10. Bell County (3A, 6-2)- Bobcats blow a 2 TD lead at home and now must take to the road. Jackson County should provide a nice bounce back.

 

9. Pikeville (1A, 6-2)- Panthers rout Phelps and continue the "get some young guys plenty of PT" portion of their schedule with Jenkins this week.

 

8. Corbin (3A, 5-3)- Huge win for the Hounds over their District rival makes them the favorite in their Region. Corbin seems to be peaking at the right time but the injury report continues to be a problem. Casey County shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

 

7. North Laurel (5A, 9-0)- The only undefeated team in 5A has now successfully laid waste to their District. North Laurel enjoys a BYE before gearing up for possibly their biggest challenge of the season.

 

6. Southwestern (5A, 7-1)- Warriors are rolling and scoring points at will. Now the big one looms.

 

5. Paintsville (1A, 8-0)- Tigers look to clinch their District again a reeling Raceland team.

 

4. Belfry (3A, 7-1)- The Sheldon Clark game was over literally two minutes in. Pirates biggest worry this week is making sure their starters stay away from ejection.

 

3. Ashland (4A, 8-0)- Greenup pushed the Tomcats before they distanced themselves in money time. Now it is a big time.

 

2. Johnson Central (4A, 7-0)- Eagles have been waiting weeks for a test, with rival Ashland entering 8-0 that test finally comes.

 

1. Pulaski County (5A, 7-1)- The Maroon juggernaut obliterates South Laurel. Now things get serious in a hurry against rival Southwestern.

 

TRENDING UP

Shelby Valley- Statement win for the Wildcats and it now looks like it is between them and Danville in their Region.

 

Harlan County- Give some credit to the young Black Bears. After winning a shootout with Whitley County they are one win away from hosting a playoff game.

 

Harlan Independent- The quietest 7-1 team in all of Kentucky. Green Dragons keep winning and can clinch the District Title against Pineville.

 

TRENDING DOWN

Somerset- The Jumpers have lost two straight DIstrict games and now see hopes of a homefield playoff game go by the way side.

 

Pike Central- Hawks enter this category if for no other reason than their extracurricular activities on the field. Two weeks, two fights. The Hawks now have seen 6 players ejected in two weeks. Bad form.

 

Morgan County- After a 4-1 start the wheels have fallen off for the Cougars.Three straight District losses with Breathitt County coming up. The playoffs might be out of reach now.

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

 

RB/DB Paul Stapleton, Harlan Independent

 

Stapleton was an one man big play machine in the win over Lynn Camp. He gained 199 yards on only 11 carries and scored 4 TD's on the ground. On Defense he added 4 Tackles, a Fumble Recovery, and an Interception return for TD of 84 yards.

 

GAMES OF THE WEEK

 

Two huge games, so too tough to pick just one!

 

#2 Johnson Central @ #3 Ashland- These two rivals have been at each others throat for well over a decade and perhaps no game has ever been bigger than this one. Both teams have title aspirations in Class 4A and the winner gets the all important Homefield Advantage come playoff time.

 

#6 Southwestern @ #1 Pulaski County- The only thing that makes a rivalry better is when revenge is involved. In 2014 Southwestern bit the Maroons for a regular season upset less Riley Hall. In the playoffs the tables were turned and the Warriors lost their best Offensive player and saw the Maroons edge them en route to the 5A State Title.

10. Bell County (3A, 6-2)- Bobcats blow a 2 TD lead at home and now must take to the road. Jackson County should provide a nice bounce back.

 

9. Pikeville (1A, 6-2)- Panthers rout Phelps and continue the "get some young guys plenty of PT" portion of their schedule with Jenkins this week.

 

8. Corbin (3A, 5-3)- Huge win for the Hounds over their District rival makes them the favorite in their Region. Corbin seems to be peaking at the right time but the injury report continues to be a problem. Casey County shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

 

7. North Laurel (5A, 9-0)- The only undefeated team in 5A has now successfully laid waste to their District. North Laurel enjoys a BYE before gearing up for possibly their biggest challenge of the season.

 

6. Southwestern (5A, 7-1)- Warriors are rolling and scoring points at will. Now the big one looms.

 

5. Paintsville (1A, 8-0)- Tigers look to clinch their District again a reeling Raceland team.

 

4. Belfry (3A, 7-1)- The Sheldon Clark game was over literally two minutes in. Pirates biggest worry this week is making sure their starters stay away from ejection.

 

3. Ashland (4A, 8-0)- Greenup pushed the Tomcats before they distanced themselves in money time. Now it is a big time.

 

2. Johnson Central (4A, 7-0)- Eagles have been waiting weeks for a test, with rival Ashland entering 8-0 that test finally comes.

 

1. Pulaski County (5A, 7-1)- The Maroon juggernaut obliterates South Laurel. Now things get serious in a hurry against rival Southwestern.

 

TRENDING UP

Shelby Valley- Statement win for the Wildcats and it now looks like it is between them and Danville in their Region.

 

Harlan County- Give some credit to the young Black Bears. After winning a shootout with Whitley County they are one win away from hosting a playoff game.

 

Harlan Independent- The quietest 7-1 team in all of Kentucky. Green Dragons keep winning and can clinch the District Title against Pineville.

 

TRENDING DOWN

Somerset- The Jumpers have lost two straight DIstrict games and now see hopes of a homefield playoff game go by the way side.

 

Pike Central- Hawks enter this category if for no other reason than their extracurricular activities on the field. Two weeks, two fights. The Hawks now have seen 6 players ejected in two weeks. Bad form.

 

Morgan County- After a 4-1 start the wheels have fallen off for the Cougars.Three straight District losses with Breathitt County coming up. The playoffs might be out of reach now.

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

 

RB/DB Paul Stapleton, Harlan Independent

 

Stapleton was an one man big play machine in the win over Lynn Camp. He gained 199 yards on only 11 carries and scored 4 TD's on the ground. On Defense he added 4 Tackles, a Fumble Recovery, and an Interception return for TD of 84 yards.

 

GAMES OF THE WEEK

 

Two huge games, so too tough to pick just one!

 

#2 Johnson Central @ #3 Ashland- These two rivals have been at each others throat for well over a decade and perhaps no game has ever been bigger than this one. Both teams have title aspirations in Class 4A and the winner gets the all important Homefield Advantage come playoff time.

 

#6 Southwestern @ #1 Pulaski County- The only thing that makes a rivalry better is when revenge is involved. In 2014 Southwestern bit the Maroons for a regular season upset less Riley Hall. In the playoffs the tables were turned and the Warriors lost their best Offensive player and saw the Maroons edge them en route to the 5A State Title.

 

GREAT WORK ATL! I honestly have no problems with this and I don't know a ton about EKY teams, but my question is WHY week after week this Eastern Kentucky Power Ranking gets over 200 reviews and never has anyone comment on it? I just find it odd! With 2 of the best games in the entire state this week in the east, I would think someone would bring something up about 1 of these 4 fine teams or any other teams in the east. I know you can do that on the game threads themselves but think it's a missed opportunity myself.

I do also have an EKY power ranking question. Who would you say in the East is just on the outside of the Top 10 that has the greatest potential to get a win in the first round of the playoffs?

GREAT WORK ATL! I honestly have no problems with this and I don't know a ton about EKY teams, but my question is WHY week after week this Eastern Kentucky Power Ranking gets over 200 reviews and never has anyone comment on it? I just find it odd! With 2 of the best games in the entire state this week in the east, I would think someone would bring something up about 1 of these 4 fine teams or any other teams in the east. I know you can do that on the game threads themselves but think it's a missed opportunity myself.

I do also have an EKY power ranking question. Who would you say in the East is just on the outside of the Top 10 that has the greatest potential to get a win in the first round of the playoffs?

 

Just not a lot of the Eastern Kentuckians on here... slowly starting to change

 

Just Outside The Top 10 (in no particular order)

 

Russell

West Carter

Raceland

Wayne County

Knox Central

Greenup County

Shelby Valley

Lawrence County

Fairview

 

Wayne County would probably be #11, Russell probably at #12

Wayne County would probably be #11, Russell probably at #12

ATL, What's the chance these guys win a first round playoff game?

Ashland vs. Johnson Central is potentially the biggest game in EKY this season. #2 vs #3(1&3 in their class). Both teams a combined 15-0. I've got half a mind to blow off Russell/Bath Co. and head over to Putnam for this one. Either way, I'll be following Dicky Martin on the radio.

 

What's going on at Pike Central? Has Coach Thacker lost control of his team? The fact that they're looking at two potential blowout losses to close the regular season won't make things any better.

ATL, What's the chance these guys win a first round playoff game?

 

I can't really speak on Wayne Co., but Russell's likely to see either Pike Co. Central or Sheldon Clark in the first round. The Red Devils are looking at a three way tie in their district, so their playoff path is unclear at this point. But, I'm confident that Russell will easily win it's first round game this year. Maybe even a running clock type of game.

I can't really speak on Wayne Co., but Russell's likely to see either Pike Co. Central or Sheldon Clark in the first round. The Red Devils are looking at a three way tie in their district, so their playoff path is unclear at this point. But, I'm confident that Russell will easily win it's first round game this year. Maybe even a running clock type of game.

 

Sounds like Russell could have a great playoff run Devil! Best of luck to you guys in the playoffs!:thumb:

ATL, What's the chance these guys win a first round playoff game?

 

Wayne is in a very pretty spot. They have one of the most user friendly draws in the State in 4A Region 3 and will most likely have a strong chance at a push to the Semi-Finals as such. Knox Central is their toughest competition in the Region and they have already beat them.

 

Russell first needs to win their 3-way tie-breaker. The loss to Fleming County hurt them, but thankfully West Carter bailed them out. Fleming basically has no shot at the tiebreaker and Russell controls their own destiny. The Devils have the best chance at winning the tiebreaker. This is paramount.

 

Belfry and Lawrence County are two very stout teams. Even with a 2 seed Russell wins Round 1... but the #1 seed changes everything and forces Belfry and Lawrence to come up the hill.