Why is Mayfield usually better in Football and Graves better in Basketball year after year? I know not every year but most of the time?

Mayfield has athletes, Graves usually has skilled basketball players. Mayfield had a real good group of athletes that were skilled basketball players and won the region in 2019. 

“Years of history” is the answer to your question.

Graves County was formed from the consolidation of seven small high schools. Those schools had fairly competitive basketball teams. The most famous example are the Cuba Cubs who we’re runners up in the state tournament in 1951 and won the state title in 1952.

Those basketball games were the biggest form of entertainment in those small towns and the locals took pride in their teams’ success. When the schools consolidated they brought star players from those seven teams into the basketball program. I am too young to have seen them play, but I know Kip Ellington and Woody Woodfork were players in that first year. Woodfork averaged 25 points a game and with only a single season is statistics is still among the school’s leaders in all time points scored. 
 

Conversely, Mayfield football history started well before Graves County was ever a school. None of those seven small schools in Graves Co were able to field a football team. So Mayfield had a 50 or more year head start in football. 

Mayfield won the Region in 1978 also and 1992. They have had basketball success considering they are a small school. 

16 hours ago, wrn1979 said:

“Years of history” is the answer to your question.

Graves County was formed from the consolidation of seven small high schools. Those schools had fairly competitive basketball teams. The most famous example are the Cuba Cubs who we’re runners up in the state tournament in 1951 and won the state title in 1952.

Those basketball games were the biggest form of entertainment in those small towns and the locals took pride in their teams’ success. When the schools consolidated they brought star players from those seven teams into the basketball program. I am too young to have seen them play, but I know Kip Ellington and Woody Woodfork were players in that first year. Woodfork averaged 25 points a game and with only a single season is statistics is still among the school’s leaders in all time points scored. 
 

Conversely, Mayfield football history started well before Graves County was ever a school. None of those seven small schools in Graves Co were able to field a football team. So Mayfield had a 50 or more year head start in football. 

Great post. I also think people forget that these 7 schools has no football program. Graves is just now getting to second generation players. For years dads who had never played football attempted to coach the little league programs. There was little to no pride in the football program. That has since changed with your second generation players. The booster is very strong, guys who actually played football are now coaching at the elementary level. 
 

Also not many schools are better than Mayfield at football. There’s also a big trend that when kids get cut at basketball at Graves or get zero playing time they go to Mayfield in hopes to play basketball. Your second tier ball players are usually your good football players. While there they become just football players and forget about basketball. That has since slowed down. 
 

When Mayfield won the region their key players were County kids who transferred. 

6 minutes ago, gcbleedblue said:

Great post. I also think people forget that these 7 schools has no football program. Graves is just now getting to second generation players. For years dads who had never played football attempted to coach the little league programs. There was little to no pride in the football program. That has since changed with your second generation players. The booster is very strong, guys who actually played football are now coaching at the elementary level. 
 

Also not many schools are better than Mayfield at football. There’s also a big trend that when kids get cut at basketball at Graves or get zero playing time they go to Mayfield in hopes to play basketball. Your second tier ball players are usually your good football players. While there they become just football players and forget about basketball. That has since slowed down. 
 

When Mayfield won the region their key players were County kids who transferred. 

Absolutely. To add on, love him or hate him (as few people just tolerated him), Alan Hatcher is largely responsible for the pride in the basketball program and it’s tradition of excellence. I’m a bit old school, but I miss the things that Hatcher brought in: a youth program focused on fundamental development, middle school teams that taught his brand of basketball, players wearing shirts and ties to games instead of looking homeless, taking kids out of the game who earned technical fouls, players referring to referees as “Mr Official.” Whether the players wanted to admit it or not, those small things contributed to their success in big ways. These kids who show up in sweats boppin to their Beats headphones are missing out on important life lessons.