[Tica]

I am baffled when someone repeatedly uses the excuse for the loss to Tilghman was that it was McCracken's first game. Hello? The same coach, Jack Haskins, and his same staff, have been coaching these same Lone Oak kids for a decade or more.

There may be a few new players from Reidland and Heath that came aboard, but not many, plus the usual transfers they poach from Paducah Middle or from across the river in Massac County, Illinois. No more new faces than would join a typical high school team every year. Haskins is
superb at developing quarterbacks. Maybe the best in the state. But he has help. The McCracken Co. website lists an astounding 18 football coaches.

The record also shows Haskins' teams generally get better as the year progresses but he has lost three in a row to Tilghman when he likely had better overall teams. Why? Because PT is well-conditioned in the heat and his teams are not. If you play for PT, you run, a lot, every single day. PT lost five murderer's row games. No excuses. It is what it is. The key kids who missed those games are now all back. Perhaps Larry Shanks' return coincided with facing weaker opponents. Maybe it did not. We shall see what the future holds.