Wayyyy Too Early Top 5 Class 3A

1. Boyle County- Rebels are absolutely stacked and may be on a different level than the rest of the class. Rebels have supreme athletes, experience, and a swagger that will be tough for any 3A team to contend with.

2. Central- The Yellowjackets have several key play makers back and will be a tough test for anyone not named Boyle. The Yellowjacket run game will be hard to handle for sure and they still have playmakers on Defense.

3. Belfry- The Pirates have a bitter sweet taste after falling from their 3A perch. Lots of questions at skill spots, but returning basically their entire D-Line and a VEry good O-line is a strong foundation.

4. Corbin- Redhounds fell just shy and do have a solid nucleus, but losing Cameron Sizemore is a massive hole to fill. If the Hounds find a replacement they may very well shoot to #2, but losing the heartbeat of the team and the primary offensive weapon will be tough.

5. Lexington Catholic- The Knights took a lot of losses to a lot of very good teams with a young squad. Lexington Catholic certainly has some firepower, but will thye have enough to hang with Boyle? Additionally can the Defense improve after giving up 48 points or more 6 times?

Top 5 looks good to me.

I'm not exactly going out on a limb here, but if Boyle County can put anything resembling a competent offensive line on the field next season, they could run away with 3A like Secretariat at the Belmont. O-line is pretty much the only position group where the Rebels have any question marks whatsoever.

Right now, IMO it's Boyle Co then everyone else.

 

4. Corbin- Redhounds fell just shy and do have a solid nucleus, but losing Cameron Sizemore is a massive hole to fill. If the Hounds find a replacement they may very well shoot to #2, but losing the heartbeat of the team and the primary offensive weapon will be tough.

Losing Sizemore is a huge loss, but Corbin's offense should be good with virtually everyone else coming back, plus a couple of kids have enrolled or are rumored to be moving to the district who will be big additions. I expect Corbin to throw it even more this year with Estep stepping into the QB spot.

The defensive side is where I expect a possible drop off where they suffered heavier losses. Sims and Money were dominant factors in every game except for the last one, and you have to give Coach Smith & Boyle Co. the credit for figuring out what no other team was able to do the entire year in neutralizing those two.

Belfry is probably 4 or 5 in my opinion.

Great job ATLCAT! Football season is getting close and really excited on this upcoming season!

Boyle may be there in the end....but I do think to O-line will be a work in progress as only 1 starter (Ned Stephens-RG) returns.

Boyle lost from Left to Right: Ryan McClelland, Zane Young, Jon Yeager, and Will Bramel.

I am certain Coach Smith has a solid plan in place to rebuild, but without a doubt there will be some growing pains up front for the Rebels.

Great job ATLCAT! Football season is getting close and really excited on this upcoming season!

Can't come soon enough. Football on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Can't come soon enough. Football on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Don't forget that Tuesday night college MACtion!

What about E-town? They were the second best team in 3A in 2017. Have they lost enough talent that Lexington Catholic will surpass them?

what about E-town? They were the second best team in 3A in 2017. Have they lost enough talent that Lexington Catholic will surpass them?

They lost their QB, top four rushers, top four receivers, and most of the O-line. The losses weren't quite as bad on defense, but they did lose several guys on that side of the ball too.

No one should be too surprised if they don't drop off much, though. Mark Brown is a great coach. E-town was in a similar situation following a breakthrough season in 2015 and bounced right back to reach the semis again the next year.

They lost their QB, top four rushers, top four receivers, and most of the O-line. The losses weren't quite as bad on defense, but they did lose several guys on that side of the ball too.

 

No one should be too surprised if they don't drop off much, though. Mark Brown is a great coach. E-town was in a similar situation following a breakthrough season in 2015 and bounced right back to reach the semis again the next year.

Good information. It's really tough to bounce back when you lose that much. Elizabethtown will be fine though as they have a great coach.

I expect Belfry to be back in Black this season.

Good information. It's really tough to bounce back when you lose that much. Elizabethtown will be fine though as they have a great coach.

I feel like Elizabethtwn will be much better in October than in August.