[bball_fan]

Has the consolidation of Floyd Central made any difference?

Not really, at least not yet. It is so far from Prestonsburg and Betsy Layne that it does not really effect them. If they ever finish the Minnie to Harold Connector, Betsy Layne could be in more trouble.

[bball_fan]

I don't understand Betsy Lane football...We are down there, you have a kid that looks like the best lineman we ever had at Casey. OK this dude has thighs as big as oak trees, huge rear, not that big a belly at all, arms, chest, huge...He goes against my son who is playing at tackle, 152 pounds, soaking wet. The Betsy Lane kid doesn't even throw his hands into him, he doesn't really even engage. He doesn't gap control, doesn't bullrush, doesn't dip and rip, doesn't club and rip, doesn't spin, NOTHING. He kind of tries to skirt down the offensive line, and just avoid contact. This dude is 285 pounds if he's an ounce, and fit...I don't see unathletic when I look at that kid, I saw a MONSTER and feared for my own kids ability to even block for a second that game...Either that kid has never played football before, or his coaching is a complete joke. Betsy Lane had decent size across the board. They should be more competitive, right now, than what they are. Just my opinion.

I graduate from Betsy Layne in 2004, and this has always been the case. There is talent, whether it be athletes or linemen but you can never get a good coach to commit to the program. Betsy Layne had the chance to win a regional title a few years ago, barely losing to Somerset a year they went to the state semi-finals. Betsy Layne will never commit to football, plan and simple. They will never see themselves as a football school, and by no means am I meaning anything wrong toward Jr. Newsome when I say this because he taught me a TON about the game of basketball and I believe the man is a saint, but his success clouds the judgement of those around. They want to be a basketball school, plan and simple.

[bball_fan]

I graduated from Betsy Layne in 2004, before my freshman year in 2000, my father begged me to go to Pikeville to play football. I didn't go because I wanted to stay with my friends, got way out of shape and played football only one year because it just was not worth it. We had four different coaches in my four years, and only won two games. When I started coaching middle school basketball from 2008-2014, Betsy Layne would have great programs in middle school but kids would go everywhere afterwards. What did stay together gave Betsy Layne the only real good three year run at football they ever had but even then, they had players starting at Pikeville and Prestonsburg that should have been at Betsy Layne.

Skip forward to me and my wife marrying and raising my (step)son. She is born and raised in Magoffin County, and we lived there for a few years. One of the first things I did was get my step children out of North Magoffin and transfer them to Johnson Central feeder school Highland. I had no faith in Magoffin County because it reminded me so much of Betsy Layne (and now Prestonsburg). The program does not support the kids and they do not go out of their way to commit to someone who can truly build a program and pull hometown kids back into the fold. Eastern Kentucky is like that from one corner to the other.

Prestonsburg has been taking steps to rebuild, not just football but a lot of different sports but the damage is done. This team use to be a power house. They should have won the state title in 93, and would have won it in 03 and 04 if it hadn't been for Belfry. Does anyone remember Belfry, Prestonsburg and Sheldon Clark (I believe in 04) being ranked 1, 2 and 3 in the state in Class 2A and all in the same district? The district was LOADED!