1 Pikeville

2 Campbellsville

3 Raceland

4 Sayre

5 Kentucky Country Day

6 Paris

7 Newport Central Catholic 

8 Bethlehem

9 Frankfort

10 Louisville Holy Cross

Are there any other sleepers out there that may be better than expected? Who's too high, too low? Thoughts?

Until anyone in 1A figures out how to stop Brendan Anthony it’s Pikeville’s to lose. 

11 minutes ago, DearToday said:

Until anyone in 1A figures out how to stop Brendan Anthony it’s Pikeville’s to lose. 

I agree. Someone's gonna have to knock them off before I'd place anyone above them. They are currently on a level all by themselves.

@jeff jacksonCan I assume that you mean "Louisville Holy Cross" at #10?

12 minutes ago, nkypete said:

@jeff jacksonCan I assume that you mean "Louisville Holy Cross" at #10?

Yes, I should have specified.

I don’t know who all is gone from Pikeville from this past seasons team or who else has been gained, but I think it’s fair to say they are on top until significantly proven otherwise. I also believe Campbellsville will likely be better the coming season too. Don’t know about the rest as of now.

What happened to turn Pikeville into this juggernaut? They had the 3 year run in the late 80s, but this new run is obviously longer and shows no signs of slowing down. Was it economical, coaching, class expansion or something else?

1 hour ago, Breds82 said:

What happened to turn Pikeville into this juggernaut? They had the 3 year run in the late 80s, but this new run is obviously longer and shows no signs of slowing down. Was it economical, coaching, class expansion or something else?

Good coaching, good players, best facilities in the state, and I think a run of fortune with Mayfield and Beechwood both being 2A. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Caverna slips in there on the back end they have pretty much their whole team back from a District Championship team.

On 12/26/2023 at 6:34 PM, Breds82 said:

What happened to turn Pikeville into this juggernaut? They had the 3 year run in the late 80s, but this new run is obviously longer and shows no signs of slowing down. Was it economical, coaching, class expansion or something else?

They had a 3 year run of Championships, but Pikeville was a powerhouse basically the entirety of the 80's and 90's. They just kept having to face Beechwood in the Semi-Finals. Lots of close games with the Tigers that didn't go their way just to watch Beechwood hoist the trophy a week later.

When Hilliard Howard retired Pikeville took a step back as they had to sort through a coaching carousel of sorts in the 2000's that also coincided with the rise of Belfry to prominence. Pikeville then started following the Belfry roadmap. They reinvested heavily in seeking stability and Chris McNamee came home to be the Head Coach for the long haul. They overhauled their feeder program and benefitted from former QB Matt Branham taking a prominent role. They organized their boosters and did a great job of fund-raising. This led to facility upgrades.

Pikeville has always been a very strong academic High School... one of the better academic schools in EKY if not the best. Their AD has also done a fantastic job of making them a well balanced athletic program in all sports for both boys and girls. When you combine the academics with the overall athletics the talent pool started to flow their direction with families wanting their kids to be at Pikeville.

As the mining economy has slipped in the area, Pikeville as a town has actually still flourished because the town is not nearly as reliant on coal for major industry as other areas around. Lots of professional jobs have kept the population base pretty consistent and whereas most rural schools have seen significant enrollment drops, Pikeville has grown. It also hasn't hurt that the two other monster small school powers, Mayfield and Beechwood, have been out of their class for the moot part. Pikeville probably still would be a monster the past decade (Beechwood was 1A and they clashed with Pikeville a few times), but having those two in other classes has opened a path Pikeville has stormed through.

All this led to Pikeville re-emerging as a power in football. What made Pikeville a dynasty was they took their success and doubled down. No program in the State markets better than Pikeville with hype videos, jersey drops, etc. They also built a state of the art training facility and locker room that was miles ahead of any in EKY. Their feeder school is cooking and they are playing a Statewide schedule. If the rich couldn't get richer, as the Pikeville train was already cooking down the tracks.. you have had coaching turnover at other local schools and Belfry has had drama in their athletic program in ancillary sports that has led to multi-sport athletes leaving the school.

 

 

1 hour ago, ATLCat said:

They had a 3 year run of Championships, but Pikeville was a powerhouse basically the entirety of the 80's and 90's. They just kept having to face Beechwood in the Semi-Finals. Lots of close games with the Tigers that didn't go their way just to watch Beechwood hoist the trophy a week later.

When Hilliard Howard retired Pikeville took a step back as they had to sort through a coaching carousel of sorts in the 2000's that also coincided with the rise of Belfry to prominence. Pikeville then started following the Belfry roadmap. They reinvested heavily in seeking stability and Chris McNamee came home to be the Head Coach for the long haul. They overhauled their feeder program and benefitted from former QB Matt Branham taking a prominent role. They organized their boosters and did a great job of fund-raising. This led to facility upgrades.

Pikeville has always been a very strong academic High School... one of the better academic schools in EKY if not the best. Their AD has also done a fantastic job of making them a well balanced athletic program in all sports for both boys and girls. When you combine the academics with the overall athletics the talent pool started to flow their direction with families wanting their kids to be at Pikeville.

As the mining economy has slipped in the area, Pikeville as a town has actually still flourished because the town is not nearly as reliant on coal for major industry as other areas around. Lots of professional jobs have kept the population base pretty consistent and whereas most rural schools have seen significant enrollment drops, Pikeville has grown. It also hasn't hurt that the two other monster small school powers, Mayfield and Beechwood, have been out of their class for the moot part. Pikeville probably still would be a monster the past decade (Beechwood was 1A and they clashed with Pikeville a few times), but having those two in other classes has opened a path Pikeville has stormed through.

All this led to Pikeville re-emerging as a power in football. What made Pikeville a dynasty was they took their success and doubled down. No program in the State markets better than Pikeville with hype videos, jersey drops, etc. They also built a state of the art training facility and locker room that was miles ahead of any in EKY. Their feeder school is cooking and they are playing a Statewide schedule. If the rich couldn't get richer, as the Pikeville train was already cooking down the tracks.. you have had coaching turnover at other local schools and Belfry has had drama in their athletic program in ancillary sports that has led to multi-sport athletes leaving the school.

 

 

Sounds very good. I don't think Mayfield and Pikeville have ever played. That needs to happen one day.

10 minutes ago, snakesnot_2000 said:

I don't think Mayfield and Pikeville have ever played.

That is one of those stats that seems almost hard to believe.  Much like CovCath and Boyle Co. never having played until this year.

2 hours ago, ATLCat said:

They had a 3 year run of Championships, but Pikeville was a powerhouse basically the entirety of the 80's and 90's. They just kept having to face Beechwood in the Semi-Finals. Lots of close games with the Tigers that didn't go their way just to watch Beechwood hoist the trophy a week later.

When Hilliard Howard retired Pikeville took a step back as they had to sort through a coaching carousel of sorts in the 2000's that also coincided with the rise of Belfry to prominence. Pikeville then started following the Belfry roadmap. They reinvested heavily in seeking stability and Chris McNamee came home to be the Head Coach for the long haul. They overhauled their feeder program and benefitted from former QB Matt Branham taking a prominent role. They organized their boosters and did a great job of fund-raising. This led to facility upgrades.

Pikeville has always been a very strong academic High School... one of the better academic schools in EKY if not the best. Their AD has also done a fantastic job of making them a well balanced athletic program in all sports for both boys and girls. When you combine the academics with the overall athletics the talent pool started to flow their direction with families wanting their kids to be at Pikeville.

As the mining economy has slipped in the area, Pikeville as a town has actually still flourished because the town is not nearly as reliant on coal for major industry as other areas around. Lots of professional jobs have kept the population base pretty consistent and whereas most rural schools have seen significant enrollment drops, Pikeville has grown. It also hasn't hurt that the two other monster small school powers, Mayfield and Beechwood, have been out of their class for the moot part. Pikeville probably still would be a monster the past decade (Beechwood was 1A and they clashed with Pikeville a few times), but having those two in other classes has opened a path Pikeville has stormed through.

All this led to Pikeville re-emerging as a power in football. What made Pikeville a dynasty was they took their success and doubled down. No program in the State markets better than Pikeville with hype videos, jersey drops, etc. They also built a state of the art training facility and locker room that was miles ahead of any in EKY. Their feeder school is cooking and they are playing a Statewide schedule. If the rich couldn't get richer, as the Pikeville train was already cooking down the tracks.. you have had coaching turnover at other local schools and Belfry has had drama in their athletic program in ancillary sports that has led to multi-sport athletes leaving the school.

 

 

Now that is answer! Thank you very much.

Definitely think there are some better options at 9/10.

Holy Cross (Louisville) would definitely get the bump over Frankfort. Not sure how they got to 9 after going 4-8 last season. 

At the 10 spot I think you have some teams that deserve a shot in the top 10..

Ludlow, Newport, Middlesboro, and I never sleep on Williamsburg.