[bac2369]

I have yet to see a name or any verification on who has actually left FD or enrolled. Was just told by a fairly reliable source that 1A was going to be drastically affected by it. But you gotta play the games and we won’t likely know anything about the Greyhounds until they get into the district play with Raceland. Their schedule doesn’t leave much room to show much about them.

Definitely why u play the game. I know where a couple of kids went after the coaching departure. But since then haven’t heard a thing but haven’t asked around either. But I’m excited to get football going.

[BankerGuy]

These will be players that might get some time as backups at Douglass, but they aren't game changers at Douglass. Nathan isn't going to let his uncle Garry take players, that would help FD out...

[ArmChairHC]

^^^thats kind of what I thought as well. I figured you would get some 2s or 3s and potentially some young talent that doesn’t want to wait in line for their playing time.

[Patriot1]

There is not many ( very few) that a 1 a school starter would get much playing time with Freddie D but a lot of their second team would be starters in 1A

[bac2369]

Not a rumor, but a big loss for Pikeville as they lose 2 sibling lineman that moved to Johnson County and will be playing for the Eagles.

I’m guessing it was confirmed that the Ferguson kids are gone?

[jetpilot]

Not a rumor, but a big loss for Pikeville as they lose 2 sibling lineman that moved to Johnson County and will be playing for the Eagles.

I’m guessing it was confirmed that the Ferguson kids are gone?

Probably true and if so Pikeville is in serious danger of not winning the district if 18-20 more kids plus the coaching staff
transfer out...

haha too early bac?

[Belichick]

Not sure Pikeville is the favorite in their district this year.

[RAMDAD50]

Not sure Pikeville is the favorite in their district this year.

Easy now…. Let’s not go that far

[bac2369]

Not a rumor, but a big loss for Pikeville as they lose 2 sibling lineman that moved to Johnson County and will be playing for the Eagles.

I’m guessing it was confirmed that the Ferguson kids are gone?

Probably true and if so Pikeville is in serious danger of not winning the district if 18-20 more kids plus the coaching staff
transfer out...

haha too early bac?

It’s never too early for Class 1A Football or Hogh School football in general. Jet I’m ready for the pads to be popping.

[bac2369]

Not sure Pikeville is the favorite in their district this year.

This is the first year in sometime where Pikeville has had THAT guy returning to a team. But to me these next few years are going to be good chances for Hazard, and Paintsville to dethrone them.

[ArmChairHC]

Hazard maybe…Paintsville I’m not so sure about.

---

Hazard improved a lot over the course of last year, but they were still very unorganized on the sideline and undisciplined on the field.

[bac2369]

Not sure Pikeville is the favorite in their district this year.

This is the first year in sometime where Pikeville has had THAT guy returning to a team. But to me these next few years are going to be good chances for Hazard, and Paintsville to dethrone them.

I meant Not had That Guy..

[The 99]

I'm looking at #44 to be THAT guy.

[ArmChairHC]

Anderson will definitely be that guy on defense. Question is, who becomes the work horse in the run game? Justice returns as the leading rusher with 61 attempts and 232 yards and 2 TDs. Kingston is the next leading returner with 6 Carries for 82 yards and 2 TDs. I look for Anderson to possibly get some touches on that side of the ball as well.

[Belichick]

Pikeville has plenty of “guys”. You may not have heard of them yet but you will. There is not a talent issue at skill positions. They will have the most talent in 1A and that’s not disrespecting the other teams. I just think that highly of their skill players. With no change in current personnel, I stand by the statement they may not be the favorite in their own district and not joking.

[bac2369]

Not sure Pikeville is the favorite in their district this year.

This is the first year in sometime where Pikeville has had THAT guy returning to a team. But to me these next few years are going to be good chances for Hazard, and Paintsville to dethrone them.

I meant Not had That Guy..

I myself look for Pikeville to be about 60/40 Pass this season. They got some decent numbers scattered out at the wide out spot. My question for Pikeville is how will the OL/DL be this season and will they use the depth they have.

[Micro-Brew]

Line depth is not good. Gonna be playing lots of young guy, good for the future bad for the present. Losing the brothers was a big hit to an already thin OL/ DL rotation.
Paintsville won’t be a district factor now or anytime in the near future. Not sure how you ever think you’re gonna build a program when your middle school teams refuse to play anyone with a heartbeat year in and year out.
Hazard is currently the district favorite. Prove me wrong Panthers. If JJ is as good as I think he can be then Pikeville has a shot, no pressure young man just do your thing. But at the end of the day if you can’t win upfront then it’s very tough on everyone, including the coaches. The future at Pikeville looks very good but when does “the future” begin?
This year? Next year? Or further out? Every being inside me hates losing, so I hope the future is soon lol. I don’t like going to state title games and not seeing the Panthers there. The season is upon us

[jetpilot]

I love the narrative that Hazard is the favorite. Love you bac but you know I have to say it, please bring a huge sack of money to the game.

[bac2369]

I love the narrative that Hazard is the favorite. Love you bac but you know I have to say it, please bring a huge sack of money to the game.

Where have I said Hazard was the favorite? I’ve said no such thing. I’ve only mentioned that these next few years are for Hazard/Paintsville to dethrone them.

[jetpilot]

I love the narrative that Hazard is the favorite. Love you bac but you know I have to say it, please bring a huge sack of money to the game.

Where have I said Hazard was the favorite?  I’ve said no such thing. I’ve only mentioned that these next few years are for Hazard/Paintsville to dethrone them.

I didn't say the narrative came from you!

[Big Five-0-]

Line depth is not good. Gonna be playing lots of young guy, good for the future bad for the present. Losing the brothers was a big hit to an already thin OL/ DL rotation.
Paintsville won’t be a district factor now or anytime in the near future. Not sure how you ever think you’re gonna build a program when your middle school teams refuse to play anyone with a heartbeat year in and year out.
Hazard is currently the district favorite. Prove me wrong Panthers. If JJ is as good as I think he can be then Pikeville has a shot, no pressure young man just do your thing. But at the end of the day if you can’t win upfront then it’s very tough on everyone, including the coaches. The future at Pikeville looks very good but when does “the future” begin?
This year? Next year? Or further out? Every being inside me hates losing, so I hope the future is soon lol. I don’t like going to state title games and not seeing the Panthers there.  The season is upon us

Very well said

[ArmChairHC]

I just don’t see a world we can live in that Pikeville isn’t the favorite in that district. Hazard has a talented group of Sophs, but lost some key pieces from that group but supposedly some of them have returned back to the dog pound. But Hazard was still a good ways off from being competitive with Pikeville and Raceland last year. Pikeville loses more than Raceland does, but I still feel like Hazard has a lot of ground to cover to shake that district up.

[Bluecat]

I just don’t see a world we can live in that Pikeville isn’t the favorite in that district. Hazard has a talented group of Sophs, but lost some key pieces from that group but supposedly some of them have returned back to the dog pound. But Hazard was still a good ways off from being competitive with Pikeville and Raceland last year. Pikeville loses more than Raceland does, but I still feel like Hazard has a lot of ground to cover to shake that district up.

This was my thought on Hazard as well. Yes, they had a heck of a turnaround last year, but when they played Pikeville and Raceland twice, they were never in the game, especially the Raceland games. I think they will continue to improve, but they also lost some key players and will have to rely on several underclassmen. They do return most of the line, though if I am not mistaken. Maybe lost one or two guys from both sides of the ball. I feel this season will give a true visual of the job Chandler is doing there. Good rebound season last year, and they need to build off of that.

[WestCoast]

1st Tier Favorites: Raceland, KCD, Campbellsville.
2nd teir but could pose problems if everything clicks : Hazard, Pikeville, Sayre
Wildcards : Paris, Newport, NCC
Teams that will be much improved this year : Caverna, Fairview

Lets break it down:
(TIER 1)
All 3 first tier teams return a massive amount of starters from last season. This alone, combined with the fact these teams were also REALLY good last year, pretty much equals a slam dunk in terms of success chance this year.
Of all 3 teams, Campbellsville will be the most exciting offensively, just because they play loose and aren't afraid to play modern football. Raceland tries to look fancy in trips sets and 4 wide sets, but that's just to spread the field for running lanes. KCD runs an archaic Wing-T offense that should only be appreciated by anyone over the age of 40. The good news is that both KCD and Raceland have great defenses, so they can run that stuff and still win in 21-7 and 14-7 style ballgames.

(TIER 2)
Hazard is going to be a lot better this year than last in my opinion. They have a good mix of young guys and some experienced leaders returning. The problem Hazard has, and a lot of these Tier 2 teams share this same issue, is depth. Last year Hazard hung with Raceland in the playoff game the entire first half while Raceland was playing vanilla ball. 2nd half got away from them. I think they are 3 or 4 guys away from Teir 1.
Pikeville has some great talent but they are all YOUNG. It is hard to be a freshman or sophomore and go out and compete with all seniors and juniors, which is what all 3 of the Tier 1 teams are going to be putting on the field. They have lost some key guys to graduation and to transferring. I think they bounce back this year but just don't have enough to warrant Tier 1 status. Like Raceland, they are good defensively, but their offense is boring beyond belief (or at least has been the past few years)
Sayre is kind of an enigma. Haven't heard a lot from Lexington about these guys. I know their entire o-line is back and they had some decent young talent last year. If you took Coffman off that team last year, they are a 7-3 team that loses in trhe semifinal. I don't know that they have a gamechanger like him this year. They lost too much to be Tier 1 and I wonder how effective that pass heavy offense will be this year without the weapons.

(WILDCARDS)
Paris - I have heard multiple things--they have gooten a bunch of players from FD, to the more believeable statement that they got a few FD backups and their numbers are low. Time will tell. If they get those transfers and with this new coaching staff, they could be a surprise team.
Newport and NCC both return some key players. They should both have good seasons. I just don't know if they have the firepower to compete with the Tier 2 and Teir 1 teams in terms of depth and overall talent.

(IMPROVED TEAMS)
Caverna and Fairview - I think Caverna has a much better year. They hate to throw the football, but they have some decent returning backs and their schedule is crap so 7-3 could be attainable?
Fairview plays a little harder schedule but should go 6-4 IMHO. Quarterback play is really good and their offense catches a lot of teams off guard. Defense will stink probably, but they will score a lot and win a lot of games 44-42, 46-44, etc.

[ArmChairHC]

Really good breakdown WC. I’d have to agree with that assessment.

[bac2369]

1st Tier Favorites: Raceland, KCD, Campbellsville.
2nd teir but could pose problems if everything clicks : Hazard, Pikeville, Sayre
Wildcards : Paris, Newport, NCC
Teams that will be much improved this year : Caverna, Fairview

Lets break it down:
(TIER 1)
All 3 first tier teams return a massive amount of starters from last season. This alone, combined with the fact these teams were also REALLY good last year, pretty much equals a slam dunk in terms of success chance this year.
Of all 3 teams, Campbellsville will be the most exciting offensively, just because they play loose and aren't afraid to play modern football. Raceland tries to look fancy in trips sets and 4 wide sets, but that's just to spread the field for running lanes. KCD runs an archaic Wing-T offense that should only be appreciated by anyone over the age of 40. The good news is that both KCD and Raceland have great defenses, so they can run that stuff and still win in 21-7 and 14-7 style ballgames.

(TIER 2)
Hazard is going to be a lot better this year than last in my opinion. They have a good mix of young guys and some experienced leaders returning. The problem Hazard has, and a lot of these Tier 2 teams share this same issue, is depth. Last year Hazard hung with Raceland in the playoff game the entire first half while Raceland was playing vanilla ball. 2nd half got away from them. I think they are 3 or 4 guys away from Teir 1.
Pikeville has some great talent but they are all YOUNG. It is hard to be a freshman or sophomore and go out and compete with all seniors and juniors, which is what all 3 of the Tier 1 teams are going to be putting on the field. They have lost some key guys to graduation and to transferring. I think they bounce back this year but just don't have enough to warrant Tier 1 status. Like Raceland, they are good defensively, but their offense is boring beyond belief (or at least has been the past few years)
Sayre is kind of an enigma. Haven't heard a lot from Lexington about these guys. I know their entire o-line is back and they had some decent young talent last year. If you took Coffman off that team last year, they are a 7-3 team that loses in trhe semifinal. I don't know that they have a gamechanger like him this year. They lost too much to be Tier 1 and I wonder how effective that pass heavy offense will be this year without the weapons.

(WILDCARDS)
Paris - I have heard multiple things--they have gooten a bunch of players from FD, to the more believeable statement that they got a few FD backups and their numbers are low. Time will tell. If they get those transfers and with this new coaching staff, they could be a surprise team.
Newport and NCC both return some key players. They should both have good seasons. I just don't know if they have the firepower to compete with the Tier 2 and Teir 1 teams in terms of depth and overall talent.

(IMPROVED TEAMS)
Caverna and Fairview - I think Caverna has a much better year. They hate to throw the football, but they have some decent returning backs and their schedule is crap so 7-3 could be attainable?
Fairview plays a little harder schedule but should go 6-4 IMHO. Quarterback play is really good and their offense catches a lot of teams off guard. Defense will stink probably, but they will score a lot and win a lot of games 44-42, 46-44, etc.

Great break down and assessment. I do believe u have to add New Cath and Louisville Holy Cross to Tier 2. Louisville Holy Cross is a team we all better keep our eyes on. Offensively will be dangerous as any team in Class 1A, but can there defense come/bounce back.

Paris from what research I’ve did has 1 kid from FD. The rest are former players and couple transfers from bourbon. But it’s still early.

Russellville/Caverna will battle it out again for the top spot of district 1.

Pikeville will be fine, but not what we are use to seeing. They just need to find that stud offensively who can make plays when needed.

I think many will be surprised at the depth and numbers Hazard will have this season. Most Hazard has had in sometime.

Sayre should solid in 2025, but will have to gain an identity offensively. Defense should be solid but not near lasts years defense.