[nekysportsfan]

And this is why Ashland lost almost every time the Tomcats faced Johnson Central during the Matney era. Johnson Central's line play is not great because its players are big, it is great because developing cohesive lines is a priority of Coach Matney's staff. Most games are won in the trenches and Ashland's emphasis has always been on putting great athletes on the field instead of teaching fundamentals.

As for state wide reputations, Johnson Central has one. Ashland lives in the past. When was the last time that the Tomcats advanced beyond a regional final? A state semi-final game? nicker:

It is enjoyable debating this with you rather than Bob Seger. At least I don't feel like you are just getting ready to post "cluck cluck" and something about some poster who used to post a decade ago named "Bad Cat" or the "Prideful One".

I agree that Matney has done a tremendous job at Johnson Central. I attended many of those Ashland-Johnson Central games over the years, though, and a layman fan could see who was going to win simply by looking at the teams in warmups. Johnson Central has consistently fielded lines that look like small college lines. Matney has done a great job with them, but it is much easier to do a great job when you are working with 6-6 300lb athletes as opposed to working with 6-2 220lb athletes.

It just seems to me that Johnson Central should start focusing on putting some state title trophies in their hallways rather than constantly dwelling on how they have lapped the competition here in Eastern Kentucky including Ashland. In the past decade, they have proven to consistently be far better than Ashland. Move on now and win some state titles. Be better than everyone. I hope they can manage to do so this season. I think it's good and rather amazing that any team from Eastern Kentucky can be better than the rest of the state in anything given the economy in our area.