Bluegrassrivals

The mountains of Eastern Kentucky just produced 3 State Champions and 2 Runner-ups on championship weekend 2019. 1A Pikeville, 3A Belfry, and 4A Johnson Central all brought gold trophies back East while 1A Paintsville and 3A Bell County fell a little short and ended up coming home with second place hardware.

It's being talked about all over social media and on here as well about the mountains dominance this weekend. My question to you guys is, what do you think? Is this a bit of a surprise? Was this something expected? Is there a reason this is happening? What's your thoughts.

Also, is Somerset regarded as a "mountain team"? I've heard it both ways so I don't know. That's why I didn't include them. Wanted your guys opinion on whether their considered a mountain team or not. But if they are, that would be 4 State Champions out of 6 classes coming home to the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Remarkably to say the least.

With all the attention and talk being made about this very subject just thought it would make a great discussion thread.Thoughts?

You guys can have us if you want us. But if you take us in, you've got to keep us. nicker:

I have no problem with people who consider Somerset a mountain school. In my opinion, I always thought the 13th, 14th, and 15th regions (basketball) were the true mountain schools. But WYMT does consider Pulaski County as a part of their coverage area so what the heck. Fine with me!

As for why I think mountain schools are having so much success? The game of football is not easy. Life is not easy. No matter how talented you are, there are so many other factors that go into making a good football player. True grit being one of them. The ability to persevere being another. Having a sense that adversity is inevitable, and at some point or another you are going to come face to face with it. All of these things are very hard for teenage kids to understand. BUT as we all know the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and a lot of the core values that most eastern kentuckians posses allow for such difficult times to be overcame. Nobody owes you anything and if you want something to happen then by gosh get your butt up and make it happen. This is how I perceive most folks in Appalachia. Our kid’s have grew up in a area that continues to struggle economically, and resulted in a lot of folks leaving, yet the ones that are still here have always found a way to overcome some pretty overwhelming odds. In difficult times not only have we survived, we’ve thrived.

This statement is not meant to bash other areas in the state or say they have it any easier than we do. That’s just my honest take on it and I’m sticking with it. Go mountains!!

I do count the Pulaski schools as mountain teams. If WYMT considers them for the mountain top 10 I will give them the pass. We mountain folk should all accept our Bunny brethren and the rest of the Pulaski schools

bobcatpride1 Wrote:I have no problem with people who consider Somerset a mountain school. In my opinion, I always thought the 13th, 14th, and 15th regions (basketball) were the true mountain schools. But WYMT does consider Pulaski County as a part of their coverage area so what the heck. Fine with me!

As for why I think mountain schools are having so much success? The game of football is not easy. Life is not easy. No matter how talented you are, there are so many other factors that go into making a good football player. True grit being one of them. The ability to persevere being another. Having a sense that adversity is inevitable, and at some point or another you are going to come face to face with it. All of these things are very hard for teenage kids to understand. BUT as we all know the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and a lot of the core values that most eastern kentuckians posses allow for such difficult times to be overcame. Nobody owes you anything and if you want something to happen then by gosh get your butt up and make it happen. This is how I perceive most folks in Appalachia. Our kid’s have grew up in a area that continues to struggle economically, and resulted in a lot of folks leaving, yet the ones that are still here have always found a way to overcome some pretty overwhelming odds. In difficult times not only have we survived, we’ve thrived.

This statement is not meant to bash other areas in the state or say they have it any easier than we do. That’s just my honest take on it and I’m sticking with it. Go mountains!!

Very well said and a great explanation that I agree with 110%!

AtlPirateFan Wrote:I do count the Pulaski schools as mountain teams. If WYMT considers them for the mountain top 10 I will give them the pass. We mountain folk should all accept our Bunny brethren and the rest of the Pulaski schools

In that case, the mountains of Eastern Kentucky just left Lexington with 4 State Championship trophies, out of 6, and 2 Runner-ups! How damn impressive is that!!!

AtlPirateFan Wrote:I do count the Pulaski schools as mountain teams. If WYMT considers them for the mountain top 10 I will give them the pass. We mountain folk should all accept our Bunny brethren and the rest of the Pulaski schools

They PLAY like a mountain school.

On a side note, y’all send us some jobs and we’ll compete in 5A and 6A too!

In a single word: coaching. Some of the best to ever do in Kentucky are from this area.

RoShamBo Wrote:You guys can have us if you want us. But if you take us in, you've got to keep us. nicker:

Sadly they want to claim you now, but when it's convenient they will throw it in your face and say you ain't a mountain school. Same way the South doesn't usually want to claim Kentucky as the South.

#55PirateFan Wrote:The mountains of Eastern Kentucky just produced 3 State Champions and 2 Runner-ups on championship weekend 2019. 1A Pikeville, 3A Belfry, and 4A Johnson Central all brought gold trophies back East while 1A Paintsville and 3A Bell County fell a little short and ended up coming home with second place hardware.

It's being talked about all over social media and on here as well about the mountains dominance this weekend. My question to you guys is, what do you think? Is this a bit of a surprise? Was this something expected? Is there a reason this is happening? What's your thoughts.

Also, is Somerset regarded as a "mountain team"? I've heard it both ways so I don't know. That's why I didn't include them. Wanted your guys opinion on whether their considered a mountain team or not. But if they are, that would be 4 State Champions out of 6 classes coming home to the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Remarkably to say the least.

With all the attention and talk being made about this very subject just thought it would make a great discussion thread.Thoughts?

The two that lost, lost to another Mtn. School so I consider it a win either way!

The last thing I want is to come off as disparaging, disrespecting, or give the appearance that I’m questioning the character of any player, coaches or communities!! That being said, for some reason unknown to me, mountain players are viewed as being less athletic, and less talented over all than players from the rest of the state!! They think we have a few isolated kids, here & there who can really play, but we can’t field an entire team of talented athletes!! Even the dominant performances this’s weekend are viewed as something that can’t be done year in & year out. J.C., Pikeville, & Belfry are in contention year in & year out, & are among the most recognizable mountain teams. These teams are looked at as teams who don’t have a lot of athletes or talent, but teams who are just big, strong, & more physical than their competition. As many athletes as Pikeville put on the field this season, many down State think this is an isolated example of collectively athletic kids on one team. After the 4A championship I heard one guy (who clearly doesn’t live east of the parkway) say that, more or less, J.C didn’t have the best team, but they were just more physical & outlasted B.C. To an extent these people are right. Yes, there are MORE athletes west of Lexington, but there are also A LOT MORE KIDS east of Lexington!! It’s a simple numbers game. If we have 10 random kids & they have 60, odds are, they’ll have more athletes than us!!

The run heavy offensive styles of most mountain teams, give those on the outside looking in the false impression that these offenses are only ran because we don’t have the athletes to complete if we opened things up. Like another poster said in the previous comments, for various reasons, mountain kids are down right tougher & possesses more grit than our flat land living friends to the west. And let’s be honest here, we just down right produce a lot of big ol’ youngens who are glad to get down & dirty in the trenches with a “you or me” kind of attitude & knock the snot out of each other till someone either quits or gets hurt!! And not all of those kids are slow & uncoordinated!! A lot of those kids move pretty dad gum good!! Throw in our “best athletes” with those kids & that “whip or get whipped” mindset & we got a football team!!

I’ll wrap this up with one more underrated asset we possess; Coaching that is SECOND TO NONE!! The guys like Phillip Heywood, Dudley Hilton, Chris Mcnamee, Jim Matney, & Joe Chirico are just the big names!! There are several more top notch head coaches around here to go along with those men!! They need not think that the assistant coaching staff is second rate, because it is far from it!! Pikeville’s D.C for example, Coach Paul Sullivan would be a very welcome addition to a many of programs!! All of these coaches are good C’s & O’s guys, but what makes them great is how they get the absolute most out of their team!! The way these guys improve their ball clubs from July till November is down right impressive!! The rest of the state has NO IDEA The capability of mountain coaching!!

Oh, before I forget, one thing that separates us not just from the rest of the state, but the rest of the dad gun country, is that our boys are raised right!! That’s all I’ll say, & I’ll leave it at that!!

Boomer_Sooner Wrote:The last thing I want is to come off as disparaging, disrespecting, or give the appearance that I’m questioning the character of any player, coaches or communities!! That being said, for some reason unknown to me, mountain players are viewed as being less athletic, and less talented over all than players from the rest of the state!! They think we have a few isolated kids, here & there who can really play, but we can’t field an entire team of talented athletes!! Even the dominant performances this’s weekend are viewed as something that can’t be done year in & year out. J.C., Pikeville, & Belfry are in contention year in & year out, & are among the most recognizable mountain teams. These teams are looked at as teams who don’t have a lot of athletes or talent, but teams who are just big, strong, & more physical than their competition. As many athletes as Pikeville put on the field this season, many down State think this is an isolated example of collectively athletic kids on one team. After the 4A championship I heard one guy (who clearly doesn’t live east of the parkway) say that, more or less, J.C didn’t have the best team, but they were just more physical & outlasted B.C. To an extent these people are right. Yes, there are MORE athletes west of Lexington, but there are also A LOT MORE KIDS east of Lexington!! It’s a simple numbers game. If we have 10 random kids & they have 60, odds are, they’ll have more athletes than us!!

The run heavy offensive styles of most mountain teams, give those on the outside looking in the false impression that these offenses are only ran because we don’t have the athletes to complete if we opened things up. Like another poster said in the previous comments, for various reasons, mountain kids are down right tougher & possesses more grit than our flat land living friends to the west. And let’s be honest here, we just down right produce a lot of big ol’ youngens who are glad to get down & dirty in the trenches with a “you or me” kind of attitude & knock the snot out of each other till someone either quits or gets hurt!! And not all of those kids are slow & uncoordinated!! A lot of those kids move pretty dad gum good!! Throw in our “best athletes” with those kids & that “whip or get whipped” mindset & we got a football team!!

I’ll wrap this up with one more underrated asset we possess; Coaching that is SECOND TO NONE!! The guys like Phillip Heywood, Dudley Hilton, Chris Mcnamee, Jim Matney, & Joe Chirico are just the big names!! There are several more top notch head coaches around here to go along with those men!! They need not think that the assistant coaching staff is second rate, because it is far from it!! Pikeville’s D.C for example, Coach Paul Sullivan would be a very welcome addition to a many of programs!! All of these coaches are good C’s & O’s guys, but what makes them great is how they get the absolute most out of their team!! The way these guys improve their ball clubs from July till November is down right impressive!! The rest of the state has NO IDEA The capability of mountain coaching!!

Oh, before I forget, one thing that separates us not just from the rest of the state, but the rest of the dad gun country, is that our boys are raised right!! That’s all I’ll say, & I’ll leave it at that!!

Couldn't agree more! Very well said.

Bunny brethren???
nicker:nicker:nicker:nicker:nicker:

I have always considered Somerset, Pulaski and Southwestern as mountain schools. And boomer, I absolutely agree with you post!

Rest of the state better get used to it. How many times in the past 20 years have we said "the east semifinal is the real title game"...in this new alignment, with RPI, which I first ine hated early on, imo gave us the best 2 teams in each title game. The mountain strength isnt going anywhere any time soon. Proud of these EKY boys and all they accomplished!

Great year for EKY, congrats from the other end of the table

I see Mountains every time I go to Somerset. 4 State Champions from Eastern Ky.

Just about every Appalachian coverage map has Pulaski county in it. The sun may stay up longer and we may be in the foothills, but we in!

The 12th Region was never considered part of the mountains in the old days, the way I remember, and I have a hard time thinking of any schools there that way.

Scotty_Bronson Wrote:Rest of the state better get used to it. How many times in the past 20 years have we said "the east semifinal is the real title game"...in this new alignment, with RPI, which I first ine hated early on, imo gave us the best 2 teams in each title game. The mountain strength isnt going anywhere any time soon. Proud of these EKY boys and all they accomplished!

I am from the mountains but I think 3A would be the exception. The best 2 teams played in Louisville the week before the finals. The Desales/Belfry game was insane and should have been the finals. But overall the RPI did not disappoint when it comes to state finals.

Somerset scored 606 points this season.

I guess the area code wants us so bad we might as well be a mountain team

Boz what a freaking weekend baby! Ole Fatpat is pumped up like a mutha! Came into Krogers wide freaking open Saturday and hit Lexingtonia like the mountain teams smacked the opponeys in da face! When Somerset scored the last second touchdown ole Fatpat jumped the ole 3 inch vertical and heard something snap baby! Madden has Knott County tater roots bruh!!! Coach Matney said before the big game rub the ole stone and wish us good luck as we take on the ole boils! Ole Fatpat said Mat brutha youz got to go in fired freaking up cause all you need is to count to 21! Belfry and Pikeville won and runners up with Paintsville and Bell bruthas! Woooooooooo! #606posse #footballballgodsshineddownonus #mountaintatersgetyoueverytime #krogerfieldneedsagrocerysection More mash taters please!!!

Diogenes Wrote:They PLAY like a mountain school.

On a side note, y’all send us some jobs and we’ll compete in 5A and 6A too!

I'll talk to my brothers in the Shamrock mafia and see what we can do about it, lol. It would be nice to get some more competition going in 6A now that SC and FD are gone!

fatpatfan Wrote: Boz what a freaking weekend baby! Ole Fatpat is pumped up like a mutha! Came into Krogers wide freaking open Saturday and hit Lexingtonia like the mountain teams smacked the opponeys in da face! When Somerset scored the last second touchdown ole Fatpat jumped the ole 3 inch vertical and heard something snap baby! Madden has Knott County tater roots bruh!!! Coach Matney said before the big game rub the ole stone and wish us good luck as we take on the ole boils! Ole Fatpat said Mat brutha youz got to go in fired freaking up cause all you need is to count to 21! Belfry and Pikeville won and runners up with Paintsville and Bell bruthas! Woooooooooo! #606posse #footballballgodsshineddownonus #mountaintatersgetyoueverytime #krogerfieldneedsagrocerysection More mash taters please!!!

Best # I've every seen :biglmao:

Not a surprise to me what so ever. But then again I saw this coming a few years ago.

Cardinals ride Wrote:I am from the mountains but I think 3A would be the exception. The best 2 teams played in Louisville the week before the finals. The Desales/Belfry game was insane and should have been the finals. But overall the RPI did not disappoint when it comes to state finals.

The Belfry/DeSales game was crazy to say the least. Definitely one of the most exciting games I've seen......well, since the 2016 semi-final game with Corbin.

Kudos to the Belfry coaching staff and kids for being able to come down off that emotional high and stay focused and mentally sharp for the Bell Co game.

Me and my family come to the lake Cumberland area several times a year. We consider Somerset our home away from home. My boy plays middle school football and after they won I asked him if he was ready to move to Somerset. So....I’ll take them as a mountain team any day.

SCHS98 Wrote:Me and my family come to the lake Cumberland area several times a year. We consider Somerset our home away from home. My boy plays middle school football and after they won I asked him if he was ready to move to Somerset. So....I’ll take them as a mountain team any day.

Come on down!

RoShamBo Wrote:Come on down!

Appreciate the invite. We hope to catch a Somerset game next season on one of our fishing trips.

RoShamBo Wrote:Come on down!

Amen. 24 graduates means a bunch of opportunity

Travel through Somerset a lot. The fine people that I've encountered there talk like we do, got the same mannerisms, values, etc. and play great football like us. Good Southern folks. I say "welcome aboard ".