[charlie22]

The QB from Letcher County Central (who is returning next season) is very talented. I was impressed with him when I watched LCC play Highlands last postseason. However, I will have to agree with the previous poster's comment regarding speed. Highlands' offensive and defensive linemen are typically VERY fast and routinely beat their counterparts on the other side of the line of scrimmage. It will be difficult for LCC to seriously contend with HHS (or CCH) until they find a way to improve their speed and quickness on the lines.

When you watch HHS play, you will notice something... every kid on that team looks physically fit (i.e. there aren't any "big fellas"). Often HHS is criticized for being too "small," but the players (especially the linemen and linebackers) aren't so much small as they are very trim. When you see most other teams around the state play, very few of them have this... and it translates into speed and quickness in every position on the field.

Teams that want to improve their level of play should focus first and foremost on improving the quality of the offensive and defensive lines. A star QB or RB will have a hard time shining if he is getting knocked into the ground 3 seconds after receiving the ball on every play. Similarly, a decent RB will look great if his line is beating the defenders off the line and blowing holes open on a consistent basis. Highlands had OUTSTANDING line play this past year, and mark my words... their chances of repeating in 2008 will hinge on how good the line plays this upcoming year (only one starter is returning on the offensive line). Luckily for HHS, they have a great offensive line coach and are good at getting underclassmen a lot of experience as back-ups.

While I generally agree with you, LexCath beat Highlands in 05 with some not exactly what you'd call, slim and trim O and D linemen. They did have an exceptional qb (Burke); I'm not willing quite yet to say that Banks is the next Burke, but he's pretty dang good. Last year when LCC lost to Highlands, Banks look really impressive and that was with a messed up hamstring. CovCath beat Highlands in 06 (twice) with O linemen that were no where near as athletic or as trim as Highlands line that year.

And I don't think your words need to be marked as they pretty much follow conventional wisdom. A good O needs a good O line. I'm just not sure that every good line is filled with only slim and trim O linemen. To run Highlands O (with all the pulling and trapping) you do. But not every good O requires such out of their O linemen. Actually a spread offense can be very successful with big hoggies taking tight splits to cut off the rushing lanes as can a power run offense.