Prestonsburg 24

**outdoorsman43** · 09-25-2009, 11:57 PM

Very hard fought and clean game played by both teams. You could tell both coaches had their teams well prepared. Sheldon Clark was much bigger than Prestonsburg on both lines, but Prestonsburg's speed is what pushed them to victory in this game. Michael Burchett was outstanding with his decision making as always versus a very good Cardinal defense. Jamerson, Craynon, McKinney, Hall, Tincher, and Griffith all stepped up for big plays when needed. The catch by Tyler Hall in the first quarter was really what got everything started on offense for Prestonsburg.

I liked the play of Stafford and Slone with their running attack for Sheldon Clark. Both did a nice job. The quarterback (#17) made some nice plays, but looked a little lost with his decision making at times throwing a couple of picks late.

Both defenses played exceptionally well and it was a great overall football game as expected. Congrats to the Blackcats on the big time win and a 6-0 campaign. Sheldon Clark is a great team and still one of the top 10 teams in 3A.

Good luck to both teams as the season goes on!

**BCF4L** · 09-26-2009, 01:57 AM

Congrats P-burg. Good luck Sheldon Clark the rest of the way.

**CatDawg** · 09-26-2009, 01:58 AM

Congrats to Pburg.

cat86 · 09-26-2009, 01:58 AM

Probably a wise move to eliminate the previous thread, but I betcha catch alot of flak over it...

oneijoe · 09-26-2009, 01:59 AM

It was a VERY entertaining game...

And, I think both teams will be better for it.

**CatDawg** · 09-26-2009, 01:59 AM

I think your right Joe.

**BCF4L** · 09-26-2009, 02:01 AM

It's always good to watch a defensive matchup like we seen tonight. SC was in the backfield more often that I have seen any team against P-burg this year. P-burg was able to take away both the passing game and run game of SC. SC did have a great kick return for a TD. Great play by the young man that was able to do that.

monster_energy · 09-26-2009, 02:02 AM

congrats p burg
the int's from stepp killed the cards
also have to give props to the pburg kicker
33 yeard field goal in those wet conditons and the game being close showed alot. that was a big play!!

bucslover68 · 09-26-2009, 02:02 AM

Why in the sam hades did they take the thread off after letting it go on. That is what happens when there is hogwash, nonsense opinions that tick each other off and has no real meaning to the thread that was started. How about we all try to get along and provide some actual knowledgeable analysis to the games.

monster_energy · 09-26-2009, 02:03 AM

any stats i would really like to see some stats

big blue fan · 09-26-2009, 02:10 AM

Congrats p burg!!

Pink Flamingo · 09-26-2009, 02:12 AM

It was an exciting game. Sucked that it rained though but still an exciting game to be at. Close game in the first half. Sc put a lot of pressure on the Qb in the second half. They started running the Qb keeper and that was all she wrote. Great game both teams. Congrats Pburg. Goodluck the rest of the season to both teams

cat86 · 09-26-2009, 02:19 AM

Here's my take:

Pburg's offense was definitely slowed, but more so by the weather I think than the SC defense. SC managed to put alot of pressure on Burchett by stunting and calling some blitzes, but Burchett did a great job hitting short to intermediate routes and safety valve patterns. Burchett ran the ball well when the Cats went to the empty backfield and spread the field.

SC's offense had some nice moments, but seemed to have trouble in sustaining drives. The one drive where they looked awesome was when Pburg took a 21-7 lead, and SC marched down the field, mixing short passes and the running game. If Hager utilizes that play mix in future games, they will very tough to beat.

On defense, Alex Griffith and Austin McKinney were beasts for the Blackcats. They did have trouble when facing double teams by the bigger SC linemen, but made an awful lot of plays. Griffith in particular had several tackles behind the line from his MLB position. Tyler Hall, Joseph Jamerson, and Josh Craynon all had picks, and Hall's pick helped set up an important score. I was worried about SC lining up and ramming the ball down Pburg's throat, but that didn't happen.

On defense for SC, they did some things really well. Looked like they covered the intermediate and deep routes very well in the secondary. Burchett had some receivers drop wide open passes early in the game, and SC seemed to take away some of those routes as the game went on. The traditional Jet package wasn't terribly effective on the ground, and when the Cats went to an empty backfield, spread the field, and ran Burchett on QB draws and sweeps, then the running went well. Overall, SC played very well on defense.

Both teams played their hearts out. As important as we like to make each game, in reality, this game was just for bragging rights and to help prepare each other for a playoff run. The best thing you could hope for is that both teams come out of the game without injury (which I think was the case).

Special teams were exciting. SC had a kickoff return for a TD, Jamerson had about a 35 yard field goal, and both teams had some lousy punts, again probably due to the weather.

Very clean game. Not too many penalties, although the officiating was questionable at best. SC fans were very courteous for the most part, as well as most Pburg fans. There are exceptions to this, and keep in mind that most of the parents and kids who draw the anger of the opposing teams also draw anger from their own team. SC's field is very nice. The turf looked a little different than say, Pikeville or Belfry's field, but was very nice.

Good luck to SC the rest of the year. I always root for other local mountain teams (except for the week they play us), and think that SC will go deep into the playoffs, possibly even to Bowling Green.

cardinal mom · 09-26-2009, 02:34 AM

Well it is nice to see that someone's post are allowed to stay on here. This is the third one that I have posted. I think people should be able to voice their opinions on here as long as they are not referring to one child. This is getting rediculous.

**Redneck** · 09-26-2009, 02:39 AM

cardinal mom Wrote:Well it is nice to see that someone's post are allowed to stay on here. This is the third one that I have posted. I think people should be able to voice their opinions on here as long as they are not referring to one child. This is getting rediculous.

Give us your thoughts about the game then, not about fans tearin down posters or what not.

WildDawg · 09-26-2009, 02:45 AM

Sounds like it was a very good game. I thought Sheldon Clark could pull out the win. What was Burchette's stats for the game?

**BlackcatAlum** · 09-26-2009, 02:50 AM

Was a very entertaining game. I thought it was hard fought, but seemed like everything went Sheldon Clark's way tonight. They had all the advantages with weather (favors ground game), home field advantage, etc. Prestonsburg played mistake free football until Craynon fumbled toward the end of the game. Burchett played outstanding again tonight. He laid a nice hit when he ran in that 9-yard touchdown on the defender. The line did a great job as well and McKinney, Griffith and now Tincher played really well on defense.

I honestly think if we played this game again on a dry night, Prestonsburg wins by two touchdowns. But thats just my opinion. I'd really like to see SC & Belfry play, because thats going to be one heck of a game.

Congrats Blackcats... best of luck to Sheldon Clark on the rest of the season!

cat86 · 09-26-2009, 02:58 AM

I honestly think if we played this game again on a dry night, Prestonsburg wins by two touchdowns. But thats just my opinion. I'd really like to see SC & Belfry play, because thats going to be one heck of a game.

I agree completely. No doubt that the rainy weather contributed to all the drops in the first half. On a dry field, with a dry football, I think we see a completely different game.

I want to address a seperate issue here, too. I think with Prestonsburg's schedule and their record, it is a testimony to how good a job this coaching staff does coaching up their kids. When these teams were in Middle School 4 years ago, Martin County (SC kids) dominated the Sandy Valley Conference. This group of Blackcats, who were then playing at Adams Middle School, lost to Sebastian Middle School (Breathitt County), Paintsville, Pikeville, and Martin County. Yet here 4 years later, with less than 30 players (and only about 15 that get any meaningful playing time), here Prestonsburg sits undefeated on the season. I realize that kids grow,improve, get bigger, faster, and stronger. But this tends to show just how good a job the coaches at Prestonsburg do. Nice job, guys.

**More Cowbell** · 09-26-2009, 03:03 AM

Congrats to Prestonsburg. Looks like they are most likely staring down a 10-0 regular season.

**Strikeout King** · 09-26-2009, 03:09 AM

Congrats P'Burg

**ROCKSOLID69** · 09-26-2009, 03:15 AM

Good win for the Black Cats

THEBIGDAWG · 09-26-2009, 04:18 AM

Would have been a good game to watch.

**Stardust** · 09-26-2009, 08:09 AM

Congrats Prestonburg

canoeman06 · 09-26-2009, 08:47 AM

cat86 Wrote:I honestly think if we played this game again on a dry night, Prestonsburg wins by two touchdowns. But thats just my opinion. I'd really like to see SC & Belfry play, because thats going to be one heck of a game.

I agree completely. No doubt that the rainy weather contributed to all the drops in the first half. On a dry field, with a dry football, I think we see a completely different game.

I want to address a seperate issue here, too. I think with Prestonsburg's schedule and their record, it is a testimony to how good a job this coaching staff does coaching up their kids. When these teams were in Middle School 4 years ago, Martin County (SC kids) dominated the Sandy Valley Conference. This group of Blackcats, who were then playing at Adams Middle School, lost to Sebastian Middle School (Breathitt County), Paintsville, Pikeville, and Martin County. Yet here 4 years later, with less than 30 players (and only about 15 that get any meaningful playing time), here Prestonsburg sits undefeated on the season. I realize that kids grow,improve, get bigger, faster, and stronger. But this tends to show just how good a job the coaches at Prestonsburg do. Nice job, guys.

As the ADAMS MIDDLE coach of most of all these boys, let me "ADDRESS" an issue as well. It is an awesome feeling to watch these boys come back and beat teams in high school that they had lost to in GRADE school. These boys all had successful teams in grade school as well. The worst record we have fnished with in the last 5 years is 7-4. These same seniors knocked off a Johnson Central 8th grade team that invited them down " for homecoming" that season. My point is that these boys have always performed well on the field, but even more important they are turning into fine young men. Coach Derossett and his high school staff work as hard as any staff in the state everyday to get the kids ready to play every Friday night.

Killerfootball · 09-26-2009, 10:00 AM

Good Game Cardinals.

kp10 · 09-26-2009, 10:17 AM

Does make you wonder, coaching plays a huge part, sad this SC team has so much talent that is not being used, it's like having race horses and having them pull the wagon, or having a sports car and having it run in a 4x4 race. It just doesn't work.

cat86 · 09-26-2009, 10:43 AM

canoeman06 Wrote:As the ADAMS MIDDLE coach of most of all these boys, let me "ADDRESS" an issue as well. It is an awesome feeling to watch these boys come back and beat teams in high school that they had lost to in GRADE school. These boys all had successful teams in grade school as well. The worst record we have fnished with in the last 5 years is 7-4. These same seniors knocked off a Johnson Central 8th grade team that invited them down " for homecoming" that season. My point is that these boys have always performed well on the field, but even more important they are turning into fine young men. Coach Derossett and his high school staff work as hard as any staff in the state everyday to get the kids ready to play every Friday night.

Absolutely, canoeman. Didn't want to or mean to imply that these kids were terrible in middle school. They were far from it. But I also include the coaching staff of the Middle School in my above point. It all starts there. I was there for the Central Game. To this day, it was one of the best games I have ever seen.

**BCF4L** · 09-26-2009, 10:54 AM

kp10 Wrote:Does make you wonder, coaching plays a huge part, sad this SC team has so much talent that is not being used, it's like having race horses and having them pull the wagon, or having a sports car and having it run in a 4x4 race. It just doesn't work.

As much as I respect Coach Hager for what he does, I have to agree with you here. When Sheldon Clark came out mixing in the pass and run on one drive and was able to march it down the field for a TD, I felt they were the most effective. Their offense looked outstanding during that sequence and there wasn't much P-burg could do to stop it. In order to have a successful offense in Eastern KY, you have to be able to mix in both pass and run. Teams around here are so used to seeing smash mouth football but have no clue how to defend the pass. If you can get a team guessing at what you're going to do next, it really plays in your favor. This is why Prestonsburg has been so successful this year.

But I completely understand your thoughts. Prestonsburg, for as long as I can remember, has had the horses to be able to do what they are doing this year. Had Prestonsburg utilized Joey Willis, Chris Jervis, and Nick Jamerson more back in 2001, then I think P-burg would have been able to win the state championship. Instead of having a 50/50 offense, they had more of an 80% run 20% pass offense.

It's been frustrating for years knowing that Prestonsburg had the people to be able to pass at will on teams but just didn't do it. Now that this new offense has been implemented, I bet the coaches are wishing they had put it in a lot sooner.

Just hang in there though. You guys have a great squad and will go far in the playoffs thanks to your smash mouth style. :Thumbs:

cat86 · 09-26-2009, 10:56 AM

I have told people all year that Coach Allen (who spots in the booth and calls most of the offensive plays) is worth his weight in gold to the Blackcats this year. And brother, that is alot of gold...

**BCF4L** · 09-26-2009, 11:00 AM

cat86 Wrote:I have told people all year that Coach Allen (who spots in the booth and calls most of the offensive plays) is worth his weight in gold to the Blackcats this year. And brother, that is alot of gold...

See, so much has changed since I was in school (2003). I couldn't tell you half of the coaches on Prestonsburg now. Who is the guy that calls out the signals for defense? I'm assuming coach James still mans the defense, but I seen a guy who does the signaling for P-burg?