[Panther Thunder]

If Jackson can't leave could he even be fired? They would need someone to fill his teaching job. Pikeville football is in for a world of hurt if something doesn't happen soon, be it a coaching change or a change in attitude of the players. With 14-or so graduating and I'm sure not everyone that played will come back out the numbers are going to be scarily scarce. I think Coach J has tried hard to get the program back to State championship status but his style suits more of a big school system where kids can commit year-round to football and here that just is impossible without stepping on some toes. And next year yeah we may have Harmon but who is he going to run behind? Leaving are OLmen Huff, Comer, Walker and other backs that can block In Walker and Jackson and JD Mccoy. And Tim and Ted who may not have always played smart but were great athletes will be gone. It is hard to believe that Blake will be able to lead a young team with a poor line to a state championship. Espcially with Hazard returning a lot. The first game of the year against Corbin could get really ugly really quick. But I would like to thank all the senoirs for great memories from throughtout their careers and I wish them good luck to the ones who move on.

[A Decent Lineman]

Man,, I hate to say it..but Pikeville fans whine way too much. Accept the fact that yall lost and quit blaming it on the players who get on myspace too much and saying that ur football program is dead. I mean a simple good season seniors and good job LCA would suffice but yall make it frickin personal. Way I see it, many consecutive seasons in the playoffs are more than a lot of teams can say. I take making it to the state quarterfinals and being district champs as an awesome season and would in no way call my program dead. I think some of yall over there got yer priorities in the wrong place. We still celebrate getting our butts handed to us by Somerset last year, just because we made it that far. Come on Pville fans show your boys a little love after a hard loss.....---get in that weight room---hopefully well meet up next season.

[Panther Thunder]

Man,, I hate to say it..but Pikeville fans whine way too much. Accept the fact that yall lost and quit blaming it on the players who get on myspace too much and saying that ur football program is dead. I mean a simple good season seniors and good job LCA would suffice but yall make it frickin personal. Way I see it, many consecutive seasons in the playoffs are more than a lot of teams can say. I take making it to the state quarterfinals and being district champs as an awesome season and would in no way call my program dead. I think some of yall over there got yer priorities in the wrong place. We still celebrate getting our butts handed to us by Somerset last year, just because we made it that far. Come on Pville fans show your boys a little love after a hard loss.....---get in that weight room---hopefully well meet up next season.

At Pikeville more is expected. IMO a district championship is fine and dandy but 8 other people have one of those. Only one school can say they are state champions. And with the athletes and talent at Pikeville it isn't out of the question to expect success, but taking away district wins they were 2-4. No disrespect to any district teams but they aren't that good, but Pikeville is heading in that direction and it is not going to be tolerated by fans like me who want to see the best for the team. The success at Pikeville is unparrelled in the district but that is not good enough and we want to be successful on a state level.

[A Decent Lineman]

At Pikeville more is expected. IMO a district championship is fine and dandy but 8 other people have one of those. Only one school can say they are state champions. And with the athletes and talent at Pikeville it isn't out of the question to expect success, but taking away district wins they were 2-4. No disrespect to any district teams but they aren't that good, but Pikeville is heading in that direction and it is not going to be tolerated by fans like me who want to see the best for the team. The success at Pikeville is unparrelled in the district but that is not good enough and we want to be successful on a state level.

Everybody wants to win state...but unfortunately unless ur frickin trinity or st. x that doesnt happen. I just feel like you should be happy with your boys no matter what....that builds success. You wont have a team if the players are unhappy. I also think you all will have to give them a lot of support losing what is it 20 seniors this year?? Next year is going to be tough, and you all cant expect to win state...good luck with that tho.

[NotoriousBIG]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this but SIX, SIX, SIX, SIX, SIX turnovers!!!!!! They could not have beaten a good JV team. I was very frustrated with the way they played. I think Pikeville was the better team but that was a pathetic effort!! Sad to see a team with this much potential burn out like they did.

7 Fumbles 1 INT

[ComfortEagle]

ADL, the reason Pikeville even has Coach Jackson right now, is because the Pikeville administration and some fans were tired of "just winning District Championships and making the playoffs."

Jackson's predecessor, Chris McNamee, made the playoffs every year and won his fair share of District Championships, as well as having a Regional Championship under his belt from 2000, and this was NOT good enough to keep him on as the head coach.

He was pressured out because Pikeville was not making the state semi-finals or winning state championships, so yes, the expectations at Pikeville are VERY high. Is that fair? Probably not, Pikeville hasn't won a state championship in a long time, but you still have a lot of people at Pikeville that cannot get over those previous years when Pikeville was super-dominant and they believe that Pikeville should still be the dominant force in the mountains. Part of the problem with that is, Belfry is the school to be going to right now. If a kid wants to be part of a winning team, that has a chance to make it to state....right now they would sure like to be at Belfry.

Also, I've heard from a couple different people that Jackson is really pushing the kids hard in the offseason. Making them lift weights non-stop and hardly ever giving the kids a day off. Just from what I've heard football is zero-fun right now at Pikeville.

I understand that it's not "all about fun" (save me the corny Remember the Titans quotes) but these are 14, 15, 16, 17, maybe 18 year old kids. They aren't being motivated by money, they aren't being motivated by a scholarship, they are playing because they WANT to play and if it's become so unenjoyable at Pikeville that no one wants to play, it's going to be hard to dress a full team in the future.

[ComfortEagle]

We must not have watched the same game! Most of Pikeville's success came from faking to the halfback wide off tackle and countering to Harmon right up the center's butt. LCA's safety must have had twenty tackles alone tonight(#15 I believe), most of which were on this play.

Does anyone know how many yards Harmon ended up with against LCA?

What is this "success" you talk about? The game I watched had Pikeville getting the snot beat out of them. Run it up the middle all you want, but eventually LCA caught on to what was going on and Pikeville couldn't go anywhere. So they ran it outside and LCA was just too quick for that.

Also, the game I watched, I saw LCA players in the backfield sacking the QB far too many times. One thing linemen should be taught is to always protect your QB. Even if you're getting beat....hold the other guy, do whatever, but you never let them touch the QB.

I believe...and this is if I remember correctly, Harmon had about 140 yards....possibly more. That 140 stat might have just been from the first half. I am pretty sure that he broke the 2000 yard mark for the season though.

[Elwayfan]

Man,, I hate to say it..but Pikeville fans whine way too much. Accept the fact that yall lost and quit blaming it on the players who get on myspace too much and saying that ur football program is dead. I mean a simple good season seniors and good job LCA would suffice but yall make it frickin personal. Way I see it, many consecutive seasons in the playoffs are more than a lot of teams can say. I take making it to the state quarterfinals and being district champs as an awesome season and would in no way call my program dead. I think some of yall over there got yer priorities in the wrong place. We still celebrate getting our butts handed to us by Somerset last year, just because we made it that far. Come on Pville fans show your boys a little love after a hard loss.....---get in that weight room---hopefully well meet up next season.

Pretty well said, except with Pikeville's tradition more is expected and rightfully so.

[Beef]

Pretty well said, except with Pikeville's tradition more is expected and rightfully so.

As I am sure more will be expected at Hazard after this year and with the next couple of years they are expected to have. It's good to expect a lot from your team. Why should anyone be satisfied with a District Championship? Yeah, it's a great accomplishment but after winning one so many times, it just doesn't have the same prestige.

Pikeville probably does have outrageous expectations that are leftover from the 1980s and are probably unmerited now considering they have not been to the carpet in the 2000s and only have 2 regional championships ('00, '05). But why would anyone want to drop their standards? Just work harder to reach the goal. With the realignment and new classes, it is only easier for the Panthers to do this.

Coach Jackson may be working them hard, but at least he realizes the tradition at Pikeville and wants to get all he can out of his players. Students should take pride in their school and want to play for this man and show the dedication that he shows. I'm sure it isn't easy for him to be away from his family as often to but he sacrifices. If you have the talent, get out there and make Pikeville a State powerhouse again!! Seems as if the only thing stopping this is kids not wanting to work hard to achieve. Well, if he lets up and these kids come out, they probably won't have the ability to do it without all the hard work in the off season.

[Elwayfan]

ADL, the reason Pikeville even has Coach Jackson right now, is because the Pikeville administration and some fans were tired of "just winning District Championships and making the playoffs."

Jackson's predecessor, Chris McNamee, made the playoffs every year and won his fair share of District Championships, as well as having a Regional Championship under his belt from 2000, and this was NOT good enough to keep him on as the head coach.

He was pressured out because Pikeville was not making the state semi-finals or winning state championships, so yes, the expectations at Pikeville are VERY high. Is that fair? Probably not, Pikeville hasn't won a state championship in a long time, but you still have a lot of people at Pikeville that cannot get over those previous years when Pikeville was super-dominant and they believe that Pikeville should still be the dominant force in the mountains. Part of the problem with that is, Belfry is the school to be going to right now. If a kid wants to be part of a winning team, that has a chance to make it to state....right now they would sure like to be at Belfry.

Also, I've heard from a couple different people that Jackson is really pushing the kids hard in the offseason. Making them lift weights non-stop and hardly ever giving the kids a day off. Just from what I've heard football is zero-fun right now at Pikeville.

I understand that it's not "all about fun" (save me the corny Remember the Titans quotes) but these are 14, 15, 16, 17, maybe 18 year old kids. They aren't being motivated by money, they aren't being motivated by a scholarship, they are playing because they WANT to play and if it's become so unenjoyable at Pikeville that no one wants to play, it's going to be hard to dress a full team in the future.

I think Pikeville is feeling the effects of having a terrible little league and junior high program for a while, before Jackson got here. They only have one feeder program, and if it's not where it should be then you will suffer from it later on. Coach Jackson has had to deal with alot of people that were used to things being done a certain way, instead of the right way.
The strongest programs in our area have the strongest youth programs.
I know people have some concerns and they should, but to get on here and start attacking people is the opposite of what fans have always done. You should rally behind your kids and team in hard times just like you would in good times.
Also, don't forget that there are some people involved in the Pikeville School System that want to see Pikeville Football not do well for their own personal agenda. Some of those people are probably posting on here right now.
If any of the athletes are reading this, be smart, think for yourself and don't listen to people who may not have your interest at heart

[Elwayfan]

What is this "success" you talk about? The game I watched had Pikeville getting the snot beat out of them. Run it up the middle all you want, but eventually LCA caught on to what was going on and Pikeville couldn't go anywhere. So they ran it outside and LCA was just too quick for that.

Also, the game I watched, I saw LCA players in the backfield sacking the QB far too many times. One thing linemen should be taught is to always protect your QB. Even if you're getting beat....hold the other guy, do whatever, but you never let them touch the QB.

I believe...and this is if I remember correctly, Harmon had about 140 yards....possibly more. That 140 stat might have just been from the first half. I am pretty sure that he broke the 2000 yard mark for the season though.

You said you didn't see any runs up the middle and I was pointing out that most of Harmons runs came up the middle where there were huge holes most of the night. The safety had to make just about every tackle.
Harmon had 102 yards at halftime and I didn't here what he ended up with.
6'5-280
6'3-260
6'0-250
5'11-245
6'2-255
Looks like alot of "meat" to me for a 1A football team!

[Mr.Kimball]

As I am sure more will be expected at Hazard after this year and with the next couple of years they are expected to have. It's good to expect a lot from your team. Why should anyone be satisfied with a District Championship? Yeah, it's a great accomplishment but after winning one so many times, it just doesn't have the same prestige.

Pikeville probably does have outrageous expectations that are leftover from the 1980s and are probably unmerited now considering they have not been to the carpet in the 2000s and only have 2 regional championships ('00, '05). But why would anyone want to drop their standards? Just work harder to reach the goal. With the realignment and new classes, it is only easier for the Panthers to do this.

Coach Jackson may be working them hard, but at least he realizes the tradition at Pikeville and wants to get all he can out of his players. Students should take pride in their school and want to play for this man and show the dedication that he shows. I'm sure it isn't easy for him to be away from his family as often to but he sacrifices. If you have the talent, get out there and make Pikeville a State powerhouse again!! Seems as if the only thing stopping this is kids not wanting to work hard to achieve. Well, if he lets up and these kids come out, they probably won't have the ability to do it without all the hard work in the off season.

I think I can understand where most Pikeville fans are coming from with not being satisfied with just winning a district title. If you go by either Cantrell ratings or Litkenhouse ratings you will see that (other than Paintsville) the other 6 teams in the district are all rated in the bottom 10 teams in the entire state. Not much to brag about if you ask me as well. Show me where the prestige is in that. At least the Pikeville fans are realistic and know what it takes to compete at the state level. If more programs were truely interested in getting their programs to a state competetive status then you might see a team out of the district advance a little farther. Playing the Allen Centrals, the Betsy Lanes, the Phelps', and the Jenkins' of the world get you prepared for one thing, and that is to get the crap beat out of you when you play someone from down state. I will give Jackson this, he has tried to play some teams since he has been here that he more than likely had no chance to beat, but played them anyways. I will agree with Comfort Eagle however, that you cannot try to do what he does as far as trying to get limited resources (number wise) to just play one sport year round. And please dont any Jackson supporter get on here and contradict what I am saying because I know full well that there were some players that got the shaft for playing SUMMER baseball. They may have been freshmen at the time, but sooner or later they become seniors and you may just need them in a year or two. You just cant keep doing kids that way and not expect to have to pay the price on down the road. The best thing for Pikeville IMO, is to either get rid of Jackson or cordially help him find another job somewhere else.

[Chuck Taylor]

Well if some of the kids in the school would get off their lazy butts and stop playing stupid video games or this myspace garbage maybe it will get righted! Call me a hypocrite if you like but its the truth

The freshmen class of potential players have been through a lot. As seventh graders they were forced to set on the sidelines during practice when their "so called" coach practiced only the eight graders. This is not exaggeration. Just ask any of their players. Then as 8th graders they played pretty well considering they had almost no experience. Bottom line is that they do not like the high school coaching staff. Heck most of them are playing basketball and baseball. It is not like their couch potatoes.

[Chuck Taylor]

No I'm not in the "know" at Pikeville but from threads on here and their supporters, all is not well.

I hope they get it righted though, as I enjoy the rivalry Pikeville and Belfry have. Its good for the county.

NEXT you have hit the nail on the head. Too much team turmoil. Coaching staff is only looking to make a name for itself so it can move on.

[Chuck Taylor]

ADL, the reason Pikeville even has Coach Jackson right now, is because the Pikeville administration and some fans were tired of "just winning District Championships and making the playoffs."

Jackson's predecessor, Chris McNamee, made the playoffs every year and won his fair share of District Championships, as well as having a Regional Championship under his belt from 2000, and this was NOT good enough to keep him on as the head coach.

He was pressured out because Pikeville was not making the state semi-finals or winning state championships, so yes, the expectations at Pikeville are VERY high. Is that fair? Probably not, Pikeville hasn't won a state championship in a long time, but you still have a lot of people at Pikeville that cannot get over those previous years when Pikeville was super-dominant and they believe that Pikeville should still be the dominant force in the mountains. Part of the problem with that is, Belfry is the school to be going to right now. If a kid wants to be part of a winning team, that has a chance to make it to state....right now they would sure like to be at Belfry.

Also, I've heard from a couple different people that Jackson is really pushing the kids hard in the offseason. Making them lift weights non-stop and hardly ever giving the kids a day off. Just from what I've heard football is zero-fun right now at Pikeville.

I understand that it's not "all about fun" (save me the corny Remember the Titans quotes) but these are 14, 15, 16, 17, maybe 18 year old kids. They aren't being motivated by money, they aren't being motivated by a scholarship, they are playing because they WANT to play and if it's become so unenjoyable at Pikeville that no one wants to play, it's going to be hard to dress a full team in the future.

Keno and the principal dropped the ball on this hire. McNamee was following an icon. Not a good situation for anyone. So when he jumped ship Pikeville did not really go after anyone. They posted the job and expected everyone to come running to them. Why not post the position on the KHSAA website (it was only posted on the department of education website)? Why not post in the Herald Leader and Courier Journal? They flat blew it.

[ComfortEagle]

You said you didn't see any runs up the middle and I was pointing out that most of Harmons runs came up the middle where there were huge holes most of the night. The safety had to make just about every tackle.
Harmon had 102 yards at halftime and I didn't here what he ended up with.
6'5-280
6'3-260
6'0-250
5'11-245
6'2-255
Looks like alot of "meat" to me for a 1A football team!

You are sorely mistaken if you're taking these height and weight charts from an "official" stat book or program. They are heavily padded. I know because my height and weight were NEVER correct in the football programs. The coaches will often try to make the players appear bigger, meaner on the stat charts. It's just a fact, a 6'0'' lineman looks more intimidating on paper than a 5'10'' lineman.

So yeah, I'm not surprised if you're showing me these numbers. However, I watched the game and those kids on the line did not look that big, plus they were getting beat by smaller players. In fact the whole team seemed smaller than teams in the past. Several others that I've talked to have encountered this phenomenon as well. The kids seem to be getting smaller. And if this staff has the kids in the weight room so much then why is the line getting beat by smaller kids?

As for the "huge holes" you saw, they were not there all the time or even often I would say. Yeah, there may have been some huge holes during the game which can be attributed to numerous things, but were they consistent? Obviously not, because Pikeville was going nowhere in the second half. You say that the safety was making most of the plays, but if a safety is the only one getting tackles, then Pikeville would HAVE to gain some yards. You only need about 4 yards a play to get a first down and you're saying the safety was making all the tackles, how can Pikeville not be gaining yards if the safety is making the tackles?

If the runs up the middle had worked then of course, the outcome would have been different. Yes, you can't rely on this alone, but you're making it sound like Pikeville had no trouble running it up the gut, when they hardly went anywhere in the second half.

I will agree that the first half was much better, I don't know if these kids weren't as conditioned as LCA or if they just mentally broke down.

[Panther Thunder]

Harmon had 149 yards on 31 carries and Tim Honaker added 110 yards on the ground. Mullins had at least 30 which came on a TD. Other than that no offense at all and special teams wasn't very good. But still with that much yardage on the ground and dominating the TOP in the first half Pikeville should have come out of this with a win but turnovers were unreal. On a side note I would like to say great job over the course of the season to Alex Burghy-Vanhoose. In his first year of football he made great strides and turned into a reliable kicker by the end of the year!!

[jetpilot]

Pikeville needs an Offensive Coordinater BAD. The old offense was a fiasco and the offense they ran this year was the most predictable you will ever see. About 99% run, and the same three plays. It is painfully clear they are unable to come up with a decent offensive scheme. Compare the Pikeville staff with any of the good mountain teams and unfortunately they are overmatched. Another gripe with them is the practices are 90% standing around with the coaches talking until they are blue in the face. I'm serious, you will see less hitting in Pikeville practices and more standing around than any team anywhere in the country.

Not trying to pick on the coaches, because they seem to put in a lot of time and work hard. But they do need help, and 99% of Pikeville fans will agree.

[Dazed&Confused]

Man,, I hate to say it..but Pikeville fans whine way too much. Accept the fact that yall lost and quit blaming it on the players who get on myspace too much and saying that ur football program is dead. I mean a simple good season seniors and good job LCA would suffice but yall make it frickin personal. Way I see it, many consecutive seasons in the playoffs are more than a lot of teams can say. I take making it to the state quarterfinals and being district champs as an awesome season and would in no way call my program dead. I think some of yall over there got yer priorities in the wrong place. We still celebrate getting our butts handed to us by Somerset last year, just because we made it that far. Come on Pville fans show your boys a little love after a hard loss.....---get in that weight room---hopefully well meet up next season.

I agree with the part about how Pville fans need to show a little more support to their players... Its not like they went out there and tried to lose....they just got outplayed by LCA...all in all i think they had a good season and your exactly right about them getting back in the weight room and working hard...The Pikeville/Hazard match-up didn't happen this season, but i would love to see it in the future

[Dazed&Confused]

you may be right, jetpilot, about the fans not being happy with the coaches, but they dont know the half of it...Coach Jackson and staff put in a lot of time not just for the program, but for the players...and the players know it...Everyone can get on here and complain all they want, but i suggest until they have been through a season with Pikeville's coaching staff that they dont go pointing fingers and say some of the things they do. I guarantee that PIkeville has one of the hardest and most dedicated coaching staffs in the state! you can go to the bank on that

[ComfortEagle]

you may be right, jetpilot, about the fans not being happy with the coaches, but they dont know the half of it...Coach Jackson and staff put in a lot of time not just for the program, but for the players...and the players know it...Everyone can get on here and complain all they want, but i suggest until they have been through a season with Pikeville's coaching staff that they dont go pointing fingers and say some of the things they do. I guarantee that PIkeville has one of the hardest and most dedicated coaching staffs in the state! you can go to the bank on that

I'm not doubting the dedication or effort put forth by the coaching staff, but from what I've heard, a lot of kids are not having any fun at all under this system and they may be pushing some of them too hard.

And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that because this staff is so hardcore on these kids, that a lot of them have quit....i.e. the large amount of freshmen that quit throughout this year.

I know that you only want the best and dedicated on your team, but from what I hear, a lot of kids are being turned off to football right now and that will cause problems with depth later on.

[Dazed&Confused]

I'm not doubting the dedication or effort put forth by the coaching staff, but from what I've heard, a lot of kids are not having any fun at all under this system and they may be pushing some of them too hard.

And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that because this staff is so hardcore on these kids, that a lot of them have quit....i.e. the large amount of freshmen that quit throughout this year.

I know that you only want the best and dedicated on your team, but from what I hear, a lot of kids are being turned off to football right now and that will cause problems with depth later on.

Those who quit needed to quit because their heart wasn't in football and for them to be on the team would have just made things worse. In no way were things too hard b/c the team had a lot of freshman stick it out and really enjoy football...those who quit never really gave it a chance b/c they were too LAZY...and if i could say it on here i would tell you what i really thought they were:mad:

[Too Good]

It does seem that when Pikeville is faced with good competition they lay down, and i see next year being a rebuilding year for them, losing 27 seniors and all....

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

I think Pikeville is feeling the effects of having a terrible little league and junior high program for a while, before Jackson got here. They only have one feeder program, and if it's not where it should be then you will suffer from it later on. Coach Jackson has had to deal with alot of people that were used to things being done a certain way, instead of the right way.
The strongest programs in our area have the strongest youth programs.
I know people have some concerns and they should, but to get on here and start attacking people is the opposite of what fans have always done. You should rally behind your kids and team in hard times just like you would in good times.
Also, don't forget that there are some people involved in the Pikeville School System that want to see Pikeville Football not do well for their own personal agenda. Some of those people are probably posting on here right now.
If any of the athletes are reading this, be smart, think for yourself and don't listen to people who may not have your interest at heart

AMEN!!!!!

[jetpilot]

I don't see anyone attacking anyone on here and I also don't see anyone on here (especially from Pikeville) that doesn't want the best for Pikeville's program.

[Elwayfan]

I think I can understand where most Pikeville fans are coming from with not being satisfied with just winning a district title. If you go by either Cantrell ratings or Litkenhouse ratings you will see that (other than Paintsville) the other 6 teams in the district are all rated in the bottom 10 teams in the entire state. Not much to brag about if you ask me as well. Show me where the prestige is in that. At least the Pikeville fans are realistic and know what it takes to compete at the state level. If more programs were truely interested in getting their programs to a state competetive status then you might see a team out of the district advance a little farther. Playing the Allen Centrals, the Betsy Lanes, the Phelps', and the Jenkins' of the world get you prepared for one thing, and that is to get the crap beat out of you when you play someone from down state. I will give Jackson this, he has tried to play some teams since he has been here that he more than likely had no chance to beat, but played them anyways. I will agree with Comfort Eagle however, that you cannot try to do what he does as far as trying to get limited resources (number wise) to just play one sport year round. And please dont any Jackson supporter get on here and contradict what I am saying because I know full well that there were some players that got the shaft for playing SUMMER baseball. They may have been freshmen at the time, but sooner or later they become seniors and you may just need them in a year or two. You just cant keep doing kids that way and not expect to have to pay the price on down the road. The best thing for Pikeville IMO, is to either get rid of Jackson or cordially help him find another job somewhere else.

Summer baseball is not a school affiliated sport. Jackson has never tried to get a kid to play only one sport. In fact he encourages kids to play as many sports as possible(which personally, I don't agree with). I've heard him say that kids pick up other good qualities that they may not get from football.
Your on the outside looking in, and your probably repeating what someone else has said that don't have a clue either.

[ComfortEagle]

Those who quit needed to quit because their heart wasn't in football and for them to be on the team would have just made things worse. In no way were things too hard b/c the team had a lot of freshman stick it out and really enjoy football...those who quit never really gave it a chance b/c they were too LAZY...and if i could say it on here i would tell you what i really thought they were:mad:

To those who stuck it out, kudos. But is there a lack of interest in football at Pikeville now? Are there more options, like soccer, that the kids are turning to, or has the little league/junior high system been lacking in previous years?

[Elwayfan]

You are sorely mistaken if you're taking these height and weight charts from an "official" stat book or program. They are heavily padded. I know because my height and weight were NEVER correct in the football programs. The coaches will often try to make the players appear bigger, meaner on the stat charts. It's just a fact, a 6'0'' lineman looks more intimidating on paper than a 5'10'' lineman.

So yeah, I'm not surprised if you're showing me these numbers. However, I watched the game and those kids on the line did not look that big, plus they were getting beat by smaller players. In fact the whole team seemed smaller than teams in the past. Several others that I've talked to have encountered this phenomenon as well. The kids seem to be getting smaller. And if this staff has the kids in the weight room so much then why is the line getting beat by smaller kids?

As for the "huge holes" you saw, they were not there all the time or even often I would say. Yeah, there may have been some huge holes during the game which can be attributed to numerous things, but were they consistent? Obviously not, because Pikeville was going nowhere in the second half. You say that the safety was making most of the plays, but if a safety is the only one getting tackles, then Pikeville would HAVE to gain some yards. You only need about 4 yards a play to get a first down and you're saying the safety was making all the tackles, how can Pikeville not be gaining yards if the safety is making the tackles?

If the runs up the middle had worked then of course, the outcome would have been different. Yes, you can't rely on this alone, but you're making it sound like Pikeville had no trouble running it up the gut, when they hardly went anywhere in the second half.

I will agree that the first half was much better, I don't know if these kids weren't as conditioned as LCA or if they just mentally broke down.

First of all these heights and weights are close to exact, I haven't even looked in a program. I'm around these kids every day, so trust me on that. The linemen for LCA weren't making the plays, it was corners and the safety. They basically had 10 guys in the box all night. When this happens you need to be able to throw certain types of passes to back them out or at least keep them from shooting gaps all night and Pikeville just hasn't been able to execute the pass all year. Pikeville still moved the ball on LCA. Harmon led the way with around 180 yards himself.

The turnovers obviously killed the Panthers, but the misexecutions at QB was just as much a negative impact. People usually don't catch these mistakes from the stands, they think it's a playcall by the coach.

Yes, the safety did make most of the plays but not all of them. the wekside corners and outside OLB's made several plays off the edge because the blocking backs didn't get any movement.

The outcome would have been different if Pikeville didn't have 8 turnovers(2 of which were fumbles on the QB/Center exchange on LCA's 4 and 17 yardline), a blocked punt, terrible field position, better blocking by the halfbacks, etc. But, it wasn'nt because they could't run the ball. Pikeville should have went in at halftime with a 21-0 lead.
I believe your right about the mental breakdown by some key players.

[Elwayfan]

It does seem that when Pikeville is faced with good competition they lay down, and i see next year being a rebuilding year for them, losing 27 seniors and all....

Where are you getting this number from? Pikeville don't have 27 seniors.

[Elwayfan]

To those who stuck it out, kudos. But is there a lack of interest in football at Pikeville now? Are there more options, like soccer, that the kids are turning to, or has the little league/junior high system been lacking in previous years?

The latter is probably the biggest contributor.