[track]

Just a few stats
Breathitt Russell
1st downs 17 13
Rush/yards 25/87 38/201
passing 20-30-0 6-11-1
Passing yrds 215 77
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-yrds 3-16 2-10
A great game, a close game, and a clean game. Thank you to both teams for representing their schools well.

[Midee1]

Another season goes by with Russell coaches wasting talent. As Ive said for yrs, Russell this yr was twice as talented as Breathitt. Fugate boys were good. Other than that, it shouldn't have been close. Same os 02, 00, 99, and last yrs finals loss. Chalk one up for the coaching staff. When ol Puss gut retires Russell will probably win about 4 straight titles.

A coaching staff that has taken this team anywhere from the regionals to the state championship game since at least 2002. What more do you want? How many coaches out there can say they have that kind of record? How many fans out there would love for their team to have that kind of record?

You have some serious hang ups about Coach McGlone and that is sad. But if you think that a coaching change will magically bring you four straight championship you are even less knowledgeable about football that anyone could even imagine.

[jchsrulz]

Couldn't have said it better myself! They are other teams out there just as good as the Mighty Devils, so that is why they lost. Not the coaching. Everyone has to lose sometimes. You don't realize how well you have it at Russell!! Coach is a class act!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like Heywood @ Belfry, but he also has a few idiots that dispute his every loss, the few that they have. I will chalk you up as one of those fans.:redboxer:

By the way, who would lead this team better "IN YOUR MIND"?:confused:

Never coached...probably never played...and if you did...probably never got in.

Have more respect for those that put the time in to teach our kids how to do things the right way. Ivan McGlone is one of those people.

This team lost 26 seniors! Its phenomenal to have a team with 26 seniors. Thats means that 26 kids believed in him for 4 years, and I know that all 26 of them did NOT play. In my opinion, that means the Russell football program has a good thing going aside from football, and when it all boils down to the winners and losers in life Ivan McGlone coaches winners.

Keep your senseless thoughts to your self.

[15thRegionCrazy]

Congrats Breathitt County!

[RedDevilRB]

should have kicked a field goal, then it would have been in overtime

[dbcooper]

Another season goes by with Russell coaches wasting talent. As Ive said for yrs, Russell this yr was twice as talented as Breathitt. Fugate boys were good. Other than that, it shouldn't have been close. Same os 02, 00, 99, and last yrs finals loss. Chalk one up for the coaching staff. When ol Puss gut retires Russell will probably win about 4 straight titles.

Ridiculous. I've seen both teams multiple times and Breathitt was WAY better and should have blown the Red Devils out.
How many games have you won as a coach compared to Ivan?
What's that? None? That's what I thought. Learn some respect. If you played for Joe Cecil, as you've said before, and learned so much from him you'd have learned to respect your elders and there is none more worthy than Ivan McGlone.
Go get some zit cream and grow up.

[ryanparker]

Another season goes by with Russell coaches wasting talent. As Ive said for yrs, Russell this yr was twice as talented as Breathitt. Fugate boys were good. Other than that, it shouldn't have been close. Same os 02, 00, 99, and last yrs finals loss. Chalk one up for the coaching staff. When ol Puss gut retires Russell will probably win about 4 straight titles.

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.

[Advance Eagles]

Another season goes by with Russell coaches wasting talent. As Ive said for yrs, Russell this yr was twice as talented as Breathitt. Fugate boys were good. Other than that, it shouldn't have been close. Same os 02, 00, 99, and last yrs finals loss. Chalk one up for the coaching staff. When ol Puss gut retires Russell will probably win about 4 straight titles.

I thought Russell was well coached last night. And that Ivan made some gutsy calls. If a certain someone plays his assignment on defense the last BC TD never happens.

I think you gotta put mcglone as your number 1, to graduate that many players, and lose that many starters and still be considered a contender, and a possible shot at 10-0 with mostly juniors and soph's.

:wtf1: Either he's your #1 coach or not! How's that Bi-Polar disorder working out?

[DevilsWin]

should have kicked a field goal, then it would have been in overtime

I agree here RedDevilRB. But we had to make the field goal too. Only problem with that was Breathitt was getting into the Russell backfield and a whole lot of bad things could have happened if the kick got blocked. On the other side, if Russell had got the kick up off the ground Breathitt's field position would have been worse for them than it was after the sack.

What beat Russell was Breathitt's field position all night on Special Teams. you can't expect to win when the players break from their running lanes and leave big holes for the recieving team to bust through. That's where this game was lost. Special teams.
Tough loss, can't blame the coach. He puts them in a position to win and the team didn't execute. Russell will be a better more experienced team next year.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Ivan said last night that he should have kicked the field goal and put points onthe board, I dont know too many coaches who will sya that after loosing a game. Thats a man if youask me... Now I agree that that BC exploited our weekness when they needed too, David Bailey had some good pass defenses last night, and if an assignment was played well,, I agree no TD passes for BC. I just argued that we should have gone for the 4and1 and not had punted,, OH YES thats a big gamble I agree, but sometimes you have to run up to the line and look at them and say, I have no respect for your defense and I WILL RUN THE BALL ON YOU !!!!!!!!!!!. We did not do that and maybe I am wrong, but everybody who knows me, PUNT is not in my plalbook except on 3rd down.... LONG EXPLANATION..
ANYWAY....
OUr coaches are the best yet,and anyone can sit back and be an arm chair coach the next day.. If you guys all would be honest,, Our DEVILS got farther than alot of people thought they would this year.. I am happy with the team and the boys showed great performances, great love for the game and great heart. I love those guys and play on SENIORS.. You all can go somewhere and play, just ask on here and others will tell you.
Great job and lets get ready for next year.
Lets go BELFRY win it all PIRATES...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DevilsWin]

Ivan said last night that he should have kicked the field goal and put points onthe board, I dont know too many coaches who will sya that after loosing a game. Thats a man if youask me... Now I agree that that BC exploited our weekness when they needed too, David Bailey had some good pass defenses last night, and if an assignment was played well,, I agree no TD passes for BC. I just argued that we should have gone for the 4and1 and not had punted,, OH YES thats a big gamble I agree, but sometimes you have to run up to the line and look at them and say, I have no respect for your defense and I WILL RUN THE BALL ON YOU !!!!!!!!!!!. We did not do that and maybe I am wrong, but everybody who knows me, PUNT is not in my plalbook except on 3rd down.... LONG EXPLANATION..
ANYWAY....
OUr coaches are the best yet,and anyone can sit back and be an arm chair coach the next day.. If you guys all would be honest,, Our DEVILS got farther than alot of people thought they would this year.. I am happy with the team and the boys showed great performances, great love for the game and great heart. I love those guys and play on SENIORS.. You all can go somewhere and play, just ask on here and others will tell you.
Great job and lets get ready for next year.
Lets go BELFRY win it all PIRATES...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:Thumbs: The only thing I don't understand is all this love for Belfry. They are our biggest play-off rival? Sure they have a great program but who cares, they're not Russell.:confused:

[Russelldad]

Would'a , Could'a, Should'a. As a fan and a "dad" you always see something that in hindsight may have changed the outcome of the game. For example,

--The defense comes out and forces a punt on the first series (big momentun for us). We immediately pick up 15 yards on the first play, but then fumble it.
--We are unable to punch it in right before the half and settle for a FG.
--Up 17 - 7, had a potential interception, slip through our defenders hands after a tip pass
--Later in the drive, our safety makes a great play on the ball only to have their guy somehow hang onto the pass for a big 1st down.
--Up 17-13, facing fourth and 6 from the 20, we go for the 1st instead of 'trying' a 37 yard FG. (Who knows.. maybe he makes it, maybe he doesn't)
--Down 20-17, facing 3rd and 10 from the 50, and Brethitt coming with an all-out blitz, what "if" the call was a FB dive play. (Who knows..)

All I am saying is that everyone can always see something that "might" have worked.

What I DID SEE though were a group of big strong senior Young men after the final horn not wanting to leave the field, laying prone on the cold turf, their eyes stained with tears, knowing that they have given EVERYTHING THEY HAD INSIDE OF THEM on this night. For those young men, let me be the first to tell you "THANK YOU". You have given this "dad" and "fan", four years of great enjoyment. You have brought us a State Championship, State runner-up crown, A region championship, and a district championship. You have allowed us to leave the stands 51 times in those 4 years with a smile on our face and only "6" times with defeat. We will miss not seeing you in those Maroon jerseys, but we know that each one of you will return to cheer on the next set of young men who put on your jersey number. Good luck to all of you on your next step in life, whatever it may be. Who knows, maybe we'll be seeing you put on the pads again next fall. We'll just have to wait and see what the good Lord has in store for each of you.

To the coaching staff, thank you for not only molding and making good football players, but also great young men.

Finally, to the 1 senior who calls this fan "DAD", YOUR MOM AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and pray for nothing but the best for you in whatever you do.

[Playboy5]

Would'a , Could'a, Should'a. As a fan and a "dad" you always see something that in hindsight may have changed the outcome of the game. For example,

--The defense comes out and forces a punt on the first series (big momentun for us). We immediately pick up 15 yards on the first play, but then fumble it.
--We are unable to punch it in right before the half and settle for a FG.
--Up 17 - 7, had a potential interception, slip through our defenders hands after a tip pass
--Later in the drive, our safety makes a great play on the ball only to have their guy somehow hang onto the pass for a big 1st down.
--Up 17-13, facing fourth and 6 from the 20, we go for the 1st instead of 'trying' a 37 yard FG. (Who knows.. maybe he makes it, maybe he doesn't)
--Down 20-17, facing 3rd and 10 from the 50, and Brethitt coming with an all-out blitz, what "if" the call was a FB dive play. (Who knows..)

All I am saying is that everyone can always see something that "might" have worked.

What I DID SEE though were a group of big strong senior Young men after the final horn not wanting to leave the field, laying prone on the cold turf, their eyes stained with tears, knowing that they have given EVERYTHING THEY HAD INSIDE OF THEM on this night. For those young men, let me be the first to tell you "THANK YOU". You have given this "dad" and "fan", four years of great enjoyment. You have brought us a State Championship, State runner-up crown, A region championship, and a district championship. You have allowed us to leave the stands 51 times in those 4 years with a smile on our face and only "6" times with defeat. We will miss not seeing you in those Maroon jerseys, but we know that each one of you will return to cheer on the next set of young men who put on your jersey number. Good luck to all of you on your next step in life, whatever it may be. Who knows, maybe we'll be seeing you put on the pads again next fall. We'll just have to wait and see what the good Lord has in store for each of you.

To the coaching staff, thank you for not only molding and making good football players, but also great young men.

Finally, to the 1 senior who calls this fan "DAD", YOUR MOM AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and pray for nothing but the best for you in whatever you do.

One of the best posts I have ever read on BGR! Classy...Parents like you who has made boys like your son..MEN! Once again, great post!

[cobra67]

:Thumbs: The only thing I don't understand is all this love for Belfry. They are our biggest play-off rival? Sure they have a great program but who cares, they're not Russell.:confused:

Let me answer that for ya. Its real simple.Its because most of us on here love football, and respect the great programs.I know I always pull for Russell except when they are playing each other. Just a bunch of gool ol' boys and parents that love to see boys from this end of the state ( Eastern Ky.) doing some good things.

[cobra67]

By the way, Congrats to the Red Devils on a great season and to the coaches.Also congrats to Breathitt County. I also say good luck to the seniors.You guys had a fine run during your four years. You boys should be very proud. Hopefully we'll get to see yall next year in the playoffs. Who knows ,maybe next week we can get a little payback for ya.

[cobra67]

Would'a , Could'a, Should'a. As a fan and a "dad" you always see something that in hindsight may have changed the outcome of the game. For example,

--The defense comes out and forces a punt on the first series (big momentun for us). We immediately pick up 15 yards on the first play, but then fumble it.
--We are unable to punch it in right before the half and settle for a FG.
--Up 17 - 7, had a potential interception, slip through our defenders hands after a tip pass
--Later in the drive, our safety makes a great play on the ball only to have their guy somehow hang onto the pass for a big 1st down.
--Up 17-13, facing fourth and 6 from the 20, we go for the 1st instead of 'trying' a 37 yard FG. (Who knows.. maybe he makes it, maybe he doesn't)
--Down 20-17, facing 3rd and 10 from the 50, and Brethitt coming with an all-out blitz, what "if" the call was a FB dive play. (Who knows..)

All I am saying is that everyone can always see something that "might" have worked.

What I DID SEE though were a group of big strong senior Young men after the final horn not wanting to leave the field, laying prone on the cold turf, their eyes stained with tears, knowing that they have given EVERYTHING THEY HAD INSIDE OF THEM on this night. For those young men, let me be the first to tell you "THANK YOU". You have given this "dad" and "fan", four years of great enjoyment. You have brought us a State Championship, State runner-up crown, A region championship, and a district championship. You have allowed us to leave the stands 51 times in those 4 years with a smile on our face and only "6" times with defeat. We will miss not seeing you in those Maroon jerseys, but we know that each one of you will return to cheer on the next set of young men who put on your jersey number. Good luck to all of you on your next step in life, whatever it may be. Who knows, maybe we'll be seeing you put on the pads again next fall. We'll just have to wait and see what the good Lord has in store for each of you.

To the coaching staff, thank you for not only molding and making good football players, but also great young men.

Finally, to the 1 senior who calls this fan "DAD", YOUR MOM AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and pray for nothing but the best for you in whatever you do.

Truly one of the best posts I' ve read on here.

[DevilsWin]

Let me answer that for ya. Its real simple.Its because most of us on here love football, and respect the great programs.I know I always pull for Russell except when they are playing each other. Just a bunch of gool ol' boys and parents that love to see boys from this end of the state ( Eastern Ky.) doing some good things.

That's cool. Don't think I don't have a ton of respect for Belfry's program.

I just won't be cheering for them .

[Playboy5]

Well it would be like me rooting for the Yankees being a diehard Red Sox fan, lol, or rooting for the Cowbuys with me being a Redskins fans. There are just some things that sports fanatics cannot do, and If I was a Russell fan and Belfry was playing another mountain team, then I could not root for them. That is the great thing about rivalries!

[Advance Eagles]

^^Yes.

[dundee]

take it to state belfry

[FBALL]

Ridiculous. I've seen both teams multiple times and Breathitt was WAY better and should have blown the Red Devils out.
How many games have you won as a coach compared to Ivan?
What's that? None? That's what I thought. Learn some respect. If you played for Joe Cecil, as you've said before, and learned so much from him you'd have learned to respect your elders and there is none more worthy than Ivan McGlone.
Go get some zit cream and grow up.

Yes his post was ridiculous.

No Breathitt was not way better.


Two very evenly matched teams with two very different styles of play. Russell was bigger and stronger. Breathitt used alot of speed on defense and crowded the line of scrimmage to negate the size advantage.

#3 for Breathitt should get the game ball. Some great catches and a diving pass deflection that kept Breathitt in the game.

Good job by both teams.

[bluegrassballa]

I would love to play for a coach like Ivan McGlone. I think he is one of the smartest coaches to coach the game. He has put some talent on the field. He has coached to the best of his ability, and he admits what he did wrong. I would love to play for him. He could make a better player out of me than what I am. I have no doubt in my mind that he could. And for someone to say that he isn't a good coach, thats just stupid.

[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.

[FBALL]

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 disagree with some of this. The coaching staff does do an excellent job of putting players in place That I agree with.

However Russell has had as much talent as anyone. Coaching aside. You can't win without talent and what has made Russell so successful is that you have had great coaching and talent over the years. There may not have been many division 1 players but there have been alot of very good players. That includes this group.

Examples of some of players on the level with Jones and Haddix are recently are Nate McPeek played for Marshall, Gross is now at Georgetown, Clark is at Murray State. Going back further Brent Muncy I believe played for EKU, John Groves played for Alabama then transferred to UK, TJ Maynard played for UK, Drew Ramey went to Geortown, Robert Brown and Jeff Frazier played at Morehead State, Josh Wills is currently at Georgetown and I could think of more that went on to play college football. Thats not a bad talent pool.

You have to catch a break every now and then to keep advancing. Had they picked off one of those passes you were reffering to then it is likely Russell wins the game.

For those who question the play calling. Breathitt ran that same slant route many times. If the ball does get intercepted, which it probably should have been twice, does Holcomb get criticized for running the same play to many times? Coaches run what they think will give their team the best chance to win.

People have been critical of the Russell offense for years. It is not flashy. But it is effective.

[estill fan]

Congrats to Breathitt. Good Luck against Belfrey.

[RedDevilRB]

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.

VERY true 36's were not working and we still continuted to run them why? simon kenton we lost from a field goal call that was not called.....breathitt we lost by a field goal call that was not called...state game last yr..we started passing...for what? our running game could have got us into field goal position...as it would have in this past fridays game...kinda ridiculus

[BBB]

When teams loss the loser comes out in some of us. Coach McGlone is a great man and COACH and nobody on this site has the experience he has so how can anyone second quess him. This team and coach that some are questioning has lost 6 games in the past four years. How many teams can say that? Hopefully, None of these people bad mouthing Coach Mcglone are current players because if you are then things can only get worst for your team. The teams that believe in themself and their coaches will be successful and the ones that don't believe will not be successful. Just enjoy a great season and when you look back on this season down the road hopefully you will be proud of the 2007 Devils. Good luck to the players of this great Russell team.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Love for Belfry.!!!!! It is like this ,,,,,,,If you have 2 boys, lets say twins, both great at football or anysport and they cant play each other for the TITLE, but who ever wins between them plays for a title....... That makes it hard. SO - lets just say that these two teams have the best,winningest and most traditional of football coaches, staff and fans. It is hard not to cheer for a team that year end and year out makes a deep run in the playoffs. Respect would be a better word. Its is like who ever wins between Russell and Belfry should win the state. Ijust think that when we play each other it should be at the UK field becasue there is always a crowd. The winner of this game has a 90 % chance at winning the state game the following week.

It all boils down to respect and the love of the game. If you dont win you want the other team to blow somebody away inthe FINALS...
I aint no Pirate hater, unless we are playing them.
Go Devils and lets get ready for next year.

[Jeepman]

Another season goes by with Russell coaches wasting talent. As Ive said for yrs, Russell this yr was twice as talented as Breathitt. Fugate boys were good. Other than that, it shouldn't have been close. Same os 02, 00, 99, and last yrs finals loss. Chalk one up for the coaching staff. When ol Puss gut retires Russell will probably win about 4 straight titles.

This is what happens when you post at 3:00 AM in the morning after drinking a case of beer. Your brain does not function properly and you say stupid things like this.

[Jeepman]

VERY true 36's were not working and we still continuted to run them why? simon kenton we lost from a field goal call that was not called.....breathitt we lost by a field goal call that was not called...state game last yr..we started passing...for what? our running game could have got us into field goal position...as it would have in this past fridays game...kinda ridiculus

One question? Had Jones completed the pass to Bailey on the second to last play Russell would have won. I guarantee you you would not have made these comments.

I hear what you are saying but don't forget that crazy call the Ivan made against Newport in 2005 that won the game. Yes we won the game that Newport should have won because of a play that was called by Ivan. Ask the players who have rings on their fingers if they feel that play was crazy? Being a Head Coach is not an easy job. I like what we have.

Some people just don't know how good they have it. Look at it this way. How many D-1 players has Russell produced since McPeak went to Marshall in 1999? The answer is None. I know Clark went to Murray State. That is not a D-1 school. My point is Ivan takes a bunch of good football players, teaches them to work as a team and Russell wins games. He makes good football players, very good football players, and in some cases great football players. You can point fingers here, there, and everywhere, but the bottom line is Russell always makes our community proud. Don't be ashamed and critical of what these players have accomplished. No one is to blame for getting beat on Friday. Breathitt played better when it counted. We had every oportunity to win that game and we just came up short. This is why we love the game. You can always get beat and we know it. If it was a guaranteed win we would not go out and watch.

Once again thanks to all the senior players you made all of us proud to be Red Devils.