The Best Era of KY HS Football?

[VF111]

This one just came to me and I thought I'd float it out there. What is or was the best era of HS football for you. By era, I would mean, a 10-15 year period. Some that I have been familiar with...

2015-Present - The explosion of the RPO offenses and scoring. Fun to watch but crowds aren't as big or loud and parents as well as social media has taken some of the joy out of it. Recruiting is wild as well. 

2000-2015 - Lots of variety with wishbone teams to spread teams. Passing seemed to really take off in this era. Crowds were so-so. I felt like the smaller colleges really exploded in terms of prominence during this period in terms of recruiting. Not so much social media sure was nice at the beginning of this era. I thought this was a great era for uniforms as well. 

The 90's - Fun time to play in. Crowds were pretty good. Lots of teams were still holding on to the ways of the 70's and 80's. I got to be a part of a State Championship and a pass was a trick play for us. Two-a-Days were still a real thing. The Heat Index was not. Some giants of coaching were finishing up and some were starting. 

The 80's - Amazing crowds and Friday night was a slugfest across the state. Shotgun snaps? You mean punt? Hardnosed football. The shimel jersey and forearm pads. RB's with lineman facemasks. The 80's were for me as a kid the apex of what HS crowds looked like. Maybe it was just me, but in the 80's the seniors all looked like they were 25 to me! 

That's as far back as I go... what are your thoughts on the best era or what do you remember from your favorite era?  

[ChiefSmoke]

City school football in the early 70's was pretty special in central KY. Danville, Frankfort, Paris, Bardstown, Somerset, Harrodsburg & Stanford played some good awful good football in those days with some great players. Since only the district champ went to the playoffs, regular season games were big events... probably tough to relate to in this day and age. 

[Hugefootballguy]

Any time that every team didn't make the playoffs 

[hrcarrier]

I’m going to say the 1990’s and 2000-2010. I believe that the nineties were great for the fans and crowds. Everywhere I watched or played was filled full of people. Even though the crowds started declining between 2000-2010, there was a lot seen offensively and other changes that took place. Of course changes have continued since 2010, but the two times I mentioned were my personal favorites.

[barrel]

I’ll say during the 90s is when passing/spread started taking off in the state. Couch, Redman, Breathitt, and some other places started to sling it. I think one of the Madison schools starting using the old Georgetown Run and Shoot at that time. 

[ChiefSmoke]

In prepping for a game... recent seasons...talking to an old coach that has been around at least as long as I have been coaching. 

We were talking about a common opponent. He had an interesting perspective... 

He said, 

"Their still good, but nothing like they use to be. But, none of us are that good any more. " 

[55RedDog]

It’s hard not to love watching old film of a perfectly executed wishbone.

[BadaBing]

Any 4-class era...

[VF111]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:33 PM, BadaBing said:

Any 4-class era...

Think the 3-class era guys say the same thing? 😂

[Cousin Chris]

4 class system is perfect for a state the size of Kentucky.  6 class system is way too watered down.  3 does not allow many of the small schools much of a chance to be competitive.  4 is definitely the perfect system for Kentucky.

[tdyballgame]

On 4/10/2024 at 4:39 PM, VF111 said:

This one just came to me and I thought I'd float it out there. What is or was the best era of HS football for you. By era, I would mean, a 10-15 year period. Some that I have been familiar with...

2015-Present - The explosion of the RPO offenses and scoring. Fun to watch but crowds aren't as big or loud and parents as well as social media has taken some of the joy out of it. Recruiting is wild as well. 

2000-2015 - Lots of variety with wishbone teams to spread teams. Passing seemed to really take off in this era. Crowds were so-so. I felt like the smaller colleges really exploded in terms of prominence during this period in terms of recruiting. Not so much social media sure was nice at the beginning of this era. I thought this was a great era for uniforms as well. 

The 90's - Fun time to play in. Crowds were pretty good. Lots of teams were still holding on to the ways of the 70's and 80's. I got to be a part of a State Championship and a pass was a trick play for us. Two-a-Days were still a real thing. The Heat Index was not. Some giants of coaching were finishing up and some were starting. 

The 80's - Amazing crowds and Friday night was a slugfest across the state. Shotgun snaps? You mean punt? Hardnosed football. The shimel jersey and forearm pads. RB's with lineman facemasks. The 80's were for me as a kid the apex of what HS crowds looked like. Maybe it was just me, but in the 80's the seniors all looked like they were 25 to me! 

That's as far back as I go... what are your thoughts on the best era or what do you remember from your favorite era?  

I think you nailed all eras listed!!!

[rjs4470]

3 hours ago, Cousin Chris said:

4 class system is perfect for a state the size of Kentucky.  6 class system is way too watered down.  3 does not allow many of the small schools much of a chance to be competitive.  4 is definitely the perfect system for Kentucky.

If it's about allowing small schools to be competitive, then 6 classes is better than 4. 4 classes make the size difference between the largest and smallest schools greater at the top and bottom classes. That makes it much tougher for the smallest schools in what would be 1A and 4A to compete. The size of the state vs the number of classes is not the only factor. You also have to look at the discrepancy of sizes between schools when determining the number of classes. 

[ChiefSmoke]

We used this question on or last podcast!

 

Season 2: Offseason 4 The Coaches Office: Behind the Scenes of HS Football w/ Chuck Smith & David Buchanan