[Hoot Gibson]

Maybe just maybe Greenup didnt have the talent to beat Raceland. You cant win the Kentucky Derby with a mule. He will have the players at Hazard to win. Remember the old saying its not the Xs and the Os. Its the Jimmys and Joes. Hazard has plenty Jimmys and Joes. I bet he beats Raceland next season in the playoffs if they meet.

A school that has three or four times the enrollment of a rival school has, on average, three or four times the Jimmys and Joes of the smaller school. I agree that there is more to winning football games that Xs and Os, but all else being equal, a 4A school should beat a 1A school almost every time that the two teams meet. I don't think that the old saying about Jimmys and Joes applies to high school football, except for very small 1A schools whose enrollment numbers make it difficult to field a team.

Johnson Central has fielded a football team since the 1970s and for years, Paintsville dominated the Apple Bowl series with the Golden Eagles. Things began to change under former coach Bill Musick and near the end of his tenure at JC, the Golden Eagles held the upper hand in the rivalry. When he left, Paintsville resumed its pounding of JC until Jim Matney arrived.

I am not suggesting that Scott Grizzle is not a good coach - most coaches have struggled to win at Greenup County - what I am saying is that bad coaches lose even when they have great talent available to them. Football talent must be developed and students, athletes, parents, school administrators, and the community must make a commitment to building a great program or it never happens.

Hazard obviously has strongly supported the Bulldogs' football program for many years, so Coach Grizzle will have more going for him than the Jimmys and Joes that he will inherit. This is a great opportunity for him and I am sure that he realizes that expectations are higher and support for the program is stronger at Hazard than they were at Greenup County.