[PHSForever]

First off the game was great, I thik the outcome would have been different if our starters would have played more. Marcus Reed came out of the game and took a bag of fluids on the sidelines, Connor Messer had a bag of fluids at half time and ended up going to the hospital with heat stroke and convulsions out at the half. Tyler Nethercut started having cramps and so did Caudill. Great game but not our best team performance yet. I know that Pikeville had some kids getting hit with the heat too and what surprises me the most about that game- 97 degrees at one point, and NOT ONE TIMEOUT FOR WATER from the refs all game? I know that was not like a crew to not take mandatory water breaks, it was the hottest day in 2 months and no water breaks. PLus it is hotter playing on turf also... Great job from the Pikeville players and fans, great game but feel we just were a step off that game. I am sure there is a strong possibility to se each other again!! Good luck to Pikeville and keep winning!!

I can not emphasize this enough... EVERY COACH drills it into their players to hydrate BEFORE the game. This has come about due to the incidents in recent years of one player dying up in Louisville, etc. My son plays 5th-6th grade and I make sure before practice even, that he has had at least 24 oz of water within the hour before, and that he takes water/Gatorade with him, and also drinks during the water breaks. Pikeville had some cramping, but not near as much as Raceland, because they learned from the previous week they were not as well hydrated as they thought, I believe, and addressed that.

The 97 degrees was very early, maybe during warmups, but definitely was not that high by game time. I hope the Rams players are okay, and that there are no health issues resulting from it, and that they stay hydrated to avoid these situations in the future. Very nice team, tough and hard nosed.

On the subject of the DB's, just based on what I saw, the main problem is that they try to rely on their speed to make up for technique weaknesses. Y'all had some good size and VERY good speed in the defensive backfield, but a poor lack of understanding of man coverage and zone coverage. A good smart QB like Maynard, along with smart receivers, will find those seams and expose them in a hurry. That's what happened. Backs were biting on underneath routes all night and leaving Go routes and 10-15 yard slants and flys wide open. A lot of speed to chase down with, but it doesn't help you if you are giving up a wide open 15 yarder that results in another 15 yards before being chased down. Those are morale-killers that eat up huge chunks of ground at a time.

Wish you all well for the remainder of the season. Unless, of course, we meet again in the playoffs! :Thumbs: