West (and beat West pretty convincingly the week before Raceland lost to them). Other than forgetting the rankings, it should probably be: 1. Russell 2. JC 3. BC 4. Whoever plays well that week. Raceland and Fairview are about the same with East and West a little below IMO. There just is not that much difference.

When games get out of reach, it is typical for coaches to take off the head set and concentrate on getting other players in the game and working those plays that the younger ones know. I'm not from Ashland or a fan but I know that Coach is a good man and a good coach.

Fairview played hard and had a good game. LCA was a little sloppy but played hard also. The holding penalties were real and there were several more that could have been called. I thought the 2 pass interferences, one against Fairview and one against LCA, were iffy but close enough to be called. The refs weren't bad. Hayden wasn't used much in the first half and went out in the 3rd with a sprain. The QB is a heck of a ball player for LCA. I thought it was just a hard fought district game and both sides have reasons to be proud of their effort and some things to work on for the playoffs. Fairview has been under everyone's radar all year but they have a nice team. They have the potential to beat anyone they play. LCA is really athletic and have good team speed. They execute well. It will be an interesting playoff with LCA, Raceland, and Fairview all showing they can play with each other.

More teams are trying to run spread and other such offenses because that is what is in vogue at higher levels, not because it is better. Football is really no different, the team that blocks and tackles best wins the game. It doesn't matter what offense you run, if you block it, it works. Some personnel are a little better suited to one type more than the other. That will always be the case. The problem would be changing offenses every year to try suit personnel. You get no continuity. Most offenses systems can be modified year to year to account for personnel without changing philosophy. Teams like Russell have kids that could run more wide open type of offenses but that doesn't mean they should. Wide open teams could run Russell-style conservative wing-t and be successful. You just have to block it and execute. Another aspect is that more teams are playing athletic, faster kids on defense now and load up the box. It gets tough to keep pounding on that without throwing a little when you are outnumbered at the point of attack. Some coaches have decided to spream 'em and throw it. Others, like Russell, just keep picking at you and reduce the number of mistakes by staying conservative. I don't think there is an offense that is inherently better than another. You just have to execute. Power football will continue to be around and will not be outdated. Just block it and don't beat yourself.

Great post Old Warrior. I assume you are from Wurtland (my Dad was from there). I think I wasn't clear about the South Shore QB Club. The group I was referring to was a loose group of people from SS that had no association with GC's booster club, which is great!!! The SS group was something of a lynch mob without any sense. They ran off some good people. The division in the county is like a ghost floating above it. It may have started out about Gullett but it has evolved. I still hear about it and it is very evident when you look at the make up of the team. I don't know that it is intention anymore, more of an unintended consequence of years of neglect to the rest of the county.

There is no sense of community around GC. The school is stuck out in no where. When it was created they decided to try to be fair and not put the school in any of the communities that had high schools and thus created a situation where there was no real community around it. McKell (South Shore) had such a strong program that it dominated. They didn't want to give up that domination and caused the rest of the district to resent them. I have heard a lot of bad stories about kids just not participating because they were either told they wouldn't get a chance due to where they lived or not getting a fair shake once they did play. I don't know if it is as overt as it once was but that is the perception still. Sammons and any future coaches will be dealing with that for a long time. GC had an excellent chance to overcome this when TJ Maynard was there but a small group of people killed that. He was getting better representation from the rest of the county when he left and that is one reason he is the winningest coach in their history. Another problem is support in the form of administration taking care of things like cutting the field, cleaning up the trash, getting new bleachers and lights. It will be hard to ask an experienced coach to come in there under these circumstances. I don't know what they pay coaches but I do know at one time it was the same coaching salary as started when the schools merged. They didn't have an AD for awhile and that put a little more work on the coach. The new AD is a good man and needs time to move things forward. The empire that one of the former basketball coaches tried to keep also did its fair share of damage to an already damaged sport at GC. Under Maynard, GC was beating Raceland most of the time and a couple of times beat Russell. They won district championships and played in the playoffs. I guess him being a Russell product while the rest of the staff being Russell, Wheelersburg, and a Greenup (not South Shore) coach was not what some were looking for. They ran off some good coaches. They ran an offense suited to the kids and a good, punishing defense and rarely shot themselves in the foot. That put them in position to win games though it wasn't as exciting as throwing 45 times a game I guess. To fix - upgrade the facilities, make sure the feeder program is getting kids out from other parts of the county than where they come from now, make each home game an event that gets people out, pay your coaches, give support with the little things like cutting the grass and hauling the trash out after games, be patient as more kids enter the program, make it a concerted effort COUNTY WIDE to let kids know that they are needed and will be treated fairly. Long-term I would either split the system into 2 high schools or move the high school to Greenup to, among other things, create a sense of community. That's my take as an outsider that knows a little about the inside. It won't be real easy or quick. The AD is a good man and wants to see kids succeed no matter where they are from. Step back and let him untie all the knots that are in GC's rope.

TJ is from Russell and was quite successful at GC. Some of the problems at Greenup are things that can't be fixed by a football coach. One big problem is the location of the school. It is in Lloyd, not Greenup, South Shore, or Wurtland where there is a chance to develop some community support. This is an often overlooked problem. The South Shore / Everybody Else problem is well-known and needs no further comment other than all parties should know better. The so-called South Shore Quarterback Club needs to disband and just stay out of athletics. Greenup has the kids to compete but these factors and more force them to play with just a fraction of the student body. They need to split the school or better yet, put the high school in Greenup. Then a concerted effort to allow all students a fair shot from all areas. They also need much more support from the administration as far as cutting grass, cleaning up, getting rid of those lights, new bleachers, and so on. It adds up.

Ashland at #5??? Their one win was against a winless team and had to come from behind and get it in overtime. All he paper does when they pull stuff like this is confirm what everyone (not from Ashland) already thinks about them. I guess East Carter's win over the #3 team counts less than Ashland's win over Boyd.

I agree, they don't have the personnel to run this. They would be more suited to power football or wing-t. They were reasonably successful with that before because those are the kinds of kids they have. This one will be close but I think Rowan takes it.

I remember this one. If there ever was a case that the KHSAA blew bigger than this one, I can't imagine it. The kid moved in with his grandparents to escape his homelife. His grandparents just happened to live in the GC district. He was the classic at risk kid and it was a no-brainer situation. The kid needed football to be held over his head to have any chance of being able to rise above his homelife. In their infinite wisdom, the KHSAA took away the only thing that might be used to give the kid a chance. Of course, the kid turned out as expected. The KHSAA finally came down and said they would reinstate him if the mom would give up custody (I think dad was in jail). She couldn't give up the drug money from claiming him so wouldn't do it. Nice job KHSAA....

Russell would have been a great add and certainly justified dropping East. Besides the gate (huge), it would prepare the Rams for the playoffs. East was competitive for a short while but the Russell game makes a lot of sense. Just not at the end of the season when you could get some kids banged up heading into the play-offs or losing momentum. I know you kind of had to add them where you can fit them in (for both schools). I don't think Raceland is one to run away from anyone. Not sure Ironton would agree since they are on point system over there and would probably cost them in points. I heard Ironton dropped Russell for that reason years ago. Don't know how true that is, though.

TJ is a very good coach and for the most part had his way with both East and Raceland when he was with Greenup. He will be a head coach again somewhere in the near future and do well. Having good athletes is the largest part of the equation for Raceland's confidence but a coaching staff is important also. Raceland's coaches do an excellent job. East is not real good in the secondary and that could be a problem for them. They do like to bring pressure so Raceland's line will be tested by East's linebackers. Offensively, I look for East to shake things up a bit, maybe putting Carroll at RB. He is dangerous and Raceland must be aware of him. If East can get enough pressure to disrupt the passing game, it could be a good one. The lower scoring game favors East. If it is track meet, Raceland will run away with it.

Not sure following a flag out of the locker room means anything in football. That stuff is for the fans, not the team. Games are generally won or lost on Tuesday or Wednesday, barring unusual events. It is always amazing to me that fans think coaches can become bad in the space of a couple games or even a season. Coach Hart has enjoyed a fine reputation as a coach (I'm not from Ashland) and I know firsthand he is a fine coach and person. Leave them alone and cheer for the team.

I saw Fairview in the grid against Rowan Co. and they moved the ball extremely well against a big line - they fumbled the ball or would have scored several times. Their problem was picking up the LB's when they came. If they have learned to do that, they will put points on the board.

Russell - Whatever Ivan wants it to be GC - Ever how many Ivan wants them to have. I've seen both. Russell is typical and so is GC and that is not good for GC.

How do you win a scrimmage? Coaches (good ones at least) aren't concerned with that and the "score" of a scrimmage is meaningless. I've heard Coach McGlone talk about this many times before. You work on what needs to be worked on. That might mean running the same play 5 times in a row or moving people around to see if they can play different positions. Russell should have no problem w/ GC. I've seen both. The QB at GC is a nice athlete but they are so slow up front they will have problems. They didn't throw very well either. Wrong offense for the personnel.

Saw a bit of it. Greenup is typical - big and slow. Not real suited to run the offense they have. QB is a good athlete but didn't throw well. I imagine that sort of offense (Franklin's) may need more reps for timing. East was better than GC but weren't real impressive. They have some good looking kids and the QB runs well. One of their backs ran pretty well also. Not much snap from either line. The next scrimmage for both will be more indicative when you see better how much improvement they make.

Coach Morris would be a fine selection if he wants it. I don't know how interested he would be in moving to a principal's position or other admin-type of job that would prevent him from coaching. Coach Jones is also another from the staff that could step up. If those two don't want it and the search goes to the outside then TJ Maynard would be an excellent choice. All 3 are class individuals and good football coaches. Enjoy Coach McGlone as long as he wants to coach, He is a once-in-a-lifetime individual to be around.