[tradition]

I agree with everything except the music is a little overboard and gets old. what happened to singing My Old Ky Home before the game, was looking forward to it. Hope you guys can come up to our place next year.

Yea, I'll agree with that. The best way to stop it, as Highlands found out, is just start beating them.

[OffTheHook]

Yea, I'll agree with that. The best way to stop it, as Highlands found out, is just start beating them.

I saw nothing wrong with the music. Congrats to both teams and a very nice game. It has been a pleasure watching this group of seniors for JC. Great group of kids.

[sstack]

Golden Eagles played every team tough all year and provided some great highlights. Time to relax a bit and get your mind set on the weights.

You are knocking on the door, now is not the time to relax. Back to the weight room tomorrow and go get them next year.
By the way, Highlands had a very impressive crowd for a 3 plus hour drive.

[P4PChamp]

Before this game I predicted JC would score 21 and they did and I knew they would be able to run the ball, but the question was whether or not they could keep Highlands high octane offense in check, they held them to 28, not too bad. On defense the JC secondary were getting beat on big plays over the top, and Highland's O-line gave the QB an eternity to find a receiver. JC made some mistakes that cost them but mistakes are part of the game and separates the great teams from the good teams. It came down to crunch time and JC, I felt at least, started to mentally implode in the 4th quarter. The game was a little closer than I thought it would be but Highlands didn't really try to score on their last possession instead they were content to pick up a couple of first downs and kill the clock as JC was down to one timeout. JC needs to develop some sort of a passing game. They run their offense really well most of the time, there's just little threat from the passing game. If I remember right the qb attempted about 4 passes and got picked on two of them and you could kind of tell he didn't have a fluid throwing motion or experience reading coverages, probably due to not having thrown much especially against good teams. I'm just not sure JC can ever beat the better Northern Kentucky teams with an offense that poses little threat in the passing game.

[eagle99]

i agree 100%! i am as big of an eagle fan as you'll find! However, you can dominate the mountains but it is very hard to win on that level and compete with nky teams while being one dimensional.

[Mr.Kimball]

i agree 100%! i am as big of an eagle fan as you'll find! However, you can dominate the mountains but it is very hard to win on that level and compete with nky teams while being one dimensional.

In this particular game the passing game was not needed until JC found themselves in a hole and needed to score points fast. They were able to do what they wanted to do and that was control the clock. I really felt that JC was going to score again when the fumble return occured, which would have made the Game 21-21 instead of it being 28-14.

Truth is Highlands is just about as weak defensively in stopping a good rushing attack as JC is weak in stopping a good passing attack. It could be said that they are slightly a little one dimentional in that aspect as well.

Remember to have a passing attack it takes more than just having a quarterback, someone has to be able to catch the ball too. You have to have both. We have had a passing QB the last couple of years, didn't fair as well as being run oriented, IMO. All of the skill positions (QB's, receivers, kickers) have to be developed while these kids are in the elementary ranks, not wait until they get to high school. I'll just about wager that's how it's done in almost all of the Northern Kentucky schools. Also a fact that some may not agree with , but here goes anyway. To be able to compete with the NKy teams, you just about have to have kids that focus on football almost year around. Just curious as to how many Highlands football players go out for basketball? More and more and more, to be at the upper echulon of anything and be dominate year after year after year, you have to have kids that are almost to the point of specializing.

Highlands has a very impresive team, but was I the only one surprised in how small they were? Just goes to show how deadly speed and quickness is. I expected Collinsworth to be more of the physical stature of his dad, that being kind of tall and lanky. He walked right by me going out to the field and he looked like he couldn't have been no taller than 5 '9" to 5'10" and weigh no more than 170 pounds. How tall is he listed at?

[P4PChamp]

[quote=Mr.Kimball]In this particular game the only thing the passing game was not needed until JC found themselves in a hole and needed to score points fast. They were able to do what they wanted to do and that was control the clock. I really felt that JC was going to score again when the fumble return occured, which would have made the Game 21-21 instead of it being 28-14.

The passing game might not have been needed until JC found themselves in a hole, but the whole point is you must be able to do it if you have to and do it well. Being able to throw is something a team is going to need to be able to do in at least one game on the way to a state title in most cases, so if they get in a hole the defense has more to defend and they can strike quicker. The type of offense JC runs works great as long as they are in the lead as it is a clock killing, grind it out style of play. If the the other team is far inferior then they win big. However, if they get behind by whatever means and can't pass versus the better teams the defense can key on the run. JC might run it well but if you are behind 2 or 3 scores and it takes you 6 or 7 minutes to score against the better teams it does not bode well for your chances to win against teams like Highlands who can score in 30 seconds, and you have to also play mistake free to win. Every mistake that is made and leads to a score for the other team costs teams like JC quite a bit of clock time to try to catch up. It doesn't matter how well you are running the ball if some of your drives are eating up 6 or 7 minutes of clock and you're losing. The final score is what matters as there are no moral victories. Great teams will almost always find a way to win.

[Mr.Kimball]

[quote=Mr.Kimball]In this particular game the only thing the passing game was not needed until JC found themselves in a hole and needed to score points fast. They were able to do what they wanted to do and that was control the clock. I really felt that JC was going to score again when the fumble return occured, which would have made the Game 21-21 instead of it being 28-14.

The passing game might not have been needed until JC found themselves in a hole, but the whole point is you must be able to do it if you have to and do it well. Being able to throw is something a team is going to need to be able to do in at least one game on the way to a state title in most cases, so if they get in a hole the defense has more to defend and they can strike quicker. The type of offense JC runs works great as long as they are in the lead as it is a clock killing, grind it out style of play. If the the other team is far inferior then they win big. However, if they get behind by whatever means and can't pass versus the better teams the defense can key on the run. JC might run it well but if you are behind 2 or 3 scores and it takes you 6 or 7 minutes to score against the better teams it does not bode well for your chances to win against teams like Highlands who can score in 30 seconds, and you have to also play mistake free to win. Every mistake that is made and leads to a score for the other team costs teams like JC quite a bit of clock time to try to catch up. It doesn't matter how well you are running the ball if some of your drives are eating up 6 or 7 minutes of clock and you're losing. The final score is what matters as there are no moral victories. Great teams will almost always find a way to win.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. I'm just pointing out that it's not as easy to just start playing that type of an offense as it sounds, with players that have not been developed to do what it takes to play that type of a game. I'm sure that Matney has not been at JC long enough to impliment every thing he wants to impliment in the entire football program . You have to understand a lot of these kids and the community have had a basketball mentality for years. I'm sure that things will develope in time. You probably just dont understand the vastness of the improvement up till now, in just a short period of time.

Although I do think you have to agree with me that Belfry seems to be able to compete very well in a big way,with a run oriented offense.

[P4PChamp]

[quote=P4PChamp]
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. I'm just pointing out that it's not as easy to just start playing that type of an offense as it sounds, with players that have not been developed to do what it takes to play that type of a game. I'm sure that Matney has not been at JC long enough to impliment every thing he wants to impliment in the entire football program . You have to understand a lot of these kids and the community have had a basketball mentality for years. I'm sure that things will develope in time. You probably just dont understand the vastness of the improvement up till now, in just a short period of time.

Although I do think you have to agree with me that Belfry seems to be able to compete very well in a big way,with a run oriented offense.

Yes, I agree with the Belfry comment they are a great team year in and year out and are run oriented and compete real well. However, they also are not competing in class 5A either, at least for a state title anyway. Well, the game is over and JC definitely wasn't a pushover. I enjoyed the game and the atmosphere, very nice field and stadium.

[ryandamaste5]

Before this game I predicted JC would score 21 and they did and I knew they would be able to run the ball, but the question was whether or not they could keep Highlands high octane offense in check, they held them to 28, not too bad. On defense the JC secondary were getting beat on big plays over the top, and Highland's O-line gave the QB an eternity to find a receiver. JC made some mistakes that cost them but mistakes are part of the game and separates the great teams from the good teams. It came down to crunch time and JC, I felt at least, started to mentally implode in the 4th quarter. The game was a little closer than I thought it would be but Highlands didn't really try to score on their last possession instead they were content to pick up a couple of first downs and kill the clock as JC was down to one timeout. JC needs to develop some sort of a passing game. They run their offense really well most of the time, there's just little threat from the passing game. If I remember right the qb attempted about 4 passes and got picked on two of them and you could kind of tell he didn't have a fluid throwing motion or experience reading coverages, probably due to not having thrown much especially against good teams. I'm just not sure JC can ever beat the better Northern Kentucky teams with an offense that poses little threat in the passing game.

The reason they had forever to throw it was because they were instructed to stay at home to take the screen.
The should have rushed 1 Def End and the Tackles and left 1 Def End and The Nose to get the screen. That was where we messed up. Oh well better luck next season. Hopefully next time at the Bluebird Nest.

[sstack]

In this particular game the only thing the passing game was not needed until JC found themselves in a hole and needed to score points fast. They were able to do what they wanted to do and that was control the clock. I really felt that JC was going to score again when the fumble return occured, which would have made the Game 21-21 instead of it being 28-14.

Truth is Highlands is just about as weak defensively in stopping a good rushing attack as JC is weak in stopping a good passing attack. It could be said that they are slightly a little one dimentional in that aspect as well.

Remember to have a passing attack it takes more than just having a quarterback, someone has to be able to catch the ball too. You have to have both. We have had a passing QB the last couple of years, didn't fair as well as being run oriented, IMO. All of the skill positions (QB's, receivers, kickers) have to be developed while these kids are in the elementary ranks, not wait until they get to high school. I'll just about wager that's how it's done in almost all of the Northern Kentucky schools. Also a fact that some may not agree with , but here goes anyway. To be able to compete with the NKy teams, you just about have to have kids that focus on football almost year around. Just curious as to how many Highlands football players go out for basketball? More and more and more, to be at the upper echulon of anything and be dominate year after year after year, you have to have kids that are almost to the point of specializing.

Highlands has a very impresive team, but was I the only one surprised in how small they were? Just goes to show how deadly speed and quickness is. I expected Collinsworth to be more of the physical stature of his dad, that being kind of tall and lanky. He walked right by me going out to the field and he looked like he couldn't have been no taller than 5 '9" to 5'10" and weigh no more than 170 pounds. How tall is he listed at?

Why do you think people at HHS have been talking so much about the size of BS, Madison Central and Central. We very seldom have much size at HHS. We tend to have good players all over the field, with good speed, and who are football smart, to overcome the size difference. And yes, we usually have a couple football players on the basketball team, but usually not the starters and football comes first. Kids in Ft Thomas start in football in elementary school and practice 3-4 days a week. I also think we are lucky to have great coaching in NKY from peewee to Highschool and the players grow up expecting to win.
And yes it does take a year around commitment. I can tell you that the HHS players will be back in the wt room a day or two after the season is over, will cont to go to football camps, and will not be able to wait to start two a days in August.

[EKY Sportster]

JC had a great season and played a good game against HHS! With that said I congratulate them. But Highlands was definitely a slightly better team. I think that teams need to be multi-faceted but it is not all that bad to rely on the run. But as has been already stated, you better be able to stay in the lead. The JC nor the Highlands Defense was very impressive. But maybe that was because the offense of both teams were good. But then Belfry seems to have a better Defense than either of these teams. What killed JC in this game was the BIG MISTAKE that allowed the Highlands D to score a TD. The Eagles were moving the ball and then suddenly found themselves down 2 TD's instead of being what appeared to be a soon to be tie all in the span of about 10 seconds.

Anyway, HHS played mistake free (unlike in the Bryan Station game) and JC had one mistake too many. That sums it up. Good luck Highlands the rest of the way.

[BOBCAT-BLACK & GOLD]

congrats Highlands and good season Eagles

[Mr.Kimball]

JC had a great season and played a good game against HHS! With that said I congratulate them. But Highlands was definitely a slightly better team. I think that teams need to be multi-faceted but it is not all that bad to rely on the run. But as has been already stated, you better be able to stay in the lead. The JC nor the Highlands Defense was very impressive. But maybe that was because the offense of both teams were good. But then Belfry seems to have a better Defense than either of these teams. What killed JC in this game was the BIG MISTAKE that allowed the Highlands D to score a TD. The Eagles were moving the ball and then suddenly found themselves down 2 TD's instead of being what appeared to be a soon to be tie all in the span of about 10 seconds.

Anyway, HHS played mistake free (unlike in the Bryan Station game) and JC had one mistake too many. That sums it up. Good luck Highlands the rest of the way.

I dont really think that you can logically make that assumption just based on viewing the JC/Belfry game and the JC/Highlands game because Belfry did not have to face the aerial assult that JC did. If my memory serves me correctly JC was 5 of 12 in the air against Belfry. An almost 50% completion rate at the high school level against the good teams is a pretty good ratio especialy for a non passing team. Belfry has been good against the run all season, as has JC, and JC's defense has also been pretty good against the pass all season. I dont think that Highlands could handle Belfry's running game either for that matter. Evidently Highlands' aerial attack is just a little too tough for everyone to handle too. Easy to criticize JC on something that a lot of high profile teams have not been able to stop either. JC has seen a bunch of high profile QB's the last few years and Guiduli is easily the best of them all.

[Mr.Kimball]

The reason they had forever to throw it was because they were instructed to stay at home to take the screen.
The should have rushed 1 Def End and the Tackles and left 1 Def End and The Nose to get the screen. That was where we messed up. Oh well better luck next season. Hopefully next time at the Bluebird Nest.

I thought that may have been the case. It also kind of contains Guiduli somewhat against him running out of the pocket, and defending against the QB draw because he is definately a threat to do both. Fact is, nobody else has been able to shut them down either, no matter what they did . Not even Colerain.

[charlie22]

JC had a great season and played a good game against HHS! With that said I congratulate them. But Highlands was definitely a slightly better team. I think that teams need to be multi-faceted but it is not all that bad to rely on the run. But as has been already stated, you better be able to stay in the lead. The JC nor the Highlands Defense was very impressive. But maybe that was because the offense of both teams were good. But then Belfry seems to have a better Defense than either of these teams. What killed JC in this game was the BIG MISTAKE that allowed the Highlands D to score a TD. The Eagles were moving the ball and then suddenly found themselves down 2 TD's instead of being what appeared to be a soon to be tie all in the span of about 10 seconds.

Anyway, HHS played mistake free (unlike in the Bryan Station game) and JC had one mistake too many. That sums it up. Good luck Highlands the rest of the way.

Wouldn't necessarily agree that Highlands played a mistake free game. We too squandered some opportunities: ball on the JC one and we get called for holding, which moves that ball back to the 11 (we get no points out of the drive when we miss what should have been a chip shot field goal); ball deep in our territory, we throw a pass to Conner on the wheel route and he takes it out past midfield, we again are called for holding, eventually punt deep from our territory and give JC great field position which they used to score a td.

Otherwise, I agree with your post.

Game went pretty much exactly as I thought it would (heck I predicted the exact score in this game). Close to tied at half with Highlands depth starting to show in the second half. I figured JC would have two fumbles not one and got the interceptions backwards too as I figured JC would have one not two. I figured both offenses would move the ball well and would only get stopped when they stopped themselves, which is what happened for both teams.

Neither defense is set up to stop the type of O that they faced in this game. JC's D is set up to stop the power run oriented teams more prevalent in E. Ky. Highlands D is set up to stop the spread type teams more prevalent in northern, central and western Ky. Our linebackers are quick, but very small. Often times we'd hit the runner at or behind the line of scrimmage, but didn't have the body size to bring the runner down. Plus, we are taught to tackle the upper body (not the legs) which also worked to our disadvantage when our small lbers had to take on the big powerful runners of JC. It didn't help that our biggest and in my opinion most physical lber (Roller) was lost in the Ashland game with a season ending knee injury.

Both teams moved the ball well. While some can say it was Highlands passing game that hurt the Eagles, Highlands ran the ball well also. If my stats are correct, I think Highlands averaged about 7 yds per run, which forced JC to honor the run and opened up the passing game. It was a no brainer to me that if JC had to go with one on one man coverage that there would be some big passes completed. While Collinsworth gets all the attention as Highlands receivers, we have one of the deepest receiving corps in the state. Collinsworth was used as a decoy on the long passes and it worked to perfection.

Big congrats to both teams. The JC kids played exactly as I thought they would. They are tough, hardnosed kids. They had a great, great season. Highlands kids also played tough football and didn't back down from the physical play of JC at all. They came into a tough playing atmosphere after a long bus ride and played the kind of game that I expect of Highlands players.

Again, congrats to both programs for a very good football game. I hope we meet up again next year.

[Mr.Kimball]

Wouldn't necessarily agree that Highlands played a mistake free game. We too squandered some opportunities: ball on the JC one and we get called for holding, which moves that ball back to the 11 (we get no points out of the drive when we miss what should have been a chip shot field goal); ball deep in our territory, we throw a pass to Conner on the wheel route and he takes it out past midfield, we again are called for holding, eventually punt deep from our territory and give JC great field position which they used to score a td.

Otherwise, I agree with your post.

Game went pretty much exactly as I thought it would (heck I predicted the exact score in this game). Close to tied at half with Highlands depth starting to show in the second half. I figured JC would have two fumbles not one and got the interceptions backwards too as I figured JC would have one not two. I figured both offenses would move the ball well and would only get stopped when they stopped themselves, which is what happened for both teams.

Neither defense is set up to stop the type of O that they faced in this game. JC's D is set up to stop the power run oriented teams more prevalent in E. Ky. Highlands D is set up to stop the spread type teams more prevalent in northern, central and western Ky. Our linebackers are quick, but very small. Often times we'd hit the runner at or behind the line of scrimmage, but didn't have the body size to bring the runner down. Plus, we are taught to tackle the upper body (not the legs) which also worked to our disadvantage when our small lbers had to take on the big powerful runners of JC. It didn't help that our biggest and in my opinion most physical lber (Roller) was lost in the Ashland game with a season ending knee injury.

Both teams moved the ball well. While some can say it was Highlands passing game that hurt the Eagles, Highlands ran the ball well also. If my stats are correct, I think Highlands averaged about 7 yds per run, which forced JC to honor the run and opened up the passing game. It was a no brainer to me that if JC had to go with one on one man coverage that there would be some big passes completed. While Collinsworth gets all the attention as Highlands receivers, we have one of the deepest receiving corps in the state. Collinsworth was used as a decoy on the long passes and it worked to perfection.

Big congrats to both teams. The JC kids played exactly as I thought they would. They are tough, hardnosed kids. They had a great, great season. Highlands kids also played tough football and didn't back down from the physical play of JC at all. They came into a tough playing atmosphere after a long bus ride and played the kind of game that I expect of Highlands players.

Again, congrats to both programs for a very good football game. I hope we meet up again next year.

Whether Collinsworth was used as a decoy or not , I have no idea about that. I assumed either Welch did a good job in coverage on Collinsworth or that he was respected by the HHS staff. If that is indeed the case, Highlands was able to exploit the weakness that JC does have in the secondary, that being a freshman and a sophomore and is only in experience only. Both are good athletes and have done well all season at their positions, but are nontheless underclassmen and got to see a level in receivers they have never seen.

I was also pleased with JC's kick and punt coverage. I have read all season long about how deadly of a kick returner Collinsworth is, so that was a high point in the game for JC, IMO.

I asked the question earlier about Collinsworth's size and was able to find his listed height as 6'1 and 180 lbs." I'm 6'1" and he was a lot shorter than I am, even in cleats. I'm quessing 5'9" and would be generous in giving him 5'10". Not that it means anything at all. Just interesting. Wonder how many of his Salyersville family members came to watch him play? Heck , he's almost a native son.

[tradition]

Whether Collinsworth was used as a decoy or not , I have no idea about that. I assumed either Welch did a good job in coverage on Collinsworth or that he was respected by the HHS staff. If that is indeed the case, Highlands was able to exploit the weakness that JC does have in the secondary, that being a freshman and a sophomore and is only in experience only. Both are good athletes and have done well all season at their positions, but are nontheless underclassmen and got to see a level in receivers they have never seen.

I was also pleased with JC's kick and punt coverage. I have read all season long about how deadly of a kick returner Collinsworth is, so that was a high point in the game for JC, IMO.

I asked the question earlier about Collinsworth's size and was able to find his listed height as 6'1 and 180 lbs." I'm 6'1" and he was a lot shorter than I am, even in cleats. I'm quessing 5'9" and would be generous in giving him 5'10". Not that it means anything at all. Just interesting. Wonder how many of his Salyersville family members came to watch him play? Heck , he's almost a native son.

He is definately 6'1" and around 180 lbs. Maybe your perceptions was just a little off or he was standing in a hole.

[Blau Vogel]

He is definately 6'1" and around 180 lbs. Maybe your perceptions was just a little off or he was standing in a hole.

He is only a JR, He should be able to pick up a couple of pounds and inches and have an above average Sr year

[sstack]

Whether Collinsworth was used as a decoy or not , I have no idea about that. I assumed either Welch did a good job in coverage on Collinsworth or that he was respected by the HHS staff. If that is indeed the case, Highlands was able to exploit the weakness that JC does have in the secondary, that being a freshman and a sophomore and is only in experience only. Both are good athletes and have done well all season at their positions, but are nontheless underclassmen and got to see a level in receivers they have never seen.

I was also pleased with JC's kick and punt coverage. I have read all season long about how deadly of a kick returner Collinsworth is, so that was a high point in the game for JC, IMO.

I asked the question earlier about Collinsworth's size and was able to find his listed height as 6'1 and 180 lbs." I'm 6'1" and he was a lot shorter than I am, even in cleats. I'm quessing 5'9" and would be generous in giving him 5'10". Not that it means anything at all. Just interesting. Wonder how many of his Salyersville family members came to watch him play? Heck , he's almost a native son.

I agree that JC did very well on special teams. I was expecting HHS to make some big plays on special teams and JC kept them in check.

[eagle99]

In this particular game the only thing the passing game was not needed until JC found themselves in a hole and needed to score points fast. They were able to do what they wanted to do and that was control the clock. I really felt that JC was going to score again when the fumble return occured, which would have made the Game 21-21 instead of it being 28-14.

Truth is Highlands is just about as weak defensively in stopping a good rushing attack as JC is weak in stopping a good passing attack. It could be said that they are slightly a little one dimentional in that aspect as well.

Remember to have a passing attack it takes more than just having a quarterback, someone has to be able to catch the ball too. You have to have both. We have had a passing QB the last couple of years, didn't fair as well as being run oriented, IMO. All of the skill positions (QB's, receivers, kickers) have to be developed while these kids are in the elementary ranks, not wait until they get to high school. I'll just about wager that's how it's done in almost all of the Northern Kentucky schools. Also a fact that some may not agree with , but here goes anyway. To be able to compete with the NKy teams, you just about have to have kids that focus on football almost year around. Just curious as to how many Highlands football players go out for basketball? More and more and more, to be at the upper echulon of anything and be dominate year after year after year, you have to have kids that are almost to the point of specializing.

Highlands has a very impresive team, but was I the only one surprised in how small they were? Just goes to show how deadly speed and quickness is. I expected Collinsworth to be more of the physical stature of his dad, that being kind of tall and lanky. He walked right by me going out to the field and he looked like he couldn't have been no taller than 5 '9" to 5'10" and weigh no more than 170 pounds. How tall is he listed at?

Thats very true, in this particular game both teams moved the ball at will. In a game like this where teams are trading touchdowns the team that makes the 'big mistake' usually ends up losin the game.

[Mr.Kimball]

He is definately 6'1" and around 180 lbs. Maybe your perceptions was just a little off or he was standing in a hole.

It doesn't matter, just the way he appeared to me. He is still a fine player no matter how tall he is.

[sstack]

Thats very true, in this particular game both teams moved the ball at will. In a game like this where teams are trading touchdowns the team that makes the 'big mistake' usually ends up losin the game.

Just curious if anybody else has seen video of the "missed" field goal by Highlands? The video was taken behind the goal post and sure looked good, even the news man thought so. you can see it on wsaz.com, go under sports, then high school sports, then 11 pm highligts.

[OffTheHook]

Just curious if anybody else has seen video of the "missed" field goal by Highlands? The video was taken behind the goal post and sure looked good, even the news man thought so. you can see it on wsaz.com, go under sports, then high school sports, then 11 pm highligts.

Looked good from the other end as well. But, it really doesn't matter now.

[eagle99]

sure looked good from the home stands!

[eagle99]

Just curious if anybody else has seen video of the "missed" field goal by Highlands? The video was taken behind the goal post and sure looked good, even the news man thought so. you can see it on wsaz.com, go under sports, then high school sports, then 11 pm highligts.

just watched the video on wsaz, it was good, no question about it!

[charlie22]

JC had a great season and played a good game against HHS! With that said I congratulate them. But Highlands was definitely a slightly better team. I think that teams need to be multi-faceted but it is not all that bad to rely on the run. But as has been already stated, you better be able to stay in the lead. The JC nor the Highlands Defense was very impressive. But maybe that was because the offense of both teams were good. But then Belfry seems to have a better Defense than either of these teams. What killed JC in this game was the BIG MISTAKE that allowed the Highlands D to score a TD. The Eagles were moving the ball and then suddenly found themselves down 2 TD's instead of being what appeared to be a soon to be tie all in the span of about 10 seconds.

Anyway, HHS played mistake free (unlike in the Bryan Station game) and JC had one mistake too many. That sums it up. Good luck Highlands the rest of the way.

Belfry may have a better defense than JC or Highlands; I haven't seen Belfry play so I wouldn't know. As I mentioned in another post, Highlands D isn't designed to stop run offenses of the sort utilized by JC and Belfry. A 3-5 is designed more to stop the open offenses seen almost everywhere other than the mountains. Sure we walked up our outside lbers up and in effect converted it to a 5-3, but those outside defensive ends were still manned by small lbers not built to stop a pounding run attack. Our most physical lber being on the sidelines with a knee injury didn't help our run defense either. Then again, it didn't help JC's offense that their QB had an ankle injury and wasn't near as effective running the ball as he would have been if he was healthy.

And since Belfry didn't play Highlands, it's really hard to say if Belfry would have fared any better defending our passing attack than JC did. Other than perhaps Trinity, I think Highlands may have the best passing attack in the state this year (I have to use the word "may" because I haven't seen every team play). And we aren't just a passing team. Some posters seem to forget that we ran the ball pretty well against JC's defense. I think we averaged over 7 yds per carry, which isn't too shabby. When a defense has to defend not only a very good passing game but a very good running game also, it really puts pressure on the D and can dilute the strength of a defense. I'm guessing (and I'll admit it's a guess) that Belfry hasn't had to face a team that has the quality of passing game and running game that Highlands has this year. But perhaps I'm wrong.

And I'll again disagree that Highlands played a mistake free game. We didn't have any turnovers, but we did make some very costly mistakes. If we don't have the holding penalty on the run that took the ball to JC's one yard line before halftime, I'm betting we score a td. Instead, we get backed up, miss a field goal and come away with nothing. Instead of it being 14-7 Highlands at half, its 7-7. If we convert on that opportunity and again score on our first possession to put us up 21-7 instead of 14-7, it would have probably taken JC out of their very effective running game much earlier in the second half. If that happened, the fumble for a Highlands TD probably becomes meaningless. So, at least in my opinion, the holding call against Highlands on that play was a very big mistake.

We also had another very costly holding penalty under the shadows of our own goal post in the second half on a pass play to Conner that moved the football out to JC's 40. It got called back and instead of having great field position and a drive still alive, we ended up punting deep in our territory, gave JC great field position and JC did what great teams do, they took advantage of our mistake and scored.

Given our ability to move the ball on JC's defense, take away those costly penalties, we may have scored two more touchdowns. I know that penalties, like fumbles, are part of the game, but I just wanted to reaffirm that Highlands DID have some very costly mistakes on Offense that at least in my opinion did result in Highlands scoring at least one and maybe two less touchdowns that they should have scored.

And I don't mean in any way to take anything away from JC. I was one of the few Highlands fans very concerned about JC. I'd seen them in person and on tape several times and knew their O would present all kinds of problems for our D and would score points. . And they did. JC's kids are very, very tough and played their hearts out. I have a lot of respect for the JC team. From what I know they have a lot of kids coming back (as does Highlands) so I have a feeling that JC will get the opportunity to try and avenge this season's loss.

[MonsterMan]

I do not know if this thread is dead, but a JC fan told me Ashland and JC were going back to 4A next year. Anyone know if this is true. with the team we have coming back, we should be in the state hunt again!

[Ring'Em Up]

I do not know if this thread is dead, but a JC fan told me Ashland and JC were going back to 4A next year. Anyone know if this is true. with the team we have coming back, we should be in the state hunt again!

I believe both teams did make formal requests to play 4A for 2009, citing travel reasons, but both were denied. That was my understanding of what I was told. I think you may be able to read the findings of the request on khsaa's site somewhere. I do know that JC and Ashland will be in only a 4-team district next season, with the loss of Bryan Station to 6A.

[DevilsWin]

The Bluebirds did just what the people who know football outside the Mountains thought they would do.

Good luck in 2009 JC!