On 7/18/2008 at 10:34 PM, theguru said:

1. 1984 Beechwood 35 Paris 26 (1A Final): Nothing can be better than playing in the finals and winning it all.

 

2. 2002 Trinity 59 Male 56 (4A Final): It was a defining moment for KY high school football.

 

3. 1996 Nelson County 35 Paul Dunbar 34 OT (4A Final): It was a beautiful day and two tremendous public schools battled it out. I can still hear John Tong saying, “At quarterback for Nelson County, Gabe Stone.”

 

4. 2002 Trinity 44 Elder 20 (at Ryle): With Elder going on to win the Ohio D1 title I think it is the biggest win (outside of championships) ever for a KY high school football team.

 

5. 1995 Mayfield 28 Beechwood 27 (1A Final): I still maintain Beechwood was the better team and to this day the game doesn’t sit right with me but this is a list about great games and this was one great game.

I came across this on Facebook today and I can still hear John Tong saying, “At quarterback for Nelson County, Gabe Stone.”

This thread so old I had to dust off my screen when I opened it.  But here goes.  

1. Boyle County 42 Lone Oak 39, 2009.  (4A State Title Game).   Boyle makes second half comeback to take down Lone Oak in double OT.  About 4 things had to happen in the second half and if any of them don't happen then Boyle loses the game.  Blocked punt, last second field goal, Boyle goes for 2 in the second OT.  Incredible game !!

2. Boyle 28 Somerset 27, 1982.  Like @Hatz already said, Rebels use big plays on Special Teams and passing attack to offset a talented show by Somerset's offense that put up about 450 yards. Somerset scored with :23 left and decided to go for 2. They were stopped short and Boyle beat what many considered the best AA team that year in the state and laid claim to the District Title. Corbin beat the Rebels in the playoffs that year and it ended up being the last state title that Corbin has won.  Somerset had beaten Corbin in the regular season and seems like they may have beaten one of the other 3 state title winners in the regular season also.  Big Upset! Until the above-mentioned Boyle/Lone Oak game, this was the greatest Boyle County game I ever watched. 

3.  Boyle 21 ACS 14, 2010.  (4A State Title Game) Lamar Dawson leads the Rebels to back to back undefeated seasons and state titles.  

4.  Boyle County 13 Bell County 10, 2009. (State Semifinals) Pure rock-fight between two very hard-hitting teams.  Was not for the weak.  Reese McShara, who finished the season with 3027 yards rushing, put the team on his back the last two drives that netted two fg's that put the Rebels ahead 13-10.  

5.  Boyle County 29 Glasgow 6, 1999.  (State Title Game) Boyle's first state title.  I think the whole county was there.  

 

 

This one is definitely special also and my only non-Boyle game.

1a. Bullitt East 28 Male 27, 2022.  (6A State Title Game) Recent enough to not write a long summary.  But going from 14 down less than a minute into the game to winning on a 2pt play with less than a minute left in the game was rough on the old nerves but man, what a way to win the big one in the biggest class !!

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 20251 yr by BEChargers

1. 1980: Manual 6 Male 0. The last Thanksgiving Day game played by the Old Rivals

2. 1988 Manual 28 Male 0. First time both teams came into the undefeated. The Crimsons crushed the Bulldogs to finish the season 10-0. They would meet again in the 2nd round of the playoffs with Manual winning 21-14 in OT  

3. 2001 Manual 20 Male 13. Manual upset the defending State Champs and #1 ranked Bulldogs. Manual exploded to a 20-0 halftime lead and held on to upset Male. The student body and Alumni stormed the field and tried to tear the goal posts. Keenan Burton went on to great at UK and the NFL. Mike Bush did the same at UL and NFL  

4. 1988. Manual 7 St. Xavier 0. First win the series since 1977. A majority of the roster played as Freshman on the 1985 0-10 team.

5. 2003. Manual 37 Trinity 36. The Crimsons fought back from a 29-13 deficit and then failed to convert a 4th in goal  trailing 36-27. A botched shotgun snap in the end zone lead to a Manual safety. 36-29. Manual converts two 4th downs on the last drive to cut the score to 36-35. Manual goes for 2 and Austin Tiller hits Deuce Hillerich for the conversion. Andrew Robinson  picks off a Brian Brohm Hail Mary to seal the deal at Marshall Stadium. The Rocks would rebound to win another State Title. The injury plagued Crimsons limped to a 4-6 finish          

 

1. 2003. Belfry 33 Elizabethtown 27 (OT). This game may actually be one of the more underrated State Championship games of all-time. This was the year Belfry got over the hump and won their first State Title in dramatic fashion. A back and forth game it looked like Etown was in the driver's seat but Belfry got a massive sack and strip to put them in position to tie the game. In OT Belfry intercepts the ball and then on a 4th and Goal David Jones punches in the walk-off winner.

Why is it so underrated? Belfry was not a household name at the time. They were just a very good program finally getting over the hump, but this set off a run over the next 15 years that made them an elite program. Etown was kind off under the radar that season and had lost twice in the regular season so there was not a lot of fanfare of being two dominant teams.. but the truth is this one of the more talented Finals rosters to ever take the field. You had four different players who would go on to start in the SEC and have a cup of tea if not more with the NFL: Brandon Deaderick (Alabama), Chris Todd (Auburn), Zipp Duncan (UK), and David Jones (UK). You also had Doug Howard who is still a Belfry legend.

 

 

2. 2004. Belfry 28  Owensboro Catholic 21- The following year's 2A State Championship which was Howard and Jones's Senior year. Belfry was undeniable that season and had a legendary rushing attack that went off in the State Finals for over 500 rushing yards with Howard and Jones putting on an absolute show crossing the 200+ yard each. With that said, Zac Bernard kept the Aces' in the game and had the ball with a chance to tie late when Chris Varney got a huge INT to seal the game Belfry the re-peat.

 

 

3. 2013. Belfry 3 Wayne County 0- Symbolically this was the confirmation that Belfry was a Championship PROGRAM and not just the beneficiary of a single great team. Belfry had previously had four State Runner-Up losses to Central including three in a row. Belfry won the 3A Title over an undefeated Wayne County team of destiny and it kicked off a dynasty. The game itself did not play out the way most expected. Wayne County had lit the scoreboard up all season and Belfry had a very solid offense as well. Horrible weather made passing and field conditions less than ideal for both teams who struggled to get any Offense going. Ultimately it came down to the leg of Freshman Austin Woolum who made a FG and the Belfry defense finished the deal.

 

4. 2016. Belfry 42 Corbin 17- You may ask, why would you put this game? It was a blowout and wasn't even the State Finals? Well for starters, I have to have a game to honor that 2016 team on the list but it is hard finding one because almost every game they played was a big win and between the 2015 & 2016 seasons they laid waist to numerous teams who went on to win State Titles or finish Runner-Up. More importantly, the score of this Semi-Finals game did not tell the story of what this game actually was like.

Justin Haddix's Corbin team had been outclassed in the 2015 Semi-Finals at Belfry but the 2016 edition was veteran and only had a 35-34 loss to Mayfield on their resume and had otherwise been dominant en route to setting up a #1 vs. #2 matchup at Campbell Field. Corbin came out well prepared and had Belfry firmly on the ropes with a 17-0 lead. Belfry got a late score to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the Half. I won't get into the rumors of what specific changes Belfry made top adjust for let's call it "Scouting and Prep" that Corbin had done, but Belfry made those adjustments and then RayQuan Horton took over. The Belfry DL legend wreaked absolute havoc on the Redhounds in the 2nd Half beating numerous double and triple teams for sacks, TFL's, and forcing turnovers. Belfry scored 35 points in the 2nd Half to win.

 

5. 2021. Belfry 33 Paducah Tilghman 28- The Isaac Dixon game. One of the more unexpected State Finals games as it featured two teams who entered the playoffs with losing records. Belfry had played an absolutely brutal schedule and was a flawed team who battled key injuries. Haywood got the Pirates right for a playoff run and found some secondary weapons to take the load off Dixon who had already established his Belfry legacy as an All-Timer. 

What happened this day was what made Dixon THE All-Timer in Belfry lore. Tilghman exploited a vulnerable Belfry defense to grab a lead but Dixon put the Pirates on his back and legs for probably the single greatest rushing performance ever seen in the State Finals (or maybe in any game of this magnitude). 41 carries, 376 yards, 5 TD's including the game winner in the 4th. Oh.. just for good measure he also made like 7 tackles on defense as well. This game would propel Dixon to being Mr. Football.

17 hours ago, BEChargers said:

This thread so old I had to dust off my screen when I opened it.  But here goes.  

1. Boyle County 42 Lone Oak 39, 2009.  (4A State Title Game).   Boyle makes second half comeback to take down Lone Oak in double OT.  About 4 things had to happen in the second half and if any of them don't happen then Boyle loses the game.  Blocked punt, last second field goal, Boyle goes for 2 in the second OT.  Incredible game !!

2. Boyle 28 Somerset 27, 1982.  Like @Hatz already said, Rebels use big plays on Special Teams and passing attack to offset a talented show by Somerset's offense that put up about 450 yards. Somerset scored with :23 left and decided to go for 2. They were stopped short and Boyle beat what many considered the best AA team that year in the state and laid claim to the District Title. Corbin beat the Rebels in the playoffs that year and it ended up being the last state title that Corbin has won.  Somerset had beaten Corbin in the regular season and seems like they may have beaten one of the other 3 state title winners in the regular season also.  Big Upset! Until the above-mentioned Boyle/Lone Oak game, this was the greatest Boyle County game I ever watched. 

3.  Boyle 21 ACS 14, 2010.  (4A State Title Game) Lamar Dawson leads the Rebels to back to back undefeated seasons and state titles.  

4.  Boyle County 13 Bell County 10, 2009. (State Semifinals) Pure rock-fight between two very hard-hitting teams.  Was not for the weak.  Reese McShara, who finished the season with 3027 yards rushing, put the team on his back the last two drives that netted two fg's that put the Rebels ahead 13-10.  

5.  Boyle County 29 Glasgow 6, 1999.  (State Title Game) Boyle's first state title.  I think the whole county was there.  

 

 

This one is definitely special also and my only non-Boyle game.

1a. Bullitt East 28 Male 27, 2022.  (6A State Title Game) Recent enough to not write a long summary.  But going from 14 down less than a minute into the game to winning on a 2pt play with less than a minute left in the game was rough on the old nerves but man, what a way to win the big one in the biggest class !!

 

 

 

I still think Lone Oak got into the end zone on that goal line play!