What about the Highlands wins over top 25 teams John Hardin and Covington Catholic? How about the win over a highly ranked Florida team? Those should help place Highlands in the top 5. If you are saying how do they compare within those top 5, then I see your point as the Trinity scrimmage is the only reference point.

 

 

1. Bowling Green - Reluctantly over Trinity. If they win this weekend, I will feel better about them at #1.

2. Trinity - Six of their 8 opponents are good enough to be in the top 5 in KY. If they had beaten Male, they would still be #1.

3. Male - I know, they beat Trinity. But in week 10, you have to look at the whole schedule and results.

4. Highlands

5. Saint Xavier

6. Manual

7. Scott County - Play somebody. There are still a lot of undefeated teams left that are ranked lower than this.

8. Simon Kenton - Ditto above. If not for the two lopsided losses to Scott Co. last year, I would have SK one notch higher.

9. Mayfield

10. Covington Catholic

11. Boyle County

12. McCracken Co. - 4 points away from being undefeated and in the top 10.

13. Pulaski County

14. Johnson Central - Facing another undefeated team this week - Belfry.

15. Belfry

16. Christian Academy - Louisville

17. Caldwell County

18. Butler

19. Anderson County

20. Dixie Heights

21. Central Hardin

22. Collins

23. Lexington Catholic

24. DeSales

25. Franklin County

 

 

VoR, you know I respect the heck outta your opinion. Here's my thoughts on some of the teams, and hopefully it can clear some things up.

 

Highlands:

Will probably roll through 4A. I'd be surprised if someone other than Covington Catholic challenged them.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they could win 6A this year if given the chance, especially if they were given the same road as it looks as say, Simon Kenton, will be taking. That’s not to say that I’d pick them to win 6A if they could, just that 6A is wide open enough and they’re good enough to do it (in no small part because of the kind of program they are and coach Mueller is), regardless of what happened in a preseason scrimmage.

 

BUT... even though I have said myself that I don’t put a lot of faith in preseason scrimmages because coaches are still tinkering with lineups, trying things out, and working out the bugs in their grand experiments, I just can’t place them in the top half of the state given their ugly loss in a scrimmage to Trinity. If Trinity weren’t so even with the rest of the field, I’d be more inclined to write it off as a bad performance, but seeing them get hammered by a Trinity team that’s fell back down to Earth hurts their claim to “best in the State”. In short, I think that this is in agreement with your first comment above with where I would rank them against the rest of the field.

 

 

Trinity:

They've been the class of Kentucky for years. I'm not denying that. Anyone would be crazy to deny that. See everything I’ve said after the ‘But’ in the argument above. They play St. Xavier close in a rivalry game. Manual makes us wonder how good they really are. Then their world comes crashing down against Male. I’ve seen too many good Trinity teams and seen too many other years where the ‘Trinity’ across the chest of the jersey rouses a pride in them that carries them through the playoffs. They could well be the 6A favorite until they are beaten out.

 

At the end of the day, I think this year’s Trinity team, regardless of their immense talent in their own right, was just one that was destined to underachieve because of the talent of the last two classes. Where do you go from where the 2011 and 2012 Shamrocks were? Short of beating some small college teams, I don’t really think there was much more they could do. The 2013 Trinity squad is only less dominant when compared to other Trinity squads.

 

 

Male:

Whoa! Was that bandwagon full last week or what? Maybe the Bulldogs’ backing was rightfully gained though. After all, they were the team that had survived a shootout on the road with St. Xavier in one week and ground one out at home against Trinity the very next. They were on top of the Kentucky High School Football world. Everyone was ready to annoit the new king. And then.... then... Manual happened.

 

Manual made everyone second guess Male and appreciate the parity of Louisville’s 6A scene. Maybe Male had too much too soon? Maybe their ascent was too fast? Maybe their first year coach wasn’t used to preparing them in the role of the hunted instead of the hunter. Whatever it was, a Manual team that had suffered narrow defeats to Trinity and St. Xavier found a way to put a feather in their own cap and knock off Male at home.

 

 

Manual:

They’ve played all the big dogs close. They knocked off Male. Were they able to reach down and call on something that they learned in two close losses? Does the underdog role suit them exceptionally well? What we know is that they’ve taken on Trinity, St. Xavier, and Male (respectively) in 3 consecutive weeks. The results of those games: 30-38 loss, 23-24 loss, and a 32-29 win. Again, this is a -6 point differential against arguably the top 3 teams in their class, and in consecutive weeks.

 

Manual strikes me as dangerous. One constant in their biggest tests so far has been the ability to put points on the board. In their games against other 6A Louisville powers, they haven’t put up quite as many points as Male, but the median score they’ve hung has been more consistent. Also, one of the biggest things screaming “Wild Card” about Manual is that even they don’t seem to have any clue about what they are “supposed“ to do or how they should be playing. They are the team who punched themselves out early and only combined to beat Ballard and Seneca by a total of 19 points in back-to-back weeks. Then again, they are the team who came out throwing haymakers and landed a shot that exposed some weaknesses in Trinity’s defensive game.

 

The final thing I’ll say about Manual is that you have to give them respect for who they’ve taken on. Central, Ballard, Butler, Trinity, St. Xavier and Male are more quality teams than most programs play in a three-year span.

 

St. Xavier:

Once considered by many to be THE best team in the State, the Xaverians have been the least impressive of the 6A Louisville teams. First, they were blown out at home by Bowling Green, 39-25, in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. While that one game could have been an anomaly, their case is hurt by the fact that the transitive property (i.e., comparing scores) is not kind to them. The one win against the Trinity, Male, Manual trio only came by 1 point.

 

Aside from this, they also apparently have a quarterback controversy and some issues with coaches leaving the program mid-year. Still yet, they also have Charles Walker to carry the rock, and, as if he needed it, plenty of size in the trenches. Walker missed the Trinity game, so maybe his absence could have swung the outcome. Against Bowling Green, Walker looked like one of the top backs in the nation, and was what I felt was one of the few St. X kids who hurt the Purples.

 

 

Bowling Green:

To me, this is the top team in the state. It all starts with all-everything WR/DB Nacarius Fant. Cover him with your best player? That’s fine, just don’t forget Pillow and Tisdale. Even if you cover all three, Hayes is still capable of tucking the ball and challenging the defense while they are covering side-to-side. This team’s speed is what separates them from their counter-parts for me. The only weakness they have is their kicking game.

 

While they are somewhat unproven (outside of the St. X game), I think people fail to realize how good McCallie is. This week’s test against Blackmon should tell us all we need to know about Bowling Green though.

Highlands:

Will probably roll through 4A. I'd be surprised if someone other than Covington Catholic challenged them.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they could win 6A this year if given the chance, especially if they were given the same road as it looks as say, Simon Kenton, will be taking. That’s not to say that I’d pick them to win 6A if they could, just that 6A is wide open enough and they’re good enough to do it (in no small part because of the kind of program they are and coach Mueller is), regardless of what happened in a preseason scrimmage.

 

BUT... even though I have said myself that I don’t put a lot of faith in preseason scrimmages because coaches are still tinkering with lineups, trying things out, and working out the bugs in their grand experiments, I just can’t place them in the top half of the state given their ugly loss in a scrimmage to Trinity. If Trinity weren’t so even with the rest of the field, I’d be more inclined to write it off as a bad performance, but seeing them get hammered by a Trinity team that’s fell back down to Earth hurts their claim to “best in the State”. In short, I think that this is in agreement with your first comment above with where I would rank them against the rest of the field.

 

Here is my issue with this take. Do some teams improve over the course of a season? Do some teams get worst or stay the same? From what I have seen Highlands has gotten a ton better and Trinity hasn't improved any or much at all. Who really knows who #1 is? Like I have been saying for a few weeks the top 5 or 6 could beat each other on any given night. GO BIRDS!!!!

Highlands:

Will probably roll through 4A. I'd be surprised if someone other than Covington Catholic challenged them.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they could win 6A this year if given the chance, especially if they were given the same road as it looks as say, Simon Kenton, will be taking. That’s not to say that I’d pick them to win 6A if they could, just that 6A is wide open enough and they’re good enough to do it (in no small part because of the kind of program they are and coach Mueller is), regardless of what happened in a preseason scrimmage.

 

BUT... even though I have said myself that I don’t put a lot of faith in preseason scrimmages because coaches are still tinkering with lineups, trying things out, and working out the bugs in their grand experiments, I just can’t place them in the top half of the state given their ugly loss in a scrimmage to Trinity. If Trinity weren’t so even with the rest of the field, I’d be more inclined to write it off as a bad performance, but seeing them get hammered by a Trinity team that’s fell back down to Earth hurts their claim to “best in the State”. In short, I think that this is in agreement with your first comment above with where I would rank them against the rest of the field.

 

Here is my issue with this take. Do some teams improve over the course of a season? Do some teams get worst or stay the same? From what I have seen Highlands has gotten a ton better and Trinity hasn't improved any or much at all. Who really knows who #1 is? Like I have been saying for a few weeks the top 5 or 6 could beat each other on any given night. GO BIRDS!!!!

 

 

Highlands defense has certainly improved over the course of the season. Really looking forward to a potential matchup with JC.

I still feel like St. X is better than people want to give them credit for based on their regular season results. If I was a fan of a 6A team I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs.

 

Highlands will roll through the 4A playoffs. They are simply on another level compared to everyone else in 4A this season.

 

BG is the best team in the state EVEN if they lose to Blackman this week. I'd take them over any KY team in a one and done game this season. That offense is just stupid. Simply stupid. You have to stop 3 people and that's before you get to the most underrated QB in the state.

Anyone else feel like Dixie could be a "dark horse" in the playoffs?

 

If crazy things are going to happen, then this feels like the year.

 

Passing game needs to get better for them to make a run.

VoR, you know I respect the heck outta your opinion. Here's my thoughts on some of the teams, and hopefully it can clear some things up.

 

Highlands:

Will probably roll through 4A. I'd be surprised if someone other than Covington Catholic challenged them.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they could win 6A this year if given the chance, especially if they were given the same road as it looks as say, Simon Kenton, will be taking. That’s not to say that I’d pick them to win 6A if they could, just that 6A is wide open enough and they’re good enough to do it (in no small part because of the kind of program they are and coach Mueller is), regardless of what happened in a preseason scrimmage.

 

BUT... even though I have said myself that I don’t put a lot of faith in preseason scrimmages because coaches are still tinkering with lineups, trying things out, and working out the bugs in their grand experiments, I just can’t place them in the top half of the state given their ugly loss in a scrimmage to Trinity. If Trinity weren’t so even with the rest of the field, I’d be more inclined to write it off as a bad performance, but seeing them get hammered by a Trinity team that’s fell back down to Earth hurts their claim to “best in the State”. In short, I think that this is in agreement with your first comment above with where I would rank them against the rest of the field.

 

 

Trinity:

They've been the class of Kentucky for years. I'm not denying that. Anyone would be crazy to deny that. See everything I’ve said after the ‘But’ in the argument above. They play St. Xavier close in a rivalry game. Manual makes us wonder how good they really are. Then their world comes crashing down against Male. I’ve seen too many good Trinity teams and seen too many other years where the ‘Trinity’ across the chest of the jersey rouses a pride in them that carries them through the playoffs. They could well be the 6A favorite until they are beaten out.

 

At the end of the day, I think this year’s Trinity team, regardless of their immense talent in their own right, was just one that was destined to underachieve because of the talent of the last two classes. Where do you go from where the 2011 and 2012 Shamrocks were? Short of beating some small college teams, I don’t really think there was much more they could do. The 2013 Trinity squad is only less dominant when compared to other Trinity squads.

 

 

Male:

Whoa! Was that bandwagon full last week or what? Maybe the Bulldogs’ backing was rightfully gained though. After all, they were the team that had survived a shootout on the road with St. Xavier in one week and ground one out at home against Trinity the very next. They were on top of the Kentucky High School Football world. Everyone was ready to annoit the new king. And then.... then... Manual happened.

 

Manual made everyone second guess Male and appreciate the parity of Louisville’s 6A scene. Maybe Male had too much too soon? Maybe their ascent was too fast? Maybe their first year coach wasn’t used to preparing them in the role of the hunted instead of the hunter. Whatever it was, a Manual team that had suffered narrow defeats to Trinity and St. Xavier found a way to put a feather in their own cap and knock off Male at home.

 

 

Manual:

They’ve played all the big dogs close. They knocked off Male. Were they able to reach down and call on something that they learned in two close losses? Does the underdog role suit them exceptionally well? What we know is that they’ve taken on Trinity, St. Xavier, and Male (respectively) in 3 consecutive weeks. The results of those games: 30-38 loss, 23-24 loss, and a 32-29 win. Again, this is a -6 point differential against arguably the top 3 teams in their class, and in consecutive weeks.

 

Manual strikes me as dangerous. One constant in their biggest tests so far has been the ability to put points on the board. In their games against other 6A Louisville powers, they haven’t put up quite as many points as Male, but the median score they’ve hung has been more consistent. Also, one of the biggest things screaming “Wild Card” about Manual is that even they don’t seem to have any clue about what they are “supposed“ to do or how they should be playing. They are the team who punched themselves out early and only combined to beat Ballard and Seneca by a total of 19 points in back-to-back weeks. Then again, they are the team who came out throwing haymakers and landed a shot that exposed some weaknesses in Trinity’s defensive game.

 

The final thing I’ll say about Manual is that you have to give them respect for who they’ve taken on. Central, Ballard, Butler, Trinity, St. Xavier and Male are more quality teams than most programs play in a three-year span.

 

St. Xavier:

Once considered by many to be THE best team in the State, the Xaverians have been the least impressive of the 6A Louisville teams. First, they were blown out at home by Bowling Green, 39-25, in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. While that one game could have been an anomaly, their case is hurt by the fact that the transitive property (i.e., comparing scores) is not kind to them. The one win against the Trinity, Male, Manual trio only came by 1 point.

 

Aside from this, they also apparently have a quarterback controversy and some issues with coaches leaving the program mid-year. Still yet, they also have Charles Walker to carry the rock, and, as if he needed it, plenty of size in the trenches. Walker missed the Trinity game, so maybe his absence could have swung the outcome. Against Bowling Green, Walker looked like one of the top backs in the nation, and was what I felt was one of the few St. X kids who hurt the Purples.

 

 

Bowling Green:

To me, this is the top team in the state. It all starts with all-everything WR/DB Nacarius Fant. Cover him with your best player? That’s fine, just don’t forget Pillow and Tisdale. Even if you cover all three, Hayes is still capable of tucking the ball and challenging the defense while they are covering side-to-side. This team’s speed is what separates them from their counter-parts for me. The only weakness they have is their kicking game.

 

While they are somewhat unproven (outside of the St. X game), I think people fail to realize how good McCallie is. This week’s test against Blackmon should tell us all we need to know about Bowling Green though.

 

 

He also missed the male game. Also have to take Percell's injury into account. Percell was the highest rated offensive player on the team.

 

I still feel like St. X is better than people want to give them credit for based on their regular season results. If I was a fan of a 6A team I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs.

 

Highlands will roll through the 4A playoffs. They are simply on another level compared to everyone else in 4A this season.

 

BG is the best team in the state EVEN if they lose to Blackman this week. I'd take them over any KY team in a one and done game this season. That offense is just stupid. Simply stupid. You have to stop 3 people and that's before you get to the most underrated QB in the state.

 

Agree 100% with everything you said.

Here is my issue with this take. Do some teams improve over the course of a season? Do some teams get worst or stay the same? From what I have seen Highlands has gotten a ton better and Trinity hasn't improved any or much at all. Who really knows who #1 is? Like I have been saying for a few weeks the top 5 or 6 could beat each other on any given night. GO BIRDS!!!!

 

I would agree that in general, teams improve, and that this is especially true for well coached teams. While Trinity has arguably regressed or leveled off and Highlands has probably improved, it's just hard to erase that one from my mind.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think that Highlands could win 6A. I'd just like to have another top Kentucky team to at least compare scores with them. I know that doing this means I'm applying the most dangerous methods of telling whose best, but it's really all we really have.

 

I'm not saying Highlands hasn't played a tough schedule, it's just that Elder and University Christian make their schedule tougher to gauge when compared to Male, Manual, St. Xavier, and Trinity, who've all played one another.

 

Maybe that's not fair to the Birds, but when we just have their scrimmage against Trinity, a blowout win against Covington Catholic, and some closer than expected games with Paducah Tilghman and John Hardin, it's hard for me to put them much higher.

 

I do agree that it's hard to really know who the best team is, this kind of stuff isn't really an exact science, but it's fun to speculate.

 

I will say that I agree, as I've said from the start, that Highlands could win 6A this year though.

Passing game needs to get better for them to make a run.

 

Forget the passing game. It isn't going to happen because they don't have the players to make it happen. Run it, run it and run it some more. If Dixie throws more than 5 passes, they are in trouble. If they throw 10, they will lose to a good team in the playoffs. Here is my thought on the best thing Dixie could do to open the running game up and keep people from stacking the box. Run play action passes with the full intent of Drew Moore running the ball and not passing it, or set up in the shotgun formation and a passing formation with the objective to get Moore running space.

Forget the passing game. It isn't going to happen because they don't have the players to make it happen. Run it, run it and run it some more. If Dixie throws more than 5 passes, they are in trouble. If they throw 10, they will lose to a good team in the playoffs. Here is my thought on the best thing Dixie could do to open the running game up and keep people from stacking the box. Run play action passes with the full intent of Drew Moore running the ball and not passing it, or set up in the shotgun formation and a passing formation with the objective to get Moore running space.

 

They MUST control the game to keep the other team's offense off the field. If they get behind by a couple of TDs, they don't have the passing game right now for quick strikes to catch up.

 

VOR, I could be wrong, but aren't they already doing what you are suggesting? I know Moore uses bubble screens.

1. Bowling Green - Reluctantly over Trinity. If they win this weekend, I will feel better about them at #1.

2. Trinity - Six of their 8 opponents are good enough to be in the top 5 in KY. If they had beaten Male, they would still be #1.

3. Male - I know, they beat Trinity. But in week 10, you have to look at the whole schedule and results.

4. Highlands

5. Saint Xavier

6. Manual

7. Scott County - Play somebody. There are still a lot of undefeated teams left that are ranked lower than this.

8. Simon Kenton - Ditto above. If not for the two lopsided losses to Scott Co. last year, I would have SK one notch higher.

9. Mayfield

10. Covington Catholic

11. Boyle County

12. McCracken Co. - 4 points away from being undefeated and in the top 10.

13. Pulaski County

14. Johnson Central - Facing another undefeated team this week - Belfry.

15. Belfry

16. Christian Academy - Louisville

17. Caldwell County

18. Butler

19. Anderson County

20. Dixie Heights

21. Central Hardin

22. Collins

23. Lexington Catholic

24. DeSales

25. Franklin County

 

Putting Central Hardin at #21 while JH and Meade County (who destroyed Central Hardin) are left off makes this list way off.

Putting Central Hardin at #21 while JH and Meade County (who destroyed Central Hardin) are left off makes this list way off.

 

Valid points.

 

21. DeSales

22. John Hardin

23. Meade County

24. Central Hardin

25. Collins

Hey all, just wanted to let everyone know I'm working on the weighted averages as we speak. Sorry it's coming so late this week, but better late than never I guess.

 

I should have something posted shortly. It's been encouraging seeing more people participate, especially because I think it makes the rankings more accurate, but it also means more work and data to crunch. Regardless, everything should be up shortly.

I'll have the rankings up shortly and wanted to throw out a screen shot explaining part of how I did these rankings since I've had some people ask.

 

 

This is a portion of what I'll call my "Dark Arts" Rankings system (that's some humor for all you Harry Potter fans).

 

I take everyone's ranks, give them a score based on the amount of teams they rank and the accuracy of their previous week's rankings, then alphabetize the lists. From there, I add in the Cantrell top 25 and factor in the Cantrell score of every team on the list, regardless of whether or not they are in the Cantrell top 25.

This Week's Rankings: