A banner year for Eastern Kentucky football

Four of the six state champions - Pikeville, Belfry, Johnson Central, and Somerset - reside in that region of the state. Yeah I know, geographically speaking, Somerset isn't true EKY, but they're included in the EKY regional power rankings here at BGP. Plus, they're good, so I'm sure EKY would gladly welcome the Jumpers with open arms.

And aside from those four, Bell County and Paintsville collected state runner-up trophies. Three champions and one runner-up come from the Paintsville-Pikeville-Belfry triangle. All four of those schools (including JC) are separated by no more than about an hour.

Eastern Kentucky has experienced tremendous success throughout history:

- Lynch East Main won four titles and played in eight championship games during a thirteen year span from '59-'71.

- Pikeville had the state's first three-peat from '87-'89.

- Belfry has been rolling for the last seventeen years, featuring four titles in a row from '13-'16.

So it's not as if all of this winning is alien to the region. It's just never been concentrated on one season like this before. With eastern Kentucky's population declining over the years and, accordingly, enrollment numbers and talent pools shrinking, the stars had to align just right in order for a season like this to materialize. If you're from Eastern Kentucky, whether you live up a holler or not, feel good about what was accomplished this weekend, because who knows when we'll ever see it again.

Those are big numbers. I may need help counting...

A few topical questions:

Where does this Johnson Central team rank in the annals of EKY history?

At the very least, I think they're on the short list of the best to ever come out of the 606. But do they have a case for #1? They blew the doors off of the eventual 3A champs and toppled a Boyle County team that previously held an air of invincibility. That title winning effort against the Rebels was the only time all season that JC had to sweat in the fourth quarter.

How much longer can Belfry keep this up?

The Pirates have been a constant presence among the most decorated programs in the state for the better part of two decades now. The overall talent may have dipped slightly since those bullish 2015 and 2016 teams, but they still had more than enough to grab another title this year, beating three consecutive top five teams from the quarterfinals on.

Is this just the beginning of a Mayfield or Beechwood-esque run for Pikeville?

The Cardinals owned 1A for years before moving up and passing the baton to Beechwood. Is it now Pikeville's turn? Chris McNamee is an elite coach overseeing a program that looks head and shoulders above everyone else in 1A right now. He has his son Isaac, a great looking young QB prospect, to build around the next two years.