Top Six Teams Go 14-2 as the 8^th Region Has a Good Opening Week

 

The 8^th Region had a favorable opening week, with the teams ranked in the top third of the region posting an explosive 14-2 start, with impressive wins along the way against some of the higher-regarded teams in the state.

Pre-season #1 North Oldham stumbled out of the gate, but righted the ship and posted back to back wins, including a victory over 6^th Region powerhouse Butler…. Defending champ Oldham County is 3-0, despite replacing all five starters from last year’s region champions…  Woodford County is 3-0, despite some eligibility concerns (more on that later)… Collins and Walton-Verona are both 3-0….and Simon Kenton is 1-1, but that one loss came to one of the other top six teams (Oldham County).

As I suggested in the preview, there are a lot of unknowns this year.    Some of those unknowns became a little more clear after week one; Spencer County, perhaps the biggest unknown in the region entering the season, with not just a new cast of characters in the varsity lineup, but a new group with almost zero experience collectively at the varsity level, impressed in week one, showing that perhaps this group may be even better shooting the ball than the vaunted group that preceded them….

Eminence and Williamstown posted starts that those two schools haven’t achieved in many, many seasons.

Individually, though many stats remain unposted for many games, some individual stats stood out….

·       Trimble County’s Tate Ogburn had an incredible game against Shelby County, scoring 19 points and grabbing an unbelievable 24 rebounds….

·       Grant County’s Dylan Hammonds took up where he left off after the 2020-21 season, posting three double-doubles to start the year.   Hammonds has now recorded 19 double-doubles in his last 23 games(!) and has scored in double digits in 34 consecutive games.

·       Walton’s Brant Smithers, a definite Player of the Year contender, averaged 24.5 ppg in his first two contests while hitting 51.5% from the floor….

·       Teagan Moore had the 8^th Region’s high point game for the week – of the games where the stats have been posted – as the Owen County star guard scored 34 points and grabbed 9 rebounds against Western Hills.

·       Henry County’s Kevin Wix scored 33 points against Anderson County…

There’s a lot of shuffling in this week’s ranking, so let’s get to it.

1 -  North Oldham (2-1)   Last week:  #1   The Mustangs stay at number one this week despite losing big to Manual (71-55) in their opener.   The Mustangs bounced back to handle North Hardin, 74-48, and then defeated Region 6 power, Butler, 63-58.    Player of the Year candidate Dallas Roberts averaged 19 ppg and led the team in scoring in 2 of the 3 games….center Ian Higdon averaged 15.3 ppg / 9.7 boards, and scored back-to-back double-doubles against North Hardin (15 points / 13 rebounds) and Butler (14 points / 11 rebounds).    Sharpshooter Jack Scales continues to come into his own; Scales had 22 points against Butler to lead the team.

We’ll find out a lot about North in the next week….North faces #15 CAL and #18 Western, along with games against 8^th Region contenders Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona (12/14).

This week:  12/7 at #15 Christian Academy of Louisville     12/10 vs. Simon Kenton (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast at 7 pm ET)         12/11 vs. #18-ranked Western in the BodyArmor Classic at Henry County HS (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast at 6 pm)

 

2 – Collins (2-0    Last week:   #3   Collins hasn’t posted stats yet, but they coasted to easy wins to start the year over Marion County (64-43) and Gallatin County (91-59).    Scoring over 90 points in a high school is hard, and Collins over the years hasn’t exactly been known as a high-scoring program.   The last time the Titans eclipsed the 90 point mark was on 1/19/2018, when they beat Valley, 100-94 – in overtime.  

The competition gets a little stiffer this week, with 31^st district favorite Owen County, arch-rival Shelby County, and 8^th Region contender Walton-Verona on tap.

This week:  12/7 vs. Owen County    12/10 at Shelby County     12/11 at Walton-Verona

 

3 – Oldham County (3-0)    Last week:  #4   The Colonels might have felt a little disrespected in the preview ranking, checking in at #4.    The Colonels, forced to replace all five starters from last year’s regional championship team, responded in a tremendous fashion in week one, blasting all three opponents in route to a 3-0 start.

6’10” senior Hayden Burgess got his first varsity start in game one against the North Hardin Trojans, and responded with a 20 point / 9 rebound effort to lead Oldham County.    But the Colonels got strong support for Burgess; 6’6” senior Sam Powell added 16 points, sophomore Max Green tallied 13, and Luke Amburgey tossed in 10.

Oldham then got a region statement win in a 65-47 thumping of 8^th region contender Simon Kenton, before knocking off Harrison County, 67-56, to end the week.

This week:  Oldham faces a brutal schedule this week.   12/7 – at Woodford County     12/10 – vs. Doss     12/11 – Moore at 3 pm in the BodyArmor Classic at Henry County (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast)

 

4 – Walton-Verona (3-0)   Last week:  #6   The Bearcats might feel slighted “only” moving up two spots this week; the Cats certainly had the marquee victory of week one, defeating the defending state champion Highlands Bluebirds (ranked #19), 97-94, in both teams’ season openers.   The Bearcats hit 12 of 34 threes in the contest (35.3%).   Player of the Year contender Brant Smithers led the way with 34 points; Christy added 22 and Carter Krohman 18, with all of his points coming from beyond the arc (6 of 14).  

Julian Dixon, who may provide the “added dimension” to this year’s version of the Bearcats….the new element that takes this team to the next level, had 7 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Bearcats also outhustled the bigger Bluebirds on the glass, outrebounding Highlands, 33-26.

Walton didn’t have a letdown after the big road win, defeating Scott High, 63-53, and then taking down Lexington Christian, 74-61.

W-V will take on two 8^th Region foes this week, including highly-regarded and currently-undefeated Collins.

This week:  12/7 at Gallatin County     12/9 at Cooper     12/11 Collins

 

5 – Woodford County (3-0??)   Last week:   #2    Woodford falls three spots this week, as some uncertainty suddenly surrounds the team.   Transfers Jackson Twombley (15 points / 8 rebounds against Danville in a 63-43 win to start the season) and John McCrear (5 points) both played in the season opening victory over Danville, but it appears that the school may have put them on the floor too soon – though unconfirmed, it appears that the KHSAA may not yet have certified either player’s eligibility, so the outcome of the first game is now in doubt as of this writing.

Without Twombley and McCrear in the lineup, the Yellowjackets still posted two more wins last week, narrowly defeating Grant County, 58-55, and topping Madison Southern, 54-46.   No stats have been posted for either game yet.

It will be interesting to see when Twombley and McCrear come back to the lineup.     Without them in the lineup, Woodford certainly isn’t the same team, and they fall to #5 this week, despite three tremendous defensive outings against some decent competition; both Danville and Madison Southern were ranked in the top 5 in their respective regions (12^th and 11^th).

This week:   12/7 vs. Oldham County     12/10 at Anderson County     12/11 at Bourbon County

 

6 – Simon Kenton (1-1)    Last week:  #5    Simon Kenton drops a notch as the Walton-Verona Bearcats moved up.   The Pioneers got off to a great start with a 15 point victory over Ryle, shooting 52.8% from the floor – picking right up where last year’s sharp-shooting Pioneer team left off – and putting four players in double digits, led by Jack Marx’ 17 points.  (Hayden Carson scored 15, Isaac Miller 13, and Travis Krohman 12).

But SK followed that up with a decisive 65-47 loss to Oldham County in the second game of the season.   

The Pioneers will get another crack this week at one of the top region teams when they travel to North Oldham on the 10^th.

This week:  12/7 – vs. Holmes     12/10 at North Oldham (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast at 7 pm ET)

 

7 – South Oldham (1-1)   Last week:  #7     Steve Simpson, the 8^th Region’s “Dean of Coaches” with 22 years at his current school, edged a little bit closer to his 400^th victory this past week, splitting two games.

South might have been forgiven for overlooking Great Crossing on Tuesday; the Dragons had routed GC in the summer leagues, but the real season is a bit different, and South got off to a slow start and never fully recovered, falling 74-63, despite sophomore reserve Christian Veirs’ 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

The Dragons bounced back with an exciting 71-66 victory over Grant County in Crestwood on Saturday.    In a game where the largest lead of the night was 7 points, South put it all together at the charity stripe, where they hit 17 of 22 for 77.3%.    South won despite getting hammered on the glass, 36-23, by the Braves.    Alex King was very impressive, finishing with 19 points and 9 rebounds (17 in the first half).    Senior point guard Cole Davis, saddled with foul trouble in the first half, tallied 14 in the second half for the Dragons.   

Most impressive in the victory was the play of the South bench; with three starters (Ben Michel / Cole Davis / Ian Von Feldt) on the bench much of the first half in foul trouble, the Dragons went deep on their bench, with 12 players all getting quality minutes in a game that was in doubt until the very end.

The win gave Simpson his 397th victory at the Crestwood school.

This week:   12/11 vs. either Lexington Catholic or Boyle County in the BodyArmor Classic at Henry County HS   (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast)

 

8 – Grant County (1-1)     Last week #10   The Braves move up two this week, after making a pretty impressive showing last week despite facing some real obstacles here early in the season.

·       Before the season, last year’s #2 scorer and returning point guard, Mason Guffey, transferred to Taylor County.

·       The number two point guard, Jackson Utter, got hurt and is out for the season.

·       Starter Wayne Ziegler had preseason surgery and missed a lot of preseason practices.

·       Then, to compound things, the Braves lost one of their starters unexpectedly just prior to their second game against South Oldham.

Still, Joe Utter’s Braves put in a respectable week, defeating a solid Beechwood squad, 60-57, out of the gate, before dropping two narrow losses to 8^th Region rivals Woodford County, 58-55, and South Oldham, 71-66.

The Braves very easily could be 3-0 at this point.

Dillon Hammonds is playing lights-out.   The junior forward has recorded three consecutive double-doubles to start the season – that’s 19 in his last 23 games, for those who are counting – and has now scored in double figures in 34 straight games.

Hammonds seemingly gets better every night.    He started the year with 27 points and 11 boards against Beechwood, followed that with a 30 point / 14 rebound performance against Woodford County, then tormented South Oldham for 31 points and 17 rebounds.

Now if he can just bring his free throw percentage up.    In bizarre contrast to Hammonds’ scoring (29.3 ppg), rebounding (14 per game), and shooting from the floor (62.7%), the free throw shooting just hasn’t been there.   Hammonds is 12 of 26 at the line for 46.2%, which is unfortunate for Grant County, because he figures to go to the line more than just about anyone else on the team.   In fact, after three games, he’s shot twice as many free throws (26) as the next player (Wayne Ziegler) has (13).

This team could be very good by the time all is said and done.   The little black cloud that has hung over them has come early in the season, allowing Utter time to adjust.   Point guard Daniel Fox will get more experience and run the offense more efficiently as time goes on.    Free throws should improve (it’s not just Hammonds; the rest of the team is shooting 64% from the line).

This week:  12/7 at Anderson County     12/10 vs. Owen County

 

9 – Owen County (0-1)     Last week:  #8     Owen didn’t see much action last week, falling to Western Hills, 81-64, in their only game.

Junior guard Teagan Moore, one of the top contenders for Player of the Year honors, had an incredible game, scoring 34 points – the most by any one player in any one game in the 8^th Region last week – and collected 9 rebounds.

Moore was hitting from all levels, making 9 of 15 two-point shots, 4 of 10 threes, and 4 of 4 free throws.

This week:  12/7 at Collins     12/9 vs. Henry County     12/10 at Grant County

 

10 – Spencer County (2-1)    Last week:  #17    Spencer is the big mover this week, and deservedly so.    Truthfully, I hardly knew where to put the Bears in the preseason ranking.     Coach Jason Burns had to not only replace his starting lineup, he had to do so with players that hadn’t seen the floor in varsity action.    Nobody had seen these guys compete at the varsity level.    I doubt I was the only person in the region who just couldn’t conceive of where Spencer fit into the puzzle.

The Bears, however, showed some real promise in their opening three games.   The Bears defeated Thomas Nelson, 84-75, to open the year, with three players scoring over 20 points.   Jonathan Combs hit 10 of 10 shots from the floor(!) en route to 24 points….Camden Cox hit 7 of 11 three pointers and finished with 23, and Luke Erhardt was 10 of 12 from the stripe as he scored 22 points.

Spencer was tripped up in game two, falling to Boyle County by just one point, 60-59.   Boyle – picked as one of the top two teams in the 12^th region – was missing some of their football players, but this was still a great measuring stick for the Bears.    Erhardt had 22 points for the second game in a row, and the Bears shot 50% from the floor – something they rarely accomplished in 2020-1.

Spencer County finished the week with an eye-popping 74-47 victory over Trimble County.

This week:   12/7 at North Bullitt     12/10 at #8 Bullitt East     12/11 at Williamstown 5:30 pm

 

11 – Henry County (2-1)    Last week:  #13     The Wildcats got one of the region’s standout individual performances in game one, as guard Kevin Wix hung 33 points on Anderson County.     It was the second-highest individual point total in the 8^th Region last week, and for the Wildcats, it marked the second year in a row that Henry had beaten Anderson, after ending a decades-long drought against the Bearcats last year.

Sam Royalty posted a double-double against Anderson, with 15 points / 12 rebounds.

Henry was stunned by Frankfort, 72-55, before rebounding to defeat Frankfort Christian, 82-58.

This week:  12/9 at Owen County     12/11  Louisville Holy Cross    BodyArmor Classic (Pegasus Sports Network internet broadcast)

 

12 – Anderson County (1-2)     Last week:  #14   the Bearcats move up a bit this week, after playing competitively in all three of their games.    After falling by six to Henry County, Anderson bounced back with a 66-64 win over North Bullitt, before dropping game three to Bullitt Central by just 7, 52-45.

Anderson hasn’t posted any stats yet; they’ll be interesting to see when they are furnished.

This week:  12/7 vs. Grant County     12/10 vs. Woodford County

 

13 – Trimble County (1-2)     Last week:  #11     The Raiders got off to a disappointing start.    After losing in an upset to Dayton, 77-65, to start the season, Trimble appeared to have righted the ship with an impressive 82-67 victory over what was expected to be an improved Shelby County squad. 

But facing a very young and inexperienced Spencer County squad, Trimble was very outmatched in game three, falling by 27 points, 74-47.

Trimble was one of the hottest teams in the region at the end of last year, and most of the key players are back.   We’ll see how coach Mumphrey’s team responds here and whether the Raiders can be a threat in the 31^st district.

J.T. Wilcoxson led the Raiders in the first two games, registering a double-double against Dayton (19 points/10 rebounds) and 22 points against the Rockets.    Tate Ogburn posted a crazy double-double against Shelby with 19 points and an off-the-charts 24 rebounds, then just missed a double-double against Spencer with a team-high 17 points and 9 boards.

Trimble has the offensive weapons; three players – J.T. Wilcoxson (18 ppg), Tate Ogburn (14 ppg to go along with 12.7 rebounds), and Hunter Kelly (12.3 ppg) are averaging double figures and two – Dalton Penick at 9.3 ppg and Ethan Horn at 9.0 – are on the cusp.

This week:  12/7 vs. Kentucky Country Day     12/9 at Carroll County

 

14 – Gallatin County (1-2)   Last week:  #10    Gallatin drops a bit this week as we re-align the rankings.   The Wildcats gave first-year head coach Vance Sullivan his first career victory in Warsaw right out of the gate as Gallatin County whipped Villa Madonna in their opener, 85-44.

Kellen Dossett had 19 points – including 5 of 9 threes – to lead the way, and the Wildcats shot 50% from the floor, including 52% from beyond the arc (13 of 25).    At the stripe, the Wildcats were equally impressive, knocking in 10 of 12 shots for 83.3%.

The wheels came off in the second game, however.   Facing powerful Collins, the Cats lost, 91-59.   It was the worst loss for the Wildcats since 2/4/2017, when South Oldham bounced Gallatin, 93-57…. A remarkable stretch of 132 games.

This week:  12/7  vs. Walton-Verona 8 pm     12/9 at Eminence

 

15 – Shelby County (0-2)   Last week:  #9     While Spencer County rose the most this week, it was another 30^th district team – Shelby County – that took the biggest fall, dropping 6 spots to #15.

Shelby struggled last week, getting handled easily in both of their games, falling to district rival Trimble County, 82-67, and to Seneca, 80-57.    First year coach Blake Traylor is high on this team; this ranking may be short-lived.   With a new featured scorer, a new point guard, and a new head coach, it may take a while for the Rockets to get their feet under them, though.

Poor shooting bedeviled Shelby against Trimble as the Rockets shot just 33% from the floor, including 20.8% beyond the arc (5 of 24).   At the line, it wasn’t much better as Shelby managed to hit just 18 of 30 (60%) of their freebies.

Kyre Bishop, as expected, led the way in the opener, with 14 points and 8 rebounds.   Sophomores Dillon Ritchey (14 points) and Dallas Mercer (12 points and a team-high 9 boards) also reached double figures.

This week:  12/7 at Bullitt Central     12/10 vs. Collins 8 pm     12/11 vs. Carroll County 3:30 pm

 

16 – Eminence (2-0)   Last week:  #18 -    Gary Tuell is finally starting to see the payoff for all the effort he has put into resurrecting the Warrior program.    For the first time since before this century, the Warriors have started the year with back-to-back victories.    (The 1998-9 team won 4 of its first 5, but lost one of the first two) 

As a result, Eminence moves up two spots this week to #16.

Josh Ruzenka led the way in both victories, scoring 24 points in a 75-41 win over Whitefield Academy and tossing in 21 against Williamstown in a 69-63 win.  

The Warriors found a way to win against Whitefield; despite shooting just 39.2% from the floor – including 10.7% from beyond the arc (3 of 28) – the Warriors put up over 70 points in part by managing to get up a whopping 79 shots in the game.

Against Williamstown, the Warriors shot much better, hitting 47.1% from the floor.   Besides Ruzanka’s 21 in that game, Elijah League chipped in 19 points and 8 rebounds, while hitting 3 of 5 three pointers.

Both games were at home – Eminence now hosts two more games at the new arena in Eminence before hitting the road.

This week:  12/7 – vs Highlands Latin     12/9 – vs. Gallatin County

 

17 – Williamstown (2-1)     Last week:  #16     Like Eminence, Williamstown’s start has been a long time coming.   The Demons won their first two games of the season, the first time Williamstown has done that since the 2004-5 team opened the year with victories over Walton-Verona and Deming.

Honore Yangoua paced the Demons with 22 points in their opening 65-58 win over Model; Colton Feagan led the way with 24 points in a 74-53 win over St. Patrick.   The Demons didn’t shoot well in either game, but they got excellent balance.

Against Model, Colton Feagan scored 14, Joel McCain 13, and Gunner Feagan contributed 9 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.

Against St. Patrick, Colton Feagan (24 points) and Gunner Feagan (22) both eclipsed the twenty point mark, and Yangoua added 15.

This week:  12/7 vs. Powell County     12/11 vs. Spencer County 5:30

 

18 – Carroll County (0-2)     Last week:  #15     New coach Doug Oak didn’t have the opening week he would have wanted, as the Panthers dropped both of their first two games.

With only 67 total points scored in the first two games, the Carroll offense is the main issue at the moment.    Carroll County fell in its opener, 65-18, to Boone County, scoring the fewest points the Panthers have scored in a game in decades.    The offense improved in game two, but not enough, as Highlands Latin edged the Panthers, 58-49.

Not stats have been posted yet for Carroll County.

Oak will get things together in Carrollton, of that I’m sure, but it may take a little time.

This week:  12/7 at Ryle     12/9 vs. Trimble County     12/11 at Shelby County 3:30 pm

 

 

 

 

 

Where are the 8th Region fans?   

North Oldham with the big win tonight in 8th Region play, knocking off a ranked opponent:

North Oldham 72, #13 Christian Academy of Louisville 58 

Woodford County 87 Oldham County 75 in a battle of region powerhouses

SImon Kenton 71, Holmes 64

Walton-Verona 84, Gallatin County 73    

Collins 67, Owen County 49      Titans wear down the Rebels with depth and defense...

Bullitt Central 67, Shelby County 49   

Williamstown 71, Powell County 51  - Williamstown is 3-1, the Demons' best start in a long, long time.

Spencer County 84, North Bullitt 74    - don't look now, but the team nobody knew anything about is 3-1...

KY Country Day 73, Trimble County 60 - Raiders continue to struggle after ending last season on such a high note....

- Did Woodford have a full roster tonight?

 

- Watched some of the CAL - North Oldham game online . . . it was not as close as the final score suggests. 

7 hours ago, ConverseAllStar said:

- Did Woodford have a full roster tonight?

I'm guessing Woodford did....87 points against Oldham County without the two bigs just doesn't seem likely.....

If my research is correct, this is Williamstown’s third 3-1 start the last 20 plus years. What’s going on down there in Williamstown? Too early to tell? 

2 hours ago, StevnASmith said:

If my research is correct, this is Williamstown’s third 3-1 start the last 20 plus years. What’s going on down there in Williamstown? Too early to tell? 

Two words, weak schedule.  This team will finish 4th in the 4 team 32nd District.

Don’t they always have a weak schedule? Yes they’re a small school in a big school district. So far from friends of the area, I’ve heard good things. They’ve got some guards that can play. Not to mention a pretty good shooter….

42 minutes ago, StevnASmith said:

Don’t they always have a weak schedule? Yes they’re a small school in a big school district. So far from friends of the area, I’ve heard good things. They’ve got some guards that can play. Not to mention a pretty good shooter….

Williamstown always has a schedule commiserate with a single-A school that has barely 200 students total...so yes, it lacks many powerful opponents.    But I've gotten to know the coaches up there a bit, and the fact is, Williamstown hasn't done well - even against weak schedules in the past two decades.    This new group of coaches seems to be steering the program in the right direction, and creating a new level of expectations.    

That kind of approach impresses me.   Especially when you factor in what you DON'T hear - complaining about "woe is me, we're too small to compete."   Instead, Williamstown is mapping out how they will compete for the 8th Region All-A title (they were in the finals just 2 or 3 years ago), how they will craft a winning record, and how much more they have to improve to make it to New Castle for the 8th Region tournament.

I kind of like that attitude and applaud their success so far this year.

I haven't seen the Demons this year, but will see them at the 8th Region All-A in January....

ColonelMike. Nicely said. I will try to make a few games to watch them. A few sources down there (ok some friends I attend church with) have been talking about how better they are because of the coach and some talent that is finally getting varsity experience. What I was told they should win the games they’re supposed to, and not be surprised if they pull off an upset or two.