[E's Army]

Consolidation is clearly not the answer. Small independents play some of the better football in the state. Mayfield, Corbin, Hazard, Pikeville, Somerset, Danville, Beechwood, Williamsburg, Prestonsburg, Raceland and Middlesboro all play good football. Those communities are involved and supportive. Better coaching is the answer. To many hires are made for political reasons. Hire the kids coming out of the small colleges as assistants and groom them to be head coaches. You must pay these assistants enough to justify their time and effert. $500 does not get you much. That works out to about $2 an hour by the time they do spring practice, summer practice and the season. Many of the county schools have not bought in to making themselves competitive. They are just going through the motions. The Fayette County schools are one of the worst offenders. How many Fayette County teams have made the trip to Bowling Green the last 10 years.