[charlie22]

I agree..I think TomCats win this one. If everyone remembers, in 2006, they were a 3A team, and then in 2007 were bumped to 5A, and their record reflected the big jump up. Leon Hart (whom I know and believe is a FANTASTIC coach, IMHO) has since had to face Dixie Heights, Cov Cath, Johnson Central, etc usually in the first round. I think this is a program that is really on the rise in 5A, so it will be interesting to see if they can continue the steady upward rise in schedule results since the bump to 5A. Not taking anything away from Lawrence County, but I just believe this one goes to the TomCats.

With all respect, if I'm interpreting your post correctly (and if not, I apologize) you seem to be saying the bump to 5A is responsible for Ashland's record not being as good recently. If I'm not mistaken, when Ashland was in 3A, we only had 4 classes and Ashland played schools roughly its size. Ashland got bumped to 5A when we went to 6 classes and Ashland was still playing schools roughly its size. To the extent Ashlands record has not be as good recently as it was when it was 3A, I'm not sure that I could agree that the bump to 5A had anything to do with it unless I'm missing something. Am I?

As for playoff opponents, JC, Dixie and CovCath were all playoff opponents for Ashland when Ashland was in 3A. The timing of playing them may have been a little different, but that has more to do with how the KHSAA has handled the scheduling of the first two rounds (used to be "in district" but now is "out of district") than it has to do with a change in classification for Ashland.