What teams have recently done this?

Unless Brossart will be able to move back to 1A soon this is something they should consider. They can not stay on the path they are on.

 

In their case I think that would be a death wish for the program. Kids would just go to Campbell and NCC to play football even if it means sitting on bench, being a special teams players, etc. Pendleton is not competing with other schools to get football players; just fighting the demons and stigma with their football program in-house to get kids to play.

What teams have recently done this?

 

None have made the move since the switch to six classes. During the four class days it wasn't uncommon to see anywhere from five to twelve schools playing as an independent. I don't have my information handy but I'll post some teams after I get home.

What teams have recently done this?

Just as a sample, I pulled up state finals program from 1992 and 1999 with the final standings printed within. Here were the non-district teams those seasons:

1992: Berea 1-9, Betsy Layne 0-9, Casey County 4-5, Eminence 6-4, Grant County 0-8, Ky. School for the Deaf 5-3, Lexington Catholic 9-1, McCreary Central 0-9, Muhlenberg North 0-8, Ohio County 2-8, Powell County 2-8, Ryle 1-4.

1999: Allen Central 3-6, Beth Haven 0-5, Bethlehem 8-2, Caverna 2-8, Eminence 9-1, Iroquois 5-5, Jenkins 0-8, Ky. Country Day 4-6, Ky. School for the Deaf 8-2, Lewis County 4-6.

 

Of course, some of them were programs that were in their infancy, but there were some non-district mainstays, too. Teams like Berea, Casey, KSD and Ohio played non-district schedules for a long time.

None have made the move since the switch to six classes. During the four class days it wasn't uncommon to see anywhere from five to twelve schools playing as an independent. I don't have my information handy but I'll post some teams after I get home.

 

My apologies BGP, I forgot to look this up. Here is a complete list of independent programs and season records from 1991 (the first year four teams made the playoffs) until 2008 (the last year any played as an independent).

 

1991: Powell County (4-4); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (3-4); Casey County (3-6); Millersburg Military Institute (1-8); Ohio County (1-9); Lexington Catholic (0-4); Berea (0-9); McCreary Central (0-9)

 

1992: Lexington Catholic (9-1); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (5-3); Eminence (6-4); Casey County (4-5); Ohio County (2-8); Powell County (2-8); Ryle (1-4); Berea (1-9); Grant County (0-8); Muhlenberg North (0-8); Betsy Layne (0-9); McCreary Central (0-9)

 

1993: Kentucky School f/t Deaf (8-1); Betsy Layne (5-5); Eminence (5-5); Ohio County (5-5); Casey County (4-6); Berea (3-7); McCreary Central (1-9)

 

1994: Ohio County (9-1); Eminence (8-2); Berea (4-6); Betsy Layne (4-6); Kentucky Country Day (3-6); McCreary Central (3-7); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (2-7); Casey County (0-9)

 

1995: Kentucky Country Day (8-1); Eminence (8-2); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (5-5); Logan County (4-6); McCreary Central (2-7)

 

1996: Logan County (9-1); Eminence (8-2); McCreary Central (5-5); Trimble County (2-6); Kentucky Country Day (1-7); Beth Haven (0-8); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (0-8)

 

1997: Eminence (8-2); Muhlenberg North (6-4); Boyd County (5-5); Grayson County (4-6); West Carter (4-6); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (3-6); Lewis County (3-7); Trimble County (3-7); Beth Haven (2-6); Kentucky Country Day (2-7); Breckinridge County (1-8); Bethlehem (0-4); Morgan County (0-9); Casey County (0-10)

 

1998: Eminence (8-2); Muhlenberg North (8-2); Beth Haven (6-3); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (6-3); Bethlehem (6-4); Boyd County (5-5); Allen Central (4-5); Trimble County (4-6); Grayson County (3-7); Lewis County (3-7); West Carter (3-7); Kentucky Country Day (2-7); Covington Holy Cross (1-7); Breckinridge County (1-8); Casey County (1-9); Morgan County (1-9); Christian Academy-Louisville (0-6)

 

1999: Eminence (9-1); Bethlehem (8-2); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (8-2); Iroquois (5-5); Kentucky Country Day (4-6); Lewis County (4-6); Allen Central (3-6); Caverna (2-8); Beth Haven (0-5); Jenkins (0-8)

 

2000: Eminence (10-0); Kentucky Country Day (6-3); Bethlehem (4-6); Iroquois (3-7); Lewis County (3-7); Allen Central (2-8); Caverna (2-8); Beth Haven (1-7); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (0-9); Jenkins (0-10)

 

2001: Bethlehem (8-2); Eminence (7-3); Kentucky Country Day (6-3); Iroquois (2-8); Jenkins (2-8); Beth Haven (1-5); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (1-7); Caverna (1-9)

 

2002: Kentucky Country Day (7-3); Bethlehem (6-4); Eminence (4-6); Kentucky School f/t Deaf (3-5); Evangel Christian (1-1); Caverna (1-9); Iroquois (1-9); Beth Haven (0-8); Clay County (0-10); Jenkins (0-10)

 

2003: Eminence (9-1); Kentucky Country Day (4-6); Pendleton County (2-5); McCreary Central (2-8); Betsy Layne (1-9); Beth Haven (0-1); Muhlenberg North (0-10)

 

2004: Spencer County (4-2); Kentucky Country Day (6-4); Pendleton County (5-5); Eminence (4-4); Betsy Layne (4-6); Rowan County (4-6); Evangel Christian (2-7); McCreary Central (1-9); Muhlenberg North (1-9); Beth Haven (0-4); Letcher (0-10)

 

2005: Beth Haven (8-0); Eminence (7-2); Pendleton County (6-4); Rowan County (5-5); McCreary Central (3-7); Betsy Layne (1-9); Evangel Christian (0-10); Muhlenberg North (0-10)

 

2006: Beth Haven (8-0); McCreary Central (5-5); Eminence (4-4); Gallatin County (4-4); Clinton County (4-5); Pendleton County (3-7); Jackson County (2-8); Rowan County (2-8); Betsy Layne (1-9); Evangel Christian (0-10); Muhlenberg North (0-10)

 

2007: Berea (4-6); Evangel Christian (0-7)

 

2008: Berea (8-2); Walton-Verona (4-6); Evangel Christian (0-7)

The following is a break down of the schools that have played as an independent since 1991, the number of years as an independent, and their overall record during those seasons:

 

YEARS

15 - Eminence (105-40)

12 - Kentucky School f/t Deaf (44-60)

11 - Kentucky Country Day (49-53)

11 - Beth Haven (26-47)

10 - McCreary Central (22-75)

7 - Betsy Layne (16-53)

7 - Muhlenberg North (15-53)

6 - Bethlehem (32-22)

6 - Berea (20-39)

6 - Casey County (12-45)

6 - Evangel Christian (3-42)

4 - Ohio County (17-23)

4 - Pendleton County (16-21)

4 - Lewis County (13-27)

4 - Iroquois (11-29)

4 - Caverna (6-34)

4 - Jenkins (2-36)

3 - Rowan County (11-19)

3 - Allen Central (9-19)

3 - Trimble County (9-19)

2 - Logan County (13-7)

2 - Lexington Catholic (9-5)

2 - Boyd County (10-10)

2 - Grayson County (7-13)

2 - West Carter (7-13)

2 - Powell County (6-12)

2 - Breckinridge County (2-16)

2 - Morgan County (1-18)

1 - Spencer County (4-2)

1 - Gallatin County (4-4)

1 - Clinton County (4-5)

1 - Walton-Verona (4-6)

1 - Jackson County (2-8)

1 - Ryle (1-4)

1 - Covington Holy Cross (1-7)

1 - Millersburg Military Institute (1-8)

1 - Christian Academy-Louisville (0-6)

1 - Grant County (0-8)

1 - Clay County (0-10)

1 - Letcher (0-10)

One final note. From 1999-2002 the KHSAA sanctioned an 8-man football playoff at the end of the season. There was no 8-man regular season, although some schools did play 8-man games during the year. Because of that postseason opportunity, several small school no doubt chose to continue playing an independent schedule so that they could play in the playoffs, instead of playing in Class A, where making the postseason would have been a huge challenge.

 

Eight-Man Playoff History

 

1999

First Round: Kentucky School f/t Deaf 56, Beth Haven 20; Kentucky Country Day 34, Caverna 22

Semifinals: Bethlehem 52, Kentucky School f/t Deaf 30; Eminence 60, Kentucky Country Day 25

Championship: Eminence 46, Bethlehem 32

 

2000

First Round: Eminence 62, Kentucky School f/t Deaf 0; Caverna 40, Allen Central 36; Bethlehem 35, Beth Haven 20; Kentucky Country Day 70, Jenkins 22

Semifinals: Eminence 62, Caverna 14; Kentucky Country Day 41, Bethlehem 40

Championship: Eminence 52, Kentucky Country Day 34

 

2001

First Round: Caverna 40, Jenkins 38 (OT); Kentucky Country Day 54, Beth Haven 14

Semifinals: Bethlehem 56, Caverna 6; Eminence 48, Kentucky Country Day 36

Championship: Eminence 46, Bethlehem 20

 

2002

First Round: Caverna 60, Jenkins 40

Semifinals: Kentucky Country Day 55, Caverna 12; Bethlehem 14, Eminence 12

Championship: Kentucky Country Day 37, Bethlehem 21

I swear I don't understand why more struggling programs don't do this and I remember the 8 man. That was also great.

gchs, thanks for all that information. Very nice.