ATLCat

LCA I presume! That's a crazy stat. The only similar stat was 2015 Belfry defeated two State Champs and defeated three State Runner-Ups but I am not sure anyone will match that LCA feat.

They tossed the idea around in GA after a huge blown call four or five years ago in the State Finals cost a team a title. It went viral and it was a very clear miss. Nothing ever came of it though. I have seen examples that were less than desirable where a video board showed a replay and despite not being correct protocol or what the rules state.. the referees have huddled and filibustered while eyes peaked at the video board and then suddenly the call on the field changed. The most egregious example of this was a Prince Avenue vs. Athens Academy game at Athens Academy. A Prince Avenue player was fighting for a first down on the sideline and the ball came out late. The officials ruled he was down by contact and it was a key 1sst Down conversion. The home team coach protested on the sidelines and argued with the officials. He then called a timeout to further argue and during the timeout the video screen started showing slow motion replays indicating it was a fumble. After the timeout the officials huddled then chose to reverse their call. Subsequently.. the same game a few minutes later on a crucial 4th Down. The Athens Academy ball carrier appears to be stopped short of the line to gain in the backfield and then lunges from the ground forward but the line judge gives a favorable spot by maybe two yards. This conversion effectively ends the game as Prince Avenue was down to a sole timeout. Having witnessed what played out earlier the Prince Avenue coach employs the same strategy of stalling in hopes the replay is shown and the refs reconsider. Wisely.. the home team Video Crew never show the replay and the call remains as called on the field.

Prince Avenue Christian 49 Bryan County 14 Score was 42-0 at the Half and Bryan County gets some running clock success in the 2nd Half to make it a tad more respectable. Prince Avenue rematches from last year's state Finals against Swainsboro in the GHSA Class 1A Division 1 Finals. Another score of note from the current hometown: Valwood 42 John Milledge Academy 21 GIAA- AAA Championship John Milledge plays in the private only GISA and had the nation's longest winning streak in HS Football at 62 straight games. GHSA is the more widely accepted "tougher" football organization because it combines publics with the privates willing to submit to a multiplier and has a much, much larger pool of teams. As an example, there are (38) Class 1A-Division 1 teams and there are (12) GIAA Class 3A teams in John Milledge's classification. There are a total of (41) GIAA teams in all amongst four classes.

Off hand I cannot think of one... specifically for a larger school. Would think a 1A or 2A team would be the most logical example if there is one. Mayfield or Beechwood for example would probably be the first places I would go Pre-RPI where they would see a "paper champion" undefeated team that had feasted on weak competition in the Regional Finals and then two solid undefeated teams in the Semi's and Finals.

A few general observations that could be made: - Boyle County's success would definitely only strengthen their case on the high end. Danville has fallen off hard as a program which would buffer out success a tad bit, but the high end Boyle success mixed with a generally small population means I would expect them to remain a firm fixture at the top. - I would expect Campbell County to have dipped a little. Highlands and NewCath has had some decent seasons during the past six years, but the lack of Finals and Championships would reflect a significant slowing to the pace this County had a jump start on thanks to Highlands dynasty. The heavy population load would have worked against them. - Breathitt may have dropped a tick or two but probably not far. The low population works to their advantage and the Bobcats did muster a couple deeper playoff runs though the lack of Finals would have hurt them as some other Counties behind saw success. - Pike County probably would have seen significant growth with Belfry and Pikeville combining for six more titles and a runner-up finish. I would anticipate Pike County being #2 or #3 if I had to guess. -Johnson would have probably stayed pretty firm near the top and maybe moved up as well. Johnson Central and Paintsville had a couple titles and a handful of runner-ups combined. - Graves County would most likely stay at #2 as Mayfield had solid continued success. Graves County doesn't have the championship success Pike County has endured during the time, but between the head start in the numbers and the much smaller population it would be tough for Pike County to have caught Graves. -Fayette definitely would have seen benefit after being easily one of the most underachieving Counties. Frederick Douglass and LCA each bolstered the resume and even Bryan Station added contribution. - Bullitt also would have benefitted thanks to the Bullitt East title for a County that was deeply into the underachieving designation. - I would have expected Bell & Greenup to each use some Runner-Up finishes to leapfrog a few smaller Counties ahead of them like Monroe, Rockcastle, and probably Perry. Some ancillary success outside of Bell County and Raceland from teams like Middlesboro and Russell would only help. Pulaski has a decent size population and was a little further down the list, but probably had enough success to make some positive moves as well although I would anticipate it would only be a couple spots. - Simpson would have received a notable bump as well from a nice window Franklin-Simpson had mixed with the low population. - I would anticipate seeing Warren County firmly in the Top 15. South Warren and Bowling Green had no shortage of Finals success and deep runs.

I searched and searched this weekend but unfortunately could not find the original spreadsheet I had compiled. To say my life situation and free time has changed a good bit since this post would be an understatement.. I wish I could dive back into it as there have definitely been some notable changes and also a new 2020 census with more up to date population numbers that could be applied.

You guys are missing a key part of the original post.. data was from 2000 and on when it was applied. Basically it was to give a modern/current snapshot. "Using data from 2000 until the present I have broken down the entire State of Kentucky by County (for those that play football)."

I would say Boyle continues to lap the field unless their population has seen a significant uptick.

Brenden Anthony was the story here. He missed the regular season tilt when Raceland edged the Panthers but he was truly the difference maker today as he was the best player on the field on both sides of the football. Horse. Raceland fought valiantly. They are truly a great small school football program that should probably have a trophy or two in their case if not for their highwater mark as a program coinciding with Pikeville's high water mark. It just is unfortunate that Pikeville's high water mark is a little higher and the Rams have been unable to avoid them or the misfortune of not having their best teams when someone else has been able to actually knock Pikeville off in November. .

Pikeville dynasty rolls on and as a Belfry fan it pains me... but I think this now puts Pikeville on the door step of claiming the King of the Mountains for all-time program supremacy. Pikeville and Belfry now each have (8) State Titles. The lone thread Belfry hangs on to is they have (7) Runner-Ups to Pikeville's (4). With that said, if the Panthers can get one more Championship Trophy you have to give them the overall edge. Side Note: That's also really dang impressive accomplishment for a rural Appalachian County to have (16) titles and a combined 27 Finals Appearances between two programs.

Yep.. Pikeville then reached the semi-finals 6 of the next seven years in the 90's... but Beechwood kept eating their lunch most of those years in some instant classic games mixed with some blowouts.

Worth noting without the mule that is dominating on both sides of the ball though... I mentioned it in the preview thread but getting Anthony is like adding 3 starters that were missing that game.

The Panthers' previous high water mark was the late 80's. it falls short in comparison to the past decade though. It probably could have rivaled it had it carried over during the 90's but Beechwood was to Pikeville under Yeagle as Pikeville is to Raceland now.

I feel bad for Raceland. Pikeville is just on a different stratosphere right now as a program and the Rams path just keeps having to go through the Panthers. Over the last decade Raceland has had a team plenty capable of winning multiple state titles but just can’t avoid Pikeville or having someone else take the Panthers out.

Anthony is a horse. Pikeville is a good small school team without Anthony, but they are a great team with him.