[Superman20]

It is strange how bad coaching and a lack of talent look so much alike. Since Johnson County Middle School has been built, how many times has Paintsville's combined 7th and 8th grade teams ever beaten Johnson County? How many times have they even come close to beating them?

You are right. I had a son who started as a freshman on that 10-0 team. If I recall correctly, his 8th grade team led Paintsville's 7-8th grade team 48-0 at halftime. That same year, my younger son's 7th grade team beat Paintsville's 8th grade team 21-7 and the following year, I believe that his team only 36-0 at the half. There may have been an isolated game or two where JCMS has not thoroughly dominated Paintsville, but I do not recall any.

Paintsville's small enrollment means that they must have strong contributions by their underclassmen to field a competitive football team. None of their individual classes has as much talent as JCMS does. So do you think that those players who dominated Paintsville at the middle school level suddenly became less talented when they played for Humphrey and Ross? I don't think so.

I have nothing against Paintsville's program but athletic talent is spread pretty evenly over Johnson County. The difference is that Johnson Central's talent pool is several times bigger than Paintsville's. For many years, Paintsville's superior (and stable) coaching staff was able to prevail against Johnson Central but that was the primary reason that Paintsville led the series when it came to a merciful end. Walter Brugh and David Lemaster are the reasons why Paintsville had the upper hand for so many years - not superior talent.

I see your points because your correct on the middle school dominating paintsville's. More then likely, that team from 01 I was talking about got beat pretty good in middle school. Im not sure, to be honest. I can't remember back that far! lol All I can say is those players on that team, developed into very good athletes in high school. Good coaching may have been why, or maybe they had good work ethics, im not sure. You can't judge a player by how talented he is in middle school. They might not gain much speed, might not work out hard, etc. Prime example, Chet Griffith when he was a fullback at JCMS. People bragged about him constantly and in middle school he was "the man", in high school he didn't get any faster and his skills didn't improve at all. People claimed he was going to break every record that JC had. He was a good boy and it was sad the expectations that they put on him at that age. He peaked at an early age, and didn't even start at fullback and wasn't near as talented as the Webb kid. I would also bet their were a few better fullbacks then Griffith on that team. Their are several factors that can happen once kids get into high school. All i know is that by the time that bunch was in high school, phs was more talented. Their wasn't anyone at JC in the secondary better then the Arms twins and Tate Harmon, wasn't a better reciever then Dustin Hall or Ryan Jarrell, and Chas Harmon could throw a football better then anyone on JC's roster. Wasn't a lineman on that team that was better then Ryan Brown because Paul Webb was very overrated. They both got d1 scholarships, but anyone that had watched him play knew Paul wasn't d1 material. Now you got me wondering, I dont remember a freshman starting on the 00 team. Im lucky to even remember what I did last week, let alone 10 years ago so thats probably why. That 00 apple bowl was a good game. Man, both of those teams were fun to watch. Everyone doubted that 00 JC team before that season. People thought they wouldn't be near as good as the 99 team and they ended up being better. Anyways, im done with this thread. I have nothing else to say about it. I agree with some points and disagree on a few others.