[Pulp Fiction]

Last week, I started a thread about how Highlands/St. X/Trinity (Louisville) hasn't played any teams East/South of Lexington from the 1998 season to present.

Some people didn't like that I chose those 3 particular schools, but I chose them based on number of state titles, undefeated seasons and let's be honest... those are the 3 best programs in the Commonwealth.




But the more I do some research, the more teams from the L-Ville/NKY area that hardly travel East/South of Lexington...

Last night Pleasure Ridge Park (6A) played Valley (4A) and won 61-0. Not sure how far apart those schools are, but what good does a 61-0 blow out do?
Also last night, Belfry (3A) beat Harrison Co. (4A) 46-14 in the annual Pike County Bowl.
For all the Valley and Harrison Co. fans, I mean no disrespect.

I'd like to see the PRP Panthers come rolling into Pond Creek and play Belfry in the Pike County Bowl... talk about a great match-up.

[rebel 4 life]

I argee

[Pulp Fiction]

I saw the PRP score and decided to use that as an example. I'm not trying to put PRP on blast.

Or even better than that.... a re-match of 2011, 2010 and 2007 3A state title game.
Belfry vs. Central (Louisville) in the Pike County Bowl. You'd have to park in Virgie and walk to the game because it would be so crowded.

[Panther Thunder]

Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Lou) -Pikeville Win
Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Cov) -Holy Cross Win

Those were two recent games that Lou/NKY came to Pikeville. Both were PCB games. The problem with the two year contract is Pikeville got both teams on the up year and Belfry got them on the down years, so it made for two decent games and two blowouts lol.

The PCB needs to find a way to get 1-year contracts. I know most teams want 2 year, but it needs to happen.

[Pulp Fiction]

Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Lou) -Pikeville Win
Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Cov) -Holy Cross Win

Those were two recent games that Lou/NKY came to Pikeville. Both were PCB games. The problem with the two year contract is Pikeville got both team on the up year and Belfry got them on the down years, so it made for two decent games and two blowouts lol.

The PCB needs to find a way to get 1-year contracts. I know most teams want 2 year, but it needs to happen.

I agree PT. I was just using the PCB as an example. I'm sure other EKY schools would be more than happy to schedule a team from L-Ville/NKY to a 2 year Home/Home contract.

I'm trying to make a case for L-Ville/NKY schools to travel East/South of Lexington in the regular seaons once every 15 years or so.

[Frozenbird]

I would suspect that he issue is $. If you have teams close to home willing to play you, why travel hundreds of miles and spend the time and money. Don't get me wrong, the matchups would be great and would be good for everyone's programs and would improve football in the state. When I was at Highlands for the championships in the 80's, those bus rides to Eastern Ky were not fun and I know that the athletic boosters and band boosters had to raise a lot of extra cash to cover them. The gate proceeds from the games were also not as good as for playoff games at home. For a nonplayoff game against an out of area team would fans show up? Some of those playoff games in the 80's that we traveled to were poorly attended. More Highlands fans then home team fans.

[Wise one]

I saw the PRP score and decided to use that as an example. I'm not trying to put PRP on blast.

Or even better than that.... a re-match of 2011, 2010 and 2007 3A state title game.
Belfry vs. Central (Louisville) in the Pike County Bowl. You'd have to park in Virgie and walk to the game because it would be so crowded.

From what I have seen in years past, for this to happen, the vast majority of those fans at the game would be from Belfry and the second largest part would be locals to see a good game. IMO, Central just does not travel well. It seems that after their years of success, they should, but they don't.

[Wise one]

I would suspect that he issue is $. If you have teams close to home willing to play you, why travel hundreds of miles and spend the time and money. Don't get me wrong, the matchups would be great and would be good for everyone's programs and would improve football in the state. When I was at Highlands for the championships in the 80's, those bus rides to Eastern Ky were not fun and I know that the athletic boosters and band boosters had to raise a lot of extra cash to cover them. The gate proceeds from the games were also not as good as for playoff games at home. For a nonplayoff game against an out of area team would fans show up? Some of those playoff games in the 80's that we traveled to were poorly attended. More Highlands fans then home team fans.

This has been happening for years. I remember one in the '60s when the HHS students rented so many busses for an away game that school closed early for the day.

[Pulp Fiction]

My point of this thread and the other thread I started a few days ago is Please don't treat EKY as a "Blind Spot" when it comes to football. Yes, some schools in the Mountains are 150-250 miles away from the L-Ville/NKY area. And yes, we get a bad rap for being from the "Hills", some of our schools are old and do not have the nicest fields, stadiums, locker/weight rooms as some teams in the state... but they field a team every year.... the kids wanna play.


I can't speak for everybody else in the "Mountains" but this seems to be a common mind set for us that live in EKY......

"I'd rather have somebody beat my @$$ as for them to think they are gonna Buffalo me."

Translation ^: You might be better than me, you might be stronger or faster than me. But your gonna have to beat me to prove it. Cause I'm not gonna back down from you just because of who you are or where you come from!

[Frozenbird]

Do not get me wrong, I think it would be a good thing for all involved. I just think that the money and resources are the limiting factors for the NKY and L-ville teams. Nothing to do with the Mountain schools being from the "hills" or their facilities.

[Pulp Fiction]

Do not get me wrong, I think it would be a good thing for all involved. I just think that the money and resources are the limiting factors for the NKY and L-ville teams. Nothing to do with the Mountain schools being from the "hills" or their facilities.

Frozenbird... I agree about the money and resources being the limiting factors. Not everybody can have a "blank check" when it comes to athletics.

But there is NO WAY anybody can tell me that with all of the schools in the L-Ville/NKY area... (Louisville, E-Town, Covington, Newport, LaGrange, Bullitt Co.) can't make their way East every now and then.

[Stardust]

Is Valley an EKY school? That is not the same school as Shelby Valley

[Stardust]

Frozenbird... I agree about the money and resources being the limiting factors. Not everybody can have a "blank check" when it comes to athletics.

But there is NO WAY anybody can tell me that with all of the schools in the L-Ville/NKY area... (Louisville, E-Town, Covington, Newport, LaGrange, Bullitt Co.) can't make their way East every now and then.

They would only do it if the EKY schools came to them in return! Trust me, I'm from NKY and there are no schools reaching out to us to play baseball, thus I can assume that the same can be said for other sports, especially a sport that travels two busloads like a football team would. I'm involved in scheduling, we travel to Louisville and Lexington every year, but in turn, those teams come here the following year.

Here is my final comment on this subject, and a today for you: Open dates are published! It is common practice to post "We have an opening on XX/XX/XXXX date. Any school in the state has access to those dates and locations. If you want schools to play teams from other areas in the state, then tell your school that you want them to go to these areas. Trust me, there are opportunities to play these schools in other areas, so this perception by the general fan who does not know how it works is way off base! You want to play a team from Louisville, well there are postings for openings! Press your school to go to one of those areas! When we post openings, its schools in our area, Lexington and Louisville that responds to us!

This "poor pitiful me, nobody will play us" is not factual!

:igiveup:

[Pulp Fiction]

Is Valley an EKY school? That is not the same school as Shelby Valley

No sir Mr. Rhodes.

[Jarons]

Is Valley an EKY school? That is not the same school as Shelby Valley

It's located in Southwest Jefferson Co.

[Stardust]

Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Lou) -Pikeville Win
Pikeville vs. Holy Cross (Cov) -Holy Cross Win

Those were two recent games that Lou/NKY came to Pikeville. Both were PCB games. The problem with the two year contract is Pikeville got both teams on the up year and Belfry got them on the down years, so it made for two decent games and two blowouts lol.

The PCB needs to find a way to get 1-year contracts. I know most teams want 2 year, but it needs to happen.

No one would commit to a 1 year contract!

[jdnoble18]

Breathitt is playing Newport next week........does that count?

[Diogenes]

PRP and Valley are about as far apart as Johnson Central and Paintsville...

[Diogenes]

The only way this will happen is a two year contract. It's not fair to expect these teams to travel one way down the Mountain Parkway and the EKY team not return the favor. It's just as far from Louisville to EKY as it is from EKY to Louisville. Their fans would rather schedule games they can actually attend, just like ours would. If we expect these teams to come out and see us, we're gonna have to pack up and go back down to see them. He's right: the open dates are definitely on the schedule. I'm pretty sure no coaches in EKY are calling up Bob and Dale and laying down the gauntlet. The way the PCB got big name teams was to make it worth their time - i.e., lay out some cash. That would be the OTHER way to do it and get a one-year contract. Keep in mind, there aren't many mountain teams in the first place that could compete with PRP - which is a middle of the pack public school in Louisville - much less Lexington Catholic, Central, St. X, etc. As far as Highlands and Trinity...zero.

[toussaints]

It's not that Louisville and NKY teams are afraid to play Mountain schools, it's all a matter of money. Why would these schools travel over 4 hours and spend $5000 to $7000 to play one game when they could stay in the area?

I do think it would be cool to have an event in lexington that featured a mountain, lexington, louisville, and nky team against each other

[TNT-MB1]

NKY..Lousiville hands down....Compare ships.......Enough Said.

[gorocks123]

I cannot speak for other Jefferson County schools, but Trinity is looking to play similar schools...larger, private schools with a national football reputation. They are going to find those games in Nashville, Cincy & Indy, not Pikeville...And I am sorry, I do not mean for that to sound like a jerk, because there is also pressure for the Rocks to venture further away from the state for more National games and play some TX, FL, GA teams, and I do not want that to happen. I like the fact that the Rocks will play a schedule this year ranked the 5th toughest in the Country by Rivals and not have to go more than 3 hours to do so.

I also think that when (no longer IF) the KHSAA separates publics & privates, then a regional Catholic league is very intriguing. Otherwise, will Trinity & St X play their regular season game one week, and then play the next week for the KCHSAA 6A crown the next week?

[KState]

Reading all of this I don't think it's fair to even mention Highlands in the same category as St. X & Trinity. don't get me wrong, Highlands is a good team but I think Trinity & St. X are in a league of their own. I say this because as good as Highlands has been, if they had to play a schedule that involved the majority of that schedule being Louisville area schools, they wouldn't be that well either. Now that's not there fault, it's just the messed up class system we have here in KY. That goes for Lexington, Eastern Ky are schools as well. When they play teams from Louisville area, they usually get beat.

[EKUAlum05]

The disparity between Trinity and the rest of 6A is vast right now and the willingness to schedule these GCL teams and teams from other parts of the country is why.

Honestly, if St. X has any hopes of catching Trinity and restoring the rivalry I think the Tigers will have to employ a similar approach. Not only Trinity i making themselves better with competition, but if you are the parents of a highly thought of player in the Louisville metro area who is about to attend High School, you want him to have the best chance of getting noticed by scouts. Right now Trinity is far and away that school, and a significant reason why is because they are being featured Nationally essentially every week in games with other D-1 players across the sideline from them.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Highlands do this as well in the coming years. They have always played the occasional out of state opponent or GCL team, but as State Titles become "too easy" the logical next step to keep your program from falling into complacency is to set your eyes on competing nationally.

In terms of the OP, as mentioned the travel/logistics expense is just too great. The more tangible option is for teams from EKY to schedule more games against powerhouse teams from surrounding states.

Why drive 6 hours to play PRP when you can drive 3.5 hours to play George Washington, WV? Why drive 5.5 hours to play CovCath when you can drive 2.5 hours to play Dobyns-Bennet, TN?

I am all for state pride and helping other KY teams who need a game, but not only does it make better sense financially, but there is far less exposure for potential playoff games. Say Belfry plays PRP and does a home and home, but due to scheduling voids it has to be in Week 9. What if PRP's HC is best friend's with an assistant at Central and gives him the tape? Odds are that wouldn;t be the case with a school 8 hours away from Louisville. What if Central sends a scout to the game? Don't think he would drive to Kingsport, TN.

[Hatz]

Reading all of this I don't think it's fair to even mention Highlands in the same category as St. X & Trinity. don't get me wrong, Highlands is a good team but I think Trinity & St. X are in a league of their own. I say this because as good as Highlands has been, if they had to play a schedule that involved the majority of that schedule being Louisville area schools, they wouldn't be that well either. Now that's not there fault, it's just the messed up class system we have here in KY. That goes for Lexington, Eastern Ky are schools as well. When they play teams from Louisville area, they usually get beat.

If HHS is not in their league, they aren't far behind.

If I'm not mistaken the Birds have lost only to Ryle in the state I think the last 5 or so years. They play Cincy teams that are far better than 99% of the state. I can't remember the last time that HHS played a L'ville team in the regular season. (Male in '01 or so?)

Still the question was why NKY and L'ville schools don't play the Mountains. And again I ask: What would they gain from it? The answer is: Nothing.

[EKUAlum05]

To add to what I said earlier, and echo others in the process... if you are teams from Louisville and NKY why would you drive to play these teams anyway?

Why would New Cath drive 5 hours to play Prestonsburg when they can drive 30 minutes across the river and play a smaller school from the Cincy area? Why would Louisville Male drive 5 hours to play Johnson Central when they can drive 2.5 hours and play a large school powerhouse from the Indianapolis area?

It is selfish to think any of these areas owes it to schedule EKY teams when it is simple business logic for them to stay closer to home to get equal, if not better, competition.

[Pulp Fiction]

To add to what I said earlier, and echo others in the process... if you are teams from Louisville and NKY why would you drive to play these teams anyway?

Why would New Cath drive 5 hours to play Prestonsburg when they can drive 30 minutes across the river and play a smaller school from the Cincy area? Why would Louisville Male drive 5 hours to play Johnson Central when they can drive 2.5 hours and play a large school powerhouse from the Indianapolis area?

It is selfish to think any of these areas owes it to schedule EKY teams when it is simple business logic for them to stay closer to home to get equal, if not better, competition.

WOW.... :booo:

I can't believe somebody actually posted what I have bolded and underlined...... Why not just go ahead and say that EKY is the "Blind Spot" of our Commonwealth.

[EKUAlum05]

WOW.... :booo:

I can't believe somebody actually posted what I have bolded and underlined...... Why not just go ahead and say that EKY is the "Blind Spot" of our Commonwealth.

As a supporter of EKY football I won't say that because that is not how I feel and certainly not the point I conveyed in the thread. Did you even read my post or did you just pick and choose what you wanted to take from it?

It has nothing to do with disrespect, it has EVERYTHING to do with logistics and finances.

I will ask the question again, "Why would you travel twice the distance and spend twice the money when you can play someone of equal competition locally?"

We aren't talking about major college football with unlimited funds and chartered transportation, we are talking about county and independent school districts who have to stretch every dollar, even at schools with rich history.

It's not just EKY... I don't see Highlands beating down the doors of Paducah Tilghman to drive out there and play them and vice versa. I don't see EKY team reaching out to Bowling Green and Christian County trying to set up a home and home.

[Diogenes]

Just because two regions share an arbitrary border doesn't mean they are natural rivals. There's really no outstanding reason teams from those areas should even think of coming to EKY. We do not offer any outstanding competition that they won't be able to find in their own backyards. While we love our region, it is not a hotbed of good football. There are only a couple of teams that can contend on a state level, and only in the smaller classes at that. We have a smattering of very good programs, a few more solid programs, and a whole bunch of Phelps and Betsy Laynes. Their fans aren't going to be very excited about driving hours and hours on awful roads to the middle of nowhere. Let's face it: it IS the state's blind spot. Hours away from all the major cities, there are no interstates or really even decent ways in and out. It is a transportation nightmare. A lot of those trips would require a hotel for the visiting team. A lot of money to lay out in a time when not many schools, especially public districts, don't have spare funds to throw around for a trip that is retry tough to justify.

How hard a sell would it have been for JC after playing Heath last year to return that trip? Drive seven hours for a game that offers little in the way of competition? That's what you're asking these teams to do.

[cj2561]

Just because two regions share an arbitrary border doesn't mean they are natural rivals. There's really no outstanding reason teams from those areas should even think of coming to EKY. We do not offer any outstanding competition that they won't be able to find in their own backyards. While we love our region, it is not a hotbed of good football. There are only a couple of teams that can contend on a state level, and only in the smaller classes at that. We have a smattering of very good programs, a few more solid programs, and a whole bunch of Phelps and Betsy Laynes. Their fans aren't going to be very excited about driving hours and hours on awful roads to the middle of nowhere. Let's face it: it IS the state's blind spot. Hours away from all the major cities, there are no interstates or really even decent ways in and out. It is a transportation nightmare. A lot of those trips would require a hotel for the visiting team. A lot of money to lay out in a time when not many schools, especially public districts, don't have spare funds to throw around for a trip that is retry tough to justify.

How hard a sell would it have been for JC after playing Heath last year to return that trip? Drive seven hours for a game that offers little in the way of competition? That's what you're asking these teams to do.

you was saying something about the major cities. most of there money to fix there roads and stuff come from EKY. if the state put the money back were it come from. EKY would have all the major cities.