[charlie22]

It doesn't matter who Highlands brings back and who they lose because they will always be one of the elite teams in the state. As the post before mine said they will have the stiffest competition from inside their own district in Cov. Cath. The winner of that district will more than likley win state. No team from Eastern Kentucky will be capable of beating one of the two teams. The best chance of them losing outside of district in the playoffs would be Bowling Green, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I don't know if its true, but I was told by a BG located friend that BG lost a whole lot also and while they will be good, not near as good as the last several years. He expects one of the other W. Ky teams to make it to the finals this year (he didn't say who, but I'd expect John Hardin to be one of those teams).

About the E. Ky schools, shouldn't Letcher Central and Lincoln be able to really challenge Highlands/CovCath this year? I know that Letcher has Banks, its big running back and I thought a couple receivers coming back on O. If nothing else they should be able to score a lot of points. What's Lincoln got coming back (not their head coach, I know). And I think they would host the semi's so they'll have that advantage.

Highlands and CovCath should both be very good this year, but I'm not giving the winner of their district a pass to make it to Louisville.