[Possum Bait]

Is it time to pull the plug on Jim Black at Whitley County? Whitley County Football is a mess. Last season Whitley was 2-8 and it would appear that this season will end at 2-9. 4 wins in two seasons with the talent at Whitley is not acceptable. The last coach was fired after 15 years of sucess for two 500 seasons. It would have taken the last Coach at least five years (probably 10 years against the competition on this years schedule) to accumulate the number of loses Black will post in two seasons.

This years team based on talent alone should be 7-2 and no worse than 6-3. This years team is an embarrasment for all involved. If the coach can not win with the talent he has now, he will never be able to win. Looking back, this years team is one of the most talented overall teams at Whitley in the last 10 years. Looking forward at the upcoming classes down through the 7th grade, the talent is no better than what is now in place. With probably the most talented backfield at Whitley in at least 6 years Whitley has not scored more than 2 touch downs against anyone outside of the "No Defense Home of Basketball Scores" 5A District 8. Whitley has been held to 6 points in two of its last three games. In one of those games single A Lynn Camp pounded Whitley 36-6 to beat Whitley for only the second time in 30 years. The next week this same Lynn Camp Team was beaten by Whitley's cross town single A rival Williamsburg. The coach continues to run his self devised experimental hybrid offense that no has ever seen or heard of before despite the unbelievably poor results and a cascade of laughter and criticism. It seems he is too stuborn to admit that his lab rat offense will not work.

Should the administration let this coach ruin the careers of another talented class? As this year's senior class ran their last lap Friday night, it was hard not to remember that this group came to the high school after an undefeated 7th and 8th grade campaign. Coach Black's teams have gotten progressively worse over the past two seasons. Last years team was terrible but it would beat this years team.

On a personal basis, Jim Black is a fine man. I do not think that anyone could find fault with his character. He cares about the kids, he works hard, and he is a nice guy. He is not; however, the right coach for Whitley County. Coach Blacks favors finesse pass oriented teams and schemes. Whitley County's roster is always going to be best suited for smash mouth power oriented football. Whitley is just not a good fit for Coach Black. I think it is time to make a change for good of everyone involved including Coach Black.