[Coach Howard]

Extremely proud of my guys for the effort they gave me tonight. In all of my years I have never had a group of guys give the effort that I got from them today. They were focused and determined to win the Big Sandy Large school title and they did so in an impressive manner. They finished the season with a record of 12-1 and I consider myself the luckiest coach in the state of Kentucky to of had the privilege to coach this group of young men. I hate to see the season come to an end and I will really miss getting to spend time with this group of ballplayers.

Coach Pray of Perry County has a great group of young men and I wish them nothing but success in the future. It's always fun to play against him and his team because you know that your going to get a hard fought ballgame and he always fields one of the classiest groups of young men that you will ever get the chance to compete against.

Also wanted to let my younger boys know that I am proud of them for getting a big win against Paintsville in an earlier game today.

[ILoveMyKids]

So proud to have my son be a part of this LCC team. Coach Howard and his staff have been such a big part in molding him into the kid that he is now. They have all come so far this season...extremely proud of them for winning the Big Sandy Conference...Thanks again for all you guys do for our kids...:thanks:

[UKisN1]

Congrats Coach!

[excyter21]

Congrats Cougars

[MR. Slate]

Congrats to Letcher and Coach Howard.

[Mama Bear]

Congrats to Coach Howard and his team.

[Wildcatpride]

lcc played a terrific game, i wish i could have seen jc in because i know by the way lcc played the would have beat jc because lcc running game and defense was the best i have ever seen from the first whistle blown to the last but we will never know since jc i think chickened out in my mind.

[Wildcatpride]

by the way howard number 2 is a terrific player i cant wait to watch him play at the next level

[jcfan90]

lcc played a terrific game, i wish i could have seen jc in because i know by the way lcc played the would have beat jc because lcc running game and defense was the best i have ever seen from the first whistle blown to the last but we will never know since jc i think chickened out in my mind.

:lmao:

[cougarpride08]

Coach Howard,
Congrats to your team, coaches, and staff on a great win. Wish they could put that on the school channel. Are they going to get your kids to run through the power "L" Friday?

[Wildcatpride]

i don't know what your laughing at jcfan90 but its the truth jc was scared of lcc or you all would of come over and played and i think you disrespected the big sandy to play by not showing,i know if i was a player or coach of lcc i would be upset by the way you all done them and if i was the big sandy member i would be upset because you all done them DIRTY.

[jcfan90]

i don't know what your laughing at jcfan90 but its the truth jc was scared of lcc or you all would of come over and played and i think you disrespected the big sandy to play by not showing,i know if i was a player or coach of lcc i would be upset by the way you all done them and if i was the big sandy member i would be upset because you all done them DIRTY.

Coach Howard was well aware of the schedule conflict with the state playoffs during the conference meeting when the Post Season Grid was set. However, because of the field availability the grid could not be changed. Are you aware that JC made the offer to travel to Letcher the following Monday of Tuesday to play the game? I wonder why in all the posts accusing JC of being afriad to play nobody has mentioned that.

[Coach Howard]

Woah JCfan90,
Don't drag me into this conversation, We played the grid on the date that was scheduled from way back, this is the exact reason I did not register to play in the state playoffs because I knew back then that there was going to be a conflict with dates. Why would we play a championship game opposite of the championship day? I have been completely politically correct in all of my posts and said nothing negative about Johnson Central not playing in the championship game out of respect for Scott and Eddie. I've stated that Coach Blair did what he thought was best for his kids and I respect his decision. I know his kids would have loved to have played for the Big Sandy Championship and my kids really wanted a re-match with them to prove that the first time was a fluke with the lop-sided score. I'm not sure who would have won the game but it was just not in the cards this year to have that rematch and me and my boys can handle that. Either way we are proud to be the Big Sandy Champs this year and I appreciate Perry County for coming to play in championship game.

[jcfan90]

Coach Howard I simply stated that because of the field situation you were unable to do anything with grid as scheduled. I completely agree with that and understand. JC made the decision to play in the state playoffs instead of the rematch with you. We have been accused of being "chicken", "scared" and "classless" becuase of this decision. I was simply pointing out that we had offered to come to your place and play the game. You could have the championship as scheduled and played us as just another game. You have been very "politically" correct in what you have said, but you have also been very understanding of the others who have made these posts. What would you have done for your kids had you been in JC's position? Would you have played them in the "rematch" game for the conference championship or would you have played in the state playoffs for a regional championship?

[Coach Howard]

I have not been understanding with whom ever made those posts. I honestly have no idea who he or she is. I have shown my support for Johnson Central throughout this entire process and was truly rooting for them to win and move on to Lexington. I hate it for Ed's kids that they lost because I honestly thought they would win against Knox. I've also posted that I don't know what I would have done if I was put in JC's position and I truly don't know and that's why I stated that I supported Ed's position. We have talked on the phone and he and I both understood each other's position that we were in. I have no hard feelings about not getting to play the game, we both would have liked to have hooked it up again and I've even stated that I don't know if we could have beat them or not. I do think we would have played much better this time because we had worked really hard to prepare for Johnson Central. As far as Johnson Central being "Chicken or Scared" I think we all truly know that that Eddie and myself have never been scared of any team or feared anyone that we have ever played and that's what has helped develop this friendly rivalry between our schools. Both schools have had people that have posted negative posts concerning the other team for years now. Eddie and I have never gotten into that and we have always had a very respectful coaching relationship. You guys finished 12 or 13 and 1 and we finished 12-1, I think we both had very successful seasons and we are both sending some really good athletes to the high school next year. I bet you all would love to get the chance to play Knox Co. again to prove that you all could beat them, my people just felt the same way with you guys. I can't blame them for wishing they had just one more chance but I do not think that Johnson Central was "Chicken" or "Scared" to play us again if that's what you want to read from me. As far as your question goes "What would I have done? Played the Rematch or played for a Regional Championship goes" I Just Don't Know For Sure, I'm glad that I wasn't the one that had to make that decision. I think I would have tried to do what Jamie Howell did, he played in the conference championship game and moved his playoff game to tonight, he had to give up his home field advantage and go on the road to do so but where Knox and Johnson Central are so far apart I assume that was not an option for the Johnson Central vs Knox County game. That's a haul and I'm sure that neither team wanted to play that game on a week night. I hope I have answered your questions and I have been as honest as I can be in doing so.

[Wildcatpride]

coach howard i don't want to drag you in this but like you said jc had the chance to play both games but they didn't and adams did.