Bluegrasspreps.com 11th Region Week 1 Review

Bluegrasspreps.com 11th Region Week 1 Review

Only Henry Clay, Lexington Christian, Frankfort and Franklin County emerged unscathed after the first week of action. Every other team absorbed at least one loss. None of the top six in our preseason regional rankings got out of the week without a loss, and you can thank tough scheduling. The list of non-regional teams that beat regional squads last week were 3-0 Covington Catholic (twice), 3-0 North Laurel, 3-0 Pulaski County and 3-0 Collins. We will let another week of action do a little bit more separating before making changes to the rankings, so teams appear here in the same order as they do in the preseason list. If you have a hankering for alliteration, please note that it was a heck of hot start for hot shots named Hagan, Hack, Hackett and Hand. Have a look...
 

Regional Rankings

1. Great Crossing (2-1): The Warhawks completed a tough opening week schedule with a pair of wins and a loss to Covington Catholic. They downed West Jessamine in the opener and took out Ashland Blazer at the Jersey Mike's Classic at Georgetown. Vince Dawson led the Warhawks with 18 points in the opener. Malachi Moreno poured in 29 against Ashland Blazer while hauling down 15 rebounds. Moreno had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against West Jessamine. He had 16 points and six rebounds vs. CovCath for early-season averages of 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

2. Lexington Catholic (2-1): North Laurel knocked off the Knights in the opener, but Frederick Douglass and Jeffersontown were no match in the aftermath. Reece Potter had 21 points and 11 rebounds against Frederick Douglass. Hudson Sparks added 16 points and 10 rebounds. John Reinhart scored 20 against North Laurel.

3. Madison Central (1-1): The Indians bounced back from a one-point loss to Pulaski County in the opener with a lopsided win against Lafayette. Transfer Hagan Harrison made his Indians debut with 22 points. He scored 32 against Lafayette for an average of 27.5 ppg.

4. Madison Southern (2-1): A single point separates the Eagles from perfection here in the early going. Jay Rose (28) and Zach Hudson (25) combined for 53 points in a win over Greenwood at the Jersey Mike's Classic at Georgetown. Micah Whitaker led with 17 in a win over Cordia as the Eagles ricocheted from a one-point season-opening loss against Collins with a pair of convincing victories.

5. Frederick Douglass (1-1): The Broncos lost the opener by 12 to Lexington Catholic despite 48 points combined from Kai Simpson (26) and Armelo Boone (22). They rebounded to beat Letcher County Central.

6. Paul Laurence Dunbar (1-1): The Bulldogs beat Bryan Station at home on the strength of a combined 42 points from Max VanDyke (22) and Nick Spalding (20), then lost to Covington Catholic in a tough road game.

7. Henry Clay (2-0): The Blue Devils downed Conner in the opener then defeated Western Hills, both games at home. Mason Hawkins had 22 points against Conner. Konlin Brown scored 23 against Western Hills.

8. Scott County (2-1): The Cardinals won their first two then dropped a contest against Eastern. Larmarion McGrapth had 21 points in the opener vs. East Jessamine and Nick Mosby added 20 points and nine rebounds.

9. Bryan Station (1-2): The Defenders had some trouble defending while surrendering an average of 72 points per game the opening week. The lone win came against Letcher County Central after the Defenders were drilled by George Rogers Clark and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

10. Lexington Christian (2-0): The Eagles enjoyed an unbeaten first week with wins over Western Hills and Woodford County. Hagan Preston had 19 points against Woodford. Tyler Hall scored 25 against Western Hills.

11. Tates Creek (2-1): The Commodores completed a three-game stretch against predominantly northern Kentucky teams and won twice, beating Carroll County and Boone County while losing to Highlands. Eric Hackett had 29 points against Boone.

12. Western Hills (0-3): The Wolverines were overmatched against Owen County and Lexington Christian but played Henry Clay close in a six-point loss during a three-game road stretch to start the season.

13. Sayre (1-2): Ian Reesor scored a team-best 27 points in a home-opening win against Estill County. He scored 14 in a one-point loss in the season opener at Bethlehem.

14. Frankfort (2-0): The Panthers hit the 88-point threshold twice, keying wins. Caleb Hack (36) and Jordan Blythe (24) combined for 60 points in the 88-42 home opener against Carroll County. Hack poured in 43 and Blythe added 19 in an 88-74 win over Green County at the Domino's Tip Off Classic in Campbellsville. Hack is averaging 39.5 ppg.

15. Franklin County (1-0): Zak Cox hit four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 22 points in an 18-point win against Pineville at the Jersey Mike's Classic in Georgetown.

16. Lafayette (1-1): The Generals handled Lincoln County in the opener at home but had trouble with Madison Central in a 26-point road loss. Musampa Bandamuna had 22 points and seven rebounds in the opener.

17. Model (1-2): The Patriots won the opener at home then lost two in a row on the road. Cale Vicars scored a team-high 24 points in the opener against Trinity Christian.

18. Frankfort Christian (1-2): The Royals dropped a pair of blowouts and hung on to beat Whitefield Academy by one. On the bright side, Noah Sowders (25) and Micah Sowders (20) combined for 45 points against Whitefield. They combined for 48 points (24 each) against Trimble County.

19. Berea (1-1): The Pirates dropped the opener at home vs. Southwestern despite a team-high 19 points from Cameron Puckett but bounced back to beat Robertson County, 69-38.