article Eastern Kentucky Power Rankings (10-22) - Sponsored by LakeCumberlandSports.com

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15. Rockcastle County Rockets, (4A, 6-3)- The Rockets took a rough loss at the hand sof Knox Central and now see their playoff path get significantly harder. They will look for some momentum closing out against Garrard County

14. North Laurel Jaguars (5A, 7-2)- The Jags re-emerge in the rankings after righting the ship. Clay County is the final piece to their puzzle before they take on the Pulaski teams in the playoffs.

13. Raceland Rams (1A, 5-4)- Raceland wasn't up to the task against Paintsville but still have one more big game left; bragging rights against rival Russell.

12. Fleming County Panthers (3A, 8-1)- The Panthers are just one game away from a 9-1 record but that game will be very difficult. If Fleming wants to contend for a 3A regional title a strong showing is a must.

11. Knox Central Panthers (4A, 7-2)- Knox got the big win against Rockcastle to earn a playoff game at home in Round 1. Corbin will be a stout test in the season finale.

10. Montgomer County Indians (5A, 7-2)- The Indians keep rolling after dismantling Woodford County. Lincoln County is all that stands in the way between them and one of their best regular seasons in decades.

9. Hazard Bulldogs (1A, 6-2)- Hazard had no issue dominating Leslie County. Whitley County may not be in the Top 15, but they will definitely be a tough test for the Dawgs.

8. Somerset Briarjumpers (2A, 6-4)- It is a waiting game now for Somerset as they take the week off to heal before the real season starts. The Jumpers know that their path most likely will require beating their two District mates.

7. Paintsville Tiigers (1A, 8-1)- It cannot be disputed. Paintsville was the best 1A team in EKY with wins over Williamsburg, Hazard, Pikeville, and Raceland. They hit the road for a stiff test to conclude their slate.

6. Southwestern Warriors (5A, 7-2)- The Warriors put a hurting on rival Pulaski County and have to feel good about their chances to get to the Semi-Finals. Lexington Catholic is a team they need to be able to handle if they have any aspirations of competing for a State Title though.

5. Johnson Central Golden Eagles (4A, 8-1)- The Eagles shocked the State by losing to Ashland . Homefield advantage is now gone and their playoff path is substantially more difficult. Johnson Central looks to re-group in a huge clash.

4. Ashland Tomcats (4A, 8-2)- The Tomcats wrapped up the regular season in emphatic fashion. Ashland has came a long way since opening their season with a lopsided loss to Harlan County. The question remains, can they beat Johnson Central twice?

3. Wayne County Cardinals (4A, 8-1)- The Cardinals are expected to become the #1 team in 4A and if they can knock off a strong Madison Southern team they will enter with an impressive record.

2. Corbin Redhounds (3A, 8-1)- Corbin got a little more than they may have expected from Casey County for Three Quarters until the wheels came off for the Rebels. Corbin has a rivalry game against a surprising Knox Central team before they prepare for another deep playoff push.

1. Belfry Pirates (3A, 8-1)- Belfry took care of business against Pike Central and continue to light the scoreboard up. The Pirates get their final major test before the playoffs in a Johnson Central team who will be out for blood.

Five Significant Wins:

Floyd Central Jaguars (3A, 6-3)- Floyd Central gave a "wait a minute" moment by knocking off Lawrence County and forcing a 3-way tie. If everything goes their way they may get to a host a playoff game in their first year of existence.

Harlan County Black Bears (5A, 4-5)- Harlan County saved face and rebounded to knock off Perry Central. This allows Harlan County to avoid the 4-seed and get a much more favorable playoff draw.

Pikeville Panthers (1A, 4-4)- Don't look now but Pikeville is peaking. The Panthers pummeled a Grundy, VA team that was ranked in Virginia Class 1A. You know Pikeville has to feel they can compete with hazard after a close loss.

Powell County Pirates (3A, 5-4)- With their fifth consecutive win Powell County wins the District Championship. more importantly they now avoid Corbin for two rounds.

Williamsburg Yellowjackets (1A, 6-3)- Williamsburg got a valiant effort from Lynn Camp but held on to win the District Championship. Will the Yellowjackets be able to make noise in the playoffs?

Player of the Week:

RB John Brock, Harlan

With District playoff seeding on the line Brock carried the Green Dragons to victory rushing for 170 yards on 17 carries and scoring 3 TD's. He added five tackles and a two-point conversion for good measure.

Game of the Week:

#5 Johnson Central Golden Eagles at #1 Belfry Pirates- This was supposed to be #1 vs. #2, but Ashland had other plans. Nonetheless it is one of the premier rivalries in Eastern Kentucky and now both teams enter needing something out of this game.

For fun... Can you make a case that Paintsville should be ranked higher than Ashland/JC? Paintsville beat Hazard who beat Harlan Co who beat Ashland. Paintsville arguably handled Raceland better than Ashland. Raceland beat Greenup Co worse than Ashland. A little harder to justify on the JC end, but Ashland beat them.

How much fun would JCHS/Paintsville have been this year? Maybe the first time it would have been a good game in a long time if the game was played.

Johnson Central dropping all the way to #5 robs us of the opportunity for an unofficial EKY Championship Game between JC and Belfry. The possibility still exists if Belfry and Corbin can both get to the semis, though.

How much fun would JCHS/Paintsville have been this year? Maybe the first time it would have been a good game in a long time if the game was played.

With the resurgence of Paintsville's program, is there a chance the Apple Bowl gets renewed any time soon?

Who knows? Paintsville has a new super, I could see them signing that contract now. Cant imagine what the atmosphere would be like!

For fun... Can you make a case that Paintsville should be ranked higher than Ashland/JC? Paintsville beat Hazard who beat Harlan Co who beat Ashland. Paintsville arguably handled Raceland better than Ashland. Raceland beat Greenup Co worse than Ashland. A little harder to justify on the JC end, but Ashland beat them.

 

How much fun would JCHS/Paintsville have been this year? Maybe the first time it would have been a good game in a long time if the game was played.

Yes and no, IMHO.

I think Paintsville has legitimized their spot in the Top 10 and could hang tight with several teams above them.

With that said, Ashland is light years beyond where they were when they lost to Harlan County and nearly every metric would tend to point to that being one of the more unlikely upsets in Kentucky this season.

When playing six degrees of separation using Team A beat Team B who beat Team C we often don't get the whole truth.

Who knows? Paintsville has a new super, I could see them signing that contract now. Cant imagine what the atmosphere would be like!

With how Johnson Central has struggled to find 10 regular season games... the irony of the situation is this series now may actually make sense from a competition standpoint to resume the series.

For fun... Can you make a case that Paintsville should be ranked higher than Ashland/JC? Paintsville beat Hazard who beat Harlan Co who beat Ashland. Paintsville arguably handled Raceland better than Ashland. Raceland beat Greenup Co worse than Ashland. A little harder to justify on the JC end, but Ashland beat them.

 

How much fun would JCHS/Paintsville have been this year? Maybe the first time it would have been a good game in a long time if the game was played.

I'm probably one of the most critical Ashland fans you will find on here, I typically take my maroon glasses off and call it how I see it, but when trying to compare early season scores with this Ashland team you're wasting your time. This team is completely different than it was in the first few weeks of the season. For all practical purposes you can throw that Harlan County game out, I'm not gonna run through what may be considered excuses as to why to throw it out, I'll just leave it at throw that game out when considering the overall body of work for this Ashland team. I did expect Ashland to leave less doubt in the Greenup County game, however I've been saying all season that Greenup County is a top ten 4A team, which currently sits just outside of the top ten.

Could not agree more. Pikeville in 1A has improved as much as anyone, I think they can challenge Hazard! Paintsville has a freshman Q who has played 9 high school games now. So I think lots of teams have plugged in the right personnel etc and gotten better. Personally I would like to see Paintsville - Hurricane now. Im sure Hurricane has improved but Paintsville got more guys involved on O and has made them harder to defend. Paintsville’s defense, aside from about 5 big pass plays, has been as good as you will see!

Again for fun an Ashland-Paintsville series would be a good one. The Q at Ashland grew up in Paintsville’s feeder program, would make for an interesting storyline for sure. The “little” cousin of the current Q, who is an 8th grader at Ashland, is gonna be a stud also!