[oneijoe]

Watched this one last night before bed on PikeTV.

Pikeville
- Estep just makes plays when you need them. Pburg did a good job on him most of the night but as soon as they had man coverage with no Safety over the top it was a 65 yard TD.
- Loved Pikeville's grit. They just kept fighting... they also did a great job dialing up pressure on 4th Down after Jarrell had all day on every other down.
- Pugh impressed me... loved the way he runs with his shoulders down looking for contact. Not the fleetest back, but he will do just fine this year
- Charles did a great job.... but Maynard is by far the most improved Panther
- Lineplay both ways was iffy at best... Pikeville's secondary has serious work to do. Tons of blown assignments.. granted a lot were the by product of Jarrell having 10-12 seconds to pass some times.
- I love the EKB broadcast teams and usually Pikeville's crew does a fine job, but they were wearing their hearts on their sleeves and the constant griping about officiating was a bit much. Not used to that from them. The crazy thing is most of the calls they were so upset about seemed to be pretty good calls. Estep hit the guy before the ball on the PI and did not have his head around... Charles was a clear fumble in the first Half when he was upended.. the late hit they wanted was a good "play on" call. Some of their cries for holding were legit, but I saw Pikeville getting by with similar calls all night. As I said usually that crew is top notch... much like their criticism of the officials they used 3-4 times I will chalk it up to "Being the first game for the broadcast crew as well".

Pburg
- You have to love the fact it is no longer J. Jarrell, Frasure, and C. Jarrell and noone else. The Reed kid looked awesome and the third Jarrell gives them weapons all over the field now. Much, much, much more dangerous offensive team than last year. Really liked the way the Reed kid looked.
- Pburg has to kick themselves because they could have won this on multiple fronts. Penalties at the wrong time, missed execution, questionable play calls, defensive breakdowns, and general fatigue all played roles. If Pburg cleans up their own self inflicted wounds they are going to be just fine moving forward, especially offensively as I am not sure any 2A team Eats of I-75 save NewCath can contain their offensive weapons.
- Maybe it was just me but Jarrell seemed to force himself to look down field on passing plays. In years past the kid has certainly nearly killed himself trying to be a weapon on every play and now he has help... but there were 6 or 7 times that had he tucked it like year's past he had 20-30 yards but instead either took a sack reversing field or ran only once his window was gone. I admire the discipline but if your first two or three reads aren't there and you have an open sideline for 15 yards you need to take it.

Nice review, EKU...and spot on. For a first game, this one had all you could ask for. Pikeville fans should feel good about its team's grit and P-burg fans should feel good about having more playmakers on the field. The difference in the game was one more lucky turn for Pikeville than P-burg.

Both fan bases should look forward to exciting seasons !!



:Thumbs:

[Granny Bear]

I would've loved to have seen this game!! BUT, I probably would've been sitting near BlackcatFan and seriously wonder if I would be alive right now.

[jetpilot]

Nice. Thanks for posting. Passing game was fairly even, basically came down to the running game in terms of offense. If you had told me before the game that Pikeville would keep Frasure under 100 rushing, I would not have believed you. I honestly thought he would be a bigger focal point. Jarrell had a 55% completion rate with an average gain of 15 yards per pass, and Charles was at 50% with 26 yards per pass average. Frasure had total offense of 115 yards for 4.79 yards per touch, and Pugh had total offense of 93 yards at a 6.2 yards per touch. I think the biggest difference was the running of Charles. Dual threat was the killer. He and Jarrell both ran same number of times (15), with Charles getting 84 yards (5.6 per carry) vs Jarrell getting 51 (3.4 per carry). Total offense for Jarrell 271 yards, Charles 268 on fewer offensive plays.

Sorry. Told ya I was a numbers guy. Lol. Pikeville's D was on the field longer, which makes me even more impressed with how they play. 17 total more snaps by Pburg than Pikeville. Once Pikeville flips that number, they are going to be scary indeed. I like our team.

Turnovers.

[jetpilot]

Nice review, EKU...and spot on. For a first game, this one had all you could ask for. Pikeville fans should feel good about its team's grit and P-burg fans should feel good about having more playmakers on the field. The difference in the game was one more lucky turn for Pikeville than P-burg.

Both fan bases should look forward to exciting seasons !!



:Thumbs:

Yep, that lucky drive they gutted out with the game on the line.nicker:
Agree with the rest of your post.

[PHSForever]

Turnovers.

Yep. Gotta clean that up. That's why I said once they flip that number, they'll be scary. A rested D should perform even better. But man, gotta dial up a little more pressure on earlier plays, DB's can't hold coverage for more than 5-6 seconds. That's just unfair to ask. The Reed kid was really good for Pburg, safe to say one of the better ones Pikeville will face this year. Just glad Jarrell only found him 3 times. Lol

[Big Five-0-]

Imo, the Reed kid was one of , if not the most improved player on the Blackcat team. Really impressed with his talent.

[Big Five-0-]

Had Pikeville lost I would have said the same thing. They won though.

Neither team played very crisp football and both have a lot to work on.

Speaking of which...those kickoffs from both teams were some of the ugliest football I have ever seen. Goat Rodeo almost every squib kick.

Totally agree .Imo, If any one thing in a negative sticks out with this Pikeville team, it's special teams. That was hard to look at all night long. Got to clean that up

[topnotch]

Cong Pikeville

[oneijoe]

Yep, that lucky drive they gutted out with the game on the line.nicker:
Agree with the rest of your post.

No, the last drive isn't what I was referring to...lol. Both teams scored the same number of TD's. The "luck" was Pikeville getting an opportunity to win on ONE play - the conversion from the 1 1/2 yd line. Without P-burg jumping offside on Pikeville's last PAT, we'd be talking about how the OT(s) went.


:popcorn:

[Poseidon]

The Blackcats will be a very good team by playoff time. They are not in shape now as compared to what they will be in November. If they were not so fatigued I think they win this game by 10+ points. But it being early, fatigue plays a major role in these games. That being said, Pikeville is a very good 1A team. The pass on 3rd down late and the 15 yrd punt killed Prestonsburg, but thats the way the ball bounces sometimes.

[TigerBlues]

The Blackcats will be a very good team by playoff time. They are not in shape now as compared to what they will be in November. If they were not so fatigued I think they win this game by 10+ points. But it being early, fatigue plays a major role in these games. That being said, Pikeville is a very good 1A team. The pass on 3rd down late and the 15 yrd punt killed Prestonsburg, but thats the way the ball bounces sometimes.

Not to be disrespectful but, that's a total BS post. Both teams played the same game as their first and Pikeville won in shape or no shape. Pburg up two scores late Pikeville played their guts out and earned the win plain and simple.

[PHSForever]

The Blackcats will be a very good team by playoff time. They are not in shape now as compared to what they will be in November. If they were not so fatigued I think they win this game by 10+ points. But it being early, fatigue plays a major role in these games. That being said, Pikeville is a very good 1A team. The pass on 3rd down late and the 15 yrd punt killed Prestonsburg, but thats the way the ball bounces sometimes.

Not in shape? Whose fault is that? The coaches? Or the players for not taking off season conditioning seriously like Pikeville? Had they met later in the year, I think Pikeville wins by MORE. Both teams had first game rustiness, no doubt. But I agree with the above poster, that's a BS post. It is what it is. Pikeville took Pburga best shot and got up off the mat for a last round knockout. Blame it on conditioning, coaching, whatever you want to. In the end, the final score mattered, and it said Pikeville 30 Prestonsburg 29.

Good luck to the Blackcats the rest of the way.

[PHSForever]

No, the last drive isn't what I was referring to...lol. Both teams scored the same number of TD's. The "luck" was Pikeville getting an opportunity to win on ONE play - the conversion from the 1 1/2 yd line. Without P-burg jumping offside on Pikeville's last PAT, we'd be talking about how the OT(s) went.


:popcorn:

That's not luck, that is DISCIPLINE. Big difference.

[jetpilot]

The Blackcats will be a very good team by playoff time. They are not in shape now as compared to what they will be in November. If they were not so fatigued I think they win this game by 10+ points. But it being early, fatigue plays a major role in these games. That being said, Pikeville is a very good 1A team. The pass on 3rd down late and the 15 yrd punt killed Prestonsburg, but thats the way the ball bounces sometimes.

:biglmao::biglmao::biglmao:

[#1 Blackcat Fan]

No excuses here. Both teams made early season mistakes. Both made mistakes at crucial moments in the game. Pikeville overcame theirs to win in the end.

I think both teams will have great seasons and make a strong run in the playoffs.

If fatigue was an issue that's on the coaches and players.

[SPORTS FAN 101]

Congrats Pikeville on the win

[oneijoe]

That's not luck, that is DISCIPLINE. Big difference.

It IS luck for Pikeville. It's lack of discipline on P-burg's part.

I look for Pikeville to contend for a trip to Bowling Green this year if it tightens up in the secondary !!

[oneijoe]

No excuses here. Both teams made early season mistakes. Both made mistakes at crucial moments in the game. Pikeville overcame theirs to win in the end.

I think both teams will have great seasons and make a strong run in the playoffs.

If fatigue was an issue that's on the coaches and players.

No, fatigue is a poor excuse. It hasn't been for out of condition teams P-burg has played in past years, nor should it be for the Blackcats this year.

Having said that, the P-burg defense is light years ahead of where it was in game one last year. So...as long as it improves from here like last year, P-burg should be fine.

[PHSForever]

It IS luck for Pikeville. It's lack of discipline on P-burg's part.

I look for Pikeville to contend for a trip to Bowling Green this year if it tightens up in the secondary !!

Or it could be Pikeville's discipline in having faith and holding on the hard count instead of luck. Heat of the moment, potential game tying kick or drawing an offside, that requires mental toughness and focus, I.e. Discipline, on Pikeville's part. I've said it before, Prestonsburg is a very good team, but I think it is a little disrespectful to dismiss that last minute and 30 seconds (particularly the last 12 seconds or so) as luck. Now, go out and pound the rest of the schedule and show the rest of 2A y'all are for real. I look forward to reading about many wins for Pburg this year!


EDIT: PT here, adding video without bumping thread.

[YOUTUBE="Pikeville vs. Prestonsburg 2014"]FyWa8JUxV4U[/YOUTUBE]

[#1 Blackcat Fan]

No, fatigue is a poor excuse. It hasn't been for out of condition teams P-burg has played in past years, nor should it be for the Blackcats this year.

Having said that, the P-burg defense is light years ahead of where it was in game one last year. So...as long as it improves from here like last year, P-burg should be fine.

I agree with you joe. I was referring to post #100 by thebramabull, and yes the defense is light years ahead from what it was this time last year. We did however still have some coverage breakdowns, but I'm sure that will be addressed in practice.

[oneijoe]

Or it could be Pikeville's discipline in having faith and holding on the hard count instead of luck. Heat of the moment, potential game tying kick or drawing an offside, that requires mental toughness and focus, I.e. Discipline, on Pikeville's part. I've said it before, Prestonsburg is a very good team, but I think it is a little disrespectful to dismiss that last minute and 30 seconds (particularly the last 12 seconds or so) as luck. Now, go out and pound the rest of the schedule and show the rest of 2A y'all are for real. I look forward to reading about many wins for Pburg this year!

That's just it... I DIDN'T "dismiss that last minute and 30 seconds", even went out of my way to make it clear the final drive was NOT luck at ALL. It's not even dismissing the last 12 seconds when I say Pikeville had luck come there way when P-burg broke the LOS on the XP. Fwiw...it's far, FAR easier to hold on the hard count (be "disciplined") when you're on offense and KNOW it's coming.

A one point game will -ALWAYS- have some facet of luck which comes into play in the final outcome. It's not a cut, it's just football !!


:HitWall:

[oneijoe]

I agree with you joe. I was referring to post #100 by thebramabull, and yes the defense is light years ahead from what it was this time last year. We did however still have some coverage breakdowns, but I'm sure that will be addressed in practice.

What I DIDN'T like seeing from the Prestonsburg defense though, was the defensive line getting pushed off the ball in the game. Hopefully this corrects when the new players on the defensive front get some experience.

I DO appreciate the coaching staff attempting not to push the bigs both ways, though. It should pay off down the road.


:Thumbs:

[BlueSky]

Really it is easy for anyone to see these two teams are even.