[AtlPirateFan]

A comment in the JC/Belfry thread got my wheels turning. So I went digging into some data to see what I could put together. So below is my top 10 Mountain Teams from 1989-2019. Second post is a chart of the data set for you to evaluate yourself. Hoping this generates some fun discussions/banter. Creating a new thread as not to derail the game thread even more.

CRITERIA
- Only teams in Congressional District 5 Qualify (think WYMT coverage area with a couple of counties tossed in). Roughly 45 teams all qualified. This was used because a true definition of Moutain Teams can't be agreed upon.
- Teams must still be currently playing and must have been playing all 30 years.

Top 10 1989-2019
1. Belfry
2. Bell Co.
3. Pikeville
4. Hazard
5. Corbin
6. Breathitt Co.
7. Rockcastle Co.
8. Prestonsburg
9. Johnson Central
10. Pulaski Co.
Honorable Mentions: Lawrence Co (206-135), Somerset (218-144), Painstville (211-154), Middlesboro(204-154), Martin County(formerly Sheldon Clark 176-158)

The list obviously shifts some if you cut it to only 20 years as mentioned in the original thread, Main changes would be that JC takes a big jump, while Breathitt makes a big slide. A few teams might jockey to move up a spot but those two are the main ones impacted.

OBSERVATIONS
1. Belfry and JC capitalized most on the 6 class system. As did Pulaski to some extent.
2. Breathitt's last 10 years caused a major slide to a team that dominated the 90s and were still strong in the 2000-2010 era.
3. Bell Co. and Corbin suffered from being in the Western bracket in the early to mid 2010s. Had they been in the east both may have had more playoff wins.
4. It's no suprise that deeper digging gives you a who's who of mountain coaches. Haywood, Holcomb, Hilton, Larkey, McNamee, Howard, Matney, etc.
5. Of the honorable mentions only Lawrence Co had a 100 win decade.

Note: There was a ton of data to sort through, so I apologize if I missed an obvious team who may have contended for the list. If I can find the data I would love to run this data set back to 1979, or 1969 even. Would be nice to have data to factor in district titles and regional titles as well. May see what I can do when I am bored at work.

[AtlPirateFan]

[Image: http://www.valdarix.dreamhosters.com/img/DataSet.PNG]

[#55PirateFan]

A comment in the JC/Belfry thread got my wheels turning. So I went digging into some data to see what I could put together. So below is my top 10 Mountain Teams from 1989-2019. Second post is a chart of the data set for you to evaluate yourself. Hoping this generates some fun discussions/banter. Creating a new thread as not to derail the game thread even more.

CRITERIA
- Only teams in Congressional District 5 Qualify (think WYMT coverage area with a couple of counties tossed in). Roughly 45 teams all qualified.
- Teams must still be currently playing and must have been playing all 30 years.

Top 10 1989-2019
1. Belfry
2. Bell Co.
3. Pikeville
4. Hazard
5. Corbin
6. Breathitt Co.
7. Rockcastle Co.
8. Prestonsburg
9. Johnson Central
10. Pulaski Co.
Honorable Mentions: Lawrence Co (206-135), Somerset (218-144), Painstville (211-154), Middlesboro(204-154), Martin County(formerly Sheldon Clark 176-158)

The list obviously shifts some if you cut it to only 20 years as mentioned in the original thread, Main changes would be that JC takes a big jump, while Breathitt makes a big slide. A few teams might jockey to move up a spot but those two are the main ones impacted.

OBSERVATIONS
1. Belfry and JC capitalized most on the 6 class system. As did Pulaski to some extent.
2. Breathitt's last 10 years caused a major slide to a team that dominated the 90s and were still strong in the 2000-2010 era.
3. Bell Co. and Corbin suffered from being in the Western bracket in the early to mid 2010s. Had they been in the east both may have had more playoff wins.
4. It's no suprise that deeper digging gives you a who's who of mountain coaches. Haywood, Holcomb, Hilton, Larkey, McNamee, Howard, Matney, etc.
5. Of the honorable mentions only Lawrence Co had a 100 win decade.

Note: There was a ton of data to sort through, si I apologize if I missed an obvious team who may have contended for the list. If I can find the data I would love to run this data set back to 1979, or 1969 even.

Very nice! Well done Sir. Whether folks agree or disagree, I'm sure we all will agree that mountain teams are rich in history when it comes to playing high school football. Not bad for a bunch of redneck hillbillies, which is a compliment in my opinion when we're referred as such. Great work!

[64SUR]

[Image: http://www.valdarix.dreamhosters.com/img/DataSet.PNG]

That is some awesome stats :worthy:

[AtlPirateFan]

I will say that I was surprised by the result to be honest. Having attended Belfry in the late 90s I assumed those leaner years from about 93-2000 would be a bigger detriment to the Pirates spot on the list. I also suspected Breathitt would be a little higher, same with Johnson Central. JC was really hurt by a very week 1990-1999 era.

[BlackcatPride32]

Seeing Prestonsburg make the top 10 has absolutely made my day! I'd say #8 is probably about where we need to be placed.

Great list though, very good job!

[#55PirateFan]

[Image: http://www.valdarix.dreamhosters.com/img/DataSet.PNG]

With this stat, it is impossible for anyone to say that Belfry isn't the top team this decade. Their overall record and playoff record is just unreal. And to top it off, they win 4 straight championships. And IMO, their the top team in the last 2 decades as well.

[BlackcatPride32]

With this stat, it is impossible for anyone to say that Belfry isn't the top team this decade. Their overall record and playoff record is just unreal. And to top it off, they win 4 straight championships. And IMO, their the top team in the last 2 decades as well.

Absolutely! Y'all are the UNDISPUTED #1 team over both time spans. You can't argue with 6 overall titles and a Sr Class that won 4 straight rings!

[AtlPirateFan]

QUICK NOTE: the headers on the chart are typoed, 2000-2010 should be 2000-2009 and 2011-2019 should be 2010-2019.

[AtlPirateFan]

With this stat, it is impossible for anyone to say that Belfry isn't the top team this decade. Their overall record and playoff record is just unreal. And to top it off, they win 4 straight championships. And IMO, their the top team in the last 2 decades as well.

It's hard to dispute that is for sure. I think the 2000-2009 era may be the clincher. Much of the success for Belfry that decade came in the 4 class system as only 07, 08 and 09 where under the 6 classes umbrella. 2 State Titles, 109 wins and 29 playoff wins. Those numbers are not too far off from the 2010-2019 numbers.

[#55PirateFan]

It's hard to dispute that is for sure. I think the 2000-2009 era may be the clincher. Much of the success for Belfry that decade came in the 4 class system as only 07, 08 and 09 where under the 6 classes umbrella. 2 State Titles, 109 wins and 29 playoff wins. Those numbers are not too far off from the 2010-2019 numbers.

Those numbers and insane! I'm a Belfry fan so I'm going to be a little bias, but with your research how can anyone dispute it? Out of the teams you listed, Belfry is no doubt the "Top Dog" in the mountains during that time frame.

I wonder if their a top 10 team in the state during that time frame as well? Don't expect you to do that research to, LOL, but it would be interesting to know. And they may not even be in the top 20, I don't know. But with that winning pct. and championship appearances and wins, they have to be up there somewhere wouldn't they?

[AtlPirateFan]

Those numbers and insane! I'm a Belfry fan so I'm going to be a little bias, but with your research how can anyone dispute it? Out of the teams you listed, Belfry is no doubt the "Top Dog" in the mountains during that time frame.

I wonder if their a top 10 team in the state during that time frame as well? Don't expect you to do that research to, LOL, but it would be interesting to know. And they may not even be in the top 20, I don't know. But with that winning pct. and championship appearances and wins, they have to be up there somewhere wouldn't they?

Don't tempt me :-)

I put together this back in 2014 that encompassed all classes. It was a top teams of the past decade and the Pirates where 6th. I would that was before the 4 peat was complete and didn't take into account pre 2003. So if I were guessing I would say Belfry probably is in the top 10 all time, most def top 20. http://www.bluegrassrivals.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180279

[EKUAlum05]

Really cool research and stats.

One stat that I will add that may or may not play a significance when we look at the "big picture" is how many different decades teams reached the State Finals in.

To me this is a good indicator of longevity of success and not just an indicator or a team getting on a single hot run.

Corbin- Reached the Finals in 6 different decades
Belfry- 4 Different Decades
Pikeville- 4 Different Decades
Ashland- 3 Different Decades
Lynch- 3 Different Decades
Middlesboro- 3 Different Decades
Somerset- 3 Different Decades
Bell County- 2 Different Decades
Hazard- 2 Different Decades
Breathitt County- 2 Different Decades
Prestonsburg- 2 Different Decades
Paintsville- 2 Different Decades
Russell- 2 Different Decades

All others either only reached the finals in a single decade timeframe or never reached.

[Bossdaddy 4115]

Really cool research and stats.

One stat that I will add that may or may not play a significance when we look at the "big picture" is how many different decades teams reached the State Finals in.

To me this is a good indicator of longevity of success and not just an indicator or a team getting on a single hot run.

Corbin- Reached the Finals in 6 different decades
Belfry- 4 Different Decades
Pikeville- 4 Different Decades
Ashland- 3 Different Decades
Lynch- 3 Different Decades
Middlesboro- 3 Different Decades
Somerset- 3 Different Decades
Bell County- 2 Different Decades
Hazard- 2 Different Decades
Breathitt County- 2 Different Decades
Prestonsburg- 2 Different Decades
Paintsville- 2 Different Decades
Russell- 2 Different Decades

All others either only reached the finals in a single decade timeframe or never reached.

Wow. Thanks for the research this is truly good stuff. Also thanks to others who helped in compiling the numbers.

[jetpilot]

Now do 1987-2019. Since everyone gets to pick a time period I pick that one lol

[fridaynightfights]

This by no means puts them on this list but Jerry Herron at Williamsburg is quietly knocking on a 90+ win decade from 2010-2019 this season. They won’t get a hundred but they should hit 90 before the year is up at one of the smallest football schools in Kentucky.

[99PIRATEFAN]

BELFRY THE King Of The Mountains for decades..!!!!!!

[AtlPirateFan]

Now do 1987-2019. Since everyone gets to pick a time period I pick that one lol

I actually have statewide data that runs back to about 1959, though it gets fragmented past about 1983, I didn't want to cut off at 89 but everything prior to 1990 has to be hand compiled while digging through large amounts of PDFs. I have thought for a while since I had to shut down the Belfyfootball.com website that I would like to tackle a good alternative to the KHSAA website, which I find to be hot garbage but haven't decided to bite the bullet yet and start compiling all of the data.

As far as 1987 and 1988 go. The top 3 teams in the list would look like this. Close enough that you could say Belfry and Pikeville have a claim to the #1 spot.

Belfry 338-94 78% (81-25 playoffs) 6-4 state title games
Pikeville 324-102 76% (79-29 playoffs) 4-2 state title games
Bell 326-87 78% (59-30 playoffs) 2-0 state title games

[ColtPride]

All this looks good and all. But. Pulaski, Southwestern, and Somerset, are not mountain schools. They don't even consider themselves mountain schools. They never have.

[AtlPirateFan]

All this looks good and all. But. Pulaski, Southwestern, and Somerset, are not mountain schools. They don't even consider themselves mountain schools. They never have.

I don't disagree. I don't consider them mountain teams mysefl. But since I chose to use the 5th congressional district they could not be left out of the data set.

[ColtPride]

I don't disagree. I don't consider them mountain teams mysefl. But since I chose to use the 5th congressional district they could not be left out of the data set.

Fair enough.

[wolfcat]

I would rank Breathitt 2 behind Belfry if not going solely on number of wins but championships, impact on the game today etc. Holcomb was one of the 1st to institute the spread offense in mid 90s along with Leslie and win with it. 42 game winning streak. 3 Championships. Plus look at the impact of the Holcomb coaching tree. How many head coaches got their start under Holcomb? Moore, Haddix, Combs, Dixon, Bowlin, Maggard, Chapman, etc.
Yes they have been down in past 7-8 years but every team has a few down years during that 30 year stretch.

[Statebound19]

In my eyes Belfry has always in my lifetime been the program that every wants to beat and all mountains teams look up too. I can remember when I played , and when it was time to play Belfry , Holcomb was like mad man!! We practice twice as long ,and twice as hard!!! So Belfry has earned all respect they get because numbers don’t lie!!!! They maybe Breathitt arch enemy but don’t mean we don’t respect them because we do. Congratulations to all mountain teams. This is awesome work!!!