[Orange Blaze]

Ashland has had a pretty good run over the past 10 years and they are 4-1 against Belfry in head to head games during that span. Ashland has had two hurdles during that span. The first one being Johnson Central. For whatever reason they just can't seem to get that monkey off their back despite having good players every year. I don't know if it is coaching or just a mental block but JC has their number. The second hurdle is more of a mountain and that was Highlands. This also applies to Johnson Central. Ashland and Johnson Central easily had the most difficult playoff road in Eastern Kentucky. Ashland and Johnson Central had the misfortune of being in a region with Highlands during a time when they were a premier program in the state and would have beaten 99% of the teams in Kentucky regardless of class. Championships aren't a good barometer for measuring Ashland and Johnson Centrals success of the past decade because it would have been very difficult for anyone to have made it to championship game if their playoff road went through Highlands during that time.