[Eagle84]

I watch the first half of the Paris game and I can understand the positive attitude and outlook the Paintsville fans have at this time. I was impressed with the set of skill players currently on the team and with the addition of Phelps it will only get stronger. In, addition it feels like Bill Mike had restored some pride back into the program. With that being said, I am not sure everyone truly understands how far Paintsville Football has to go to get the program back to being competitive. Look at Paintsville’s current schedule and the Maxpreps ranking of the 223 teams in Kentucky Football it appears to be a long season for the Tigers. Paintsville is currently ranked 216 out of 223. Paris was ranked 207, below is the ranking of the other teams on Paintsville Schedule.
8-30 Magoffin County (204) 9-7 Jenkins (191) 9-14Allen Central (195)
9-21 Pineville (189) 9-28Betsy Layne (190) 10-4Fairview (123)
10-12 Nicholas County (158) 10-19Raceland (147) 10-26Berea (192)
As you can see Paintsville will not be a favorite in any of the games. If you take the loss to Paris, add the Fairview, Nicholas County and Raceland losses you are looking at 6 games Paintsville will be competitive in. Thus, winning ½ of those games which would be a positive outcome for Paintsville put them at 3-7. Not sure 3-7 season would keep the spark alive for the short term. Looking at the long term I see lack of line play and depth on both sides of the ball as the greatest challenge to overcome. Let’s hope Bill Mike and Paintsville will meet these challenges successfully.