Top teams in the 1st region

[Fletch]

Are Graves County and Marshall County the favorites? Can Heath or Paducah Tilghman make a serious run like Lone Oak did last year?

[firstregionking]

I think Marshall County is the slight favorite right now and the three others that you mentioned are slightly behind the Marshals. I will say that the region is much, much stronger than in the recent past. Anytime there's a player like Ard, one of the best in the state in my opinion, I would give them a slight advantage. Also, during the Paducah Tilghman debacle, coace Gillespie benched his starters in the 4th quarter and benched all but one the next game against Calloway. That seemed to have given them a wakeup call because they've been on a nice little run ever since.

 

I would say Graves County next because they've had some solid wins as well. Losing their point guard, Johnson, for the entire season has hurt their chances to do some damage at state. But Sims has played that position before and they still have a great shot at winning the region. The real question is will Cavette behave for the rest of the season? His trouble in the past and during this current season has been noted and made well aware of in this area.

 

Paducah Tilghman seems to get on a nice little roll and then has some troubling losses that makes you scratch your head. They definitely have some athletes and can, and have, get up for big games. The question is can they put together a stretch to win the regional championship.

 

Heath has a nice record and should do fairly well in the upcoming All A Classic, but their "soft" schedule is a concern. They don't really have a bigtime win, have lost to Tilghman once and face them again in the regular season, and face Marshall County on Valentine's Day.