[Hoot Gibson]

No playoff system can hide the fact that there is a huge gap between Kentucky's have and have not football teams. Each year, each class contains only a handful of teams with any shot at winning a state title or avoiding a running clock loss against one of the few real contenders. Kentucky is not a football state and never has been.

Next year's best team in each class will most likely be one of this season's semifinalists. The same will be true five years from now. The balance of power among Kentucky's high school football teams changes very little from year to year compared to surrounding states like Indiana and Ohio.