Following his team's 49-0 loss on the road to rival New Albany High on Friday night, Ripley High head football coach Grady McCluskey said he's "been beat before and embarrassed before." 

But, "It's what you do to bounce back," he added.

That is exactly what his young team needs to keep in mind as it moves on from such a tough loss.

"We just gotta build. Our kids are young," McCluskey said. "It doesn't do any good to jump all over them. They didn't play very well, but we'll get better. That's the main thing. ...

"I told our kids, 'If you are going to live 80 years, then sometimes you're going to be embarrassed; sometimes you're going to stumble and fall. You gotta get up tomorrow. On Sunday, we gotta lift weights, watch film and try to get better."

With playmaker Acie Vance and talented running backs Devin Jones and Tony Hernandez on offense and some defensive starters begin to get healthy, the Tigers could win their fair share of games this season.  It may just take some time for the young guys, such as sophomore quarterback Austin Hamilton, to grasp their assignments and start performing well on a consistent basis.

"I think we got a good team," the first-year Ripley head coach said. "We are going to come back. We're young, and I think New Albany is the best team we are going to play all year on our schedule. ...

"I think our division (1-3A) is definitely winnable, and I think we're going to have a good football team come playoff time. But, we just gotta get better."