[Hoot Gibson]

I'm sure that JC improved as the year wore on. Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that the teams that throttled JC early in the season improved as well? I don't follow JC at all but a quick glance at the schedule seems to indicate that their toughest games were at the beginning. They went on a winning streak against mediocre competition and gave up tons of points along the way. They didn't do much against Highlands except get blown out. I'll say that a great deal of JC's mid / late season success was due to a weak 5A. Let's be honest; take away Highlands and 5A was pretty bad this season.

JC had a very young team with a new QB to start the year and like you said, some of its toughest competition came on the front end of its schedule. Young, inexperienced teams who are well coached tend to improve more as the season unfolds than teams dominated by experienced players. I doubt that JC would have beaten either Bell Co. or Boyle Co. at the end of the season but the games would have been much closer.

Every good run comes to an end eventually and the gap between Highlands and the field will narrow considerably next season if it does not disappear completely. JC will be a much tougher out next season and I am looking forward to a rematch next season in Paintsville - assuming that Highlands can win its district again.