[Scotty_Bronson]

First of all, hats off to all the 1A schools that played up and either won or were competive this past Friday. Here are some things I noticed/saw/been thinking about.

Mayfield and Raceland. While they are not on the same level and both took losses, within those losses, they both saw growth. Imo, even though both teams find themselves at 1-1 coming in to their. 3rd game of the season. I think both schools are better than, even myself, expected. It took overtime for McCracken to edge out the 1pt "dominanation"(had to take a potshot their that was the dumbest headline i have ever seen...but i digress). Raceland showed alot of guts and heart in a comeback that fell about 50 yds and an interception short. Raceland's defense did a good job, imo at containing Ashland's speed outside of 3 plays. Ashland will probably put up 350-400 yds of offense on the ground alone over the next several weeks. I think Mayfield showed they are still Mayfield and Raceland showed that they may be more capable of repeating as the region champs than expected. The Rams MUST shore up the DL from C gap to C gap though. Mayfield just needs to continue to be Mayfield and get Bright into space.

Pikeville and Hazard. Both teams put on a clinic in three areas. How not to tackle off the edge, downfield blocking by wr, and trucking people as a running back. Both teams had troubles shutting down the D gaps, while Hazard had issues between the C gaps as well. It was a combination of not wrapping up and having a running back(Pugh/Jones) that were simply unloading on defenders. Both teams did a great job however, at getting down field and blocking. 3 of Pugh's TD wouldnt have happened had Maynard or Estep not been down field. Individually, Pikeville, as i called and expected, are not going to miss Chase Hall, and can still put points up in a hurry. Hazard, misses that sure handed big target down field in Hudson, but Morgan is capable and still growith into his roll as a leader. These two teams shore up the penalties and they will be a tough out come november.

Paintsville and Williamsburg. Paintsville looked solid, but nowhere near as impressive as some of us expected. Injuries have really hindered the "next step" being taken for the program. Many injuries that guys are not going to come back from. We will know more about Paintsville after their gsme with Pikeville. Williamsburg, not much to say here. They hae allowed fewer points tha anyone in the East thus far. Then again, they havent faced any offenses like Prestonsburg, Hazard, or Ashland. But, they didnt last year either and their defense only struggled in one game, that happened to be in BG. Their offense still puts up points, but I havent seen any fielm on them to get an idea of what exactly they are doing. Williamsburg is still a good football team.

So, thats my contribution to HS SINGLE A football for the day. Maybe someone could give a review of the other top 10 teams.