[EKUAlum05]

I respectfully disagree with the statement that Pikeville would be afraid to loose. If that were the case why doesn't their schedule reflect that over the years.

There is a BIG difference in losing to a noted powerhouse from out of the area that everyone expects to beat you, and losing to a "county" school with hardly any history of success. ESPECIALLY, when a nmber of the kids in your school district could very easily choose to attend high school at that school, instead of your own.

For decades now the only "County" school that Pikeville would put in the same ballpark as them (pun fully intended) was Belfry, and even then it took Belfry owning the 2000's before Pikeville fans even accepted their program as an equal. We are talking about Belfry, a mountain powerhouse with a noted history of state success and playoff tradition.

Shelby Valley's only sustained success in the school's hisory has came in the past 3 or 4 years, heck they hadn't even advanced to the 2nd Round of the playoffs until a couple seasons ago. If Pikeville scheduled and lost to Valley it would truly put a nail in the coffin of Pikeville being a true "state power" and it would also cement the belief that they are not only no longer the best team in the county, but not even the 2nd best.

The last point especially rings true because of the Pike County Bowl. For years it has been Belfry and Pikeville carrying the flag. In recent years, thanks to the expanding format (which I bet Pikeville wishes never happened) and the move to having the remaining County schools play each other (which certainly doesn't help Pikeville in hindsight either) it has put a premium on who deserves to play the out of area teams. This was further compounded when Valley's facilities superceded that of Hambley, and when the committee unexplicably chose to let SV host instead of Belfry last season. If SV were to beat Pikeville, they would have a legitimate case that THEY deserve to be the flagship team, along with Belfry, and have the rights to host the game against an out of area team. Better facilities, just as large of a fan turnout, geographically a wash, and coupled with a victory over the Panthers, it would be a tough arguement to ignore.