Park1221

I thought Clark Kellog and his partner were awful. When BCG got the technical it took them until the foul shots were taken to even acknowledge a T had been called. They kept talking about Samuels picking up his third foul and had no clue why the T had been called.

Yeah, he was pouting after Pitino pulled him and ripped him on the sideline after his inbounds pass was stolen. Earl has a lot of talent, but mentally he was not there yesterday.

I would say about 6'0, 205-210 lbs. Maxpreps has his preseason weight at 205, but no height given.

Good list Rockdog....looks accurate...I would switch Bullitt East and PRP based on the strength of BE's pitching staff. I'm seeing an Alphin vs. Harper meeting in the 6th region tourney with the winner moving on to semi-state.

Most of the post lies in Tennessee...but for mailing and residency purposes I think the entire post is considered Kentucky.

X has a 300 pound gorilla(or is it a leprechaun?) on its back until it beats T in a December meeting. T has Beatty, Coverdale and the System coming back, along with a group of talented and hard working kids. Throw the Frosh and JV scores out the window. Throw the regular season varsity score out the window as well as that doesn't seem to be a good predictor of Round 2 matchups either. I for one am banking on both X and T being highly competitive...as usual..hopefully with a differnt outcome than the last 4 years.

I think you hit the nail on the head....I can think of at least 4 juniors next year that could take this team from solid to great if they played both ways.

Outstanding!!

GG, I beg to differ on your account of the facts:"a majority of the time the larger schools are going to win the title just by the number of atheletes they pull from." In the last 10 years that statement has not held true as only 3 titles have been won by 6A classified schools(Dunbar and PRP). If you back it up over the last 20 years, it is split dead even--10 titles for non-6A schools and 10 for large 6A. I'll give the non-6A title schools(Cov Cath, Boyd, Franklin-Simpson, Paintsville, Lex Christian, Lex Cath(2) and Harrison County(3). If you look at this issue with some fact based objectivity you cannot conclude that a class system is needed. There are some really small private schools that probably have no chance of ever winning a title, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater because of that! There is already an All A classic tournament which allows those small schools to comepte against one another during the regular season. I'm sure a trophy is awarded, and those schools still get a shot at the bigger schools in the post season.

Good question....maybe give(elect) a student a seat on the KHSAA board of control similar to what colleges do with boards of trustees. If that's not workable, maybe the various athletic directors that do have a vote at the KHSAA could stop by practice and talk with some of the students to get their input before voting on a baseball class system.

I hate to use cliche's, but I think it's more about the journey than the trophy. I bet if you polled all the kids at Lou. Christian Academy and asked them if last year they would have rather competed in a small school tournament and won a title versus going to Applebee's and losing in the first round not a one would take the trophy. The magical ball they played knocking off the Green Giants of Trinity and St.X, winning semi-state against John Hardin was very "Hoosieresque". Baseball is a funny game, and in my opinion it is a game that gives the smaller schools the best chance at winning against the larger schools compared to the other two major sports of football and basketball. I ask again, is a class system for baseball what parents, coaches and administrators want, or is that what the student/athletes want? In my opinion, high school athletics is for the kids and they should have some input into whether there is a class system for baseball or not.

May I ask why does it matter how many football players at X and T play other sports? At X at the freshmen level last year, 5 football players played baseball, 3 played basketball, and 1 played all three(football, basketball and baseball). I don't know how many ran track or wrestled. I would estimate 12 or more played lacrosse. I would say roughly 20 to 30 football players particiapted in other sports. This was out of a roster of about 100, which was down to about 65 as JV's this year.

I wouldn't like a class system in baseball. Since 1998, I believe only two 6A schools have won baseball titles--Paul Dunbar won 2 and PRP won it last year. The other winners have come from a broad spectrum of school sizes and locations--LCA(1A football school) Harrison County and Boyd(4A). Then look at what Lou. Christian academy did last year by winning the 7th, winning semi-state. Other smaller schools like Beechwood have recently made it to the finals. I bet if you asked the kids of the small schools not many would want a class system for baseball. But who cares what they think?

X should be strong this year overall. Maybe better offensively, little weaker on the mound as they don't have an Amlung like gasser throwing upper 80's. X won several one run low scoring games last year. In 09 they may have to outslug their opponents. Once again it will be a dogfight to get out of district with Manual returning almost everyone and Male returning most of their position players.

I'm in a minority, but as an X grad/parent I do acknowledge the advantages X, T and other privates have in numbers and boundryless districts to draw in student/athletes. I will say too that X and T have been very good in football, winning titles etc..long before they had bulging enrollments, state of the art stadiums(X rented from Manual until 2006) and weight facilities(X had a shed with some free weights until the mid 90's). The question now as I see it should not be why X and T dominate in football(that can be debated til the cows come home) but whether X and T have surpassed the public schools in football excellence to such an extent that it is no longer fun or fair for X and T to compete against the larger publics for KHSAA sanctioned titles? I think they have. With the exception of Manual's one TD loss to X last year in the regular season X and T have not been challenged by any public school in 2 years. Male has historically been the one team that has proven they can beat and compete with the "Green" teams on a regular basis. Even if Male has a resurgence is that alone a rational basis to have X and T dominate the remaining 99% of 6A teams? I don't think it is. I actually believe football seperation would be a win/win situation for the Green teams and the public schools. As it is now the Green players work their tails off to essentially play two competitive games a year against each other. A regional power conference and national schedule would be an awesome brand of football to watch and support. The publics would have their elusive 6A titles to compete for year in and out. I really hope Simon Kenton proves me wrong and competes well, but I'm seeing a running clock. The question is can football only seperation be done? Obviously the rules would have to be revamped, and special legislation may need to be passed(I think the KHSAA could pass a rule that simply states no single sex school with enrollment of over 1,000 for grades 9-12 is eligible for post season playoffs). What about the smaller privates that don't dominate? Do we leave them in as is, or cast them out to play each other? Other than seperation, I've pondered other solutions to level the playing field but none seem to be very practical. If you draw up boundaries, kids will move to the area, say they've moved or obtain a guardian in the area. Do we really want to pay detectives to see where Johnny's going home to eat dinner every night? The other alternative is for the publics to get better. Easier said than done. I could see a Mike Jackson led Ballard program getting there, but as a whole I just don't see the player/parent/school commitment needed in most large public schools to reach the level of X and T. That's not a knock on the publics. It's just a socio/economic reality. Would the playing field be level if districts with more than 1 school( I think most, but not all ,6A schools fall in this category) were allowed vote in single sex schools? In Jeffeson County you would go from 20 something football teams to 10 or 11. How good would an all boy Ballard school have been if they they had all the boys from Eastern as well? What if Central had all the boys from Manual? I think the teams would be much stronger and with a little time could build the tradition to compete with the Greens. Would an added benefit be better schools academically and socaially(some studies advocate single sex schooling)?

X was prepared to play...maybe T had the better RB Friday night...maybe T had the better linebackers Friday night...They were simply the better team Friday night, the score speaks for itself. This was not the result of a lack of focus, poor coaching etc..

Are you telling me Coach Beatty doesn't set goals at the beginning of each season, one of which is win state? As I see it, the slogan is just a way to emphasize your goals. T shirts don't win football games, nobody at X believes that.

X did not "manhandle" T in the regular season. The game was much closer than the score indicated. It should have been 10-7 in the 3rd quarter, but a missed extra point followed by a series of T turnovers made the difference. The Rock miscues weren't the result of jarring hits, they were concentration and judgment mistakes. Cam Smith was being chased most of the night due to two starting O lineman being out. As an X grad/parent I was hoping for a win, but did not think for a second X would walk away with a win. I was proud of the way the Tigers fought back. TP's run at the end of the half was a dagger. He's a tremendous athlete and I wish him much success at Eastern Michigan(UK or UL should be offering this young man). Jordan Whiting turned in a bigtime D1 performance. Messina delivered some vicious hits. The talent level was pretty even. X simply got outplayed in the first half. Congrats to Trinity.

Rarely if ever would T and X have been beaten by a lower class team...Highlands has the only shot...you can check their record against the Rocks and Tigers.

I assume you meant to ask about the baseball coaches, right? Not much turnover in either program....solid coaching at both...it's not the coaching that keeps T and X from winning state titles in baseball, it's the competition.

So by that logic, if football were only 1 class X and T would have fewer football titles?

How do you tell a junior or senior third stringer to "back off"? Play half speed and get your clock cleaned, blow a knee because you stand straight up on the line?

Wasn't it just two years ago that Bueamont and Company had Trinity beat late in the 4th quarter by two scores, let the Rocks come back, but still had a chance to win the game with a couple chances inside the 5 yard line? Male would have easily beaten Ryle for the title. The week before Male blew out the Vic Anderson led St.X Tigers. Male is obviously down this year and I don't disagree with the reasons you outline. Keep in mind that X and T have both been really good the past two years which makes it look like Male is really down. Time will tell whether the last two years signal a trend ending Male's reservation in the "Big 3" party. That being said, with a healthy Justin Green Male can still probably beat 98% of the teams in 6A.

DeSales has never had a home field. Lou. St.X didn't have a home field until last year. X rented Manual Stadium from the County for years and shared the dates with Manual. DeSales now has the same arrangement with Manual. I'm guessing Manual is playing at home this week which forced DeSales to look for another site.

Nice win for the Eagles. Is Jon Davis a sophmore? If it's the kid I'm thinking of he's also a hecka of a baseball player.