[Hoot Gibson]

I see your points because your correct on the middle school dominating paintsville's. More then likely, that team from 01 I was talking about got beat pretty good in middle school. Im not sure, to be honest. I can't remember back that far! lol All I can say is those players on that team, developed into very good athletes in high school. Good coaching may have been why, or maybe they had good work ethics, im not sure. You can't judge a player by how talented he is in middle school. They might not gain much speed, might not work out hard, etc. Prime example, Chet Griffith when he was a fullback at JCMS. People bragged about him constantly and in middle school he was "the man", in high school he didn't get any faster and his skills didn't improve at all. People claimed he was going to break every record that JC had. He was a good boy and it was sad the expectations that they put on him at that age. He peaked at an early age, and didn't even start at fullback and wasn't near as talented as the Webb kid. I would also bet their were a few better fullbacks then Griffith on that team. Their are several factors that can happen once kids get into high school. All i know is that by the time that bunch was in high school, phs was more talented. Their wasn't anyone at JC in the secondary better then the Arms twins and Tate Harmon, wasn't a better reciever then Dustin Hall or Ryan Jarrell, and Chas Harmon could throw a football better then anyone on JC's roster. Wasn't a lineman on that team that was better then Ryan Brown and he got a D1 scholarship, which proves my point. Now you got me wondering, I dont remember a freshman starting on the 00 team. Im lucky to even remember what I did last week, let alone 10 years ago so thats probably why. That 00 apple bowl was a good game. Man, both of those teams were fun to watch. Everyone doubted that 00 JC team before that season. People thought they wouldn't be near as good as the 99 team and they ended up being better. Anyways, im done with this thread. I have nothing else to say about it. I agree with some points and disagree on a few others.

Chet Griffith would have been a different player had Matney taken over the program in 2001, as would have everybody else on that team. Paintsville has always had some talented players and they always will have but bad coaching could make them look much less talented as it did at Johnson Central.

The secret to Paintsville's success in the past was solid coaching. I can still remember Walter Brugh flattering me from 6th grade through 8th grade as a potential PHS football player. That was what he did in the off season. When my family moved out of the district, he told me that if I wanted to play football at Paintsville, he would find a ride to school for me. Paintsville coaches back then used the carrot and the stick. If you chose not to play football, you could expect to be asked repeatedly why a big (or fast, or strong, etc.) boy like you did not come out for football. There was a lot of peer pressure to play in those days as well. Very few good Paintsville athletes dared to say no to Coach Brugh. That is part of what is missing today from Paintsville football.

It is ironic that Paintsville had a coach in David Lemaster who actually beat a Matney coached team at least once. But a lot of Paintsville alumni were never satisfied with Burr's calm demeanor and low key approach to coaching. Paintsville lost one of the best football coaches in eastern Kentucky when he decided to quit coaching. I would have loved to have seen him take over at Johnson Central when Musick left.

As long as Matney coaches Johnson Central, Paintsville will not have a team that will be anywhere near the Golden Eagles' level and it has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with superior numbers and good coaching. Even if Coach Lemaster had kept coaching Paintsville, the Tigers would not likely have beaten JC either but they would have fielded a much more competitive team than they have now.

The people who did not appreciate Lemaster as a coach are getting what they deserve but it is a shame that the players are suffering the consequences. Having lived through three very lean years of Johnson Central football, I sympathize and I hope things start to turn around soon for the Tigers.