Week 2 featured some surprising results and really reinforced that the region is down across the board this year as really no one went unscathed. The one exception to that is the undefeated number 1. As always, when we go through the rankings view it as a tiered journey. Currently I believe we sit at three tiers - the contenders, the dark horses, and everyone else. 

1. Pulaski County - The Maroons start out 5 - 0. Their schedule is incredibly similar to last year's so far and they have replicated the undefeated results this year. Will Blankenship, Ethan Idlewin and Zak Anderson all averaging double figures. Blankenship is also off to a blistering pace behind the arc, going 13/26 through the first 5 games. They host Wayne County and Somerset this week. Note - Carson Fraley has yet to appear in a boxscore yet for the Maroons.

2. Somerset - Things are rolling down in the Patch after that opening season loss to Mercer. Somerset had a perfect week last week with wins over West Jessamine, Rockcastle County, and Danville. The Danville win came on the road in convincing fashion as they defeated the Ads by 19. They face Casey County and Pulaski County this week, the latter being another road test.

3. Wayne County - The Cardinals fell to Taylor County before coming back with a blow out victory over Southwestern. Antajuan Dumphord is averaging over 17 points per game as well as over 9 rebounds per game. Kendall Phillips also joins Dumphord in the over 17 points per game club. Seth Farmer rounds out their double digit scorers as he is over 12 points per game. They face Pulaski, Mercer and Danville this week. 

4. Mercer County - The Titans stumbled this week, losing to Western Hills before defeating Jackson County. The Titans struggled from long distance against Western Hills, making just four out of nineteen three point shots. Trevor Ellis continues to average a double-double and Owen Barnes of course is contributing (and is currently the second leading scorer), but it is John Perry who has risen into that third leading scoring spot at 8 points per game that may help the Titans achieve consistent offensive success as a viable third scoring threat. Mercer plays Danville and Wayne County this week.

5. Danville Christian - DCA had a split week, falling to Evangel Christian before defeating Lincoln County by 12. Titus Boyd was limited to just 11 points against Evangel but came roaring back to form with 23 in the victory over the Patriots. They face Garrard County and West Jessamine this week, two games that should be easy wins if they expect to be a contender in the region.

6. Rockcastle County - The Rockets defeated Danville but fell short to Somerset by the tune of 2 points. Walker Craig is up over 22 points per game and Connor Hunt is putting in work down low, averaging 12 points per game and 8 rebounds per game. They face Boyle County, Casey County and Eastern this week.

7. Boyle County - Consistency isn't going to be there for the Rebels for a while still, but they are starting to show flashes of what they will be later in the season. They lost in a close one to Southwestern but convincingly defeated Harrison County behind Demauriah Brown's 18 points in his debut for the Rebels. Montavin Quisenberry also played in that game after not playing in the Southwestern loss. Rockcastle, Central Hardin and LaRue County await them this week and if the Rebels are truly now at full strength it could be a very fun week.

8. Danville - This is where we exit the contenders and enter the dark horses. Danville, after that initial success of week 1, got swept in week 2, losing Rockcastle, McCreary Central, Paris (in overtime), and Somerset. Those are four good teams and the Ads competed in each, but they just could not grab a win out of the pack. Most of the time this would cause a team to tumble out of the top ten. However, I still think Danville is at the top of the group of teams that constitute spots 8 through 12 this week, even if one of them is McCreary. Their search for consistency may be a long one, but there is success to be found if they can achieve it.

9. Southwestern - The Warriors opened the week with a win over Boyle but proceeded to lose to Greenwood and Wayne County. Zachary Hutchinson scored 23 in the win over Boyle. They face Somerset Christian and McCreary this week.

10. East Jessamine - The Jaguars achieved two blowout wins over Wellspring (homeschool) and Burgin. They host Franklin County and Lincoln County this week.

11. McCreary Central - I wanted to move the Raiders up higher after their blowout win of Danville, but that represents their sole win of the year so far. Now they have had a tough schedule, and that includes the loss to number 1 Pulaski earlier in the week, but they definitely need to improve on defense as they have seen some of their opponents pour on the offense. They travel to Williamsburg and Southwestern this week.

12. Trinity Christian - The Titans fell to Frankfort but crushed Robertson County and bested Casey County. It is likely that the fringes of the top ten represent the ceiling this year for Trinity Christian, but that is still a cool place for such a new member of the KHSAA to be. Just ask DCA who jumped from this very level to being a regional contender. Alan Coffman is averaging 16 points per game. They face Burgin, Holy Cross (Covington), and Owen County this week.

13. West Jessamine - The Colts continue their rebuild as they fell to Somerset and Sayre by convincing margins. Sawyer Thornton had 17 in the loss to Somerset. They face Lincoln County and Danville Christian this week. This also represents the start of the last tier, teams that really don't have the capability at making serious noise this year.

14. Lincoln County - And here is another storied program far beyond the top ten. The Patriots are without a win so far but they travel to Nicholasville twice this week - once to East Jessamine and once to West Jessamine - and if they can control the pace of either game they might be able to come out with a win.

15. Casey County - Casey defeated Burgin before falling to Pulaski County and Trinity Christian. They face Somerset and Rockcastle this week.

16. Somerset Christian - The Cougars got two huge wins over Garrard County and Williamsburg. Jack Baker and Ethan Warren are both at 16 points per game. They face Southwestern, Model and Greenwood this week.

17. Garrard County - Somerset Christian, Bryan Station and Whitley County all got the best of the Golden Lions this past week. They face Estill County and DCA this week.

18. Burgin - The Bulldogs lost to Casey County and East Jessamine. They face Trinity Christian and Fort Knox this week.

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf - The Colonels fell to Covington Latin and the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. They face the Tennessee School for the Deaf this week.

Somerset big win over Rockcastle you would expect that at the Briar Patch but Rock let that one slip away-  that 1 seed in the 47th is gold this year.

Pulaski has two big games this week - and the 12th region in general/ I hear fraley may be back soon- Friday too early? Time will tell

East is my sleeper team— Miyo Jones is a player & noticed Radford was back to producing in their last game only played in 3/5 games 

I’ll take DCA, Wayne and Pulaski any order as top 3 - but there’s not much separation 1-6

 

 

McCreary is my surprise team of the week.  I could see them coming out to the region again, and I wouldn’t have said that in preseason with the production they lost from last year’s team.  

Really odd seeing the Patriots ranked 14. I believe they are more like solid 6/7 but this week will show if they belong there.  

1 hour ago, Hitemdeep said:

Really odd seeing the Patriots ranked 14. I believe they are more like solid 6/7 but this week will show if they belong there.  

Yes, I think there’s a possibility that in January you see Danville and Lincoln flipped. But Lincoln has to snap that losing streak first and start to build some consistency. Losing the pieces they did, especially the point guard they had, means that a tough December should be no surprise as they try to find their footing.

I still like Wayne at this point then maybe Mercer. Rock & Somerset could be right there as well. 

DCA & Boyle are the wild cards. On paper, I think those two teams have the most talent but I’ll need to see consistency from them before I’d put them at the top.

Lincoln will keep pluggin' away.  Coach Jackson and staff will coach 'em up.  They showed signs of life against DCA Friday night.  With that said, I don't think they get to the top tier this year.  

Game of the week- Somerset at Pulaski Co. Friday night.  No love lost between these two, but at the same time a lot of respect.  I want to say both student sections will be honoring the young man who passed away during Spring Football at PC (Andrew Dodson).  Last season, both cheering sections honored Somerset's Ben Godby, who had recently lost his father.  Should be a good one at the Big house!

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

Lincoln will keep pluggin' away.  Coach Jackson and staff will coach 'em up.  They showed signs of life against DCA Friday night.  With that said, I don't think they get to the top tier this year.  

I'm with you, probably not a contender, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them advance to the region tournament.

3 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

I'm with you, probably not a contender, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them advance to the region tournament.

I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s definitely possible.  I certainly expect them to be the 3 seed, and be no easy out in an elimination game.  

11 hours ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

I still like Wayne at this point then maybe Mercer. Rock & Somerset could be right there as well. 

DCA & Boyle are the wild cards. On paper, I think those two teams have the most talent but I’ll need to see consistency from them before I’d put them at the top.

Probably should figure out where Pulaski ranks into the equation. 

5 hours ago, LethalPG said:

I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s definitely possible.  I certainly expect them to be the 3 seed, and be no easy out in an elimination game.  

With the way they play, if you beat Lincoln by 10 it’s as blowout.  They’ll find themselves in games if they start well 

1 hour ago, catfan09 said:

Probably should figure out where Pulaski ranks into the equation. 

Absolutely.  They’re playing great team ball right, and Coach Fraley gets them to play super hard defensively year in year out!

Some very intriguing results tonight.  Pulaski defeating Wayne Co, and Rock defeating Boyle Co.  

Rock was killing Boyle before Boyle came back in the second half to make it a game. Just seems like Boyle’s suited much better to press and to run. When they slow it down they look very average.