[EKUAlum05]

Have enjoyed reading the banter and the past reflections.

Here is my official take:
- You won't convince any Pikeville fans to change their mind, nor should they.
- You won't convince Belfry fans to change their mind, nor should they.
- People who played against that Pikeville team or have a vested interest will always choose them, and vice versa.
- At the end of the day noone is wrong. It is two different teams from two different times. I just think it is badass that arguably two of the best small school teams to ever come out of KY happen to be from the same area.


With that said, aside from being a Belfry fan, for me my argument would actually be for the 2015 Belfry team:

'87 Pikeville didn't play a cupcake schedule by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it was a worthy slate. Let me preface by saying that. This is not about taking a shot at Pikeville, more about lauding the accomplishments of Belfry.

What the 2015 Pirates did was something like we have ever seen in rural Kentucky. The Pirates played six teams who went on to reach the State Semi-Finals in their respective class that season. They beat four teams who reached the State Finals, they also knocked off two eventual State Champions including the Tennessee Class 4A Champs. Not only that, but the average score against those four teams who reached the State Finals was 39-9. Not only was Belfry beating great teams, they were dismantling them.

I still haven't seen official proof that Pikeville was the #1 team in KY in 1987 or that the claim they were Nationally ranked has any validation. If it was hanging in Howard's office it certainly seems like it is legit, just have not seen that proof yet.

With that said, here is what you can definitively point to at the end of 2015 (or 2016 if you so choose)

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/dtUcO-4eEk...nkings.htm

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/nrvgmyxmTU...nkings.htm

Additionally,
2015- Finished 4th Overall in KY
https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/be...hedule.htm

2016- Finished 6th Overall in KY
https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/be...hedule.htm


As a bonus point, look at the D-1 talent that Belfry faced and fielded over the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

They played over those two seasons by my count Three eventual All-Americans and 11 kids who would go on to sign at the FBS level. If you include the FCS levels that number swells to almost twenty players total.

At the end of the day... this simply is two darn fine programs and specifically two darn fine runs to be proud of.