Region 1 End of the Year Rankings

District 1 – Carlisle Co will play Fulton City and Hickman Co. will play Fulton Co. Carlisle should have no problem with Fulton City and Hickman should beat Fulton Co. Carlisle would then be the favorite to win District 1.

District 2 – Paducah Tilghman will play CCA and McCracken Co will play St. Mary. PT and MCHS will be expected to move on to the championship with the Tornadoes winning district 2.

District 3 – Mayfield is the automatic qualifier for district 3 when they upset Graves Co. last week. Graves will play Ballard Memorial for the second spot. Graves should win that and the rematch with Mayfield to win District 3

District 4 – Murray has already made it to region 1 tournament. Calloway County and Marshall County will battle it out for the other spot. Regardless, Murray is expected to win district 4.

1. Paducah Tilghman (24-4)

The Blue Tornadoes held the number one spot the entire season. No team really gave them any scares although there were some very close games. Senior Sayveion McEwen is no doubt the leader of this team. He averaged 14.0 ppg but it was his leadership on and off the court that makes him so valuable to this team. Devon Hart (14.6 ppg) had some outstanding games this season as well as Brannon Warfield (12.4 ppg) and Jerome Reed (10.9 ppg).

This team will be very hard to beat in the regional tournament. Murray has the best chance of upsetting them, and Graves could pull an upset if PT has an off game. Other than that, I don’t see anyone taking them down. If they follow expectations, they will faceoff against a winnable 14th region team.

2. Murray (25-5)

Murray had some questionable games this year however, they played really well down the stretch defeating Taylor Co, UHA, and Owen Co. Region 1 POY James Boone (13.4 ppg) leads this team into the region tournament with a belief that they can win it and more. They proved in the Class “A” Classic they can play under pressure. Preston English, Duane Curtis, and Tre Hornbuckle have been playing well and will give Paducah Tilghman a run for the region title. Looking forward to when these two teams play.

3. Graves County (20-9)

Graves finished the season strong with 5 straight wins after their letdown at Mayfield. Because of that game, they weren’t guaranteed a spot in the regional tournament and had to play their way in. They beat Ballard Memorial convincingly and will play Mayfield for the district title. With 6’10” Chris Vogt leading this team, they can’t be counted out as a contender for the region title either. They are a long shot but if Ryan Mathis (13.9 ppg) and Vogt (16.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg) are playing well, the team has a shot. We have seen crazier things this year in this state.

4. McCracken County (21-8)

The Mustangs didn’t finish the season like they wanted to, but they made bigger strides than what was expected at the beginning of the year. They didn’t have a lot of experience, but pushed through to play very well. They probably don’t have the firepower to play with the top 3 teams as was shown at the end of the season, but if they can get hot from the field and play good defense, they can knock one of those three out. They have very balanced scoring with 4 players averaging between 9 and 11 points (Daniel, Hayden, Sivills, and Zakutney).

5. Mayfield (13-14)

Mayfield finished the season strong winning their last 5 games and moving up into the top 5 in the region. They convincingly beat Marshall Co. and has proved they can pull an upset in regions (Graves Co.). Coach Guhy has these guys playing well and they will be the underdog to watch throughout. They have a stingy defense and are led by Carson Guthrie and Anton Lumson. Keep an eye on these team going forward.

6. Marshall County (15-14)

The Marshalls had an pretty good season staying in the top 5 of the region all year long until this last week. They really struggled down the stretch losing 6 of their last 9 games, although they played Christian County pretty close for much of the game. This team is lead by Dj Pigg and Dylan Walters, both who average 14+ ppg. They will have a tough road through the tournament but could pick up a win or two if things fall their way.

6. Carlisle (20-8)

The Comets are another team who didn’t have the best last week of the season. They played top region teams and kept it close for a while, but just didn’t have the firepower to compete. That has been the story of Carlisle’s season. They struggled against most teams that were region contenders. Their best wins were against out of state teams in the Carbondale classic. They also have a good balance of scoring with 4 averaging 10 ppg or more (Bailey, Crider, Norsworthy, Weatherspoon). Don’t expect anything different in the region tournament. They may not even get past the first game.

8. Ballard Memorial (10-17)

Ballard Memorial’s Keagen Cooper averaged 16.2 ppg and Zach Parsons added 13.0 ppg and Jamarrion Williams 12.8. Ballard stayed in the middle of the region the entire year. They took care of business in the lower half of the region, but couldn’t pull an upset against the upper half. They lose quite a bit this year so next year may be more of the same.

9. Hickman County (11-15)

Senior Zeke Prince led Hickman with 15.5 ppg this season. The Falcons had an up and down year and finished where expected. They have 6 seniors on this team, so next year they should be very young with 1 returning junior, 1 returning sophomore, and a couple 8th graders.

10. Calloway County (8-19)

Calloway has had to endure a humbling season this year after the amazing run they had last year. They took losses from Marshall Co and Madisonville North Hopkins. They close out the year against Paducah Tilghman and then Ballard.

11. Fulton County (8-16)

Play a tough last three games against an improved Mayfield, Ballard Memorial, and Graves County. Seven wins may be all they get this year.

12. St. Mary (12-18)

The Vikings didn’t have the best ending to the regular season by losing their last 3 games. Senior guard Austin Hubert was the leader of this team and it showed in almost all statistical categories.

13. Fulton City (13-17)

The Bulldogs had some really balanced scoring this season led by Devontae Alexander (11.1 ppg) and Chan Malray (10.3 ppg). They have 3 other players who averaged 8 ppg or more. They lost 4 of their last 5 games to end the season.

14. Community Christian (1-23)

Was led by Logan Browning (11 ppg) this season, but they just do not have the talent to compete with the rest of the region. They did get a great win against rival Christian Fellowship.

There will be another update before the Region 1 tournament