The district battles are getting started. A few teams still are playing pre-district games but this will be the last week of out of district games for most teams. This seems like a good time to look at the pre-district successes, and losses, of our ranked teams.

 

There is always a discussion about the out of district schedules teams have. Some teams will play a very difficult out of district schedule to prepare their team and to find their team's strengths and weaknesses against really tough competition. Some teams shape the out of district schedule with a mix of tough and less challenging games to make sure their team gets pushed but also gets some wins and builds confidence. Some teams are looking for wins first and foremost. Various factors can come into play as teams try to build that schedule. One factor is it may be too much travel for some teams to find all the challenging games they want. We will consider all those factors as we look at our top 10 and their pre-district games.

 

1. Russellville - It is hard to knock an undefeated record. Russellville is number one because of that 6-0 record and the talent they returned which had them highly ranked pre-season. Russellville's schedule looks like one with a mix of tough opponents and higher class teams that are within reasonable driving distance. Unfortunately, some of those teams Russellville expected to be the most challenging did not live up to expectations. That is beyond Russellville's control. Who would have expected Murray to struggle like they are this year? But, the end result for Russellville is their strength of schedule is one of the weakest in the top 10. Their opponents have only won 8 games total, which is the lowest number of opponent wins of any team in 1A. This has raised questions of how strong Russellville truly is. Russellville can only play who is on the schedule and they have done what they needed to do. We will have to wait till the last game of the year to see Russellville face a team they will struggle to beat - Franklin Simpson. Pre-District Grade: B+

 

2. Paintsville - Paintsville is also undefeated. The structure of their pre-district schedule is one of those with a mix of challenging opponents and a couple of sure wins mixed in. Paintsville also had the misfortune of several teams not being as strong as expected. Because of that and because of those weak sure win teams, Paintsville's strength of schedule is not as good as several of the other ranked teams. Paintsville does have the best win in 1A though, with their defeat of defending 1A champion Pikeville. That win leads us to give Paintsville this grade: A-

 

3. Raceland - The Rams early season is going to get our highest grade. Raceland is undefeated; they have two of the best wins in 1A (Ashland, Greenup County); and their strength of schedule is good. Add all that up and the only way it could have been better would be if Raceland's strength of schedule was better. Grade: A

 

4. Beechwood - It could be argued that Beechwood had the best pre-district season. The only blemish on their record was a loss to the #3 team in 5A, Covington Catholic - a team that we would expect to beat any team in 1A. The Tigers' strength of schedule is far and away the best in the class. The Tigers have 3 of the 5 best wins in 1A (Somerset, Lloyd, Covington Holy Cross). The worst opponent on Beechwood's schedule is Franklin County, who has been in the top 15 in 4A most of the season. That strength of schedule is why Beechwood could claim they have the best pre-district resume, but the loss to Covington Catholic gives them this grade: A-

 

5. Pikeville - The Panthers opened the season with two nice wins over higher class opponents. They were looking like you would expect a defending champion to look. Then came the two touchdown loss to Paintsville. The Panthers bounced back from that loss with a resounding lopsided victory over a ranked Fairview team. Then Belfry did the exact same thing to Pikeville the next week. That puts the defending champs at 4-2 against the 4th toughest pre-district schedule in 1A. Grade: B

 

6. Nicholas County - The Bluejackets are the fourth undefeated team in 1A so their pre-district results could not be better. As we look at their schedule though we see no outstanding wins. Their best victory was over 3A West Carter who has a losing record (2-3). There are a couple wins over above average 1A teams. The rest of the wins are versus teams ranked very low. That schedule puts their strength of schedule in the lower half in 1A and leads to a grade of: B

 

7. Hazard - The Bulldogs only took one loss to date and their strength of schedule is ok, sitting just outside the top 10 schedules in the class. Their win over 5A Letcher County Central is one of the top 10 wins by a 1A team this season. They also have a nice win over Fairview, who has been ranked in the 1A top ten most of the season. That one loss was by 18 to Somerset, the strongest team on their schedule but a team that has not cracked the top 10 in 2A. That loss causes doubt as to whether the Bulldogs are a threat to the top 5 teams in 1A. They get a chance to show us if the schedule prepared them to win those games when they face #5 Pikeville this Friday. Grade: B

 

8. Holy Cross (Louisville) - Holy Cross' pre-district schedule includes two of the toughest opponents faced by any team in 1A (both losses), two solid and challenging opponents and two teams that are ok. That schedule is second only to Beechwood's in strength. The lopsided losses to those two toughest opponents and close wins over the three next strongest leads to a mixed review. Grade: B-

 

9. Fairview - The Eagles have certainly challenged themselves pre-district facing the #5 strength of schedule in 1A. They need the tough schedule to get ready for the most challenging district in class 1A. They went 3-3 against their demanding schedule, losing to the 3 most difficult opponents. With no quality wins - Grade: C

 

10. Kentucky Country Day - A little better record than Fairview and a little weaker schedule. KCD has no signature wins among their 4 victories. Their two losses were versus undefeated 2A Lexington Christian and undefeated 3A Adair County - both by lopsided scores. The grade would be better if they had one win over a higher rated opponent. Absent that noteable win, Grade: C+

 

Games of the Week

 

#5 Pikeville vs. #7 Hazard - A lot on the line in this district contest. The winner will be district champion and have home field advantage if there is a rematch in the playoffs. Pikeville will be looking to reassert themselves as a team to beat in 1A and Hazard will be looking to prove they are a team everyone better keep their eye on. The last time Hazard defeated Pikeville was in their 2011 championship season.

 

#8 Holy Cross (Louisville) at #10 Kentucky Country Day - This is another critical district battle with home field in the playoffs and a district title at stake. Frankfort will likely have something to say in this district but these two teams are the favorites. Kentucky Country Day's last win over Holy Cross was in 2012 and they are the underdog in this one despite having home field advantage. KCD came close last year and is looking to get over the hump and win this game this year.

Great analysis. HC versus KCD is next week, Oct 7th.

I'd have to add Bracken County to that mix. Sitting at 5-1 and a very convincing win over Harlan.

Great job VOR

Hazard and Pikeville should be a battle..