[charlie22]

Cris was born in Dayton but..... His father is a KY boy from Salyersville who played B-Ball for Adolph Rupp at UK. he got his first teaching job in Dayton and that is why Cris was born there.

Austin & Jac's Momma is from Fort Thomas, she grew up there and went to Highlands and UK (Cheerleader). She was also athletically and academically VERY gifted. Her sister was a DII All American in both swimming & diving in college (Wright State) Her brother was the tailback on the 81 & 82 Highlands state championship teams. 1st team all state (along with Marc Logan and Mark Higgs) and led the state in scoring in '82

Its the Ky Mountain and Fort Thomas roots they owe it all to. :biggrin:

And I believe Cris spent some summers of his youth in Ashland.

[BluegrassBuckeye]

Cris was born in Dayton but..... His father is a KY boy from Salyersville who played B-Ball for Adolph Rupp at UK. he got his first teaching job in Dayton and that is why Cris was born there.

Austin & Jac's Momma is from Fort Thomas, she grew up there and went to Highlands and UK (Cheerleader). She was also athletically and academically VERY gifted. Her sister was a DII All American in both swimming & diving in college (Wright State) Her brother was the tailback on the 81 & 82 Highlands state championship teams. 1st team all state (along with Marc Logan and Mark Higgs) and led the state in scoring in '82

Its the Ky Mountain and Fort Thomas roots they owe it all to. :biggrin:

And after all of that... Cris is STILL from Ohio. :thatsfunn

[whackem'n'stackem']

I'm from Kentucky.

[Tica]

The thing that impressed me most was the blurb I picked up yesterday about some Highlands kids already in the weight room for next year. That is what it takes and more importantly, they know that is what it takes to stay on top.

[charlie22]

The thing that impressed me most was the blurb I picked up yesterday about some Highlands kids already in the weight room for next year. That is what it takes and more importantly, they know that is what it takes to stay on top.

With the intense competition for the opened starting positions, there better be a whole lot of kids already in the weight room. Those kids that aren't will find themselves, come January when the formal weight lifting begins, several weeks behind those that have already started lifting.

[whackem'n'stackem']

Scare tactics already? come on.......

[charlie22]

Scare tactics already? come on.......

Not scare tactics at all. Just the facts of life in regards to Highlands football.

[whackem'n'stackem']

The fact of life is Dale has those kids marked years ahead of time.

[jbwill2]

The fact of life is Dale has those kids marked years ahead of time.

Huh??? What are you talking about? If this is the case, then why was Patrick Towles not the freshman starting QB in 2008, given that Coach Mueller made him the varsity starting QB this year, when Bardo was injured? Did Mueller forget to "mark" Towles his freshman year????

[HeHateMe]

Huh??? What are you talking about? If this is the case, then why was Patrick Towles not the freshman starting QB in 2008, given that Coach Mueller made him the varsity starting QB this year, when Bardo was injured? Did Mueller forget to "mark" Towles his freshman year????

Yep :thatsfunn

[charlie22]

Huh??? What are you talking about? If this is the case, then why was Patrick Towles not the freshman starting QB in 2008, given that Coach Mueller made him the varsity starting QB this year, when Bardo was injured? Did Mueller forget to "mark" Towles his freshman year????

You are right of course. In addition to Towles, there are multiple examples of kids "coming out of no where" to make major contributions for the Birds as a result of their hard work in the weightroom and their dedication to off season conditioning.

[whackem'n'stackem']

I don't disagree that weights can make a player, but they sure don't make an athlete and D knows who the athletes are well ahead of time.....ouch!

[brown_ind1977]

No highlands gets beat next year by a really good jc team next year. Jc wins their first state title and many to follow!

[cougarpride08]

I heard they have great programs for the youth up in the Fort Thomas area. I think a club or a program to get kids started early. Past Highlands players run it, and is like a mentor or a role model to the kids. I think that is cool, and shows why Highlands is so good at what they do.

[Xerxes]

Highlands in 2010. They are a machine. That will not be stopped for a while.

[cougarpride08]

If we could get a program like that around the Letcher area, I think it would help the future out a lot. Highlands will be strong because the season never ends.

[dontfeedthebears]

Would someone explain to me Highlands' situation in regard to the class they play in? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they actually a 3A school that plays up to 5A? I understand it's more convenient due to travel and opponents being closer in 5A, but why don't they consider jumping on up to the big boys and competing with St. X and Trinity?

[Can you dig it?]

Would someone explain to me Highlands' situation in regard to the class they play in? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they actually a 3A school that plays up to 5A? I understand it's more convenient due to travel and opponents being closer in 5A, but why don't they consider jumping on up to the big boys and competing with St. X and Trinity?

At the start of the most recent cycle, Highlands was a 3a program and CovCath was 4a. Both were the only NKY representative in their particular classification, so they appealed to be allowed to play up to 5a so that they could form a district with Scott, Holmes and Dixie. Holmes dropped to 4a this year due to a shrinking enrollment, which left the four team district. By today's numbers, Highlands is considered a 4a school, as is CovCath and possibly Scott. Moving these teams to 4a would leave Dixie as the only 5a school in NKY, so how will that be handled? NKY 6a already has six teams, so letting Dixie play up would be a nightmare.
No way Highlands would be allowed to move to 6a. It would be seen as a vanity move.

[qryche11]

I think Dale knows who the athletes are and he and his staff pretty much map out who they see in certain positions. I think they pump the kids up by meeting with them either formally or informally and telling them that they might see them as a DL or LB next season and they might want to pack on 10 to 15 lbs. These are motivating tactics and it is just additional sweetner added to the Kool Aid.

Everybody and their brother saw Patrick Towles play QB in the Youth league and they know the family genes with Bunning being his G-father. He has the potential to be 6'6 and has a nice arm, most importantly he is a born leader with a lot of moxy. Whether or not they felt he was ready his freshman year really is a moot point because when the chips were down they knocked on Patrick's door and nobody elses.

Competition for positions will be much more fierce next year because IMO they do not have a very deep SR class of talent like they did this season. They have some nice players and the SR's who didnt play much this year as JR's will be pushed very hard by next year's Jr's and sophs because of the talent level in those classes.

Best of luck in the weightroom Birds.

[dontfeedthebears]

I'm not crying about the domination of Highlands, St. Xavier, and Trinity but it just gets old. It would be easier for these teams to remember the years they DIDN'T win the state championships. I would love to see some type of "super" class created. I know this is probably not realistic, but at least they'd still get their St.X/ Trinity title game every year, a showdown between Highlands of one of the two big boys, and also give a legit chance for the rest of 5A and 6A KY to win state. As it now, you would have to host the semi's, have the best team you've ever had, play a perfect game, they play their worst game, and get the majority of the calls even have to a chance at beating these guys. Until non-private schools are permitted to recruit then keep stacking up the title trophies in Fort Thomas and Louisville.

[tradition]

I'm not crying about the domination of Highlands, St. Xavier, and Trinity but it just gets old. It would be easier for these teams to remember the years they DIDN'T win the state championships. I would love to see some type of "super" class created. I know this is probably not realistic, but at least they'd still get their St.X/ Trinity title game every year, a showdown between Highlands of one of the two big boys, and also give a legit chance for the rest of 5A and 6A KY to win state. As it now, you would have to host the semi's, have the best team you've ever had, play a perfect game, they play their worst game, and get the majority of the calls even have to a chance at beating these guys. Until non-private schools are permitted to recruit then keep stacking up the title trophies in Fort Thomas and Louisville.

Please remember, Highlands is a public school. Also, I just can't seem to get a grip on the mentality, "If you can't beat'em, get rid of them.":booo:


Kentucky has always been a basketball state. I can only speak for Highlands, but Highlands has always been, since 1915, a football school. Long history there. However, many teams in recent years ( last 10 to 20) are putting more into football. Take John Harden, Class 5A runnerup. They have only had a team since I believe 2001 and they are State champion runner up in 2009. That's is something to be excited about.

Highlands , Trinity, and St. X are beatable. However, you have to lose the defeatest attitude to do it.

[whackem'n'stackem']

I'm not crying about the domination of Highlands, St. Xavier, and Trinity but it just gets old. It would be easier for these teams to remember the years they DIDN'T win the state championships. I would love to see some type of "super" class created. I know this is probably not realistic, but at least they'd still get their St.X/ Trinity title game every year, a showdown between Highlands of one of the two big boys, and also give a legit chance for the rest of 5A and 6A KY to win state. As it now, you would have to host the semi's, have the best team you've ever had, play a perfect game, they play their worst game, and get the majority of the calls even have to a chance at beating these guys. Until non-private schools are permitted to recruit then keep stacking up the title trophies in Fort Thomas and Louisville.

I disagree with your super class comment. Not happening.
I can sympathize with you about how some really talented teams didn't get their chance at a title b/c Highlands stole the show, but think of how the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks felt when Jordan was with the Bulls.....I don't think some Highlands fans are sensitive to how other team's fans are by implying that they have a defeatest attitude. To me, that's not a fair statement. We're not being good stewards of the game with this attitude. Heck, I sat through an entire season of halftime football in Ft. Thomas. It is a bit ridiculous, but it never seems to fill the insatiable desire of some 'diehards'. The Birds will have off years. No doubt. Until then, we'll just have to endure those Bird fans who make football their idol and hope that when their nest is gone, they see who the real winner's are.....:eyeroll:

[wildcats fan]

Highlands will repeat as 5A state Champions in 2010

[Lone Oak Shocker]

Please God don't let Highlands go to 4A until Lone Oak consolidates... :please:

I don't have a problem with Highlands, I just wish that they were in a class where at least one school had a decent chance of overtaking them. Unfortunately, the only other school of that calibur in the state this year was St. Xavier. Don't get me wrong: Lone Oak, Boyle, and Bell were all very good teams, most likely equivalent to one another and any could beat the other on any given Friday, and all three were definately in the top 10 teams of the state. Heck, these three powerhouse 4A teams could probably have taken any team in the state (minus two) more times than not, including Trinity and Fort Campbell, with Simon Kenton tied with their perspective positions of power.

The problem is, although the 4A power triangle is capable of taking everyone else headon, Highlands and St. Xavier are just in a different league.

[Stardust]

Please God don't let Highlands go to 4A until Lone Oak consolidates... :please:

I don't have a problem with Highlands, I just wish that they were in a class where at least one school had a decent chance of overtaking them. Unfortunately, the only other school of that calibur in the state this year was St. Xavier. Don't get me wrong: Lone Oak, Boyle, and Bell were all very good teams, most likely equivalent to one another and any could beat the other on any given Friday, and all three were definately in the top 10 teams of the state. Heck, these three powerhouse 4A teams could probably have taken any team in the state (minus two) more times than not, including Trinity and Fort Campbell, with Simon Kenton tied with their perspective positions of power.

The problem is, although the 4A power triangle is capable of taking everyone else headon, Highlands and St. Xavier are just in a different league.

:Thumbs:

[BluegrassBuckeye]

As long as Highlands stays in 5A they'll have it made. They might as well crown them champs for life.

Moving down to 4A would give them much better competition and make for a more interesting post season. Boyle County moved up to 3A in 2001 and competed with Highlands for state titles until the realignment in 2007. In six seasons Boyle won three titles, Highlands won one, Lex Cath won one, and Cov Cath won one.

Highlands was the top team in the state this season and they would likely have won 4A and 6A titles as well. That said, they wouldn't be able to compete year in and year out in 6A against St. X and Trinity. Just not enough firepower. Playing in 4A would pit them against Boyle County, Lex Cath, Bell County, and a couple of others that would be able to meet Highlands on even terms most of the time.

That said, anything less than a 5A state title for Highlands in 2010 will be a major disappointment. :thanks:

[rebel 4 life]

As long as Highlands stays in 5A they'll have it made. They might as well crown them champs for life.

Moving down to 4A would give them much better competition and make for a more interesting post season. Boyle County moved up to 3A in 2001 and competed with Highlands for state titles until the realignment in 2007. In six seasons Boyle won three titles, Highlands won one, Lex Cath won one, and Cov Cath won one.

Highlands was the top team in the state this season and they would likely have won 4A and 6A titles as well. That said, they wouldn't be able to compete year in and year out in 6A against St. X and Trinity. Just not enough firepower. Playing in 4A would pit them against Boyle County, Lex Cath, Bell County, and a couple of others that would be able to meet Highlands on even terms most of the time.

That said, anything less than a 5A state title for Highlands in 2010 will be a major disappointment. :thanks:

get ready for a disappointment

[58fan]

I think the solution is to make Highlands rotate on a yearly basis from 3A, 4A etc so that everyone has a chance to win a title 3 out of the 4 years they would not be in that class!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lmao::devilflam

[BluegrassBuckeye]

I think the solution is to make Highlands rotate on a yearly basis from 3A, 4A etc so that everyone has a chance to win a title 3 out of the 4 years they would not be in that class!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lmao::devilflam

"Boyle County moved up to 3A in 2001 and competed with Highlands for state titles until the realignment in 2007. In six seasons Boyle won three titles, Highlands won one, Lex Cath won one, and Cov Cath won one." :biggrin:

[Barret]

highlands have an excellent hard working team