ATLCat Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 1. Beechwood- Yes, the Tigers lose a lot from their State Championship squad. Yes, they lose the tandem of Davis and Burch that accounted for almost all their Offense. With that said, the Tigers were on a whole new level in 1A and though the gap will close, expect them to still be the team to beat. 2. Raceland- The Rams peaked at the right time and finally got over the hump to reach the Finals after numerous solid teams. Raceland definitely has enough pieces back to be a serious threat to be even better. 3. Pikeville- Chris McNamee rolled the dice and and took his lumps at times playing perhaps one of his youngest teams ever. Pikeville's youth improved week after week and Pikeville came shockingly close to reaching the Finals. Expect Pikeville to take another big step forward. 4. Hazard- The Bulldogs were bit hard by the injury bug in 2017, yet still found a way to stay in the thick of things until a Regional Final exit to Pikeville. Bailey Blair and Reese Fletcher return and will be a solid foundation. 5. Paintsville- The Tigers seemed to be in the cat bird seat but once against the State Finals found a way to avoid Coach Chirico. Paintsville lost several key contributors and will have to fight to stay at the top in a loaded East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwtigerpaw Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 (edited) The Junior and senior class at Beechwood is very strong. Return most of the offense and defensive lines and a 4 year starter at safety. QB will be a question mark but running game will be very solid. Every starter on d-line will be at least 6’3 and +215. Adam Derry is 6’3” 270. Edited May 15, 2018 by Bwtigerpaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilMayCare Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 That's a pretty strong top 5 for 1A. I think there's a sharp line under Paintsville, though, where you'll see a significant drop-off after those five teams. I'm okay with Raceland at #2, but Pikeville has a strong case for that spot. They basically played Raceland even last year and they return pretty much everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bac2369 Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 1. Beechwood- Yes, the Tigers lose a lot from their State Championship squad. Yes, they lose the tandem of Davis and Burch that accounted for almost all their Offense. With that said, the Tigers were on a whole new level in 1A and though the gap will close, expect them to still be the team to beat. 2. Raceland- The Rams peaked at the right time and finally got over the hump to reach the Finals after numerous solid teams. Raceland definitely has enough pieces back to be a serious threat to be even better. 3. Pikeville- Chris McNamee rolled the dice and and took his lumps at times playing perhaps one of his youngest teams ever. Pikeville's youth improved week after week and Pikeville came shockingly close to reaching the Finals. Expect Pikeville to take another big step forward. 4. Hazard- The Bulldogs were bit hard by the injury bug in 2017, yet still found a way to stay in the thick of things until a Regional Final exit to Pikeville. Bailey Blair and Reese Fletcher return and will be a solid foundation. 5. Paintsville- The Tigers seemed to be in the cat bird seat but once against the State Finals found a way to avoid Coach Chirico. Paintsville lost several key contributors and will have to fight to stay at the top in a loaded East. Very solid top 5. I myself would switch Raceland and Pikeville. It’s no disrespect to Raceland but Pikeville only lost 2 seniors last season and one of those didn’t even play a snap. I think Raceland just has a few more holes to fill than Pikeville. To many I also want to point out that I’m not a Pikeville supporter but given an honest opinion. Raceland is definitely a strong 3rd in my opinion with the two head monsters returning. They also have what could be a 3 headed monster if used. They do have a few holes on defense to fill but I think they will do it. Hazard is a solid 4 with a solid senior and junior class returning and only losing like 3 starters on offense and 4 on defense. Paintsville is at the 5 spot because they return less than Hazard but as always the east in 1A will be tough.. The team everyone needs to keep an eye on is Crittenden County. I’ve got my eye on you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plantmanky Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Is the West side of the bracket in 1A just really bad or what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gchs_uk9 Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Is the West side of the bracket in 1A just really bad or what. The team everyone needs to keep an eye on is Crittenden County. I’ve got my eye on you!! Well, Beechwood is in the "west" so that makes it pretty good. In reality though, the east is much better than the west. However, I too think Crittenden County can be solid. Campbellsville returns a very good quarterback but I'm not sure what else. Their numbers were pretty low. I always expect Russellville to be a solid - it will be interesting to see how they respond to a new coach. How does Kentucky Country Day come back from all of their losses? Louisville Holy Cross is always good but never good enough. Does that change this year? Is Frankfort back? Can Bethlehem improve? There are just a ton of questions on that side of the bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutlawJoseyWales Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 1A is definitely very stout in the top 4-5 teams. However, I do agree there is a sharp cut off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport of Kings Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Campbellsville returns 9 starters on offense and 9 starters on defense from their Region Championship team from a year ago... With some new additions from out of the hallways, I would expect the Eagles to be very strong again next year. Cant wait for it to get started.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voice of Reason Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Campbellsville returns 9 starters on offense and 9 starters on defense from their Region Championship team from a year ago... With some new additions from out of the hallways, I would expect the Eagles to be very strong again next year. Cant wait for it to get started.. Campbellsville is a team to watch. Their young QB has a lot of potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrcarrier Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 1) Beechwood 2/3) Pikeville 2/3) Raceland 4) Hazard 5) Paintsville I wouldn't be surprised at seeing Campbellsville in this mix later in to the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport of Kings Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Hash, the QB, will be a sophomore this year, and a year older.. 4 our 5 o-lineman return and Plenty at the skill spot.. However, the strength of schedule is the same (#4 in Class A) and staying healthy with 25 players is key... But, the Great Thing about this group is, they are not satisfied... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VernonMaxwell86 Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Who's the next talented QB for Russell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voice of Reason Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Who's the next talented QB for Russell? You mean Russellville? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Five -0- Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Very solid top 5. I myself would switch Raceland and Pikeville. It’s no disrespect to Raceland but Pikeville only lost 2 seniors last season and one of those didn’t even play a snap. I think Raceland just has a few more holes to fill than Pikeville. To many I also want to point out that I’m not a Pikeville supporter but given an honest opinion. Raceland is definitely a strong 3rd in my opinion with the two head monsters returning. They also have what could be a 3 headed monster if used. They do have a few holes on defense to fill but I think they will do it. Hazard is a solid 4 with a solid senior and junior class returning and only losing like 3 starters on offense and 4 on defense. Paintsville is at the 5 spot because they return less than Hazard but as always the east in 1A will be tough.. The team everyone needs to keep an eye on is Crittenden County. I’ve got my eye on you!! Did the RB Smith kid graduate ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bac2369 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Did the RB Smith kid graduate ? Yep. But he was basically gone last year due to a ACL year the 3rd game of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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