[KColley]

Here’s the deal. I see Russell as a football program that always has a lot of upside and the financial support is there. In this current alignment I think seven or eight wins in a season and a couple of playoff victories should be the goals for the football program year in and year out at the very minimum, especially in 3A which outside of Belfry and Tilghman is basically wide open. Russell should be a top-8 to 10 team in the class.

In our third year of being back in 3A, Tilghman went 4-6 in the regular season my junior year and won the state championship at 9-6. It’s not like 3A has really been a daunting task to climb other than Belfry’s 2013-2016 run.

Belfry and Tilghman stay at or near the top of the state’s best contenders in the class because they play teams in all classifications across the board, who are among or are the best in their class, to prepare them for the playoffs and then prepare for those opponents appropriately. Louisville Central did the same as well when Ty Scroggins was the coach and Central was 3A.

Russell needs to keep Raceland on the schedule and add more regular season games with programs like a Pikeville, a Wheelersburg, Jackson (Ohio), Breathitt County, Johnson Central, Belfry, Corbin, etc. Games that draw good gates and have great traditional showdowns from years past but also make you better today and tomorrow.

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Forgot to add too: basketball-wise, Russell has a tougher road there, but considering how highly-touted Rimmer is for his age, they could have something special in a few years.

I understand not wanting to possibly lose him, but if you perform up to snuff losing him shouldn’t be a concern unless it is to an elite prep school or private school not associated with a state athletic association, in which they could come in and recruit as they wished anyway.