Seven of Top Eight Win, Other is Idle

It probably would have been a surprise to see one of the top eight in last week's Class 3A BGP rankings fall, but with an interesting schedule filled with some potential landmines it was at least worth monitoring to see the outcome of each game. There would be little suspense as the seven victorious teams won by an average of almost five touchdowns (Central [2-2] did not play). Boyle County and Belfry, rated numbers one and two, respectively, had the most impressive wins. Boyle County (5-0) took down Class 4A #9 Collins 48-14, marking their fourth consecutive running-clock victory. The Rebels again piled up big stats, passing for 307 yards and rushing for another 138. Meanwhile, Belfry took care of 1A #3 Pikeville 34-8 to avenge last season's regular season shocker. The Pirates (4-0) were stingy on defense, holding Pikeville under 200 yards for the night while also intercepting four passes.

 

While spots one through three have began to cement themselves, teams ranked four through eight have jockeyed for position throughout the early season and have seen the merits of their teams debated often. All five teams won convincingly on Friday night and will likely remain ranked the same come next week.

 

• #4 Lexington Catholic (3-2) shut out 6A Madison Central 41-0. The Knights offense didn't miss a beat without quarterback Legend Brumbaugh as backup Kirk Fagot passed for 282 yards and three scores.
  
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• #5 Caldwell County (4-1) romped over 6A Henderson County 51-20. Quarterback Shane Burns passed for 391 yards and five touchdowns as the highest scoring offense in Class 3A (44.4 ppg) scored over 50 for the second consecutive week.
  
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• #6 Paducah Tilghman had little trouble with 4A Madisonville-North Hopkins, winning easily 49-7. The Blue Tornado (3-2) will travel to Caldwell County next weekend for what should be the game of the week in Class 3A.
  
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• #7 Elizabethtown (5-0) steamrolled Bardstown 38-7. As has been the case all season, the Panthers got huge ground efforts from Bernil Cecil (185 yards) and Dalonza Cates (123 yards) while they held Bardstown to 145 yards total offense.
  
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• #8 Russell whipped 4A Boyd County 38-0. Russell (3-1) ran for 345 yards as a team with both Nick Conley and Spencer Cole clearing the century mark.
  

 

Who Should be in the Last Two Spots?

Corbin and Bell County occupied the final two positions in last week's rankings but the Redhounds fell for a second straight week, losing to Southwestern on Friday, while Bell County posted a victory against Whitley County. Just at their heels, Garrard County, Lawrence County, and Adair County all won again.

 

If you compare schedules, Bell County (4-1) likely has the best victory of anyone with their win over Wayne County. Garrard County (4-1) has two solid victories over Madison Southern and Rockcastle County. Lawrence County (4-1) also has commendable wins over Fairview and Greenup County. Bell County has a "good" defeat against topped ranked Boyle County, although the game was a runaway and the Bobcats never really threatened. Corbin (3-2) has two losses, to Danville and Southwestern, both highly ranked within their class. Garrard County has only one loss, a one-point defeat at the hands of early season surprise undefeated Shelby County.

 

In my opinion, I don't believe there is a dime's worth of difference between Bell, Corbin, and Garrard, and then not much drop to Lawrence and Adair (5-0). These five teams all seem capable of winning games and providing headaches to many of the teams ranked ahead of them.

 

Extra Points

Union County (3-1) won a battle of teams just outside the rankings in Class 3A, beating previously undefeated Hart County 42-29. The Braves had a late scoop-and-score to seal the game on a potential Hart County victory drive.

 

Western Hills (3-1) beat county rival Frankfort for the first time since 2011, winning a 20-19 squeaker.

 

Knott County Central maintained their hot start knocking off Betsy Layne 44-40. The Patriots, who haven't had a winning season since 1996, are currently 3-1.

 

Fort Campbell (1-4) won the annual Army Bowl with Fort Knox, beating the Eagles 43-8 for their first win of the season.

Bell County #9 , Garrard County #10 . 3A rankings look good as usual. You articulate your rankings very well GCHS.

 

Honestly you can't go wrong with putting Garrard County at #9 . They are a play away from being undefeated.

It also doesn't hurt that Garrard's loss was to Shelby County. At the time I think many including myself looked at that as a questionable loss... but now Shelby is undefeated and I think they are the best team in their county.

It also doesn't hurt that Garrard's loss was to Shelby County. At the time I think many including myself looked at that as a questionable loss... but now Shelby is undefeated and I think they are the best team in their county.

 

I agree!