[Pride and Football]

Haha Johnson Central wont make it past regionals, I mean come on? they actually think they can

[monster_energy]

i dont think they are.. IMO...

[Eagle Eye]

If Johnson Central was the second best team in 5A then 5A wasn't real competitive this year. Johnson Central may not have made the top ten in 4A this season. :Thumbs:

:ape: :theman:

[Hoot Gibson]

Johnson Central, John Hardin, and Bowling Green were close enough that nobody can say for sure which was the best team because they will never play each other.

Highlands' defense was much better than John Hardin's and Johnson Central rushed for nearly 300 yards against the Bluebirds' defense. There is no telling how many yards the Golden Eagles might have rushed against John Hardin. Highlands' offense was much better than John Hardin's offense and the Bluebirds scored 42 points against the JC defense.

If I were predicting the outcome of a John Hardin-Johnson Central game, I would predict a close game with both teams scoring in the 30s. Johnson Central would devour the clock and push JH's defense up and down the field to negate JH's edge in raw speed. JH would try to spread JC's defense out and strike quickly with its speed.

A Johnson Central-John Hardin game would be a great match-up, IMO, and anybody predicting an easy win by either team is crazy.

[whackem'n'stackem']

Highlands Defense only allowed a legit 7pts against both teams. Both offenses control the clock well. JC is too weak in the 2nd half to stop an aerial attack from JH. JH doesn't have guys going both ways. JH pulls away with a sustained aerial attack and JC has another year of what could have been's.....

[Hoot Gibson]

Highlands Defense only allowed a legit 7pts against both teams. Both offenses control the clock well. JC is too weak in the 2nd half to stop an aerial attack from JH. JH doesn't have guys going both ways. JH pulls away with a sustained aerial attack and JC has another year of what could have been's.....

It would be a close game, regardless of how many "illegitimate" points each team scored. John Hardin may play guys one way but it does not have the depth of talent that Highlands does and simply playing a two-platoon system does not ensure a win against a quality team. JC's size and running game would wear down the John Hardin defense.

Just out of curiosity, how many of Highlands' points against JH and JC were "legitimate," in your opinion? For example, were the touchdowns that resulted from Johnson Central's three second half turnovers less legitimate than the ones that the Bluebirds scored in the first half?

Let me guess, all of Johnson Central's turnovers were forced, so all of Highlands' points were legitimate. Only Johnson Central scored points that were not legitimate in your opinion. Am I right? :popcorn:

[BillyB]

Johnson Central, John Hardin, and Bowling Green were close enough that nobody can say for sure which was the best team because they will never play each other.

Highlands' defense was much better than John Hardin's and Johnson Central rushed for nearly 300 yards against the Bluebirds' defense. There is no telling how many yards the Golden Eagles might have rushed against John Hardin. Highlands' offense was much better than John Hardin's offense and the Bluebirds scored 42 points against the JC defense.

If I were predicting the outcome of a John Hardin-Johnson Central game, I would predict a close game with both teams scoring in the 30s. Johnson Central would devour the clock and push JH's defense up and down the field to negate JH's edge in raw speed. JH would try to spread JC's defense out and strike quickly with its speed.

A Johnson Central-John Hardin game would be a great match-up, IMO, and anybody predicting an easy win by either team is crazy.

This analysis seems spot on to me.

[BluegrassBuckeye]

:ape: :theman:

Thanks bro!

[mr.charlie hustle]

Spoken like a true paintsville fan! I thought when you beat a team you were better than they were.

The main difference in JC and Highlands is Highlands numbers and two platoon system. They wore JC down. If John Hardin and Bowling Green run a two platoon system they might beat JC. Not seeing these teams play I can not give a good account. It is not so much talent between these teams as it is numbers and giving players a rest.

I think it means you won the game.

[MonsterMan]

Johnson Central, John Hardin, and Bowling Green were close enough that nobody can say for sure which was the best team because they will never play each other.

Highlands' defense was much better than John Hardin's and Johnson Central rushed for nearly 300 yards against the Bluebirds' defense. There is no telling how many yards the Golden Eagles might have rushed against John Hardin. Highlands' offense was much better than John Hardin's offense and the Bluebirds scored 42 points against the JC defense.

If I were predicting the outcome of a John Hardin-Johnson Central game, I would predict a close game with both teams scoring in the 30s. Johnson Central would devour the clock and push JH's defense up and down the field to negate JH's edge in raw speed. JH would try to spread JC's defense out and strike quickly with its speed.

A Johnson Central-John Hardin game would be a great match-up, IMO, and anybody predicting an easy win by either team is crazy.

Great post! I agree. As a JC fan I am just glad that during a rebuilding year and with the bad start we had, we finished as storng as we did, one of the top in 5A. We have great hopes for next season! Highlands was a great team this year and has had a great run, but who finished #2 this year does not matter, setting yours goals and working to be #1 next year is what matters!

[pappy]

I'd like to see the state change districts/regions around and put Highlands and JC in different regions and the see who can make the walk of walks....

[Can you dig it?]

I'd like to see the state change districts/regions around and put Highlands and JC in different regions and the see who can make the walk of walks....

I'm sure you would, but that would just mean you'd have to drive to Bowling Green to get beat.:devilflam

[Blau Vogel]

Highlands 46 JC 15 (-31)
John Hardin 37 JC 26 (-11)
Bowling Green 35 JC 25 (-10)
Dixie Heights 32 JC 31 (-1)
JC 38 Pulaski Co 32 (+6)
JC 30 Oldham C 23 (+7)

http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultc...division=1

[Can you dig it?]

Highlands 46 JC 15 (-31)
John Hardin 37 JC 26 (-11)
Bowling Green 35 JC 25 (-10)
Dixie Heights 32 JC 31 (-1)
JC 38 Pulaski Co 32 (+6)
JC 30 Oldham C 23 (+7)

http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultc...division=1

What about Covington Catholic 35 JC 34?:biggrin:

[Blau Vogel]

What about Covington Catholic 35 JC 34?:biggrin:

With as many points as were scored in the "real" game I could see it going either way no matter how many times they played.

What about:
Boyle County 41 Johnson Central 19

[BluegrassBuckeye]

With as many points as were scored in the "real" game I could see it going either way no matter how many times they played.

What about:
Boyle County 41 Johnson Central 19

Or Boyle County 49 Johnson Central 7.

[kywldcat01]

calpreps.com's predictions:

Bowling Green 35 Johnson Central 22
Christian Co 26 Johnson Central 24
Dixie Heights 31 Johnson Central 30
John Hardin 35 Johnson Central 26
Highlands 44 Johnson Central 14
Whitley Co 35 Johnson Central 31

That's 6 teams that are assumed to be better in 5a than Johnson Central. Would a game play out that way? We'll never know but IMO Johnson Central wasn't the 2nd best team in 5A this year.

[Hoot Gibson]

The computer rankings reflect what is obvious from looking at the scoreboard. JC played badly its first four games and peaked at the end of the year. Anybody who does not believe that the Golden Eagles were a much stronger team than Covington Catholic at the end of the season was just not paying attention.

The Golden Eagles have rolled up around 1200 yards on the ground against the Colonels in their last two meetings. CovCath has a great program and they probably would have beaten JC if they had played early in the season. The computer predictions were way off for the games that JC played in the playoffs because they gave too much weight to the early season losses. There is no reason to believe that the computers would have picked the outcomes of any of the hypothetical match-ups any better.

[BluegrassBuckeye]

Didn't we just have a 5A tournament? I'm pretty sure that Johnson Central did not finish second in that tournament. Doesn't that answer the question definitively? :thanks:

[kywldcat01]

The computer rankings reflect what is obvious from looking at the scoreboard. JC played badly its first four games and peaked at the end of the year. Anybody who does not believe that the Golden Eagles were a much stronger team than Covington Catholic at the end of the season was just not paying attention.

The Golden Eagles have rolled up around 1200 yards on the ground against the Colonels in their last two meetings. CovCath has a great program and they probably would have beaten JC if they had played early in the season. The computer predictions were way off for the games that JC played in the playoffs because they gave too much weight to the early season losses. There is no reason to believe that the computers would have picked the outcomes of any of the hypothetical match-ups any better.

Calpreps didn't predict Covcath to beat Johnson Central so that argument is sort of irrelevant to my previous post.

Johnson Central is a top 5 5A team, but IMO both Bowling Green and John Hardin would have beaten the Golden Eagles. I also think Dixie Heights could have given JC a better game than Covcath and possibly even beaten them. They have a very good passing attack which JC struggles with.

[tradition]

Calpreps didn't predict Covcath to beat Johnson Central so that argument is sort of irrelevant to my previous post.

Johnson Central is a top 5 5A team, but IMO both Bowling Green and John Hardin would have beaten the Golden Eagles. I also think Dixie Heights could have given JC a better game than Covcath and possibly even beaten them. They have a very good passing attack which JC struggles with.

I'm not sure I would say better. Maybe equal too or different, not better.

[Diogenes]

Didn't we just have a 5A tournament? I'm pretty sure that Johnson Central did not finish second in that tournament. Doesn't that answer the question definitively? :thanks:

Not at all. Where you finish in that tournament just depended on when you play Highlands. You play them last game, you finish second. You play them first game, you finish one and out. Make it a round robin format with all teams playing one another, and you get a definitive answer.

I do not claim JC was the second best team in 5A this year, nor do I claim that they would beat Boyle County if the game were replayed. That being said, you can dismiss the Eagles all you want based on your observation of JC in the early season, but you would have difficulty recognizing the team that took the field against Highlands. They bore ZERO resemblance to the team that fumbled the ball all over the field the first four games of the season.

[BluegrassBuckeye]

Not at all. Where you finish in that tournament just depended on when you play Highlands. You play them last game, you finish second. You play them first game, you finish one and out. Make it a round robin format with all teams playing one another, and you get a definitive answer.

I do not claim JC was the second best team in 5A this year, nor do I claim that they would beat Boyle County if the game were replayed. That being said, you can dismiss the Eagles all you want based on your observation of JC in the early season, but you would have difficulty recognizing the team that took the field against Highlands. They bore ZERO resemblance to the team that fumbled the ball all over the field the first four games of the season.

I'm sure that JC improved as the year wore on. Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that the teams that throttled JC early in the season improved as well? I don't follow JC at all but a quick glance at the schedule seems to indicate that their toughest games were at the beginning. They went on a winning streak against mediocre competition and gave up tons of points along the way. They didn't do much against Highlands except get blown out. I'll say that a great deal of JC's mid / late season success was due to a weak 5A. Let's be honest; take away Highlands and 5A was pretty bad this season.

[Hoot Gibson]

Calpreps didn't predict Covcath to beat Johnson Central so that argument is sort of irrelevant to my previous post.

Johnson Central is a top 5 5A team, but IMO both Bowling Green and John Hardin would have beaten the Golden Eagles. I also think Dixie Heights could have given JC a better game than Covcath and possibly even beaten them. They have a very good passing attack which JC struggles with.

...and any other team in NKY would have struggled to slow down JC's running game. Highland's depth was the difference in its game with JC and none of the teams you listed had that same kind of depth.

[Hoot Gibson]

I'm sure that JC improved as the year wore on. Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that the teams that throttled JC early in the season improved as well? I don't follow JC at all but a quick glance at the schedule seems to indicate that their toughest games were at the beginning. They went on a winning streak against mediocre competition and gave up tons of points along the way. They didn't do much against Highlands except get blown out. I'll say that a great deal of JC's mid / late season success was due to a weak 5A. Let's be honest; take away Highlands and 5A was pretty bad this season.

JC had a very young team with a new QB to start the year and like you said, some of its toughest competition came on the front end of its schedule. Young, inexperienced teams who are well coached tend to improve more as the season unfolds than teams dominated by experienced players. I doubt that JC would have beaten either Bell Co. or Boyle Co. at the end of the season but the games would have been much closer.

Every good run comes to an end eventually and the gap between Highlands and the field will narrow considerably next season if it does not disappear completely. JC will be a much tougher out next season and I am looking forward to a rematch next season in Paintsville - assuming that Highlands can win its district again.

[Mr.Kimball]

JC had a very young team with a new QB to start the year and like you said, some of its toughest competition came on the front end of its schedule. Young, inexperienced teams who are well coached tend to improve more as the season unfolds than teams dominated by experienced players. I doubt that JC would have beaten either Bell Co. or Boyle Co. at the end of the season but the games would have been much closer.

Every good run comes to an end eventually and the gap between Highlands and the field will narrow considerably next season if it does not disappear completely. JC will be a much tougher out next season and I am looking forward to a rematch next season in Paintsville - assuming that Highlands can win its district again.

Perhaps actually seeing some of them could have convinced you otherwise. I am not convinced of that. You had to know the circumstances involving JC the first few games. Hard to know about any of that stuff when your a 1,000 miles away.

[Hoot Gibson]

Perhaps actually seeing some of them could have convinced you otherwise. I am not convinced of that. You had to know the circumstances involving JC the first few games. Hard to know about any of that stuff when your a 1,000 miles away.

I am not saying the JC could not have beaten Boyle or Bell late in the season, but they are two of the best coached teams in the state. JC is also very well coached but they would have been solid underdogs against either team. Beating a team to whom you lost by 42 points in the same season is a pretty steep mountain to climb.

BTW, my vantage point is only 750 miles away but I don't think my opinion would have changed if I had attended every game in person. Bell and Boyle were ready to play when the season started. Hopefully, Johnson Central will work hard in the off season and play to their potential from the get-go next season. I am planning to watch the Golden Eagles play in both the regional final and in the state 5A Championship game next December. :biggrin:

[Diogenes]

I'm sure that JC improved as the year wore on. Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that the teams that throttled JC early in the season improved as well? I don't follow JC at all but a quick glance at the schedule seems to indicate that their toughest games were at the beginning. They went on a winning streak against mediocre competition and gave up tons of points along the way. They didn't do much against Highlands except get blown out. I'll say that a great deal of JC's mid / late season success was due to a weak 5A. Let's be honest; take away Highlands and 5A was pretty bad this season.

JC's improvement primarily involved the elimination of fumbles. This team was absolutely handicapped by putting the ball on the ground. You cannot beat ANYONE when you fumble as much as we did, whether it's Boyle County or Sheldon Clark. Other teams corrected small flaws throughout the season; JC corrected an absolutely FATAL flaw. The difference was as drastic as anything I've ever seen in sports over the course of a season.

[Mr.Kimball]

I am not saying the JC could not have beaten Boyle or Bell late in the season, but they are two of the best coached teams in the state. JC is also very well coached but they would have been solid underdogs against either team. Beating a team to whom you lost by 42 points in the same season is a pretty steep mountain to climb.
BTW, my vantage point is only 750 miles away but I don't think my opinion would have changed if I had attended every game in person. Bell and Boyle were ready to play when the season started. Hopefully, Johnson Central will work hard in the off season and play to their potential from the get-go next season. I am planning to watch the Golden Eagles play in both the regional final and in the state 5A Championship game next December. :biggrin:

Sure sounded to me like that was exactly what you were saying. What you are failing to understand is that it could have been way different at the the begining of the season, not just at the end of the season. Boyle only scored 1 touchdown the whole game where their offense generated a drive. You first have to understand where the other 42 points came from before declaring that that would be " a pretty steep mountain to overcome". Every other touchdown was produced in the exact same scenerio as the third quarter of the Highlands games. Fumbles and snaps over the punters head deep in their own territory. It was JC 's offense, not the defense. Of course we all know the drastic turn around with that department.With Bell Co, you had 5 starters out for that game with a young inexperienced team that goes primarily both ways. They go into the last few seconds of the first half tied at 6-6, driving at will, coughing it up in the red zone. You cannot guage that game with thoughts on anything concerning an end of the year rematch, except in my mind, optimisim.

Solid underdogs? Only by message board experts. I stand firmly with my statement.

[Hoot Gibson]

Sure sounded to me like that was exactly what you were saying. What you are failing to understand is that it could have been way different at the the begining of the season, not just at the end of the season. Boyle only scored 1 touchdown the whole game where their offense generated a drive. You first have to understand where the other 42 points came from before declaring that that would be " a pretty steep mountain to overcome". Every other touchdown was produced in the exact same scenerio as the third quarter of the Highlands games. Fumbles and snaps over the punters head deep in their own territory. It was JC 's offense, not the defense. Of course we all know the drastic turn around with that department.With Bell Co, you had 5 starters out for that game with a young inexperienced team that goes primarily both ways. They go into the last few seconds of the first half tied at 6-6, driving at will, coughing it up in the red zone. You cannot guage that game with thoughts on anything concerning an end of the year rematch, except in my mind, optimisim.

Solid underdogs? Only by message board experts. I stand firmly with my statement.

Turnovers beat JC in their early games and they improved in that area. Still, JC played Highlands pretty even in the regional finals before their offense began coughing it up in the third quarter.

I don't think it takes a message board expert to make an undefeated team who won the first match-up by 42 a solid favorite in a hypothetical rematch. JC could have beaten either Boyle or Bell at the end of the season but it probably would have taken a better game than they played against Highlands.