Breaking Down the Class: Does Anyone want to be Ranked?

 

Coming into the 2016 season most expected Class 3A to be weaker than last year. Yes, expectations are sky high at Belfry while Corbin returned nearly all of its high powered offense. Several teams, though, suffered heavy graduation losses and there were questions surrounding established class powers like Lexington Catholic, Boyle County, Central, Caldwell County, Elizabethtown, Russell, and Paducah Tilghman, among others. What the first three weeks of the season has shown us is that most everyone is struggling to bridge the gap from last year to this year and ranking numbers 3-10 in Class 3A is an almost impossible task.

 

This week the 3A Notebook is going to break down each of the contenders for a ranking into five categories: record, strength of schedule within Class 3A, best win, worst loss, expectations for this week. (Order of breakdown and strength of schedule rating is taken from the terrific calpreps.com website).

 

Lexington Catholic

Record: 1-2

Strength of Schedule (SOS): 5th out of 39

Best Win: Beat 6A Boone County 41-18 on opening night. While it was a win, something several teams in our list don't have, the Rebels are 0-3 and have been held to seven points in each of their next two games.

Worst Loss: Neither loss was bad, considering the opponent. Catholic led St. Xavier by 28 only to give up 42 unanswered and fall by 14. The Knights then lost at Johnson Central last week 54-27.

This Week: Lexington Catholic will travel to Covington Catholic to face the high scoring, poor defending Colonels. A loss this week isn't bad, but the LexCath defense needs to stop allowing so many points and this week will make that very difficult.

 

Russell

Record: 2-0

SOS: 11th/39

Best Win: In name, you expect it to be last week's victory over Ironton. Ironton isn't the Ohio power they used to be, however, so it likely was the win over neighbor Greenup County two weeks ago.

Worst Loss: No losses, therefore no worst loss, but Russell has only scored 20 points in two games. While the defense has been very strong, continuing to average 10 points per game will put a loss in this column very quickly.

This Week: Russell has a third consecutive rivalry game, this Friday traveling to Ashland. Ashland has beat the Red Devils in six of the last eight meetings, but Russell won their most recent meeting at Putnam Stadium in 2014. Look for the Russell defense to be challenged more, but also for the offense to get untracked as well.

 

Adair County

Record: 3-0

SOS: 33rd/39

Best Win: Adair fought hard for most of the opener with Taylor County before putting the Cardinals away, 38-28. The next two weeks, and subsequent wins, were against Caverna and Larue County. Adair County has wanted to be considered among the big boys in the Class 3A the last two years, but the poor schedule and poor results against superior postseason competition has carried over questioning into this season.

Worst Loss: None. Indians are one of seven teams still undefeated in Class 3A.

This Week: Adair travels to a sneaky good 2A Metcalfe County team that has started the season 2-1. Metcalfe gave Adair all they wanted last season, before the Indians won 27-22.

 

Caldwell County

Record: 0-3

SOS: 3rd/39

Best Win: No wins, but competitive, close, and unfortunate in three games thus far.

Worst Loss: Caldwell County has suffered three consecutive defeats to open the season, but none was bad. 5A #2 Christian County pulled away late to win 50-34 in the opener, 4A #4 Franklin-Simpson was beating Caldwell 14-6 at halftime when the game was called due to weather, and 6A North Hardin topped the Tigers 24-21 last weekend.

This Week: Caldwell hosts Crittenden County in a game that, should Caldwell lose, would make this entire exercise useless. Crittenden County hasn't beat the Tigers since 2009.

 

Garrard County

Record: 2-1

SOS: 9th/39

Best Win: Beat Shelby County in the opener, 41-31. Garrard ran for 415 yards against Shelby County, but have only averaged 276 per game in their next two outings.

Worst Loss: The only loss, a 21-18 defeat at the hands of Madison Southern. Garrard fell behind early before making a comeback that ultimately was unsuccessful. Southern has, however, proven themselves as a potential top ten team in Class 5A.

This Week: Garrard's tough schedule doesn't get any easier as they travel to Rockcastle County for the first time since 1996. Garrard beat the Rockets last year, but Rockcastle has started the season with two wins and has had success on the ground and through the air.

 

Central Yellowjackets

Record: 0-3

SOS: 2nd/39

Best Win: No wins, although their first two games were decided by one point and six points, respectively.

Worst Loss: No loss to Manual, Corbin, or Christian Academy-Louisville can be considered bad, but the way the Yellowjackets were handled this weekend by CAL, 44-14, undoes some of the moral success of close losses to Manual and Corbin.

This Week: A road game at St. Xavier means it could be an 0-4 start for Central. Central hasn't lost their first four games of a season since 1993, when the Jackets finished 0-11.

 

Elizabethtown

Record: 2-1

SOS: 24th/39

Best Win: 39-3 over North Oldham on Friday night. Elizabethtown has held their last two opponents to nine points total.

Worst Loss: East Jessamine, 20-15, on opening night. E'town graduated numerous starters on both sides of the ball, but coach Mark Brown's team responded after the first loss and appears to be on the upswing, although the competition in the wins was less than stellar.

This Week: at North Hardin, Elizabethtown will try to beat the Trojans for the second year in a row. North Hardin already has wins over ranked 3A teams Boyle County and Caldwell County.

 

Bardstown

Record: 2-0

SOS: 20th/39

Best Win: Over Spencer County in Week 0, 29-13. Bardstown was something of a sleeper team for many in Kentucky, but the Tigers woke everyone up with their win over the 4A #5 Bears.

Worst Loss: None.

This Week: Bardstown hosts county rival Nelson County in what should be an easy move to 3-0. If you're curious, though, the Tigers get Elizabethtown at home the next Friday night.

 

Boyle County

Record: 0-3

SOS: 1st/39

Best Win: None. The Rebels are 0-3 for the first time since 2007.

Worst Loss: In name and ranking, none. North Hardin, Lafayette, and Danville are all talented teams and Lafayette and Danville could potentially make runs to the state championship game. The concern for Boyle is the ugly nature of the last two losses, falling to Lafayette 47-21 and to Danville 43-15 in a game that saw a mid-second quarter running clock.

This Week: Boyle travels to Anderson County in a game in which the Rebels should be favored.

 

Paducah Tilghman

Record: 0-3

SOS: 4th/39

Best Win: None. Coach Kurt Barber is still looking for his first victory as head coach of the Blue Tornado.

Worst Loss: Much like Boyle County, Paducah Tilghman has three losses to three very good teams. An early blowout defeat at the hands of McCracken County and a 48-26 loss to Mayfield on Friday sandwiched themselves around a competitive loss at Central Hardin in game 2.

This Week: I'm not sure anyone in Kentucky is certain what to think about Tilghman, but maybe this weekend will help clarify. Graves County comes to Tilghman as the Tornado will look to avoid their first 0-4 start since 2006.

 

Fleming County

Record: 2-1

SOS: 22nd/39

Best Win: Fleming put up big points against Estill County and Mason County to start the season, while allowing only a touchdown total in those two games combined. Estill was probably the better win, as the Engineers look like the favorite in District 7.

Worst Loss: Greenup County, 31-30, on Friday night. Fleming proved it could score, even against a strong Musketeers defense, but the Panther defense wilted against their first strong offensive foe.

This Week: at Rowan County against a Viking team that has had a disastrous start both on and off the field this season. Fleming should be 3-1 by the end of the week.

 

Waggener

Record: 1-1

SOS: 23rd/39

Best Win: 41-6 over Iroquois in the opener.

Worst Loss: It's the only loss, but it was a blowout. Waggener, a team garnering some state finalist talk before the game, fell to Knox Central 46-7.

This Week: Waggener had a week to lick their wounds from the Knox Central game and will now host a Shawnee team struggling to have enough numbers to field a team. We're hoping to learn more about Waggener, but this week won't be the game for us improve our perception of the Wildcats.

 

Belfry and Corbin Continue Strong Play

 

For the second week in a row, Belfry (2-0) put a methodical beating on a large class foe. Hosting Harlan County, Belfry one again had a running clock halfway through the second quarter, finishing off the Black Bears by a 47-13 count. In two games, taking away an 80-yard touchdown pass allowed to Tates Creek, Belfry's starting defensive unit has allowed less than 50 total yards of offense.

 

Corbin, meanwhile, had a bit of a breather with Clay County this week after last week's 3A battle with Central. Corbin bested Clay 40-0 in the home school's annual Appalachian Bowl. The Redhounds (3-0) task gets much tougher this week as they travel to Danville to face the old rival Admirals in what should be one of the state's best games.

 

Extra Points

 

Estill County (2-1) won their second consecutive game, this time over 1A #10 Frankfort, 33-19. Logan Beckler ran for 146 yards and a score to lead the ground-oriented Engineer attack.

 

One week after seeing their game with Glasgow cancelled due to bad weather, Casey County (2-0) went on the road to rival Russell County and won 38-19. Quarterback Breece Hayes was extremely impressive, completing 18 of 23 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

 

Union County moved to 2-0 on the season with an easy 47-6 win over Webster County. The schedule sets up for a possible 5-0 start for Union County before facing district rival Caldwell County on September 30.

 

Thomas Nelson secured their first win over a county rival since 2014, beating Nelson County 47-7. The Generals (2-1) ran for 319 yards and seven touchdowns, highlighted by Tyler Wimpsett's three trips to the end zone.

 

Three to See

(Each week the 3A Notebook will preview the three best games featuring Class 3A teams for the coming week)

 

1. Corbin at Danville. Both teams are in the top five of their respective classes and both look capable of making deep playoff runs. Corbin and Danville have played often over the years, including five times in the playoffs (Danville won four), and Admiral Stadium should be excited to see these two high-scoring offenses collide.

 

2. Lexington Catholic at Covington Catholic. In a matchup of the two largest Catholic football schools besides Trinity and St. Xavier, these two rivals meet in what could come down to who has the ball last. LexCath is scoring 32 points per game, but allowing 38. CovCath is putting up 34 per game themselves, but also giving up 37. Look for a track meet in Covington Friday night.

 

3. Belfry at Newport Central Catholic. I think the 3A Notebook is grasping at straws when trying to determine if anyone can compete with Belfry this year, but perhaps this road trip to northern Kentucky will be a challenge. Newport Central Catholic, state runner-up in Class 2A for three consecutive years, played well at Pond Creek last year, falling by a 28-10 score.

 

Just One More

(Tired of the same teams every week? Want to go off the beaten path for a 3A game this Friday night? Each week we'll look at an under-the-radar matchup to watch in Class 3A)

 

Jackson County at Pendleton County. Two of the youngest programs in Kentucky meet up in Falmouth on Saturday night. Pendleton's lone win of the 2015 season came against Jackson County, and both will be looking to pick up their second win of this season. Go watch - it's better than staying home to watch UK!

Great article. You have two of the games listed on here that I'm contemplating on going to. I'm 15 minutes from the Belfry-NCC game but I may reserve watching Belfry in that October 28th matchup with Johnson Central in Paintsville. That Corbin-Danville matchup is very intriguing.

I wouldn't say Fleming County's defense wilted. They gave up 17 points with their defense. Greenup got a score off a tipped pass interception return and a kickoff return. Greenups longest scoring drive was around 45 yards. After the first quarter, Greenup was up 21-0 and they kicked a field goal to go up 24-0 halfway thru the 2nd. From that point on, they only had a few first downs and never threatened.

Great article. You have two of the games listed on here that I'm contemplating on going to. I'm 15 minutes from the Belfry-NCC game but I may reserve watching Belfry in that October 28th matchup with Johnson Central in Paintsville. That Corbin-Danville matchup is very intriguing.

 

The only thing I would caution about Belfry vs JC is the fact that the past three years this has been a game that the opposing coaches have essentially erred on the side of caution when resting starters that may have bumps and bruises. Two years ago Belfry played without six or seven starters and then pulled the rest of the crew once it began going downhill on the scoreboard to avoid any further injury risks.

 

Last yet JC played without three starters as well.

For the JC Belfry game I suspect a full compliment of starters wont play more than a quarter for both teams. Too close to playoffs and over the past 3-4 years this has been the trend by both teams. Great game for two great fan bases, but both coaches know what the bigger prize is and will most likely rest players a majority of the game.

 

Having said that, I believe Belfry would be the favorite if both teams did play full strength for the entire game.

I wouldn't say Fleming County's defense wilted. They gave up 17 points with their defense. Greenup got a score off a tipped pass interception return and a kickoff return. Greenups longest scoring drive was around 45 yards. After the first quarter, Greenup was up 21-0 and they kicked a field goal to go up 24-0 halfway thru the 2nd. From that point on, they only had a few first downs and never threatened.

 

Fair point, wilted perhaps was the wrong word. With that said, falling down 24-0, no matter how it happened, isn't a good look for a top 10 team. On the plus side, it's far from the end of the world for Fleming, who still looks very capable of winning that district.

On that Jackson County-Pendleton County game...it'll have to be a doozy to compete with last years contest. Jackson County held a 22-0 lead in the 4th quarter and The Wildcats scored 29 straight points to win it. The game began on a rain soaked night and a HEAVY fog moved in around halftime.

Fair point, wilted perhaps was the wrong word. With that said, falling down 24-0, no matter how it happened, isn't a good look for a top 10 team. On the plus side, it's far from the end of the world for Fleming, who still looks very capable of winning that district.

I agree falling behind 24-0 is not good. It was good to see them fight back and take the lead. In years past, they might have got blown out in that situation. However, it was un-excusable to let them return the kick after fighting back the way they did.