[charlie22]

All we can do is beat the next team we play.

Yes, we'd love to win the 5A state title. But we know we won't be allowed to do that when we always have to play a Cincinnati All-Star Team every year at some point.

Our goal is to be the best team we can be, and to be the best team in the mountains. If by some amazing miracle, we can beat HHS or CCH or Bowling Green or whomever to win a championship, believe me, there will be a party like you've never seen in Johnson County. But we'll be happy to acquit ourselves well against the powers that cross district lines to win state championships. Yes we can. We don't really care about Highlands right now, as much as you wish we would. Right now, we're worried about Belfry. We'll worry about you when we get to you.

While I agree with a lot of your post and have great respect for JC's team and program, you have to get over the bolded part if you are referring to the Highlands program. It's not true. I can think of two players in all the years I've followed Highlands that were from Cincinnati. Two. That's all. One stayed only his frosh and sophomore years. The other stayed all four and was a decent, not great player.

Furthermore, the oft repeated myth that we attract stud players from throughout N. Ky is way over blown. Yes we have attracted some really good players in certain years. Then again JC has attracted some players from other areas of Ky also. If you want to deny that, I can dig up the number of transfers into JC over the last 5 years if forced to.

Finally, on this year's Highlands team, I can think of only a couple of players that didn't grow up in Ft. Thomas that are making a significant contribution. Guidugli the qb is a Ft. Thomas kid. The Running backs of Crawford, Head and Fennell are all Ft. Thomas kids. Dempsey, Schlosser, Bardgett and Grubbs (O linemen) are all Ft. Thomas kids (honestly don't know about the center Combs. He didn't play football at all until his frosh year, which is why I don't know for sure. Most of the other kids I am familiar with due to involvement in the Junior Football League). Roller the TE is a Ft. Thomas kid. Receivers Collinsworth, Buten, Horner, and Hogue are Ft. Thomas kids. On D, Rosenhagen, Welz, Frank, Dierig and Beck (D linemen) are Ft. Thomas kids. We do have a junior D linemen that gets some playing time and who moved from Indianapolis, but I serously doubt our football program had much of anything with his family's move to town. Linebackers of Roller, Newman, Martin and Laber are Ft. Thomas kids. Alford is originally from Newport. All the dbs are Ft. Thomas kids. Our stud running back, Conner is from Newport, but in light of the fact he's been out almost the entire season with a broken leg, he hasn't really made any meaningful contribution this year.

Bottom line: if it works out that Highlands beats JC this year, please don't use the excuse that Highlands has a Cincinnati all star team or even a N. Ky all star team, because its just not true. I thought Matney's comments about losing to CovCath a couple of years ago came across as whiney and beneath a great football coach. If anything, because of the loss of many very talented Ft. Thomas kids who are Catholic to NewCath, Highlands in most years loses many more quality athletes than we receive, which is a fact lost on many people critical of Highlands success.

Good luck to JC this week against Belfry. If it turns out that Highlands plays JC in several weeks, I'm sure it will be a great game. I've seen JC play this year and believe they are very, very good.