[Pulp Fiction]

So let's hear it.....

How did the teams you consider your rival become your rival?

[Pulp Fiction]

Johnson Central.... IMO, we have three football rivals.  One is relevant, the other two aren't.... I'll let you decide which is which.


Belfry... the series was one-sided until Matney arrived.  Now the game is the marquee game of eastern Kentucky in late October and we are basically the same team & fan base.... just wearing different colors.

Ashland... this rivalry started in 2005 when a JC field goal was ruled Wide Right in 2005 game @ Putnam stadium.  This gave Ashland a 13-10 win over JC.  Throw in our close proximity, the district championship was decided by this game for about twelve straight seasons & the felonious theft that occurred in the JC vs. Ashland game in the 2014 state softball tournament.  Not too mention Ashland thinks they still matter when they haven't been relevant on the state level since 1990.

Paintsville... this was our biggest rival until Paintsville decided to stop playing the Apple Bowl game after the 2008 season.  Starting in 1974, the two high schools in Johnson County would play before the Kentucky Apple Festival in the Apple Bowl for the Apple Barrell.  Just like every small town rivalry game, the students from JC & Paintsville were either neighbors, attended church together, related in some way... it wasn't just two teams playing against each other, these kids knew each other and saw each other regularly.  After Matney arrived at JC and Paintsville lost five straight games in this series, Paintsville's head coach at the time decided it was time to end the series to focus on winning at the state level.  I must say, that was an excellent move on his part.  Stop playing a powerhouse team, in a bigger class, less than two miles away.

[EKUAlum05]

For Belfry:

Pikeville- Natural geographical rivals
Johnson Central- See above. Plus they are about the only EKY teams who will play the other every year.
Russell- Similar enrollment schools that used to be competitive District mates. Lots of playoff meetings over the years and competitive series.
Central- Will probably fall under "Rivals for a Period". The two teams who owned 3A football for about a decade. Will most likely be a dormant rivalry soon.
Prestonsburg/Sheldon Clark- Rivalry by the wayside. District mates and competitive for decades.


I would say Ashland, Clay County,and Breathitt County were "Rivals for a Period" but those rivalries are all currently dormant. Belfry and Clay County really went after each other and had some great games for about a 12 year clip.

I don't consider Bell County a rival because the series has not been intertwined enough, though both have been big kids in essentially parallel sandboxes.

[Eagle2009]

Lexington Christian has one main rival in Lexington Catholic. These two teams have played 6 times and are 3-3 against each other. Although this is a fairly new rivalry with only 6 games being played. It has turned into a great competitive one already. The first time they met LCA took a loss 26-27 the year they would go on to win the state title. Lex Catholic giving them their first and only loss that season. After the 2010 season they wouldnt meet again until 2017. LCA has won 3 out of the last 4. These two teams being the only two private high schools (excluding Sayre) and only being 2.4 miles apart makes this a great rivalry. It’s safe to say there’s a lot of hate between these two teams in every sporting event. Sense the 2017 game this meeting has been renamed “The Holy War”

[Spud6]

At Betsy Layne we consider Prestonsburg a rival just based on location and playing them in every sport. But as far as football goes, we’ve never beaten them since I’ve been alive. So I don’t if they consider us a rival lol

[Orange Blaze]

For Raceland

Fairview is a hit and miss. When Fairview is good this rivalry is as heated as one can get but those times are often separated by long gaps with the Eagles not being good at all and the magic leaves during these times.

From a geographical standpoint Russell would be our main rival. They are a few miles down the road and everyone in both communities know each other. There was a 30+ year gap between games but now this game is an annual affair. Winning this game for Raceland is usually a pretty big deal because we are the smaller school and Russell is generally regarded as a state contender in their larger class.

The game with Paintsville has been played for a long time as a district game but I wouldn’t call it a rivalry until 2014. Since then this has become one of the premier matchups in 1A and there is no love lost on either side.

[BoondockSaint]

Only one team has a rival game every week, that’s Ashland.

Everybody hates their misguided, pompous arrogance....including their closest neighbors. They just suck at being Southern, I’m dying for Ironton to re-route the Ohio River and annex them.

[Hound05]

Shewwww...... Corbin has a complicated rivalries to me anyways. Back in the day of 2A football it use to be the Rockcastle rockets. Then we started a series with Danville that was a pretty good rivalry. After that maybe middlesboro? Then it got a little hazy. I guess you could call it bell county up until recently? They had their streaks for a couple of years beating us, then for the last 6 years or so they couldn’t touch us, then they stopped scheduling.

Currently is where I am at a loss. We had our battles with Boyle, but I wouldn’t really consider it a rival? I think going forward now, if we keep meeting up we might be able to. But as of right now we don’t really have one. Some might call Knox central. But football wise it’s not been a great rivalry. The only reason I say KC is because we have to play them in the district in everything else.

[TD Hounds]

^^^apparently from what I got, they the Bell county of then north hahah. ?

Shewwww...... Corbin has a complicated rivalries to me anyways. Back in the day of 2A football it use to be the Rockcastle rockets. Then we started a series with Danville that was a pretty good rivalry. After that maybe middlesboro? Then it got a little hazy. I guess you could call it bell county up until recently? They had their streaks for a couple of years beating us, then for the last 6 years or so they couldn’t touch us, then they stopped scheduling.

Currently is where I am at a loss. We had our battles with Boyle, but I wouldn’t really consider it a rival? I think going forward now, if we keep meeting up we might be able to. But as of right now we don’t really have one. Some might call Knox central. But football wise it’s not been a great rivalry. The only reason I say KC is because we have to play them in the district in everything else.

We made Dudley quit and I love it!!

[BobcatForever]

bahahaha

[MayfieldCardinal]

Mayfield, First and most important is Tilghman, its ancient, the 2nd oldest game in the state. All the old timers care more about this one than any other and its the same for their fans. 2nd Graves County, its our larger cross town foe. Third is another ancient game, Murray. These 3 mean more to the fanbase than any others. Maybe one day the McCracken Co game will be but for now its just to new.

[Hound05]

Mayfield, First and most important is Tilghman, its ancient, the 2nd oldest game in the state.  All the old timers care more about this one than any other and its the same for their fans.  2nd Graves County, its our larger cross town foe.  Third is another ancient game, Murray.    These 3 mean more to the fanbase than any others.  Maybe one day the McCracken Co game will be but for now its just to new.

I wish we still kept our series going. Don’t know if it would be considered a rivalry because of the distance, but that game helped both teams each and every year

[#GoCougs]

At McLean County I'd consider two, maybe three "rivals"

The main rival is no doubt Hancock County. McLean has played HC more times than any other team in their history (44) and both teams have won 22 games in the series. So you have two small schools that are similar in size who are also in the same district and the game is usually tough & close.

Also, I believe Muhlenberg County is considered a rival. McLean had tough rivalries with both Muhlenberg South & Muhlenberg North before they consolidated. Since they did consolidate McLean-Muhlenberg plays almost every year and its a traditionally close series (6 wins for McLean to 4 wins for Muhlenberg). I think as to how they became a rival, its really simply just that they are two really similar communities that border each other. Muhlenberg is a lot larger, but geographically they are both extremely similar, rural areas. McLean County was actually formed from part of Muhlenberg I believe (As well as Ohio & Daviess counties). When South & North were two different schools they were also similar in size to McLean so it was generally a pretty even game.

I would also almost consider Owensboro Catholic a rival even though historically it hasn't been a really close series. I'd say this series has the potential to become a rivalry. For McLean, Catholic has been the top team in the district for more than a decade, so the entire community comes into that game really wanting to beat the Aces. On McLean's end this game has always felt like a rivalry for that reason. However, to be a true rivalry it has to be both teams feeling that way. When McLean beat OC for the district championship last season I think that loss really left a bad taste in OC's mouth. If the series can remain competitive for the next couple of years it will for sure be a true rivalry.

[The_best63]

Hopkinsville vs Christian county- cross town rivalry. most of these kids grew up together and played little league together and then they compete against each other in middle and high. If these schools ever consolidate you loose one of the best rivalries in the state BUT they will compete every year for state no doubt about that!

[RoShamBo]

Danville v. Somerset. Two small schools from similar towns in Central Kentucky who have long standing traditions. One with a lot of titles to go along with a winning tradition, the other, up until last year, arguably the best team in the state to never bring home the top prize. A loss to Danville as a Somerset fan/player, hurts worse than any other, but while I can't speak for other Somerset fans, I always root for Danville in every other game. They're just the team you love to hate, and hate to love.