article BluegrassPreps Western Kentucky Power Rankings - September 15, 2019

BluegrassPreps 2019 Western Kentucky Power Rankings – Week 4 Edition

The top story line this week is the opposite of the opening 2 Fridays of the season! The first 2 weeks have been chalk with higher ranked teams, specifically the Top 12, all winning! But this week the #1 and #5 teams were beaten by the #9 and #18 teams! SO, that’s a big deal! And the results of that can be felt throughout the Top 20!

Week 4 Western Kentucky Game of the Week: 2A Caldwell County (3-1) 36 at 1A Crittenden County (3-1) 14. An enormous crowd gathered for the home opener for the Rockets! But those home town fans never got going as Caldwell County used great field position to score 5 unanswered first half TDs before the Rockets knew what hit them! Great effort for Caldwell County! Crittenden just couldn’t get it going at all on Friday night!

Disclaimer: I have always held this distinction for Week 3 for the Bowling Green vs Owensboro game. With the classification realignment, that’s not possible at this time. So I’d like to focus on another significant Bowling Green game that I know our good friend PurpleHaze would have loved. I know of no other, who combined a love for playing the game, watching the game, researching the history of the game and supporting all others who do the same with the zeal that my friend Michael “Bulldog” Drake (aka. PurpleHaze) did. He was a friend to BGP and to so many on this site and the entire Western part of the State. This week we honor his memory here, as he absolutely loved this game! Also want to make sure this year that @MrsPurpleHaze knows about it as well!

Week 5 PurpleHaze Western Kentucky Game of the Week: Bowling Green 5A (3-1) vs St Xavier 6A (3-1). I know both of these teams would have liked to have been 4 and 0 going into this game. But the game has a way of humbling you. And I firmly believe that it’s how you assimilate the information from any loss that put good teams on the road to being great! The team that wins this game will be in the right frame of mind going forward and the one that losses will be on gut-check watch, as St X will face arch-rival Trinity and BG will travel to Corbin before traveling to South Warren! Wow! The season is officially serious now!

Honorable Mention: South Warren at Louisville Central; Hopkinsville at Christian County; Greenwood at Logan County; Graves County at Mayfield; Murray at Trigg County. Try to make it out to one of these great games!

Week 4 Top 10:

10) Henderson County (6A) – Preseason Rank: Not Ranked - 2019 Record 3-1; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 28-13 vs 4A Hopkinsville (3-1). Our good friend @Brown was spot on with his assessment of Henderson County and called a close win this week! Henderson County pulled off a huge Homecoming win to start 4 and 0 for the first time since 2005. Coach Boston has done an outstanding job with this squad. They had 2 secondary starters out with injury and rotated multiple players in to keep them fresh to chase star WR Jesse. This was huge as Hoptown threw for a record 44 times on Friday. QB Sam Elliot was super and WR Edmond Brooks had a big game for the Colonel offense. Just a big win! Week 5: at 4A Anderson County (2-2). Long bus ride for the Colonels (3 hours). Anderson was projected to have a good season and opened with 2 wins but followed that up with 2 losses. So hoping the Colonels can get to 5 and 0! Good Luck Hendo!

9) Glasgow (3A) – Preseason Rank: 12 - 2019 Record 4-0; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win 50-7 at Allen County-Scottsville (0-4). Thanks to our good friend @Tkinslow who reported on this game that went to a running clock with about 7 minutes left to go in the 4th Quarter. Glasgow’s offense is scary good. Their defense if good to, but largely untested. Week 5: vs 3A Hart County (3-1). Hart County lost to Monroe by 18 points. Glasgow just beat Monroe County by 43 points! This game is at Glasgow. The Ra-Ra-Raiders are in for some pain on Friday Night! But no injuries I hope! Scotties Roll!

8) Logan County (4A) – Preseason Rank: 10 - 2019 Record 4-0; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 55-28 at 1A Rival Russellville (0-4). This rivalry matchup came down to rushing the ball. Logan County could and did roll up nearly 360 yards on the ground, while Russellville could not and only earned around 10 yards on the night! Wow. Stalwarts Tyler Ezell and RB Gary Hardy play well as usual for Logan County. Week 5: vs surprising 5A Greenwood (4-0). This is a sneaky good game right here. Before the season I would have said Logan County rolls in this game, but now I think Greenwood has earned a punchers chance in this game. And while I fully expect Logan County to win at home, Greenwood has surprised me every step of the way this year! Will that continue? You tell me…

7) Owensboro (5A) – Preseason Rank: 8 - 2019 Record 3-1; [District Record 1-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 46-0 vs Owensboro Apollo (1-3). No stats, but I feel bad for Apollo as the schedule seems very daunting for them. For the Red Devils, this is a dangerous team. They have plenty of athletes and should be well rested come Week 3 of the Playoffs. Do they have the offense then to win a game of that magnitude? I’m not sure, but their talented young QB gets from now till then to gain more game experience, which is the only thing he needs. But I clearly think the better team’s defenses will load the box on O and make the young QB beat them. This team will continue to improve. Should they be higher up this list? You tell me… But you can’t hit a nail with melba toast and drive into a tough piece of wood… Week 5: at County Rival 6A Daviess County (1-3). Daviess County should have given the Red Devils a game last year. Now with all the talent that departed Panther Nation, I just don’t see any way Daviess gets a win in this game without significant turnovers. What say you…

6) Paducah Tilghman (3A) – Preseason Rank: 7 - 2019 Record 3-1; [District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 34-13 at 5A Graves County (1-2). Paducah Tilghman just did what they do and that’s run the football effectively! They had over 370 yards on the ground. The passing game continues to be a work in progress, but adding an additional QB who you can go to if needed is surely a good thing. This game had some reportedly crazy aspects concerning the referees, who seemly didn’t know what to call on several occasions resulting in large breaks between plays. Is this a result of not having enough quality referee to start with? I think so. Week 5: vs 4A Calloway County (0-4). Poor ole’ Lakers; just can’t seem to get a break! And now, here comes the Blue Tornados. Just too many weapons for Paducah in this one! Tilghman rolls!

5) Mayfield (2A) – Preseason Rank: 1 - 2019 Record 3-1; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Loss: 45-35 vs 6A McCracken County (1-3). Whoa Nelly – Sports fans! This one surprises many, except a few die-hard Mustang fans! WPSD out of Paducah does a really good job covering football out west; here’s some video of this game and the Paducah vs Graves game too!

9/13 Gridiron Glory - Part 1 | | WPSD Local 6 Some of the holes that Mayfield fans have been hinting out we seen last Friday night. Can they be fixed? I think so! It’s not all doom and gloom Cardinal fans as you are 80 and 2 at home since the start of the 2009 season! WOW! Time to refocus! Week 5: vs 5A Graves County (1-2). Mayfield hasn’t lost to Graves County since a 28-12 setback in 2008. Look for that streak to continue! It’s as simple as that.

4) McCracken County (6A) – Preseason Rank: 9 - 2019 Record 2-2; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 45-35 at 2A Mayfield (3-1). What a win Mustang Fans! I love how McCracken County opens with a play action bomb the first play of the game resulting in a TD! You can’t go to Mayfield and come out with rudimentary offense and defense and expect to win. That hasn’t worked 80 times out of 82! But this week SR QB Elijah Wheat to SR WR Franklin Hayes was a combination Coach Clark and the Mustangs had to feel confident in and they used it to their advantage! I’ve said it before that over in the Purchase Area (the area roughly west of Interstate 24 in the Western Part of the State) classification numbers don’t mean as much. That’s primarily because Mayfield has ruled the roost with an iron fist for decades! McCracken County has been the only team to win at Mayfield in roughly 11 years! Impressive (for both really)! Week 5: at 5A Marshall County (2-2). With their 3 toughest games of the non-district regular season behind them, the Mustangs should be able gain significant traction here and ramp up to the district season! This is a solid team and they are still the favorite in 6A District 1. But the Mustang at Henderson County game is my leading contender for Game of the Week in the West on October 25, 2019! Great Job & Good luck Mustangs!

3) Madisonville – North Hopkins (4A) – Preseason Rank: 5 - 2019 Record 4-0; [District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 25-15 at gritty 5A Christian County (0-4). SR QB Hayden Reynolds and SR RB Jeriah Hightower with 264 yards and 2 TDs both play well. When you play Christian County this year, it is a defense first, second and third approach. So 25 points is roughly what they average giving up on the season. Two teams headed in the opposite direction I’m afraid. As our good friend @macdon said: It’s Madisonville’s year! Week 5: vs 2A Ballard Memorial (0-3). Need to switch this game out Maroons. You’re above this one for sure! With that said, the Bombers are really going to get bombed in this one!!! Great game for the Maroons to get the guys who will be called to lead this team next year A LOT of snaps next Friday!

2) Bowling Green (5A) – Preseason Rank: 2 - 2019 Record 3-1; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 56-0 vs 6A Pleasure Ridge Park (1-3). PRP beat BG in 2017 in a game they led start to finish. But that PRP team is LONG gone! The one that showed up at the El left flattened! BG playing well right now and it is needed, but some of that is a reflection of the competition. QB Conner Cooper, RB Javy Bunton and WRs Dez Wilson and Jordan Dingle lead the offense, while S Vito Tisdale and DT Terrion Thompson lead the defense! Now the real work begins! Week 5: PurpleHaze Western Kentucky Game of the Week vs 6A St Xavier (3-1). These teams have played some memorable games over the years, but maybe none more memorable they last year when long time BG Coach Kevin Wallace steps down at BG and accepts the Head Coaching position at St Xavier. That game showed X outplaying BG in the first half and leading the Purples. But BG used a steady diet of Vito Tisdale running the ball to come back to tie St X and push it to overtime. BG held X in the opening OT possession and kicked a FG to win 24-21. I’m honestly not sure what to expect in this game other than a hard hitting well-played game where BG tests the X secondary and X tries to establish the run. Will Vito get a shot to carry the ball? Who wins? You tell me…

1) South Warren (5A) – Preseason Rank: 3 - 2019 Record 4-0; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Win: 53-14 vs 4A Warren Central (0-4). Another game; another Spartans win! The Spartans have a very solid team, but how good are they? Will we know before they play BG? I don’t think so. I don’t have any stats for this one, but it’s clear the Spartans dominated this game. I hope now the Dragons can get to a part of their season to get win! Good luck Dragons! Week 5: at 4A Louisville Central (1-3). The Yellow Jackets play anybody! They aren’t scared to schedule anyone. They have only played Jefferson County 6A teams this year, except for the sacrificial lamb Iroquois. So South won’t intimidate Central. These 2 have played in the relatively recent past with Central knocking South out of the 2014 4A State Semifinals 16 to 14! I look for South to win, but not win big! What say you?

Next 10 – 11 to 20:

11) Hopkinsville (4A) – Preseason Rank: 6 - 2019 Record 2-2; District Record 0-0] Week 4 Results: Loss: 28-13 at 6A Henderson County (3-1). I didn’t foresee this outcome plain and simple. But if you’re a Hoptown fan, it’s better to know it now than in a district game. The score doesn’t tell the whole tale of this one. Hoptown entered the Red Zone 3 times on Friday and came away with no points! That’s Huge! Additionally, Hoptown ran the ball 8 times and passed it 45 times. That seems extra unbalanced to me. You don’t have to be a power run team, but need some running attack against the better teams on your schedule. Rise up Tigers! Week 5: at Rival 5A Christian County (0-4). Not too long ago Christian County was the favorite in this great Western Kentucky Rivalry! Now Hoptown is! And while I know Christian County will play their best game, Hoptowns top shelf athletes should be the difference! But make no mistake, this is Christian County’s Super Bowl this season right now! So Hoptown needs to refocus and play their best game Friday Night as County will come to play! Plan to show up Tiger Fans and support your team!

12) Greenwood (5A) –Week 4 Results: Win 22-13 vs 4A Warren East. The Gators just keep chomping! The Gators rolled up over 370 yards on the night to take care of the Ra-Ra-Raiders! RB Reed Sloan is have a great season for Greenwood! You’ll see him later! Greenwood hasn’t started a season 4 and 0 since 2012! Great work! Here are some highlights: Football Friday Night: Greenwood vs Warren East Next week: at 4A Logan County. Greenwood will have their work cut out for them is this battle of undefeated team! Good luck!

13) Owensboro Catholic (2A) – Week 4 Results: Loss 36-7 at 5A Owensboro. Team Air Raid busted back out last Friday north of the Ohio River! QB Drew Hartz played great again throwing TDs to 4 different WRs. You will see him later! And Christopher Boarman continues a long line of tradition excelling in the Aces defensive ranks with 17 tackles including 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks on the night! Next up: A home game vs lowly Hopkins County Central before the district opener at surprising Todd County Central in what should be a very entertaining game!

14) Graves County (5A) –Week 4 Results: Loss 34-13 vs Paducah Tilghman! The Eagle defense just doesn’t have the feathers this year to stop many high powered offenses. McCracken gained over 440 yards on the ground while Tilghman rolled up over 370 yards on the ground. And now isn’t the best week to be traveling to Mayfield! Very unlikely to get that win, but the seas will calm down considerably once district play starts, except for Owensboro, who appears from afar to be beyond Graves County’s reach! Chin up Eagles!

15) Caldwell County (3A) – Week 4 Results: Win 36-14 at 1A Crittenden County. The Tigers drove up to Marion and took a very big home crowd out of the game from the beginning! QB Russ Beshear, RB DeEric Hollowell and the rest of the Tiger offense have played awfully well this season! They are a really solid team! Next up: a crappy Union County squad comes calling. This should be a good game. I expect Caldwell to win, but only by about a TD. This will be a good primer game before district play starts in 2 weeks!

16) Trigg County (3A) – Week 4 Results: Win 46-8 at 2A Ballard Memorial. I don’t have any stats here, but feel the Wildcats continued their impressive journey this 2019 season! NOW it gets interesting! New up: The Murray Tiger come to Cadiz! This will be a terrific game as both these teams have had terrific starts to the season! The one who can get this win will set their district slate up on a high note! Go Wildcats!

17) Franklin Simpson (4A) – Week 4 Results: Loss 35-16 at Tennessee Power Battle Ground Academy. I think Franklin put in another good effort here. Franklin Fans, I don’t think there are 16 better teams than you in the West, but due to the turmoil this week, this is just the where your ping pong ball ended in this week’s draft. And 0 and 4 is 0 and 4 even against very solid teams! Better Days ahead! Next up: vs Old Rival Russellville. As our good friend @macdon stated that this will be the first time Franklin and Russellville will play where they are both winless. But it’s clear to me that Franklin will get their first win this coming Friday night! Hang in Wildcats!

18) Murray (2A) – Week 4 Results – Win 21-7 at Union County. This is a good win as Union County is no pushover up in Morganfield! No Stats, but QB Hunter Utley and squad are off to a great start in 2019! Next up: At 3A Trigg County. This will be a great game to tell us where each team is! Both will be heading into district play after this game! I’m not sure who the favorite is. You tell me…

19) Todd County Central (2A) – Week 4 Results: Win 60-34 vs 4A Hopkins County Central. The Rebels rolled up 60 points mostly on the ground and overwhelmed the Storm! Next: vs 1A Caverna. Poor Ole’ Caverna does come into this game with a win to their credit, which isn’t something they could always say! This game sets up the district clash with District Favorite Owensboro Catholic! Good luck Rebels!

20) Grayson County (5A) – Week 4 Results – Win 22-14 at Fort Campbell! Welcome to the Top 20 Cougars!!! Grayson County is 4 and 0 this year! Congratulations on that accomplishment to Coach Smart and team! They have not played a challenging schedule but have won the games in front of them. They are in the 5A district with Owensboro and other than the Red Devils should have a good chance to beat the rest. Good luck! Next up: at 5A Breckinridge County. The Fighting Tigers are 3 and 1 so this district opener for the Cougars will be telling. I like Grayson County to pull this one out! Good luck!

Week 4 Players of the Week:

*I don’t have all stats available, so please add as you see fit!

1) Sam Elliott – QB – Henderson County – 211 yards passing with 2 TDs! Add WR Edmond Brooks with 5 catches for 115 and 1 TD vs Hoptown! Great Job!

2) Reed Sloan – RB – Greenwood – 18 rushes for 206 yards and 2 TDs, plus 1 catch for 28 yards and another TD vs Warren East!

3) Drew Hartz – QB – Owensboro Catholic – 14 for 22 for 279 yards and 4 TDs vs South Spencer, IN!

4) Adrian Stringer – QB – Hopkins County Central – 28 for 46 for 436 yards and 5 TDs vs Todd County Central! Add undervalued WR Blasin Moore who had 12 catches for 237 yards and all 5 Storm TDs!

5) Tyler Ezell - QB – Logan County – 12 for 16 for 126 yards and 4 TDs vs Russellville!

6) Jayden Freeman – RB – Paducah Tilghman - 19 carries for 280 yards and 4 TDs vs Graves County! Add standout LB Anton Jones with a team leading 12 tackles!

GREAT WORK GENTLEMEN!!!

Week 4 “Teams Trending Down”

Mayfield (2A) – Down – Look – everybody is “allowed” to lose. But when you are 80 and 1 at home in roughly 11 years, when you do lose it is shocking. Does Mayfield need to make some adjustments? Sure. Are they still the favorite in 2A? Yes, I think so, but others may not fear them as much now. Just the mental part of the game! Mayfield has one of the best coaching staffs in the state and I look for them to run the table in their remaining home games and head into the playoffs very strong as usual!

Hopkinsville (4A) – Down – The Tigers were flying pretty high coming into the Henderson County game. But this loss spotlighted the fact that Hoptown is having trouble running the ball. So now teams are loading the box and doubling Reece Jesse and saying beat us with this defensive package. Now it is Hoptown’s turn to add adjustments/wrinkles to move forward. With the rivalry game with Christian County coming up, a defensive battle is brewing! Good luck Tigers!

Teams “Trending Up”

McCracken County (6A) – Up – I love the positive vibe Coach Clark keeps within this team. And I love the aggressive offensive strategy they play with. It merits repeat that they are the only team in 82 Mayfield home games to come away with a win. In the far Western part of the state, that holds great significance! The Mustangs are now set up to start rolling with a district championship as their usual goal! Go Mustangs!!!

Henderson County (6A) – Up – Coach Boston has done a really nice job over in Henderson revamping this team that has had success on the non-Jefferson County 6A perspective. I think that is really admirable! To win by 2 TDs vs a team that likely is more athletic than you are and to do so when you are missing 2 secondary starters if remarkable! The Colonels should have significant momentum now to head into their district slate of games looking to challenge for a District Championship! Good Luck Colonels!

@PurpleHaze nice.

Caleb Kimble RB Fulton County

408 yards rushing and 4 TDS vs Webster.

Everyone needs to see this kid play.

@PurpleHaze nice.

I know right, I got a notification on that!

Excellent write up

Great write up PurpleHaze! I’ll be at BG this Friday and looking forward to being at BG for first time.

Great write up PurpleHaze! I’ll be at BG this Friday and looking forward to being at BG for first time.

94,

I’m not actually PurpleHaze, but I appreciate the compliment. Maybe I’ll see you at the game. I plan on making this one!

94,

I’m not actually PurpleHaze, but I appreciate the compliment. Maybe I’ll see you at the game. I plan on making this one!

Sorry, mistyped there, that would be good to meet. Always good to meet fellow bluegrasspreps posters. You’re welcome on the compliment.

1) Sam Elliott – QB – Henderson County – 211 yards passing with 2 TDs! Add WR Edmond Brooks with 5 catches for 115 and 1 TD vs Hoptown! Great Job!

ttt

Well done as usual. Worth noting, Franklin Hayes had 8 catches for 275 yards and 3 TDs for McCracken in their win over Mayfield.

Owensboro QB Gavin Wimsatt probably deserved some consideration for being listed among the players of the week. He was 15 - 22 passing against Apollo for 305 yds. and 5 Tds. He also added another TD on the ground.

Looking ahead at their remaining schedule, I don't see them losing to anybody with the exception of maybe Henderson Co. But they get that game at home so I feel like they will be favored. The Red Devils D is only allowing 4.25 pts. per game.