[Hoot Gibson]

The talent level wasn't really as good as what central has had the past 5 to 6 years for Humphery or Ross. So, Im not sure if i agree the apple bowl would have been stopped ahead of when it was. That has to be taken into consideration as well. Paintsville in the past has always been blessed with talent, not just because of county kids. That team that won the region for paintsville back with Ryan Jarrell, the Harmon Boys, and Dustin Hall was loaded with talent from kids that were raised in town. I dont care who coached JC that year, they wouldn't have beat that team. I can't remember the season, but I remember they were exciting to watch. Harmon's arm, his brother running the ball, and the smash mouth d they played was fun to watch. After thinking about that season, it makes me miss burrhead's coaching even more lol Oh well, the past is the past and I can say that JC's administration has done a great job in all aspects of their school system. They hired a great coach, and he's made them a top program in eastern ky. PHS went backwards and hired for political reasons and have about ruined their football program by hiring a coach with very, very little coaching experience (an assistant for one season). Anyways, I agree with part of your post Hoot..have a good apple day.

You are wrong on pretty much all counts, but you are entitled to your opinion. The talent level at Johnson Central did not drop off the cliff when Musick left. The team did not go from 10-0 in Musick's last season to a 2-8 team that lost to a mediocre Paintsville team in one year because of a drop off in talent. Matney would have taken the same talent and beaten Paintsville like a drum. His first team at Johnson Central beat the Tigers 48-6, after losing 20-13 the previous year.

The talent has always been at Johnson Central to have dominated the series. Until Steve Trimble hired Musick, who by the way went winless in his first season, the administration did not hang onto any coach long enough to develop a decent program. Musick went 8-2 against Paintsville and Matney, well Matney's teams outscored Paintsville 258-41 in five games and that collective score does not reflect how dominant JC was in those games.

Under Humphrey and Ross, JC's roster size dropped sharply and some of their best players sat out or transferred. There was no drop off in player talent, just in coaching talent.

I really hope that Paintsville's program improves to the point where it is competitive on a state level again. In fact, I hope the Tigers win a state title but I do not want to see the Apple Bowl revived. Paintsville will not and cannot compete with Johnson Central as long as they employ an above average coach. The numbers difference is just too great.