kyvince

I would agree that Highlands was not complex on offense. I will disagree on the reason. First of all Highlands very seldom has a Complex offense. To the contrary they are very simple in scheme, however they execute like no other. They put the ball in their best athletes hands and let them be athletes. The second reason I believe it may not have been as complex as other games, is that with complicated plays come simple mistakes. Coach Mueller very early on knew this game was going to be a battle. With the confidence he has in his players, I believe he thought the best chance for Highlands to win, was to eliminate turnovers on offense. A pretty solid game plan. Had he pulled the trick plays out of the playbook how much more could they have scored? I believe they only punted once or twice the entire game. However, try a more complex approach and have an extra TO, that could have cost Highlands the game.

It is very much a match up issue. La Salle's defense is significantly bigger in the front six/seven than Highlands. La Salle's MLB Burger is a stud and difference maker. Twice he made plays that none of the Lb's on Highlands could have made simply because he is a bigger stronger player. Over all La Salle has better athletes. Having said that, I feel pretty confident that this year Highlands could and would beat La Salle. Two main reasons for that conclusion. 1 Highlands is better coached than La Salle, 2 Highlands D-backs are a better match up against La Salle's 6'6" and 6'4' Wide receivers. La Salle was able to capitalize on that size mismatch, something they would have much more difficult time against Highlands. I would love to see that game, I think it would be a very good game. As I stated above, I would take Highlands over La Salle this year. Last year was a different story, hands down La Salle was the superior team in 2010.

What happened to the starting QB?

Where is this game being played?

I think EKU would be the perfect size and pretty good location. The proximity to Lexington also allows the hotel situation to be a non-issue. I can't see the KHSAA splitting up the state Championships.

Based on that "We have Jesus" means We have Jesus. If somehow you infer that means you don't then who's fault is that?

What was the score of the Beechwood v Conner game? I saw the thread about the NewCath game, but haven't seen anything about the Conner game. Is Beechwood more of a passing of running team?

Dixie won 18 - 10. Campbell is 0 -3 and in is largely because of turnovers. They had 6 last night, and I believe a similar number against Highlands the week before. They had 3 or 4 against CovCath. Now I know TO's are a part of the game, a BIG part of the game. But if Campbell can solve that problem, they could become a real difficult team to beat. Having said that Dixie has very good looking football team. #75 (Johnson) is probably the best lineman I have seen in a couple years. Dixie's only glaring weakness is their lack of numbers.

Not if the ball is thrown behind the LOS

If Campbell County can stop the Turnovers, I think this could be a very good game. However, in the 1st 2 weeks they have really struggled with Turnovers. They have moved the ball well at times. Their two RB's are very nice players. However, their passing game is a bit weak. Each of the past 2 weeks they have been down a score at half, only to see their opponent take over in the 3rd quarter. If they can overcome the 3rd quarter let downs, this could be a very good game. If not you can expect at 21 point victory by Dixie.

I am missing something or wasn't last year's game a challenge for them? 27 -20 with CovCath having a chance to tie or win as time expired. I don't know if CovCath has what it takes to beat Highlands or not. I think tomorrow will give us a real indication of that. I do know that Highlands was challenged last year, and that the disparity in talent is not what it was during the 07 and 08 seasons. Highlands (rightfully so) is the overwhelming favorite in just about every game they play against NKY teams. However, I don't think the gap between CovCath and Highlands is nearly as wide as some may think. A big part of Highlands success is the doubt that their opponents have about being able to compete with them. I think Ryle showed last year, once that hurdle is overcome you can play your game and your don't have to play a perfect game to compete. I think after last year's game CovCath believes they can compete and win if they play to their ability.

Do both teams still run 75% throw it 25% or less? I had heard Boone was loaded this year, with huge lineman an a couple very tough RB's. Did Boone play poorly, is Ryle better than their 1st week showing or a combination of the two?

I think that is what the poll indicates, and that Ryle is the favorite to win 6A in NKY.

If CovCath was going to "drop" a team, it would have been La Salle. When the re-districting came about everyone's schedules were messed up. If CovCath were so afraid of Ryle why would they play them in a scrimmage? I know that CovCath as well as many other schools had to scramble to revamp their schedules with the new districts. Because there were scheduling problems surely does not mean CovCath was "afraid" of Ryle. I thought that Ryle was trying to upgrade their schedule and picked up Colerain for their 3rd game very early last year? Whether or not Ryle should be ranked above CovCath is a legitimate argument, stating CovCath (who year in year out plays a brutal schedule) was ducking Ryle because the past two years outcome is ridiculous.

"On the other hand, CCH seems to have moved some of their better sophomores straight up to varsity so perhaps that talent from the past two years isn't playing JV ball." No doubt some of that talented Sophomore class is playing with the varsity, but that is no excuse for the loss. CovCath was playing well, and Dixie was struggling early in this one. CovCath had a chance to go up 2 scores early, but failed to score inside the Red Zone. Dixie became revitalized and it was back and forth the rest of the game. I was very impressed by attitude and the exhuberance that the Dixie squad showed. In contrast CovCath acted as if they were entitled to the win. There were some very nice individual performances, but as a whole the CovCath squad played very uninspired. Congrats to Dixie, I hope CovCath rebounds and plays with more passion next week.

He is playing now, FB1 meant he hasn't played since his Freshman season. He is a senior, but not with the experience level of a typical senior. He is a great athlete and played well for the most part, but not a "seasoned" veteran like Reese.

7--Lloyd 5--Boone County 3--Beechwood 2--Owen 1--Newport TB--Lloyd

Last year it was 27-20 with CovCath driving when time ran out. I think that is pretty competitive.

7 - Cov Cath 5 - Walton-Verona 3 - Highlands 2 - Harrison County 1 - New Cath TB - Cov Cath

While I agree that I believe CovCath should be ranked equal to or higher than LexCath, CovCath actually lost a good deal to Graduation. They lost 7 starters on Defense including all 4 DB's, the top 2 leading tacklers and interception leader. On offense they lost the leading rusher and the top 3 receivers. All three of which scored against LexCath.

While I agree that you need to prepare for the openning of the season, I disagree that just because it is being played in game like situation you will play it like a real game. I agree with Clyde, both teams will be working on things tonight. I don't think you will see Elliot carry it 30 times, nor do I think you will see Gabe Gray carry 20 times tonight. Two things I believe you will see a bunch during the regular season, especially district games. I doubt very much that the game planning for the scrimmage is anywhere near what it is for a real game. As a result I think you will see 1/2 to 3/4 of the scrimmage being devoted to playing it like a game, with the remainder being used as a vehicle to answer questions about depth or other parts of your game.

Define long year? What if Ryle has re-tooled and are a caliber similar to last year? What if CovCath's defense has significantly improved it's ability to stop the run? While I'll admit those are both BIG if's, I think a close scrimmage does not mean that both teams will have long years. I could see both schools playing tight in a scrimmage, and still have very successful seasons. If you define long years as not being able to beat Highlands or win the state champinships then the vast majority of KY High school teams will have very long years.

McKnick lost a ton to graduation. Last year was one of their best seasons in school history. They have a new head Coach, new QB and have to replace a good portion of their defense. I would expect them to be a little suggish out of the gate. Not that they are not a quality opponent, they just may not be as polished at this time of the year as they have been in years past.

I thought you might appreciate my attempt at humor.

Didn't interpret it as a criticism at all, I was just giving my view as to Blake's numbers. Blake made such huge strides from the Ryle game to where he was at the end of the year. He had two series in the 2nd half of the JC game where he wasn't at his best, accounting for 4 of the incompletions he had, unfortunately those two series were critical in the outcome of the game. To counter that I wanted to be fair to Blake and mention that the drops were equally if not more critcal to the outcome of the game. I expect big things out of Blake the next two years, the fact that he is being mentioned in conversations with Towles and the other top qb's in the state I think is fantastic.