[Orange Blaze]

I guess I'm basically asking is there any way Ashland, JC, Boyd, Greenup, East will be competitive in a state level.

As far as schools like Boyd, Greenup, and East go, it is all about creating a winning culture. If they can't even beat the local Class A schools or even the mediocre schools that are in their class (Ashland) how can they possibly be expected to beat the big boys in their class? Greenup is on the right track and Boyd ended the season good as well by beating an undefeated team but they still have a way to go.

If you want kids to come out you first have to convince them that they can win because let's face it, no one likes to get beat by 50 points or be designated as a homecoming game. Kids have other options and why would they want to put in the large time commitment to play football if they think they have no shot of winning? Before we start talking about these teams being competitive at the state level, they first have to start with the building blocks of being competitive at the local level.

The problem with sports in Northeastern Kentucky is that there are too many schools in a close proximity to each other in an area that is not densely populated. Since the population is small there is not a large pool of high caliber athletes and because there are so many schools it is not likely that the athletes will be on the same teams. It is for this reason why you hear so many people in our area cry foul about transfers and recruiting because the available talent is a such a small number.