[BlackcatAlum]

Beechwood would blow Raceland off the field.

Agreed.

[StrikeoutKing]

Is this post for real?

Raceland may be good ... I can assure you .. no one from Beechwood is overlooking Raceland. Or at this point ... even thinking about Raceland.

I would be curious to know what part of the Cov Cath game looked so miserable. But ... the impression from nearly every other part of the state (with the exception of EKY) was that Beechwood looked pretty decent against Cov Cath. Cov Cath is down ... but they are a solid team (again--definitely not one of the better Cov Cath teams at all). But Beechwood easily dominated the LOS--and just about every other aspect of the game except for Pat VanSant.

I believe that you are one of the people who picked Prestonsburg over Beechwood. Well ... I would be very interested in your assessment AFTER the game. Beechwood didn't have a lot of trouble ...and started subbing liberally after the first series in the 2nd half. Judging by your thoughts ... a person would also assume that you think that Raceland would crush the Blackcats (which I am not buying).

Overall--to Prestonsburg .... keep plugging away. You have a great team--and your program is classy. The kids in the program are solid young men--who left a good impression on me (#7 in particular--when I was walking up the ramp ... "excuse me sir" .. when he was barely close enough to be near). That was enough to show me that the Blackcats have a classy program. That kind of stuff matters.

A smart man once told me "you learn a lot more from a loss than from any win" ... don't let yesterday slow you down.

Good luck to the Blackcats and their fans for the rest of the season.

Very classy post!

Beechwood is a very solid football program, and has been for quite some time. I got to see them play a bit last year in the state finals and was impressed by what little I saw, and then yesterday. I will say, if these 2 teams were to play 10 times, I don't think Prestonsburg loses by 29 in any contest. Two great teams played yesterday! And both should advance far into the playoffs of their respective classes! Good luck to both!

[kybaseball]

I would like to see Raceland play Beechwood.

[schs_06]

i would like to see sheldon clark and prestonsburg play. just for old time sakes

[BlackcatAlum]

i would like to see sheldon clark and prestonsburg play. just for old time sakes

I believe the two are playing next season.

[schs_06]

really thats awsome. i will be home from deployment for that one

[NIECE]

Is this post for real?

Raceland may be good ... I can assure you .. no one from Beechwood is overlooking Raceland. Or at this point ... even thinking about Raceland.

I would be curious to know what part of the Cov Cath game looked so miserable. But ... the impression from nearly every other part of the state (with the exception of EKY) was that Beechwood looked pretty decent against Cov Cath. Cov Cath is down ... but they are a solid team (again--definitely not one of the better Cov Cath teams at all). But Beechwood easily dominated the LOS--and just about every other aspect of the game except for Pat VanSant.

I believe that you are one of the people who picked Prestonsburg over Beechwood. Well ... I would be very interested in your assessment AFTER the game. Beechwood didn't have a lot of trouble ...and started subbing liberally after the first series in the 2nd half. Judging by your thoughts ... a person would also assume that you think that Raceland would crush the Blackcats (which I am not buying).

Overall--to Prestonsburg .... keep plugging away. You have a great team--and your program is classy. The kids in the program are solid young men--who left a good impression on me (#7 in particular--when I was walking up the ramp ... "excuse me sir" .. when he was barely close enough to be near). That was enough to show me that the Blackcats have a classy program. That kind of stuff matters.

A smart man once told me "you learn a lot more from a loss than from any win" ... don't let yesterday slow you down.

Good luck to the Blackcats and their fans for the rest of the season.

Beechwood is as good as any team in the state and only play around 15 players and will walk to Papa John's. I was very impressed with them and whoever wasn't, I would hate to see the team that impresses them. That was not Prestonsburg's first test, that came week two at Breathitt and although Lawrence is winless, look at their schedule and the scores. Other than not showing up this week for Rowan, they have played one of the toughest schedules in Eastern Kentucky.

[Matman]

That's just your opinion, everyone has them. And here's mine, I don't think anyone in the state could completely handle Beechwood with the possible exception of St. X and Trinity. Either way, there is no way we will be able to tell.

You know this is why it is so hard to be a Pburg fan. I'm trying really hard but the arrogance of some of their fans blows my mind. Just because a team beats you doesn't maket them the best team in the state. St X and trinity only huh? What about highlands. Forget about them. I think bell, belfry and JC could "handle" Beechwood. And yes i have seen them play a couple times this year. This is why Pburg's program has gone down hill. They started losing a couple games and down graded their schedule. They would rather run up the score on less than mediocre teams than play quality opponents. I hope this game was sign of things to come. And the rise of pburgs program back to what it was just a few years ago.

[big dog one]

in my opinion p-burg needs major coaching changes.they seem to want to play teams with losing records to make them look good.i played for coach haywood we played tough teams.go blackcats.

[big dog one]

i heard after the beechwood game some of the p-burg players were real upset with the coaching staff and are ready to quit the team.i think they only have 30 to 35 players.this is a very small number for a 2a school,seems no one will come out for football anymore at p-burg.-------------- wonder why.

[More Cowbell]

Beechwood is still Beechwood. I'd say that Bell, Johnson Central, and Belfry would give them a tight game, otherwise I don't see any EKY teams hanging with them.

[The Ville]

Wow! I thought this was gonna be a close game. Guess I was wrong.

Same here...guess those two INTs really hurt them

[canoeman06]

i heard after the beechwood game some of the p-burg players were real upset with the coaching staff and are ready to quit the team.i think they only have 30 to 35 players.this is a very small number for a 2a school,seems no one will come out for football anymore at p-burg.-------------- wonder why.

My guess is you are a FORMER player that couldn't take it !

[blackcat]

You know this is why it is so hard to be a Pburg fan. I'm trying really hard but the arrogance of some of their fans blows my mind. Just because a team beats you doesn't maket them the best team in the state. St X and trinity only huh? What about highlands. Forget about them. I think bell, belfry and JC could "handle" Beechwood. And yes i have seen them play a couple times this year. This is why Pburg's program has gone down hill. They started losing a couple games and down graded their schedule. They would rather run up the score on less than mediocre teams than play quality opponents. I hope this game was sign of things to come. And the rise of pburgs program back to what it was just a few years ago.

I'm definitely not arrogant. I didn't mean just St. X and Trinity, but teams of their quality, and yes Highlands is definitely one of them. Like I said, you have your opinion I have mine, that's where I'll leave it.

[punkbug28]

I Am A Huge Blackcat Fan ...my Husband Was A Stand Out For Them In The 90's. We Go To All The Games And We Made The Trip To Beechwood Saturday ...and I Have To Say That I Was So Disappointed . I Don't Know If It Was The Trip , The Heat , The Turf , Or A Combo Of Factors But The Have Got To Dust Theirselves Off And Get Back In The Game ...

I Was Impressed With Blake Meade's Performance He Needs Alot More Playing Time

[punkbug28]

My Hats Of To Beechwood ...i Went To The Game On Sat ..and Was So Impressed With Beechwood And Their Sportsmanship ...they Were A Very Good Host And Everyone Was Extremely Polite And Courteous ...that Makes A Big Impression On A Blackcat Fan ....

Your Community Was Beautiful ...

[jgrubby]

Belfry is NOT the Belfry of the last few years !!!!!!

AMEN brother, thats what Russell is hoping for!!!( But that goes the same for Russell. Different but still able.) Raceland plays just the same as Beechwood. This will be a game to remember for the Ram fans!!! Raceland has steadily improved over the last 10 years. In the last two or three they just lacked a certian something to go all the way. This just could be the year.

[oneijoe]

in my opinion p-burg needs major coaching changes.they seem to want to play teams with losing records to make them look good.i played for coach haywood we played tough teams.go blackcats.

Don't know who you are (and don't want to), but you're over-reacting BIGTIME... :eek:

If you played for Coach Haywood at P-burg, your schedules were no tougher in the 70's than P-burg's have been over the past 10 yrs. That's a FACT. The only reason the schedule seemed tougher in the 70's is because expectations weren't what they are now for the Blackcats.

Coach D. has faults, as do ALL coaches (as do ALL people, for that matter). But keep things in perspective. Coach Haywood (who you seem to revere) NEVER led the Blackcats to a Regional title in 9 years at the helm. After he went to Belfry, it was many more years before his team ever won a Regional there. Of course, now that he draws plenty of players (from both sides of the Tug River) and has a couple of State titles he's recognized as a top coach. But don't loose track of the fact it took him almost 20 years to get there.

I'm of the opinion some fans are SPOILED by the success of the 2001 team (only 6 years into Coach D.'s career) and lose track of the fact that P-burg will only occasionally be able to field a team with that volume of talent (only the '93 and '85 teams compare in the last 30 yrs). Short of that, the OPPOSING team will play just as hard and -can- have more and better players.

Here's some irony... These statements about P-burg playing "soft" competition are coming out when it just finished losing to the top rated 1A team in the state. What's with THAT ?!? :confused:

With that said, Coach Derossett DID cut back some on the schedule after the 2004 season. But he did it with good reason. The junior and sophomore classes that year were not strong. It's NOT good to make a schedule that's TOO MUCH for what you expect to have on the roster (notice what's happening to Lawrence Co. !!!!!!!!!!! ). Unless a high school is a magnet school (Beechwood, Highlands, etc), a school on the border of a state with bad schools (Belfry now, Paducah Tilghman of past years), or a well-funded parochial school (X, T, LexCath, CovCath), they'll always be periodic down years, especially for smaller schools.

In case you haven't noticed (and judging from your post, you haven't), P-burg is slowly cycling back into a tougher schedule. BlackcatAlum mentioned Sheldon Clark is going to be added next year. I've also heard a couple other teams mentioned as possibles for next year.

No... What would be the BIGGEST boost to the Blackcat program would be for some of the current high school boys I see strutting their painted selves in the cheering section become members of the team next year... (but that's a discussion for another thread)


...apologies for the length of the post. :igiveup:

[bucslover68]

Belfry is NOT the Belfry of the last few years !!!!!!

If you are going to make a comment like that then back it up with some good opinion or facts. If you can't then don't comment because no one knows how good anyone is at this point in the season. Belfry will be just fine and if they win the games they need to in the regular season, my belief is they will be playing for the title again because I have not seen any results from any other 3A teams ,in the east, that have really scared me yet.

[oneijoe]

i heard after the beechwood game some of the p-burg players were real upset with the coaching staff and are ready to quit the team.i think they only have 30 to 35 players.this is a very small number for a 2a school,seems no one will come out for football anymore at p-burg.-------------- wonder why.

If this is the player's attitude, they need to quit listening to some of the adults(?) around them and to others here on this website.

Coach D.'s job is to evaluate what his team's strengths/weaknesses are and figure out the best way to approach a game. Obviously he thought the best chance in beating Beechwood was through the air.

It's not difficult to see why he thought that. P-burg has a young group of players on the offensive and defensive lines. Besides having a very good passer and two excellent receivers, pass blocking is easier than run blocking. I suspect Coach D. knew his line would be overmatched, so tried to minimize the mismatch in the trenches as much as possible.

However, even with cutting down on the playfakes, Burchett still didn't have time to throw, hence the interceptions. Defensively, the same group was pushed off the ball relentlessly. Bottom line - the offensive and defensive lines were overmatched.

I suggest those that think P-burg would have been better served to keep the ball on the ground should think again. The Blackcats were manhandled in the trenches and NO running back is good enough to overcome that. The points allowed may have been lower (more P-burg TOP), but the result would have been the same.

With all that said, the team shouldn't get down over it. Losing a game during the regular season isn't a big deal. They'll not see anyone having as good an offensive/defensive line until the 2A Finals (Ft. Campbell is arguably as good there).

It serves NO purpose to play the "blame game" after a loss. Just keep working to get better at your position - USE what you saw Saturday (and on film) and make it part of your game.

[BCF4L]

The one problem I see is that Prestonsburg just doesn't have the big corn fed boys of past years. When P-burg went to state in 2001, they had size. When you had a linebacking core of Younce, Spriggs, etc., plus they had Chris Jervis and Nick Jamerson manning up the receiving core. Size means everything when you go play these Central and Northern KY teams, and that is something that Prestonsburg has been lacking the past couple of years. By size, I don't mean strength, I mean heighth, weight, etc. These guys are just smaller than everyone they seem to play and that will catch up with them in games like these. Sadly, there is nothing you can do about that other than hope you can get some big boys from the high school that want to play.