HERE WE GO!!!!

They're getting plenty of ugly losses and very few wins be it pretty or ugly. The few times that I've seen EHS since this last coaching change, the players looked lost. It seemed like they didn't know how to do anything fundamentally right. The coaches looked just as lost as the players. A couple years ago when they were in the jamboree (I think) that was the worst looking football team I had ever seen. I'm not talking about, bad players. I mean they couldn't do much of anything right. They were pathetic. That is the fault of one person and one person alone. When Setser was there, they had 0, and I mean 0, athletes on the field. Yet, they tackled properly, they listened to the coaches, and most importantly, they played hard. That's something that hasn't been happening there the last few years.

Nobody is going to look like Vince Lambardi there. It's not a good place to go if you want to be a coach of a successful program. You can get the right person in there though, to teach the kids to do the right things. Before anyone jumps to conclusions too, I couldn't pick Mike Setser out of a lineup. I don't know him, have never spoke to him, and never will. It's not hard to see the monumental drop in fundamentals that have came upon that program since he left though.

I agree that they appear to have better athletes now but there was some good athletes walking the halls of Ervinton, they just didn't want to play.

Let's look at it this way. Ironlung, I know when you're talking about. That was the guys first year and he had never coached. They were horrible. In everyway. No doubt. They went 0-10 that year but that was his first year and I think he got the job like 2 weeks before the season. They went 4-6 last year. Now that's not beating the world, but they grew, they got better and they played better. Now this year they have 11 offensive starters and 11 defensive starters back. Maybe they'll suck, but I'm not ready to throw someone under the bus considering. Just my thoughts.

I'm not throwing the fella under the bus. I'm just saying from what I've seen (and not just the first year), his players do not play well. I'm not talking about athletes, good players, whatever..... For example, you. Your five feet nothing, a hundred and nothing, but you could be coached to do things the right way. The majority of the kids that play for EHS, do not do things the right way. You can do things the right way and still no be good. JJK for the last few years, have done things fundamentally right. They have just not been good enough to win good games. Not everyone can will 10 games in the regular season. My thoughts are not based on w's and l's, athletes nor the lack of, it's about the performance of the kids that line up and "try" to play on fridays.

Isn't the quarterback at Haysi the son of the Ervinton H.S. principal?

yes he is, coach

[ QUOTE ]
I agree that they appear to have better athletes now but there was some good athletes walking the halls of Ervinton, they just didn't want to play.


[/ QUOTE ]

I am not sure that is the case. Name one from any other sport at Ervinton at that time. I could agree if they had someone who was competitive in basketball, baseball, or track, but that person just wasn't there for those sports either.

I remember when Setser took over at Ervinton there was a coach from Pound that took the Head job came in saw what he had to work with and followed Palmer to St Paul and gave Setser the job with next to no notice.

That is Close to what happened with Crabtree from what I have been told Crabtree wanted to be a Assent coach at Clintwood (To learn) Ervinton needed a coach and they had be Zero interest in anyone taking the job (It was at the point of a volunteer head coach if the program was going to continue. The Super knew he was interested in coaching and offered the job Crabtree took it knowing that it was most likely a no win situation and has at least brought a positive attitude to Nora and got the kids out the next step is for him to get better at the Xs and Os of the game I really liked the article on Ervinton from last years paper when he ask "Why not Us" It is a good question if he can field 20-25 players and teach them to play good football there is no reason that they can not compete in the Cumberland.

On the other hand if he does not teach the game well the success will not follow and the better players (Like Compton) will end up at Haysi, Clintwood, or Coeburn

I know of two people that wanted the Ervinton job. One guy played 4 years of college football and was an assistant at another school. The other guy came in when Setser got the job on the hill and he lobbied for the job so I know there was interest in the job and people who wanted to coach there.

Really I was let to believe that no one wanted it IM me I am curries in who was interested in the position. If that was the case then there is no way that Crabtree should have got the job (Not that he is a bad guy just lacking experience)

Would one of those who was interested have been Bubba Edwards by any chance O-llne?

Not going to say there wasn't anybody because there may have been someone who had interest. I think they were on such a crunch time-wise that they went with someone who could basically be there the next day (translation-someone with no attachment to another program, who might have to get transfered into the school system, etc).

Good information to know though, because I recall them basically contacting anybody who had coached, was coaching, etc in the system to find out if they wanted the job.

James it wasn't Bubba although he entertained the idea but decided against it.

bare in mind when setser was there they played clintwood and ji burton in addition to haysi...add to that the cumberland was a little bit tougher then with st. paul having a pretty good run of athletes and tommy walker was much better then than they are now....i remember ervinton beating twin springs a time or two during those years and they played ji burton really tough one year. 2 of ervintons wins were against 0-10 teams last year and another was against tv who was 2-8. the only game they have won that they were not supposed to since this staff has been in place was big upset against a 3-7 castlewood team last year. i give them credit for that but it was somewhat erased by losing to an abyssmal st. paul team 25-0 providing them with what i believe was their only win other than tommy walker.

Good point James but Setser was not doing Ervinton any favors scheduling a Tough schedule he would have been better off IMHO going the Hurly route and play the worst schools that you possibly can for 2 to 4 years to get the wins that will lead to more interest in the program sure playing Burton, Clintwood and Haysi would make them better BUT wins over Tug Valley, ParkView, and Jenkins would probably do more for the moral of the team and maybe get a few more kids out the next year.

Heck it is what Saunders did at Wise first thing they did was pick up Ervinton and Betsy Lane and beat the snot out of them the next cycle when he was better they started picking up some tougher teams.(Looks like he may be following this blueprint at Shelby Valley with the whipping they put on a week Phelps team)

But that is what Setzer done. I would venture to say he set this schedule up because Crabtree came in way too late to get a schedule set up on his own.

Phelps made the play-offs last year and was predicted to beat Shelby Valley this year.

Well i have not seen so much interest in Ervinton on this board. As the Historian i always tell the truth and can give you some cold hard facts.

I think Ervinton never gets any respect so when they show up and have any success everyone on here is surprised. The truth is Ervinton is a small school and historically struggles. But if you look closely you can find some good and even great years. Over the past say 25-30 years the rebels put togehter a couple nice runs. They have had during that time 9 haed coaches. With doug ward they recorded wins over appy,powell valley, norton, coeburn,pound
with his best record being 6-3-1. He was followed a nice couple season by Curt Newsome who lead the Rebels to an 7-3 record. Both of these coaches were inn the LPD. after some down years in the late eighties with the best record being 5-5 by ed johnson Mark Palmer took over with the rebels in the cumberland. He lead the rebels to an 7-3 record which with Newsome equaled the most wins by a rebel team. mike setser then took over and had a best record of 4-6 or 3-7. Now crabtree has come in at a time when things are down but in two years must receive some credit for a turn around. Sure give the players credit for his succes but do the same for ward,newsome and palmer.
I feel like the rebels will 6 games this on the stength of the backfield but are not strong enough along the front to win the cumberland but do have a legitamine shot of making the playoffs for only the third time ever. The other two was under palmer.

[ QUOTE ]
must receive some credit for a turn around

[/ QUOTE ]

Great turn around, winning 3 games. Way to go!

Honistly I do not know anything about Phelps other than what some of my KY co-works have told me and that was that they were not going to be very good

i think they win 4 again this year...they will start fast and win a few games but as the schedule gets tougher they will fade...i highly doubt they beat castlewood again this year....they will probably go back to a 1-9 or 0-10 team next year

What is there Schedule? I think that they should beat TW, TV, and probably Hurley with a shot vs the rest of the Cumberland and Pound (Probably not favored to win many of those games though) I am not sure who the rest of there schedule is other than Haysi who they have no shot at beating barring something major

i have them beating tom walker, st. paul, jenkins and hurley...i think the lose at tv this year who also has pretty much everybody back including one of the better rb's in the region as well(Wyatt Justice)....st.paul also will not be a given, that will be a tough game...they have improved since last year when they beat ervinton easily.

ervinton will have a better shot at beating ts and rc this year who both sound down from last year....just don't think they can clear the mental hurdle however

Pound
Hurley
St. Paul
TW
Jenkins
Twin Springs
Castlewood
RC
TV
Haysi

I agree that they SHOULD beat Hurley and Jenkins and TW and I think that they can get TV as well ST Paul, Pound, CW, and TS are all teams that they could beat but if there game plan and prep is as bad as some seem to think they WILL NOT win these games. I do not think that they can/will beat RC Like James says the mental block may be the reason, and they have no shot vs Haysi

at Worse I think they finish 4-6 at best 8-2 and probably 6-4 or 5-5 (Could they make the Div1 playoffs this year at 6-4?)

hey i missed them but oh well i can admit i was wrong
can you admit you was wrong
well get them next time

No problem admitting I was wrong. I wasn't suprised that Pound won. I am however, extremely disappointed that we lost another one (one that was more than winnable). I'm not sure when our program (or if) is going to turn the corner. I thought we were on our way, but obviously I was mistaken.

I don't think you are mistaken. last year it probably wold have been a margin of about 30 points. Don't get down after one game. if you go 0-5 throught five weeks then things might not look so good. Right now the Indians have the same standing as the Blue Devils

Received good reliable reports from some good folks today. Last night was same old same old. Now, we can sling [censored] in the wind, or we can call a spade a spade. Evidently we have a long long way to go. We have to learn to tackle and hang on to the ball. It matters not if the kids are playing hard if that is going on.

Its only one game man. Trust me I know how you feel. I played on 3 straight 1-9 seasons at Kelly. But those boys didnt show any quit in them last night. They just so happened to turn out on the losing end last night. The Indians are on the right path. Anything more than 1 win would be an improvement.

Yep it is only one game, but you gotta wonder. Last night was winnable. Teams like Norton, Appy, and PV are on the horizon. If we are going to fix it, time's a wastin'.

[ QUOTE ]
Received good reliable reports from some good folks today. Last night was same old same old. Now, we can sling [censored] in the wind, or we can call a spade a spade. Evidently we have a long long way to go. We have to learn to tackle and hang on to the ball. It matters not if the kids are playing hard if that is going on.

[/ QUOTE ]
some will only look at is as a win/ lose situation, even if the team played better than last year. I know after losing for so long it is easy to see the negative and none of the positive but I'm willing to sit here and bet that the Kelly program is in better shape than it was last year.
The last thing the players need right now is people saying "same old sorry Indians" if they played 100%, no give up ball and they played a better team. They are in the process of learning how to win, it isn't just a switch that gets turned on. They can build up on the fact that they were in the game but fumbles cost them a possible win.

Never said they were sorry. I know they played hard last night. I know they are working hard. In this league though, when you should win a game, you need to win it. We consistently shot ourselves in the foot last night, and you are lucky enough to have not had to deal with year after year of losing. I would not wish it on anybody.

[ QUOTE ]
and you are lucky enough to have not had to deal with year after year of losing. I would not wish it on anybody.

[/ QUOTE ]
is that what you think. When I played for Burton my four years went something like this. 4-6, 3-7, 3-7 and my senior we went 1-9. we never made the playoffs and we were considered a doormat. The whole decade of the 80's were a very dark time for the Raiders. My 4 years we won 11 games. The Seniors from last years team won more games in one year than I did my 4 so Yes, I know what it is like to be on and root for a team and program that is down

4-6 or 3-7 would be beter for us. Ever go 0-10?

they all look like loosing records. Never made the post-season. the only teams we beat were St. Paul, Ervinton (didn't beat these my senior year, we beat Kelly) mabye Rye Cove. We got smoked by Appy every year, not just beat but beat down. 0-10 or 3-7 no one is happy with that.
It is just one game, don't write the team off after just one loss. so far this year. I know it is hard but don't be down just yet every program has to have a start in digging themselves out of the bottom, and they need support doing that.
Take Castlewood for example. Their home stands were at least 2/3 empty. How is that for support? People are funny. Norton has won 3 straight Region D titles and look what happens, we have our biggest team EVER. The paper said Norton would field 49 kids this year but you know what? It all started with a dedicated core that wasn't winners yet, just wanting to be. They took their lumps and have steadly built the program. Jimbo went to State his first year then it was a black time till that core group got it together. From 99-2001 Norton struggled before getting back on their feet.

Not writing them off-simply not going to make excuses for them or coddle them . The cold hard truth is tough to take sometimes. At some point there has to be some accountability. We'll see what this Friday holds at Pound.

I know i don't have a dog in this conversation. But it does take having that one group, that makes that decision, to make things change.
You can coach all you can. But when you get a group that wants to win no matter what the odds. They eventually will find a way to, and from that point on they will start making things happen.
Those growing pains can be really really long and tough. But i have seen Kelly practice. They have a good group and a good group coming up.
Now it's about just going out and making it happen. Not thinking it going to or wishing it was going to. But making it happen.
A coach can't make that happen. You can fire up a group for a time. But to be consistent the group has to do that. And they have to have the leadership within themselves to do that.