6th Region Week 10 Review

 

Last week, state small-school champion Evangel Christian moved ahead of previously No. 1 Western and took a perch atop the rankings. This week, it's Pleasure Ridge Park moving past Western, which is down to No. 3. Pleasure Ridge Park ascends to No. 2. There are no other changes in the rankings, which offer a clear and solid top five. More and more, Western, Butler and DeSales are looking interchangeable at 3, 4 and 5. Western has beaten Butler, which has beaten DeSales, which has beaten Western. Evangel Christian, Pleasure Ridge Park and Fern Creek remained unbeaten against their respective districts, all of which offer competitive races. Evangel Christian is the lone remaining unbeaten team against the region.

 

Regional Rankings:

 

1. Evangel Christian (21-4): The Eagles split two games, beating Woodford County, 75-54, and losing to Madison Central, 63-46, snapping a six-game winning streak. All "A" Classic state tournament hero Christian Doerr scored 28 points against Woodford. He was held to 14 against Mad Central. The Eagles are 6-0 versus the region and 4-0 against the 23rd District. Their best regional win came against Pleasure Ridge Park. Outside the region, they have beaten Lincoln County, St. Xavier and Elizabethtown and won the All "A" Classic state tournament with a win over Covington Holy Cross in the final and a win against Owen County in the semifinals.

 

2. Pleasure Ridge Park (18-3): The Panthers won both games last week, handily defeating Shawnee and Fairdale to run their winning streak to seven. PRP is 9-1 against the region, including wins against Holy Cross and Jeffersontown, and 4-0 in the 21st District. They have lost to Evangel Christian by three. Outside the region, the Panthers have beaten St. Xavier and DuPont Manual. They beat Butler by 34 in last season's regional tournament and haven't lost to DeSales since 2016.

 

3. Western (17-7): The Warriors finished the week 2-0 with wins against Seneca and Butler. They had dropped four of five. They've beaten Trinity and Elizabethtown out of the region and are 5-3 against good out-of-state competition. They have just four losses to Kentucky schools. Western is now 6-2 against regional competition, losses coming to DeSales and Jeffersontown. Last season the Warriors beat Pleasure Ridge Park by one in overtime. They play in the regular season finale Feb. 17.

 

4. Butler (17-7): The Bears went 1-1 last week, beating Fairdale by eight and losing to Western by eight in double-overtime. Dontre Russell scored 16 points against Fairdale. Three of their last five games have been decided by eight points. The Bears have beaten Male, Ballard and Fleming County. Four losses have come against Mason County, Eastern, Male and LaRue County. They have also beaten DeSales.

 

5. DeSales (15-9): The Colts had a tough 0-2 week, losing to North Oldham by 12 on the road and losing to Covington Catholic by six on the road. Crew Gibson scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against North Oldham. He had 20 and 11 against CovCath. As I've been saying, DeSales and Butler have played as challenging a schedule as any of the teams in the top five, but PRP has been a major pain to both squads in the very recent past. They have beaten Western and Iroquois.

 

6. Iroquois (17-8): The Raiders went 3-0 with victories against Frankfort, Doss and Boone County, pushing their winning streak to four. They have beaten Holy Cross by 18. Jordan Williamson scored 28 points against Frankfort. He had 19 against Doss. Jamir Ford scored 20 against Boone County.

 

7. Holy Cross (15-8): The Cougars were 1-1 last week. They beat Southern with 25 points from Jacob Hand and 21 from Mike Loftis and lost to Beth Haven. They have beaten Fairdale.

 

8. Fern Creek (10-11): Lost to Ballard by 10 in overtime despite 18 points from Noah Glover in the only game of the week. The Tigers have beaten Trinity. They have a win against Jeffersontown. Big game Tuesday against Fairdale. As I've been saying, Fern Creek manhandled Fairdale by 30 last season so Fairdale has to beat Fern Creek to be ranked ahead of them despite the better overall record.

 

9. Fairdale (16-8): The Bulldogs finished the week 0-2 with losses to Butler and Pleasure Ridge Park. Dalton Hicks had 21 points vs. Butler. They have beaten Jeffersontown, and Beth Haven twice.

 

10. Jeffersontown (9-9): The Chargers won their only game of the week, beating Bullitt East for the second time this season with 22 points from Camron McDaniels. They have beaten Western.

 

11. Beth Haven (17-8): The Bearcats went 1-1, losing to Louisville Collegiate and beating Lou. Holy Cross, avenging an earlier loss. They have beaten Doss. Beat Western Hills in December.

 

12. Bullitt East (11-14): The Chargers went 2-1 with wins against Moore and Bullitt Central. Have beaten Doss. Have also beaten Iroquois and Lou. Holy Cross.

 

13. Doss (5-18): The Dragons lost to Iroquois in the only game of the week. They have beaten Moore. Beat Oldham County and Whitley County in back-to-back games in December.

 

14. Moore (10-15): The Mustangs went 1-2 for the week with a win over Southern. They have also beaten Bullitt Central and North Bullitt. Beat Beth Haven in early January.

 

15. Southern (8-17): The Trojans went 0-2 last week. They have beaten North Bullitt and Bullitt Central.

 

16. North Bullitt (11-12): The Eagles went 2-0 out of the region last week. Have split two games vs. Bullitt Central.

 

17. Bullitt Central (4-20): The Cougars went 1-1 for the week.

 

18. Valley (0-18): The Vikings were 0-2 on the week.

 

19. Whitefield Academy (7-15): Went 1-1 for the week.

Fairdale 46 Fern Creek 42