[Hoot Gibson]

Yea, I knew the answer to that question, but you still wonder if this is the year that he might try something different. But if he does not practice it in any other games, it is very unlikely he will in the playoffs, and if he does they will be very little if any game experience. Highlands has had games where they have run 95-100% of the game and games where they have passed 95-100% of the time. Some games he does not game plan against a certain team but uses the game to practice what he thinks the team needs to work on to be best prepared for playoff run. I guess JC feels that the run is the only way they can compete and have chance to win and stick with it from day one of practice, that is just a hard concept for us northeners to comprehend.

Running the score up against weak opponents like Harrison County by passing on virtually every offensive play is a difficult concept for eastern Kentuckians like me to understand. So is calling timeouts with a running clock at the end of the first half to give your first team a few more snaps against a team that would probably struggle against your freshman team.

At some point, opponents are so weak that game experience is less valuable than practice experience. Surely, Highlands' first team defense presents more of a challenge to Highlands' first team offense than Harrison County's did. Every time that I read a Highlands fan criticize Matney for something that they think showed poor sportsmanship, I just shake my head and laugh in amazement at the hypocrisy. I cannot think of anything more unsportsmanlike than the performance Highlands turned in against Harrison County.

Unless the KHSAA stats are wrong, Highlands rushed for 2 yards on 2 attempts, both by their starting quarterback, against Harrison County in a 77-0 romp. I am guessing that the quarterback scrambled twice on passing plays. Am I right?

Eventually, the shoe finds its way to the other foot. I hope that Dale Mueller is still coaching Highlands when that day comes, but I suspect that it will be somebody else's problem. FTR, I have seen Matney call off the dogs repeatedly in similar situations, including at least a couple of games when he was coaching Sheldon Clark against Johnson Central and his team was scoring almost at will. There is nothing to be gained by thoroughly embarrassing a defenseless opponent.