article 11th Region Rankings and Recap Week 12

The regular season has come to an end and the postseason is upon us!! As always the 11th Region has a great chance to have a strong showing at this years State Tournament and whoever gets their will be battled tested. The 11th Region winner has made it to the state finals 4 of the last 5 years and they look to make a run at it again this year.

Team of the Week - Scott County

The Cardinals picked up 2 big wins this past week over Louisville Eastern and Paul Laurence Dunbar and neither were close. The Cards look to be clicking on all cylinders as the postseason starts. Congrats to the Cardinals on the great week.

Player of the Week - Luke Johnson - Lexington Catholic

Luke had a great week for the Knights helping lead them to 2 victories. On senior night he poured in 42 points to help lead Lexington Catholic to a blowout win over Wayne County. Congrats to Luke on a great week and an outstanding season.

Team Rankings

1. Scott County - The Cardinals finish the regular season 25-5 with only 1 loss to a Kentucky team all season. This past week they blew out Eastern and Paul Laurence Dunbar and look to be one of the most complete teams in the state at this point. Michael Moreno continues to show his dominance and the duo of Cooper Robb and Bryce Long are playing at a high level. The Cardinals look to be the team to beat in the 11th at this point.

2. Lexington Catholic - The Knights finish the season 21-7 and winners of 20 of their last 23 games, including being the only Kentucky team to beat Scott County. The Knights picked up a nice road win over Lincoln County to begin the week and then finished it off with a beat down of Wayne County. Luke Johnson had a great week as mentioned above. The Knights are the 1 seed in the always tough 43rd District tournament this week. Right now they look to be the only team to be a serious challenge to Scott County.

3. Lexington Christian - The Eagles have finished the season 21-8, which gives them a new school record for wins. LCA started off the week with a thrashing of Danville before falling to Bryan Station on a half court buzzer beater to end the week. Kyle Rode and Austin Hall continue to play great for the Eagles, and Carter Hendrickson is also having a great season. LCA looks to make their first trip to the regional tournament in school history this week but first must get through Paul Laurence Dunbar in the opening round of the 43rd District tournament.

4. Madison Central - The Indians finish the season 17-13, but winners of 12 of their last 16 against a brutal schedule. Madison Central picked up a nice win early in the week over South Laurel before falling at Covington Catholic. Dustin Geralds and Isaiah Cozart continue to pace the Indians and they look primed to win their 22nd District championship in a row!! They open up the district tournament with Model.

5. Paul Laurence Dunbar - The Bulldogs finish the season 21-8 but dropped 2 games this past week to end the season. They started out losing a close one on a questionable buzzer beater at West Jessamine before getting absolutely blown out by Scott County on senior night. One bright spot for the Bulldogs this week was Taveion Hollingsworth becoming the All Time Leading Scorer in Lexington/Fayette County history, congrats to Taveion! This week the Bulldogs face off with Lexington Christian Academy in an opening round district matchup between two top 25 teams in the state.

6. Madison Southern - The Eagles finish the season 24-5, which is the best they have finished since the 1994/95 season which happens to be the last time they won the 44th District tournament. After starting the season 0-3 the Eagles won a stunning 24 of 26 games. This past week they picked up wins over Russell County, Whitley County, and Frankfort. They open up District tournament play with Berea.

7. Sayre - The Spartans finish the season 21-8 and winners of 11 in a row. This past week they picked up wins over Western Hills and St. Francis. The Spartans look to have a legitimate chance to make the region tournament this season being led by Jake Duby who has had an outstanding year and was recently honored for becoming the all time leading scorer in school history. They will start out their postseason with a matchup against the always tough Henry Clay Blue Devils.

8. Bryan Station - The Defenders finish the year at 13-12 but picked up 2 nice wins this past week to get them primed for the postseason. First they handled Montgomery County on the road early in the week and then got a ESPN Sportscenter Top 10 play Thursday night when Eric "Boss" Boone drained a half court shot at the buzzer to get a win at LCA. The bad news for the Defenders....they open up postseason play with Scott County. The early season loss to Sayre has really come back to haunt the Defenders.

9. Lafayette - The Generals finish the season at 14-15 and with the 4 seed in the always tough 43rd District. To start the week Lafayette got a nice road win at Henry Clay with a tip at the buzzer by Chris Wharton then dropped a home game to Boyle County. The Generals open up postseason play tonight against Tates Creek with the winner facing Lexington Catholic Wednesday night.

10. Henry Clay - The Blue Devils finish the season 11-15 but earned the 2 seed in the 42nd District. This past week they dropped a heartbreaker to Lafayette but picked up a nice road win at Clark County to end the season. They will open up with a very winnable game in the 42nd district tournament against Sayre.

11. Tates Creek - The Commodores finish the year out at 4-25 and are the 5 seed in the 43rd District tournament. Tates Creek dropped two games this week to Bryan Station and Johnson Central. Not sure what its going to take to get Tates Creek back on track but it looks to be a lot. They open up the postseason tonight with Lafayette in the 43rd District tournament.

12. Franklin County - The Flyers finish the season at 12-18 but did earn the 1 seed in this weeks 41st District tournament. This past week the Flyers picked up a road win at Harrison County before falling on the road at Anderson County. The Flyers will start out postseason play against crosstown rival Western Hills.

13. Woodford County - The Yellow Jackets end the year at 14-15 and will be the 2 seed in the 41st District tournament this week. Last week, Woodford fell to Mercer County but were able to bounce back with a win over Bourbon to end the week. Up next is Frankfort in the 41st District tournament.

14. Frankfort - The Panthers finish the season at 10-20 and will be the 3 seed in the 41st District tournament this week. Last week Frankfort housed Berea before falling to Madison Southern. The Panthers will take on Woodford County Wednesday night in the 41st District tournament.

15. Model - The Patriots end the season at 9-20 and will face off with Madison Central to start the postseason. Last week they fell to Nicholas County and Jackson County.

16. Western Hills - The Wolverines finish the season at 10-20 and will be the 4 seed in the 41st District tournament. Last week they fell to Sayre and Anderson County.

17. Berea - The Pirates finish off the regular season at 12-17 and will face off with Madison Southern in the first round of the 44th District tournament this week. Last week they dropped games to Frankfort and Nicholas County.

District Tournament Predictions

41st District

In the opening round games Im going to go with Franklin County to get by Western Hills in a game that will be close to begin but FC will stretch it out towards the end. In the other first round matchup with Woodford County and Frankfort I expect a really good game. Im going to go with Frankfort in the upset in a close win that comes down to the final minute of play. At the end expect to see Franklin County win their 3rd 41st District title in a row.

42nd District

I don't think anyone is kicking themselves right now more then Bryan Station. If I had to pick I really think they could beat any other team in the district except the one they have to face to start off the tournament. I cant pick against Scott County especially after the way they have played Bryan Station this year. As for the other game, wow, expect a great one. This isn't one of Henry Clay's best teams but they are still athletic enough to give a really good Sayre team fits. My heart says Sayre but my head says Henry Clay in a really really close one. Im gonna go with Scott County to claim the district championship over Henry Clay.

43rd District

Here comes tons of fun picking this gauntlet of a district. As always you can make a case that the 43rd District is tougher to win then some regions in this state! In the opener expect to see Lafayette get by Tates Creek and set up a nice matchup with Lexington Catholic. The Generals and Knights always play close games regardless of records. Im going to go with Catholic in a close one on their home court to advance to the championship game. PLD vs. LCA what a opener for both teams. Two contrasting styles of play, lots of individual talent, and two good coaches. Honestly, I see this game coming down to the final possession or two. I cant call it, its just to close to call. However, I will say the winner of the PLD/LCA game will ride that momentum on to a district championship game win. Should be an absolute war every night as it always is in the 43rd.

44th District

Expect Madison Central and Madison Southern to both cruise to the finals and set up a rematch of the season opener for both teams. I expect the championship to be a really good game with an awesome atmosphere. Madison Southern has had a very nice year and won a lot of games but Im going to give the edge to Madison Central due to a far tougher schedule and Cozart protecting the rim being the difference.

a really good analysis

I personally would switch LC and PLD, even though PLD did slip a bit down the stretch.

I think PLD wins the matchup this week and not just because of TH;

PLD can apply athletic pressure and force a frenetic pace, the one thing LC has struggled with consistently. LC will stay close, perhaps even lead into the 4th, then PLD will make a run and pull away.

completely agree with everything else