13 minutes ago, theguru said:

Who were they national runner-up to and how close was it?

They actually won the 11U national championship against a team out of Georgia. The HC for those Charger teams was Julian Brown who is Ja'Hyde's dad. I believe Jordan Johnson also helped coach who is Zane Johnson's dad. It was the KY FBU team that some played on that was national runner-up so I misspoke on which team finished as runner-up. I believe they also lost to a team out of Georgia. Below is a link to the WHAS video story about the Chargers national title.

Local football team captures youth national title | whas11.com

2010 Louisville Central is in this discussion I think...3k from Ace Wales and only losses were to 6A schools...

I ferel bad for CAL though...Most are going to say "what if" and mention all the hypotheticals when they talk about this team...

41 minutes ago, Unrivaled97 said:

Funny thing is that so many of these kids from CAL and Trinity train together in the offseason at Aspirations. Many of them are actually pretty good friends and some of them played together on the Louisville Chargers youth team that finished as national runner-up before they went their separate ways starting in middle school. I feel very comfortable in saying that other than maybe Baylor, CAL would be the best team that Trinity would face this year if they were on Trinity's schedule. That includes Moeller, Anderson, Christian Brothers, etc. If the two teams played 10 times, Trinity goes 8-2 or 7-3.

CAL fans should pump the brakes before saying they can handle Trinity as well as the Moellers, Andersons, CBC's, Cincy X's, etc on the Trinity schedule.

Checking the CAL schedules for the last 5 years (2021-2025), I see losses vs teams like LCA, Paducah Tilghman, Ryle and Central. I see wins vs teams like LaRue County, Henry County, North Bullitt and Marion County. Not exactly "murderers row' or not even a typical Trinity schedule with the big schools from Indianapolis or Cincinnati.

Maybe CAL should schedule a few Carmels, Center Groves, Moellers, Cincy X's, Andersons, etc. See how that goes and go from there.

12 minutes ago, TH58 said:

CAL fans should pump the brakes before saying they can handle Trinity as well as the Moellers, Andersons, CBC's, Cincy X's, etc on the Trinity schedule.

Checking the CAL schedules for the last 5 years (2021-2025), I see losses vs teams like LCA, Paducah Tilghman, Ryle and Central. I see wins vs teams like LaRue County, Henry County, North Bullitt and Marion County. Not exactly "murderers row' or not even a typical Trinity schedule with the big schools from Indianapolis or Cincinnati.

Maybe CAL should schedule a few Carmels, Center Groves, Moellers, Cincy X's, Andersons, etc. See how that goes and go from there.

I wouldn't consider myself an average fan. I just stated Trinity would win a majority of the contests if the 2 teams played. I know it's hard for some people to fathom, but CAL would compete well with Trinity this year. You mention 2021-2025 and there's no argument from me there as far as wins and losses, but I thought we were talking about the 2026 teams. I mean if we're going back to years when kids on the current CAL team weren't even in high school, then let's go back. I remember being a coach in 2003 for Seneca and playing the mighty Brian Brohm as a senior. Seneca had losses in prior years to a lot worse than what CAL lost to in 21-25. There's no way Seneca could beat teams like Elder or even compete with teams like MBA and Cincy St. X the way Trinity did....but then again.

52 minutes ago, Unrivaled97 said:

They actually won the 11U national championship against a team out of Georgia. The HC for those Charger teams was Julian Brown who is Ja'Hyde's dad. I believe Jordan Johnson also helped coach who is Zane Johnson's dad. It was the KY FBU team that some played on that was national runner-up so I misspoke on which team finished as runner-up. I believe they also lost to a team out of Georgia. Below is a link to the WHAS video story about the Chargers national title.

Local football team captures youth national title | whas11.com

Yes they lost to GFL (Gwinnett Football League) in the FBU finals.

2 hours ago, MaddenCurse44 said:

How many state titles does CAL have?

6 and they're all since 2016. Honestly, CAL was always mediocre or just above .500 until 2011 when Stefan LeFors arrived, but even then, it took him a few years to win a title. DeSales was his kryptonite in the playoffs until 2016. After LeFors left after the 2018 season, Coach Cantwell took over and was a little over .500 in his 1st year. He's taken the program to the next level over the course of the last 5 to 6 years to being a perennial power.

From someone who was there:

1988 Pikeville Panthers

1991 Beechwood Tigers

I would hold up those two teams as two of the best small school teams. That was back when Beechwood was Class A (along with Pikeville).

I'm sure other folks from around the state can chime in, but my experience skews toward NKY. The reason I know about Pikeville, is b/c I was standing on the sidelines against them that year. Truly a team full of studs.

Pikeville in I think 87, 88, and 89 were amazing.

1 minute ago, theguru said:

Pikeville in I think 87, 88, and 89 were amazing.

For sure. In 87 and 88 they had the running back duo of Hackney and Duramus, then in 89, they had Steve Bailey who was a MAN playing against boys. I was on the field against him in 89. He was taller, bigger, and faster than everyone.

I just really don't understand the Centurions' scheduling philosophy this year. Certainly they had a way of roughly knowing how good they would be this year, and I can't imagine beating up on a schedule without a single remotely worthy opponent is making anyone better. I understand there is much speculation on why there isn't a game against teams like Trinity, but considering Kentucky 3A poses no threat and therefore RPI isn't as important for them this year I really don't grasp the stubbornness on playing out of state competition.

Trinity would beat CAL 10 out of 10 times and by double digits each time. CAL is great, but Trinity is playing on a different level this season.

50 minutes ago, ROCK23 said:

I just really don't understand the Centurions' scheduling philosophy this year. Certainly they had a way of roughly knowing how good they would be this year, and I can't imagine beating up on a schedule without a single remotely worthy opponent is making anyone better. I understand there is much speculation on why there isn't a game against teams like Trinity, but considering Kentucky 3A poses no threat and therefore RPI isn't as important for them this year I really don't grasp the stubbornness on playing out of state competition.

The schedule was set 2 years ago. Playing Owensboro, Ryle, Bowling Green, etc. made sense but there's no way to know that teams like Bowling Green & Ryle would fall off the way they have. As for out of state competition, they're working on that for 2027-28. Had a couple out of state, private school that seemed interested and CAL was going to travel, but they've since fallen through on the other end. Still holding out some hope though.

Will CAL have to use the new "multiplier" for classification? Will they still be 3A or move up??

34 minutes ago, 9068 said:

Will CAL have to use the new "multiplier" for classification? Will they still be 3A or move up??

They will be 4A and essentially will replace CovCath who moves up to 5A.

So next year we will have Boyle County, CAL, Highlands, and Corbin fighting it out in 4A.

Pikeville late 80's were pretty darn good.