[Joker's Wild]

Here are the facts. A few short years ago, New Harlan was one of the elite teams in all of Eastern Kentucky and had the numbers to compete with just about anyone. New Harlan would have teams made up of 50+ and had some great talent pass through. The games between New Harlan and Bell County in those days were as good to watch as any high school game I've seen since. Today--things are drastically different. With declining enrollment, New Harlan is lucky to field a team of 25. Feeder schools that once would provide 15-20 players, now send 3-5. These loss of numbers have made it difficult for New Harlan to compete with the larger schools that they used to fit in with. Now, they are caught in the middle--having a reputation of being a large powerhouse program that they used to be--and being the current solid small program that they are. Small schools don't want to play them because of their former reputation...large schools think they should be willing to play anyone, anytime--even if they are completely overmatched.