[JustADad]

I guess I don't understand why coach Weinrich would care when a school had their bye?

Because allowing a team a bye in the playoffs, thus avoiding injuries and allowing the coaching staff to scout their playoff opponents in person, is just an unfair advantage. It could have been avoided by allowing a team that did not originally qualify for the playoffs to play an extra week against the team that would otherwise have a bye.

[LaFlamaBlanca]

[quote=sstack]

Define "difference maker". You say talent down, yet they win in 2014, should have been in the finals in 2015 and 2016 would not have been the trainwreck that it was if some changes in philosophy were made.

So you dont think the talent has been down for the past 3 years? 2015 and 2016 were arguably worse, talent wise, than this year,

[LaFlamaBlanca]

To be completely honest, I cant remember a time when Highlands has had such a lack of talent on the team. Maybe back in the 90's?

[sstack]

[quote=sstack]

Define "difference maker". You say talent down, yet they win in 2014, should have been in the finals in 2015 and 2016 would not have been the trainwreck that it was if some changes in philosophy were made.

I agree need to change philosophy, never a big fan of not leaving most talented players on the field. Too much is said about players getting tired, these are HS kids that could go play back to back games with no problem. There are the rare exceptions of heavy players who are in poor condition.

[Passing by the Mile]

There may be one or two other teams on west side that might give them troubles, but for most part very weak top to bottom except for CCH and BG.
Have you seen SO play? You agree they are going to beat HHS by 20+ points? They might beat HHS, I am not a huge fan of their coach and decisions he makes, but I do not see them blowing them out of the water. In fact I would not be surprised if HHS won by 21, all though I would not put money on it.

Which coach? Why???

[Woodsman]

Scholarships are not created equally...neither are players.

Talent is obviously down in the fort.

Coaching very well could be down as well. These things aren't mutually exclusive.

Cov cath currently has a damn good coach and is enjoying an abundance of talent. It seems to be a perfect storm of lack luster results for the bluebird faithful. The pendulum will likely swing back...it finally did for cov cath. Just have to be patient.

[mantax]

[quote=mantax]

So you dont think the talent has been down for the past 3 years? 2015 and 2016 were arguably worse, talent wise, than this year,

In comparison to what? There was plenty of "talent" to be more than competitive. The issue was the "depth" of the talent and you counter that by using guys with "talent" on both sides of the ball.

[LaFlamaBlanca]

[quote=LaFlamaBlanca]

In comparison to what? There was plenty of "talent" to be more than competitive. The issue was the "depth" of the talent and you counter that by using guys with "talent" on both sides of the ball.

Compared to, lets arbitrarily say, the decade before. The talent level from 2015-2017 is down compared to those years, and its not really even close.

[mantax]

[quote=mantax]

Compared to, lets arbitrarily say, the decade before. The talent level from 2015-2017 is down compared to those years, and its not really even close.

Talent as a whole may be down as I said which causes depth issues. You combat that by having your best kids playing on both sides of the ball and special teams if necessary if that gives you the best chance to win. I still contend that they should have been playing in the 2015 state finals if coaching staff bucked the theory of guys only being able to play on one side of the ball. If Hebel plays on the DL in the 2nd half or even just the 4th quarter they stand a heck of a chance of winning that game. That is 100% on the coaching staff.

Games I have been to this year give the sense that being "average" is now the new norm at Highlands in regards to football. Some want to think the pendulum is swinging upward and I just do not see it to be quite honest. The passion for the game is not there like it used to be and most teams take on the character and the demeanor of their coaching staff.

[bo67]

Mantax we have disagreed before. But on this one. You hit the nail on the head.

[Woodsman]

Talent and depth are down. Fort Thomas halted open enrollment. That is a HUGE variable in this equation. Once the elite out of district players were not allowed to attend...they went elsewhere and they are currently doing so. This isn't rocket science.

[bo67]

Mantax. I said halfway through the 2015 season. This isn’t going to work by playing kids one way. Those days are over for now. And was back in 2015.

[sstack]

Talent and depth are down. Fort Thomas halted open enrollment. That is a HUGE variable in this equation. Once the elite out of district players were not allowed to attend...they went elsewhere and they are currently doing so. This isn't rocket science.

You are totally wrong on this. It is being a top academic school in the country that brings people to the school, open enrollment played little in the winning ways of HHS. This has been talked about so much people are sick of hearing it. It has been shown over and over that most kids have gone through ft Thomas school and lived in the city their whole life. Generations continue to stay and go through the school system. Do you think not having open enrollment would stop a family from finding a way to get their kid in if they wanted them to play at HHS. I know of 2 families of freshmen who rent an apartment to use as ft thomas address but live in their Alexandria home, and their kids are not athletes, they do it for the academics.

[Woodsman]

Soooooo.....you wanna start going through rosters? How many excuses can you come up with? It's comical that people in ft Thomas still deny it. It is what it is.

[bo67]

Dale said it’s tough winning a state championship with kids going both ways. But he’s also a smart man. Very smart. If he would have stayed. He would have probably done what’s needed to win a State championship.

[sstack]

Soooooo.....you wanna start going through rosters? How many excuses can you come up with? It's comical that people in ft Thomas still deny it. It is what it is.

Been there done that. Percentage is very low. I guess you will continue to throw names like Lorenzen in to try to prove yourself right. Go ahead start listing.

[sstack]

Dale said it’s tough winning a state championship with kids going both ways. But he’s also a smart man. Very smart. If he would have stayed. He would have probably done what’s needed to win a State championship.

Hard to replace a HS coach like Dale, not many like him. Ivy league educated. That said, even he would not have done well with last year's team, better yes, but no championship.

[bo67]

Oh I agree. No championship. But like you said. Better than what’s happened.

[Woodsman]

Hahaha. Yeah keep denying lorenzen. While the overall percentage may be "low" as you claim....some of the best players highlands has had definitely did not come from fort Thomas. You know, the players that mattered?

[Cakebattermatters]

Talent and depth are down. Fort Thomas halted open enrollment. That is a HUGE variable in this equation. Once the elite out of district players were not allowed to attend...they went elsewhere and they are currently doing so. This isn't rocket science.

I am not sure you have your facts correct Woodsman. You keep throwing out names that had an address in Ft. Thomas. Could it be that they are just in a stage of rebuilding, because that does happen with football teams these days.

[sstack]

Hahaha. Yeah keep denying lorenzen. While the overall percentage may be "low" as you claim....some of the best players highlands has had definitely did not come from fort Thomas. You know, the players that mattered?

I knew you would go there, everybody wants to act like he was a pulled in recruit.
Why deny Lorenzen? His Mom lived in Ft Thomas and his dad lived in Scott HS district I believe. Divorced parents. If you were going to send your child to school, wouldn't you want the best academic school possible. That is hands down Highlands. Throw in the good sports program and it is a no brainer! Did his parents choose Highlands for the academics? I would hope that is the reason and not sports, but either way by far the best decision for him. Tell you what, He lives in Ft Thomas still and his kids play sports with my kids, next time I see him I will clarify it for you straight from him. And go ahead and start that list on here.

[Cakebattermatters]

I agree with Coach W's argument! Simply not fair. We will button up all lose end on the field and get ready for CCH. Bird's hitting on all cylinders.

[Cakebattermatters]

When people win, they think you recruit.

[Cakebattermatters]

Bird's 42-14.

[mantax]

I knew you would go there, everybody wants to act like he was a pulled in recruit.
Why deny Lorenzen? His Mom lived in Ft Thomas and his dad lived in Scott HS district I believe. Divorced parents. If you were going to send your child to school, wouldn't you want the best academic school possible. That is hands down Highlands. Throw in the good sports program and it is a no brainer! Did his parents choose Highlands for the academics? I would hope that is the reason and not sports, but either way by far the best decision for him. Tell you what, He lives in Ft Thomas still and his kids play sports with my kids, next time I see him I will clarify it for you straight from him. And go ahead and start that list on here.

If you are going to make statements like you know everything about Highlands football, please get the facts straight. Jared's mother and father were divorced. The date was dating a widow who had kids in the Fort Thomas School system. Jared moved in with Dad and his younger brother had to stay at Scott because momma bear was not letting another of her cubs go to school in another district. Jared also played youth basketball with some kids from Fort Thomas. Are you sure that a basketball coach was not the one who convinced him to come to the Fort?

I would like to see a full list of the "out of district" kids that you know "mattered". Sure it would be a real interesting list.

[sstack]

If you are going to make statements like you know everything about Highlands football, please get the facts straight. Jared's mother and father were divorced. The date was dating a widow who had kids in the Fort Thomas School system. Jared moved in with Dad and his younger brother had to stay at Scott because momma bear was not letting another of her cubs go to school in another district. Jared also played youth basketball with some kids from Fort Thomas. Are you sure that a basketball coach was not the one who convinced him to come to the Fort?

I would like to see a full list of the "out of district" kids that you know "mattered". Sure it would be a real interesting list.

Yea, never said I know everything, but you live in ft Thomas and follow sports you hear most. I said it was a divorced issue, and said I "believe" one of parents was living in Ft Thomas. I do remember now it was his dad because Jared has talked about the bad eating habits they had. Could have been coach who influenced them, like I said, I would hope parents are making decisions based on academics that will carry their kids through the rest of their lives. We all no that is not always the case though.

Yes it would be nice to see his full list of "out of district" kids, but he will be all talk and you will never see it. In your four years at HHS how many kids can you list that you played with? You won state titles and I am sure the list is small.

[JustADad]

How many non Catholics are enrolled at a school like Trinity? What is the geographic reach of the Private Schools? Is there a limit to how far an enrolled student can live from a private school?

[LCKnight33]

Michael Mitchell anyone?

[mantax]

Yea, never said I know everything, but you live in ft Thomas and follow sports you hear most. I said it was a divorced issue, and said I "believe" one of parents was living in Ft Thomas. I do remember now it was his dad because Jared has talked about the bad eating habits they had. Could have been coach who influenced them, like I said, I would hope parents are making decisions based on academics that will carry their kids through the rest of their lives. We all no that is not always the case though.

Yes it would be nice to see his full list of "out of district" kids, but he will be all talk and you will never see it. In your four years at HHS how many kids can you list that you played with? You won state titles and I am sure the list is small.

The real question here is what is considered an "out of district" kid? Until we settle on what that term means then this could be argued ad nauseum.

On a more serious note, Cramer took the majority if not all of the snaps at QB this week and with that tidbit of information I say the Birds win this game and gain a rematch with Covington Catholic. I will also say that the score of that game will not be like that of the last if the coaches and kids have a competitive bone in their body.

[sstack]

The real question here is what is considered an "out of district" kid? Until we settle on what that term means then this could be argued ad nauseum.

On a more serious note, Cramer took the majority if not all of the snaps at QB this week and with that tidbit of information I say the Birds win this game and gain a rematch with Covington Catholic. I will also say that the score of that game will not be like that of the last if the coaches and kids have a competitive bone in their body.

Hey someone actually wants to talk about the game. That is good news to hear. I think Birds win by 2+ scores. SO had some nice size on their lines and should be able to run a little on Highlands, but not too impressed w/passing game or their D. Would not be surprised to see some big returns in kicking game by birds if SO kicks to them.