The usual names head the list of contenders in 1A and at the head of the pack is the Mayfield Cardinals. The Cardinals have been the season long favorite and top ranked team in 1A. Is there anyone who can keep the Cardinals from winning another title?

 

Region 1

 

This is Mayfield's region and the Cardinals look to have a firm grip on walking through this region again. Mayfield had their 18 game regular season winning streak snapped with a 48-41 loss to 2A #1 Caldwell County but played very well in the loss. The Cardinals have played a challenging schedule and should be ready to go for the playoffs. Third year starting QB Luke Guhy leads a potent Cardinal passing attack. An experienced offensive line powers the attack.

 

Louisville Holy Cross should be the Cardinals second round opponent. Holy Cross appeared to have their season headed in the right direction when they put together a four game winning streak, but losses to Bethlehem and Bardstown in their last two games tell us that they are not likely to pose any threat to Mayfield.

 

In the other half of this region's bracket stand the next 2 best teams behind Mayfield and the team that will be the biggest threat to the Cardinals, Russellville and Bethlehem. Russellville looks to be the team that has the best shot at upsetting Mayfield. Those two played in the regular season and Russellville took an early lead. Mayfield responded to the challenge though to get the 42-21 win.

 

In round one Russellville will face the Ky. Country Day Bearcats who have a respectable 5-5 record. Ky. Country Day has been up and down all season long and finished the year with a couple wins. Russellville should have little trouble in this one.

 

The other first round game will have Bethlehem facing Fulton City. Bethlehem has quietly put together a 9-1 record that would seem to make them a team that would cause concern for Russellville. A closer look at Bethlehem's schedule shows no wins against a team close to Russellville's calibre.

 

The round two games should be Mayfield vs. Holy Cross and Russellville vs. Bethlehem. The two heavy favorites will get through those opponents and bring us a rematch of Mayfield vs. Russellville for the region title. The Cardinals are just too strong and may once again have to work a little for the win over the Panthers, but Mayfield will get the win.

 

Region Final Prediction - Mayfield 49 Russellville 20

 

Region 2

 

Beechwood has never lost in this region since the 6 class format was put in place. While most consider the Tigers to be the favorite once again, the Tigers perennial opponent in the region final, the Frankfort Panthers appear to be a more serious threat than ever to finally get over the Tigers hump.

 

Frankfort brings an 8-2 record and seven game winning streak into the playoffs. Frankfort did get their first challenge in several weeks when they faced highly ranked Danville in the season finale. The Panthers only led 17-10 at halftime but pulled away for an impressive 51-24 win.

 

Frankfort will almost surely face the Bellevue Tigers in round two. Bellevue features a very strong offensive attack behind dual threat QB Tyler Ackerson and lightning quick RB Dylan Huff. Bellevue will put points on the board but they don't have enough to get past the Panthers.

 

Beechwood's part of this regional bracket includes three teams the Tigers are familiar with in playoff play - Bracken County, Ludlow and Paris. None of these teams have posed any kind of threat to Beechwood in the past.

 

Paris however features an 8-2 record including being the only team this year to defeat Bethlehem. However, as we look at round one, Paris faces a Ludlow team they defeated only 34-26 in week three. Ludlow was without their star QB Mitchell Cody in that game and an upset is not out of the question in this first round rematch.

 

Beechwood suffered a disappointing loss in their final regular season game against Newport Central Catholic that dropped the Tigers record to 6-4. However, Beechwood will have no trouble in round one versus Bracken County. In round two versus the winner of a closely matched Ludlow-Paris game, the Tigers regular season 56-0 domination of Ludlow makes it pretty clear that the Tigers will once again play in a region final.

 

This is where it gets tough. Frankfort is playing very well and Beechwood still is having trouble running the ball. Frankfort came into last year's region final versus Beechwood with only one loss and some thought they could finally get a win over the Tigers. Beechwood did what they have done for the past few years though and rushed their way to a 35-13 win. There is one common opponent - 5A Franklin County. Frankfort fell to them by a score of 51-26 while Beechwood held a fourth quarter lead before allowing two 4th quarter TD's giving Franklin County a 28-24 win. Beechwood's defense showed some defects in the game versus Newport Catholic and the Tigers lost several players during that contest whose injury status is not known as of this writing. None of those injuries appeared serious enough to keep the players from being ready for the Frankfort game three weeks deep in the playoffs. This appears to truly be Frankfort's best shot at beating the Tigers. If it is as cold as it usually is when these teams play, the Tiger passing game may struggle and Beechwood's running game has not made an appearance against a strong opponent.

 

Region Final Prediction - Beechwood 35 Frankfort 28

 

Region 3

 

This region is the most clear cut regional in 1A. There is no one in the paths of Williamsburg and Hazard that can prevent those two from meeting in this region final. The only team that would cause anyone to even take a second look would be 6-6 Pineville, but Williamsburg disposed of them 47-0 this past Friday.

 

That brings us to a rematch in the region final of last year's game. In that one, Hazard looked like a heavy favorite but had a major fight before finally walking out of the stadium with a 7-0 win. Williamsburg toughened up their schedule this year to prepare for a playoff run. They are a senior led team with a potent passing attack. QB Dalton Sizemore has several key targets with Corey Shelton at the top of the list. Hazard is led by RB Brandon Jones. The Bulldogs are just two years removed from a state championship and have a couple of good wins on their record. Williamsburg did put those tougher opponents on the schedule but they weren't able to challenge those teams in their two losses. This game is one of those close contests that will be decided by the turnovers.

 

Region Final Prediction - Hazard 27 Williamsburg 20

 

Region 4

 

This region lost one of its top challengers when the KHSAA banned Fairview from the playoffs. There are still three high quality teams left that make this a tough region.

 

The Raceland Rams now become the region favorite. The Rams enter the playoffs at 8-2 and only 6 points away from an undefeated season. The Rams have a big, imposing line and multiple threats running behind that line. They have a balanced offensive attack led by QB Adam Elkins. Round one versus Phelps poses no threat. That will get the Rams to a round two game versus Paintsville.

 

Paintsville has put together a good season bringing a 7-3 record into the playoffs. However, the Tigers have lost to the three 1A teams that are their top competition in the region. One of those losses was to their second round foe Raceland by a 32-10 score. It doesn't appear like Paintsville has enough to get by Raceland in round two.

 

The bottom of this bracket is an easy prediction with the exit of Fairview. Pikeville has a 9-1 record with their only loss to an excellent Belfry team who is ranked #1 in 3A. Pikeville has some impressive wins, beating 1A power Hazard 62-50 and a strong 2A team Middlesboro 77-46. The Panthers lead 1A in scoring averaging 48 points per game.

 

So it looks like Raceland facing Pikeville for the region title. This game could turn into a real shootout. Pikeville has a very potent offensive attack and Raceland can also put points on the board. Raceland's defense has been more impressive than Pikeville's, and defense wins titles. Last year Pikeville knocked Raceland out of the playoffs with a 26-20 upset win and the year before Pikeville won 54-21. Raceland put one ghost to rest this season when they got a win over Fairview. Can they put another aside in this match?

 

Region Final Prediction - Pikeville 28 Raceland 27

 

State Semifinal Prediction - Mayfield 38 Beechwood 21

State Semifinal Prediction - Pikeville 50 Hazard 42

 

State Champion Prediction - Mayfield 50 Pikeville 35

Wow!

Wow!

 

Wow because of good info or wow because something surprised you in the article?

Thanks for you work, enjoyed the read

Wow because of good info or wow because something surprised you in the article?

Great article and a little shocked at the Pikeville prediction and subsequent run to the Title game.

Great article and a little shocked at the Pikeville prediction and subsequent run to the Title game.

 

Yes, I agree. Pikeville is a bit of an upset prediction. What do you think about it? Raceland has lost to them the last two years in the playoffs. What is going to make the difference for Raceland this year that will get them a win over Pikeville?

 

Pikeville already beat Hazard so that shouldn't be a surprise if those two meet and Pikeville wins.

Last year, Raceland beat Pikeville in week 3 54-14 and moved the ball efficiently in the playoff game but our defense and kickoff return team let us down. We played poorly and they beat us in OT. If we play like we have been recently and the fact we are at Home, I disagree with the Pikeville win prediction. I think the win over Fairview and last week's win over Ironton has really given out guys the vision needed to win these big games.

^ Sorry I changed from 3rd person to first person.

Pikeville has never won at Ram Stadium.

 

Just saying……………

Good job, Ram...I hope you are right.

Along the lines of the Pikeville discussion, is 1A less predictable this year than it has been the past few years? Mayfield is the clear favorite but after them, I don't think there is a clearcut favorite. I think all these teams are pretty evenly matched and all would have some chance at upsetting Mayfield - Russellville, Frankfort, Raceland, Beechwood, Pikeville, Hazard and Williamsburg. There isn't any combination of two of those teams in the title game that would shock me, excepting Mayfield.

A great article with some excellent info. I basically agree with everything on here.

I can understand where Pikeville would be picked over Raceland in their region final. Reason is simple, Raceland has gotten beat by Pikeville the last two seasons in the Region semi-finals, this game (if that's who is there) is just one week level further on the schedule. Yes, Raceland is loaded but so is Pikeville and the Panthers have beaten the Rams in every playoff game they have had. Another reason......Raceland has never Won a Region Championship, the Rams have been in countless finals but haven't gotten past that mark. Pikeville has not only won Regional Titles, they have won 1A State Championships. (and BTW - No one look past Paintsville, the Tigers have their "swagger" back and are very capable of an upset of any of the favorites should they look past them, just sayin').

The West Bracket looks good to me. Plain and Simple..... Mayfield is the State Champion until someone beats them.

 

I am glad that this season I can honestly say that I have a ton of respect for every team in the playoffs this season. Good Luck to all teams, unless you are playing Raceland. And, should you play and beat Raceland, I will wish you luck then as well.

 

High School Football....Gotta Love It !

Edited November 4, 201312 yr by oldrambler

^^^ That's why I love the Ram fans. They are 100% loyal and rabid in their support, but they don't let that cloud their judgment. Nice posts in this thread by all the Ram fans.

Were you at the North Laurel/Williamsburg game? I was. To state that Williamsburg didn't challenge North Laurel is not true. The game was close throughout and the Jaguars didn't pull away until the 4th quarter. Williamsburg had it first and goal in the third quarter, and if it would have scored, would have tied things up at 14 apiece. And that's not challenging? You need to be there before making a statement like that.

Edited November 4, 201312 yr by Les

Were you at the North Laurel/Williamsburg game? I was. To state that Williamsburg didn't challenge North Laurel is not true. The game was close throughout and the Jaguars didn't pull away until the 4th quarter. Williamsburg had it first and goal in the third quarter, and if it would have scored, would have tied things up at 14 apiece. And that's not challenging? You need to be there before making a statement like that.

 

Noted.