[RealJokersWild24]

Also wanted to add- it's not as if the schools that have won it have been the only small and/or Mountain school's shots.

Hope I'm not leaving anyone out, but there were some really good teams that might fit the criteria but didn't win it, many due to tough first round draws:


Contenders:

Paintsville ('98) -
Runner-up to Scott County.

Wayne County ('04) -
Lost to eventual runner-up Mason County

South Laurel ('06) -
A favorite going in, lost in OT to Graves County in the quarterfinals

Elliott County ('08) -
Lost to eventual champion Mason County by 4 in the first round.

Elliott County ('09) -
Lost to eventual champion Holmes in the semis.

South Laurel ('16) -
Lost to eventual runner-up Doss by 7 in semis.


Puncher's Chance:

Corbin ('00) -
May be a stretch, but a wide open tournament where they lost in the first round to Tony Key and Russellville by 6 or so. Very underrated team.

South Laurel ('01) -
Lost to eventual runner-up (and probably the best team in the field) Male by 10 in the quarterfinals. Very wide open field past Male.

Ashland Blazer ('01) -
Lost to North Hardin by 6 in the quarters. Very wide open field that year (as mentioned above).

Ashland Blazer ('02) -
Lost to eventual champion Lexington Catholic by 14 in opener. Best player, Mark Surgalski, was playing with a broken hand. Team also had Arliss Beach.

Shelby Valley ('03) -
Lost to a very good Ballard team in the opener. Game was closer than the final score indicated. Would have another solid team that drew Henry Clay in the opener the next season.

Clay County ('14) -
Lost to eventual champion Covington Catholic by 2 in first round.

Knott County Central ('14) -
Upset by Bowling Green in first round. Led by Mr. Basketball, Cameron Justice.

Perry County Central ('17) -
Intriguing team that had some talent. Lost in quarters to Scott.


Seems like there was a good Perry County Central team in there during the late, late 90's with Ben Bowling, but they kept drawing the 6th Region.

Also saw a good Hazard team was eliminated during district play in 2004 (blind draw with the region's #2 team, Perry County Central), but had won the All A State title that year and had the kind of team that would have been dangerous in Rupp (good size with Sizemore and also athleticism with Olinger... fairly deep team too).

Very good Breathitt County team was completely screwed in 2003 as well. While I don't think that they would have won State or anything like that, I do think that they would have been capable of winning the opener as well as able to hang with anyone if they were at the very top of their game (team had Haddix, Sperry, and some bulk inside).