[J. R. VanHoose]

You remove the '96 Paintsville and Ashland teams from the finals and the 15th and 16th head to the bottom with the rest of the mountains. Eastern KY will continue to struggle to compete at the state level. This just proves it. Barring a special occasion like the Shelby Valley/ Elliott Co run a few years ago the large schools (4A football numbers and above) are going to win the majority of the games.

But that's what makes the "Sweet 16" so special. When teams like the 1996 Paintsville team win it really becomes a special moment - not only for Eastern Kentucky but the entire state!