As Predicted

 

The first week of games in 1A made the BGP preseason rankings look good. All the top 10 ranked teams won their openers except number 10 Campbellsville. Even with some of those taking on schools in higher classes, the ranked 1A teams proved they are worthy.

 

Pikeville opened the defense of their title in impressive fashion with a 47-14 win over 2A Prestonsburg. Second ranked Russellville was not to be outdone. The western Kentucky Panthers rolled over 3A Trigg County with a 41-0 shutout. These two schools came out in their openers and proved they are at the top of the heap in 1A. Don't be shocked if this trend continues all the way to a state title game matchup between these two.

 

In the middle of the BGP rankings, all teams lived up to expectations. #4 ranked Raceland defeated a willful 3A West Carter team 28-13. #6 Paintsville rolled over a struggling Sheldon Clark program 43-0. #8 Kentucky Country Day had little trouble in a 44-29 victory over 5A Atherton.

 

The key matchups in 1A last week were #5 Hazard vs. Pineville, #7 Frankfort vs. Paris and #9 Nicholas County vs. Bethlehem. In the Hazard / Pineville game, it was a story of two teams trying to prove their worth. Hazard has battled injuries and is fighting to get back on track as a top 5 team in 1A this year. Pineville has the makings of one of their best teams ever and the Hazard game was a chance to prove themselves. Unfortunately for Pineville, the Bulldogs burst their bubble a bit with a clear cut 42-21 Hazard win.

 

The Frankfort / Paris game was another intra-class matchup. Frankfort, much like Hazard, is trying to get back to their top 5 1A status after a rare losing season in 2015. Paris had a stellar 2015 but lost quite a bit to graduation and needed a win over Frankfort to show everyone they are still a 1A force. Frankfort was able to pull out a 22-14 win and solidify their slot at number 7 in the 1A top 10.

 

In the final of our 3 key matchups, a hopeful Nicholas County had their first chance to show they deserve their #9 ranking with a tough opening opponent Bethlehem, who was a top 10 team themselves in 2015. This game lived up to its hype going down to the wire. Nicholas County finally got a score in the second half to take a 7-0 lead. Then they added a late TD to earn Nicholas County their 14-0 victory.

 

The big loss in 1A was #10 Campbellsville being overwhelmed by 2A Glasgow. Campbellsville hung tough for a bit and then the floodgates opened. When it was all said and done, Glasgow had pinned a 60-14 demoralizing loss on Campbellsville. That loss opened the #10 slot for a worthy 1A team.

 

Best of the Rest

 

So who is the team who seized the opportunity and grabbed that opening at number 10? The first possibility would have been Bethlehem. However, as mentioned above, they fell short of victory in their battle versus #9 Nicholas County. Paris and Pineville also took opening night losses to ranked 1A opponents that keep them from jumping into the opening at #10. Harlan has yet to open their season so perhaps they can slip into the #10 slot based on a predicted top notch 2016 team.

 

Two teams with strong opening game wins definitely will get consideration. Fairview is very familiar with being in the 1A top 10 and their dominant 46-6 win over 3A Bath County just may have landed them right back in the top 10 in 2016. Bishop Brossart also staked their claim with a lopsided 40-6 win over a Dayton team that is feeling like they have the makings of a solid team. Brossart had no trouble with the Green Devils and started their encore to last year's turnaround season in eye opening fashion.

 

There are three other 1A teams that got opening night wins who deserve consideration. Crittenden County defeated 2A Todd County Central 28-14. Ludlow rolled over struggling 2A Newport 42-0. A revitalized Bracken County team opened with a 54-26 win over 2nd year program Switzerland County IN.

 

Finally, although they lost their openers, there are a couple teams to keep an eye on. Williamsburg, the 2014 state runner up, gave 2A #6 Lexington Christian all they could handle before falling 32-22. Then there is perennial contender Holy Cross Louisville who lost to a strong 3A level Evansville Central IN.

 

Next Up

 

The week ahead has some fantastic battles scheduled. Top ranked Pikeville will face a challenge in a very good 5A Letcher County Central team. Number 3 ranked Beechwood opens their season with a very tough game against 2A #10 Lloyd. Raceland has a rivalry game against 4A Ashland. Lastly in our inter class games, #8 Kentucky Country Day faces a 2A ranked opponent, Lexington Christian.

 

There are even better and more revealing games for ranking purposes on tap within 1A. Our #5 Hazard team takes on an emerging top ranked 1A Fairview team. Our 1A #6 Paintsville team hosts #7 Frankfort in a game that will help us see which of these two teams may be the bigger threat in 2016.

 

It is clear that 2016 has more rankings worthy teams in 1A than we have seen in quite a few years. This week's games should go a long way to revealing which stories are the ones demanding our attention in 2016.

Fairview gets a chance to steal a win in Hazard. In this series the home team has never lost. Fairview will have to stop hazards Cory Smith who rushed for 234 yards on 25 carries. Even though hazard put up 42 on Pinevilee I got word that Pinevilles defense was much improved...