[RedDevil_TE]

I haven't been a posting member of the board for very long so forgive me if I am asking a question you might have already answered in previous posts. I just would like to know why you feel that the Russell coaches cost them the game against Breathitt. I have always thought just the opposite...that Russell is so good BECAUSE of their coaches.

Russell hardly ever has any athletes that move on to play college football at a high level and yet they still manage to make it deep into the playoffs every year. I always thought the well executed ball control offense they run allows lesser talented players to compete with more talented players simply because they have been coached to do what they do so well. Now I am the first to admit I am no X's and O's expert! That is why I am asking you to explain to me where the weaknesses of the Russell coaches lie.

Was Russell really more talented than Owensboro Catholic in 2005? Were they more talented than Mercer County last year? Were they that much more talented than Belfry in 2005? Were they that much more talented than Belfry last year to go down to their stadium and completely dominate them? Didn't we lose to Belfry when David Jones (now playing for Kentucky) played for them? Didn't we lose to Breathitt when Justin Haddix (started at QB at Western Kentucky) played for them? Has Russell ever had any players that played college football at that level? I don't remember them if they did. I think it is amazing that Russell has been able to compete with teams like this the past few years.

It didn't look like Russell had the superior athletes this year against Breathitt either. The players at the skill positions for Breathitt County made some great throws, runs, and catches. Their quarterback was very accurate with his throws.

I have always thought that Russell's coaches seem to have a good plan and it appears they teach the players to execute it very well. They always seem to have been in the games that they lose. Whichever team has the playmakers that step up when the game is on the line seems to win. When Russell had players like this (i.e., Kasey Clark intercepting the pass against Belfry in '05 to make it to the state final game - in fact, there wasn't much difference between this Breathitt game and the Belfry game in '05 - Russell just needed an interception on the final drive to seal the deal - they almost got a couple but couldn't hold on), they won the big games. It just looked to me like they didn't have enough of those types of players this year. It could have gone either way.

That being said, I just want to know what the Russell coaches could have done with the group of players they had this year that would have made the game turn out better? Was it the offensive or defensive game plan that you disagreed with? Was it the in-game coaching decisions? As I said, I am no expert, but I am very interested in knowing as a fan who loves watching the competition unfold every Friday night.

I started to read this post and i only got halfway through it before i disagree with you, how can you say that we dont have the athletes we wouldnt make it deep into the playoffs every year if we didnt have the athletes, your coach could be John Madden for all i care if you dont have the talent your not going to get very far. As a player we dont call the plays or anything like that, the plays get told to us and we execute to the best of our abilities. And if you run a play over and over again and its not working then its probably not going to work.