With three regions in Northern Kentucky and the existence of the NKAC, we see a plethora (3 Amigos) of inter-regional matchups in December. Personally, I have never been a fan of the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference, but over the years I have found myself to be in the minority. It would appear that Lloyd Memorial is in the North Central Athletic Conference with Walton Verona and some of the other County Schools.

 

I think there is also an entity known as the Northern Ky Coach’s Association (NKCA) which does include Lloyd and Walton Verona. This is when head coaches get together to vote on various awards for coaches and players. Some of the Northern Kentucky schools that particpate in the 8th and 10th Region have their own association specific to that region, so schools like Campbell County or Scott have a plethora (3 Amigos) of extra stuff to keep track of.

 

With the Christmas Break from school, several teams are traveling for various tournaments which will leave the upcoming week a little dull. I miss the Lloyd Invitational tournament. I believe that Beechwood used to hold a tournament and I do not see the Mike Swauger Classic on Bellevue’s schedule. I think Highlands is hosting some games this week or you may have to venture from home in order to get your fix.

 

Rankings

 

1. Covington Catholic (4-3): Covington Catholic rolled to three victories this week and seem to be playing better. It would appear that the general fanbase has already crowned them champions of the Eastern-Seaboard and predict total dominance against all local teams. I will be the outlier and say that Covington Catholic will lose a game this year to either an 8th, 9th, or 10th Region team. As a team they are shooting 71% from the free throw line with Joseph Moser shooting 94% (15 of 16).

 

2. Beechwood (6-3): After one week at #3, Beechwood goes back to #2. They had rattled off five straight wins prior to a defeat against a solid Tates Creek team. Scotty Draud is ranked 3rd in the state in both total points and points per game. Will Downton is an outstanding athlete that can jump out of the gym, when he gets the ball on a break it can get pretty exciting. Beechwood also has a kid named Rolf who has a good three-point shot from the corner (35%).

 

3. St. Henry (5-2): I may have over-exaggerated St. Henry a little last week when I had them at #2. The Crusaders went 1-1 this week and with the Tigers playing better, they drop one spot. Jude Bessler is having a good season averaging 10 ppg, 5 rpg, and shooting 87% from the free-throw line.

 

4. Highlands (8-0): The Bluebirds remain undefeated and are in poised to go lossless until the new year. I know it’s an impressive record and according to @throwback32 they continue to be slighted, but I just don’t see a high level of competition in any of their wins. That is not the players' fault, you can only play the teams that are on your schedule. I don’t really know if Clark-Montessori is a good team or not, when I was playing for Batavia, they were towards the bottom of their conference. A quick check of Maxpreps has them at 3-8 for the year.

 

5. Conner (5-2): Conner lost their second game to Spencer County. They remain at #5 and travel to the Buckeye State for a few games this week. They will host Covington Catholic on the 3rd. Might they fulfill my prognostication?

 

6. Newport Central Catholic (5-2): Newport Central Catholic has been able to post a winning record despite the injuries on their team. Coach Dawn got his 500th win. Congratulations Coach!!

 

7. Newport (8-0): Newport won three games and “accidentally” broke a backboard this week. They will be playing in the Lake Cumberland Classic. They have a player named Cameron Daniels that scored 12, 15, and 16 points in their three victories to raise his season average to double digits.

 

8. Lloyd Memorial (6-2): Lloyd beat Holmes and Boone County last week. They are participating in the Central Bank Classic on the 27th.

 

9. Holmes (5-3): The Bulldogs beat a very good Grant County team. They play a pair of Single-A teams in Brossart and Walton this week. They have not updated their stats.

 

10. Cooper (2-5): The Jaguars went undefeated this week. They travel to Lexington Catholic and play Bardstown on the 27th. @Cooper_fan posed the question on whether or not the Jags have started to hit their stride, while I feel that is impossible to tell at this point, a win against Bardstown is definitely a step in the right direction. I decided to move them above Holy Cross even though the Indians have another win.

 

11. Holy Cross (3-4): The Indians won two game this week against Carter and Lewis County. They have three players scoring in double digits.

 

12. Ryle (3-5): The Cooper loss moves Ryle down one spot. Ryle should beat some teams at the Henry County tournament.

 

13. Boone County (2-6): The Rebels should be able to beat Henry County the day after Christmas. It’s always good to win a game when traveling to the 8th Region.

 

14. Dixie Heights (0-8): Dixie seems to be playing a little better even though they have not won a game yet. Hopefully, they can pick up a win at Montgomery County. The Colonels will probably go to the regional tournament again, but it sure would make them feel better to get a few W’s before 2020 arrives.

 

15. Ludlow (4-5): Ludlow is starting to separate themselves from the rest of the small river- schools. They have a player named Hoffmeister averaging 10 points a game.

 

16. Villa Madonna 3-6): I pull for this team because I like their coach. I want local guys to do well when they get Varsity jobs. Villa Madonna goes to Florida for some games during the break.

 

17. Dayton (1-7): Dayton travels to Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington for a New Year’s tournament. Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington has the distinction of being the location where I first sat on a Varsity Bench as an assistant coach back in 2002. We beat them by 7.

 

18. Bellevue (1-5): O'h my dear Tigers, I really enjoy your town and going to Fessler’s as well as Schneider’s. I was surprised they gave up 89 points to Bracken County. My former team does not play until after New Year’s Day. I hope they are able to tighten up their defense.

 

19. Heritage (2-5): Heritage gave up 98 points to Calvary Christian this week, but did pick up a victory against Covington Latin.

Got to ask, why no love for Newport?

Brossart has two losses - Highlands and Newport. Both are undefeated.

 

Brossart has wins over Beechwood and Holmes.

 

Newport's opponents' winning percentage ranks #17 in the 9th region.

 

Highlands' opponents' winning percentage ranks #13 in the 9th region.

 

There is the conundrum.

Got to ask, why no love for Newport?

 

Ranked 7 out of 19 is a sign of no Love? I have them as better than half the region?

Cov. Cath has already lost a game to a 11th region team.

Curious the path for DIXIE getting to the Reguonao tourney? That would mean they beat out St Henry, Lloyd, and Ludlow, all much better teams.

Edited December 24, 20196 yr by Scott0325
Spelling

Brossart has two losses - Highlands and Newport. Both are undefeated.

 

Brossart has wins over Beechwood and Holmes.

 

Newport's opponents' winning percentage ranks #17 in the 9th region.

 

Highlands' opponents' winning percentage ranks #13 in the 9th region.

 

There is the conundrum.

 

I think that home vs away makes a big difference when considering Brossart. I do not think Highlands or Newport beat the Mustangs if the game is at Bishop Brossart.

I think that home vs away makes a big difference when considering Brossart. I do not think Highlands or Newport beat the Mustangs if the game is at Bishop Brossart.

 

Yes because the 10th region officials more than take care of their own.

Yes because the 10th region officials more than take care of their own.

 

That has what I have witnessed as well!

Bump.

Very curious about this Highlands team: will certainly try to check them out when they play CovCath.

Holy Cross is hosting a “Not Quite Maui” tournament. Holy Cross Radio team always does a great job so probably get some good updates there.

 

Anyone know of a good, consolidated site/page that is up to date? The KHSAA scoreboard is great, but only after the fact. Various other sites I know of are not updated frequently. Thanks in advance!