[Blackcat 4 Life]

I’m not really sure whose fault it is. You can’t blame the parents for wanting their kids to go somewhere they can compete. The kids that transferred were seniors. They knew wins were going to be hard to come by this season so they left to try and win something in their final year.

Obviously it’s not Hager’s fault either because he inherited this mess. This collapse falls solely on the administration that allowed this to happen 6-7 years ago. They had the option to get rid of the problem before the mass exodus to Paintsville and they refused to do so. Then a year AFTER the exodus, they did what the parents demanded but it was too late. Paintsville benefitted and Prestonsburg will never be the same.

I think that Exodus has set up the environment that’s here now. I don’t think it’ll ever recover.

This is one of the few things we will agree on. I believe if that group of kids had stayed, we would be looking at a much different program than we have now. I'm not saying they would have won a championship, but they would have competed at a high level. When they left, it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth's and that taste has never left. Prestonsburg was once viewed as a premiere program who pulled in athletes from within and outside the county, and now we are losing kids to Betsy Layne. I'm going to support Hager until he gives me a reason not to, but he has a mess to clean up, and people need to realize this will be an uphill battle. Success isn't going to happen overnight, and if the Prestonsburg faithful are not patient, they will continue to lose athletes to surrounding schools. Hopefully, Hager is prepared for what he signed up for. Hail Blackcats!