Kentucky Prep Gridiron has declared absolute warfare on the perception the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a Basketball State. It keeps some programs from recruiting our football prospects as I set forth in my article Chasing Those Hoop Dreams published on this site May 19, 2017. Regardless of how Kentucky is seen; a fair question may well be posed, is the Commonwealth really principally all about basketball? You might be surprised to learn the data would suggest otherwise.
MaxPreps has recently published a National Top 50 All-Time High School Football Teams compilation which you may read for yourself by going to http://www.maxpreps.com/news/OOP3pmYsjE-aHui3JlaU2g/top-50-winningest-all-time-high-school-football-programs.htm. What is interesting is the following Kentucky Football teams appear among the top 50, all-time, winningest programs:
- 2. Fort Thomas Highlands; 868-217-26
- 4. The Louisville Male Bulldogs; 844-322-49
- 5. Mayfield High School; 833-251-32
- 25. Paducah Tilghman High School; 757-314-25
- 35. Danville High School; 742-238-34
- 42. Louisville St. Xavier; 731-285-20
The State of Tennessee, which is our neighbor to our immediate south, is considered, by some, to be imminently superior to Kentucky in the sport of High School Football. Curiously, we don’t encounter but two Tennessee teams on the same compilation, Maryville High School and Montgomery Bell Academy. Maryville checks in at No. 36 on the MaxPrep list and MBA barely cracked the Top 50, at No. 50. So, we’re not a Commonwealth which plays any football, huh?
What about basketball you say? Well, first of all, there isn’t a Top 50 National, all-time list, for High School Basketball that we could find. However, MaxPreps has compiled a Top 25 High School Basketball Programs over the previous 5 years in the Country. You may access that list by going to http://www.maxpreps.com/news/DpK9z78B0UKFaziWTuor-A/top-25-high-school-basketball-programs-of-the-last-five-years.htm. There isn’t one single Kentucky High School basketball program in the Top 25, over the last 5 years, not one! There are four (4) High School Football Programs among the Nation’s 25 winningest programs in history in football, but not a single basketball program in Kentucky ranks among the Nation’s Top 25 over the previous 5 seasons.
So the Commonwealth of Kentucky only plays basketball? Well, the surmisable data would suggest otherwise. This is Fletcher Long reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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