[Hoot Gibson]

IMO, it would be a mistake for PCC to sell a spot on its schedule for a 1A team. A 4A team serious about building a football program should not be including 1A teams on their schedules under most circumstances. I would make exceptions for bowl games where a 1A team is expected to be very good (e.g., Pikeville returning most players from a state championship team) but I would not make any commitments to schedule 1A teams on a continuing basis. PCC has had a football long enough that they should realize they are doing something wrong if Hazard can still compete with them.

Unless you're talking about Perry playing all schools 5A or larger, I'm not sure that 1A isn't more competitive than 2A and 3A in Eastern Kentucky.  The "big 5" of Eastern Kentucky 1A football (Pikeville, Hazard, Raceland, Williamsburg, Paintsville) is stronger than any group of five schools at the 2A level in the area.  Not sure that the same isn't the case when you get into 3A now that Belfry and Bell aren't the monsters they've been in the past.  I'd say just play good programs and not worry about the 1A or 2A label.  Getting rid of Paintsville and Williamsburg to play bad and mediocre 4A and 5A types wouldn't be much of a step forward.

I agree that playing bad 4A and 5A teams wouldn't be a step forward but there are good 3A-5A teams within a reasonable bus drive. The problem may be convincing some of those teams that playing PCC would do them any good. Once Johnson Central had better coaches and an administration that was determined to build a good football program, JC began upgrading their schedule as quickly as possible. Sometimes, they have had to settle for the best small school teams that would play them, such as Ironton this season, but they have tried to schedule teams that would allow them to work on weaknesses to help prepare for the playoffs.

Every 4A team in PCC's district should be working toward a district title and the playoffs every season and struggling with weak 1A teams isn't getting them any closer to a district title or home playoff game. (The same can be said of most Kentucky high school football teams. There are too few good teams in every class. Running clocks are way to common.)

Sorry I have to call “balderdash” on parts of this.  I know for a 100% fact that Johnson Central offered a perennially weak 2-A team $5,000 to come and play them after successfully recruiting two of this struggling program’s players.

A fan of a team that relies on transfers to plug holes in their lineup is probably not one who should be casting stones. Sorry, but I don't believe you.