Western Kentucky Schools in 2024

[wkyfootballfan]

We all know about Paducah Tilghman and Mayfield; they have their own thread to talk about, but what about the rest of them?  How are ya'll feeling about this upcoming season?  Any new comers we should be looking out for?  Alot of new coaches in the area; what are your expectations? Let's hear what your thoughts!
-Murray
-Caldwell County
-Graves County (New Coach)
-Marshall County (New Coach)
-Calloway County
-McCracken County
-Trigg County
-Ballard Memorial (New Coach)
-Union County
-Hopkinsville (New Coach)
-Christian County (New Coach)
-Webster County
-Fulton County
-Todd County Central (New Coach)

[Purple88]

Don't really know near as much as I used to about these teams.

I guess I'm most interested in Graves County, Christian County and Hopkinsville, all with new head coaches to see how they progress or don't this upcoming season.

[Subway5024]

I think Crittenden county was left out!!

[MBKT]

Will McCracken ever be a top 8 in 6A?  I wish they would schedule at least one of the strong Louisville schools in the regular season. 

[Purple88]

16 hours ago, MBKT said:

Will McCracken ever be a top 8 in 6A?  I wish they would schedule at least one of the strong Louisville schools in the regular season. 

They seemed to be stronger about 10 years ago with guys like Zyaire Hughes and Cash Jones.  Don't seem to have those kind of guys right now.  And probably why they aren't playing Louisville teams.

[zoneblitz24]

17 hours ago, MBKT said:

Will McCracken ever be a top 8 in 6A?  I wish they would schedule at least one of the strong Louisville schools in the regular season. 

Why would they schedule a Louisville power when they are struggling to beat teams that are much smaller in enrollment in Western KY?

[wkyfootballfan]

Yes @Subway5024 I apologize.  I did leave them out by accident.

@MBKT I don't see McCracken being as good as they were a few years ago for a while.  They had some very good classes back to back, plus Paducah was also down.  With that big dog backing the Tornados, it makes it tough for McCracken to get the athletes they had then.  A lot of those kids who were going to McCracken at the time, would be going to Paducah if they were in school now.  Too many pretty things and excitement around Paducah's program to lure kids there.  Paducah is set up for Final Four runs for a while, kids today don't want to build something special if they can just join something that is already there.

[wkyfootballfan]

On 3/13/2024 at 10:21 PM, wkyfootballfan said:

My thoughts right now....
-Murray: Year 2 for Cunningham should be better than last year.  Without the Buffington kid, they are limited in size, Hood was a promising freshman but will be gone if he isn't already, and the Carmen kid was an issue at times when he didn't lose his head. BUT they still have a D1 player in Jones and they finally have a quarterback that can get him the ball.  Robbins moved in from Calloway and is an instant upgrade form Wilson last season.  Running game will hurt without Olive, but they have some good young guys.  Rickman and Jones are a great Duo on the defensive side of the ball.  If they can stop the run and find a run game to compliment the pass; they should be better than last season.  Being Year 2 from a run heavy program to a spread should produce a big jump and increase for their athletes to learn and grow playing in space.  They should be an 8 win team at least, but I still don't see them getting past Mayfield when it matters.  

-Caldwell County: QB Parker and Do All Weapon Fox return.  Might not make a huge jump, but I can see them making some big strides as a team this season. I'm not sure what else they have coming back or what they will be losing, but I expect a better W/L record then last season. Murray, Mayfield, Graves, McCracken and Madisonville will all be tough games for Caldwell, but I think they will find some success in other weeks.

-Graves County (New Coach): Another new Coach, DeBernardi takes over a very good Graves team.  He was their DC last season, but still will have a lot of change on the staff.  They return a lot of their talents from last years team.  Losing Katzman at running back and Sutton on the defensive side will hurt the Eagles, but returning their QB and two best receivers will help and allow them to build on last years playoff win. Gregory is poised to have a big season, a coaches kid who understand ball and takes care of it. Acree is a speedster and can take the top off if they can protect long enough.  I think they have a real shot at winning the district and dare I say, make the Mayfield game very exciting since the Cardinals are losing a lot of production.  The biggest issue is running into Bowling Green and that dominant squad.  

-Marshall County (New Coach): Bloodworth takes over a very Soccer and Basketball heavy program.  Unfortunately for him, the athlets at Paducah aren't coming with him, but I believe they can take the next step to getting better.  Marshall has always had some big kids, if they follow Bloodworth's weight room program and put in the work, they can be very strong.  Grayson, Calloway, and Muhlenburgh should all be winnable games for the Marshalls if they can move the ball on offense.  Ever since Etheridge took the job a few years back, I think they have struggled to find an offensive identity.  Even when they figured out what they wanted to do, they weren't strong enough in the run game to scare you and didn't have the athletes on the outside to take advantage of a heavy box.  Neyland will have another year under his belt and should be better as a passer, especially if they have a better scheme that isn't Tight End seams every pass play.  Nimmo and Webber should be able to have more success as they get another season starting.  Dunnigan was their workhose and losing him in the backfield will force them to open things up a little more.   

-Calloway County:  Losing their best weapon in the Aycock kid hurts, but as mentioned their QB transferred out of the school system as well.  I think they started to make strides in their non-district schedule and showed ability to compete, but I don't think they stand a chance in their loaded district.  Will be interesting to see what they can do outside of district play this season and see if they can find a new identity as a team. Not sure who they will have at quarterback next year or how to adjust. They have two really good Juniors coming up; Smith and Phillips are good ball players but I don't think they will have much help anywhere else.  They don't have much size, but they do have a monster at DT in the Bledsoe kid.  Looked very lazy in some of the games I saw last year, but also was able to dominate at times.  If that kid flips the switch, he is a hoss.

-McCracken County: I touched on them already.  The QB is solid.  He put up great numbers and they made some noise in the playoffs when I did not expect them to last season.  I don't think they will win their district, but have proven that they can make plays when it matters.  Excited to watch O'Neal's progress as a quarterback going into this season!  Losing Zeno will hurt the run game pretty bad, not sure how much that will affect O'Neal's game through the air, but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes over 30 touchdowns as a Junior. Non-District schedule is tough with Murray, Paducah, Mayfield and Graves, but might be able to put up good numbers in district play.  Lost two really close ones last season and revenged the loss the Henderson in the playoffs. Hopefully they will be able to pull those out this season and make another good little run before running into one of the big schools in the playoffs. 

-Trigg County:  Trigg has some athletes, just are not very disciplined and very turnover prone.  Not sure if that was just young players getting their first opportunity or if it was trying to force Vaughn the ball.  It's a shame that kid didn't have more talent around him and give him a chanc to make more plays.  He could have been a monster.  Never really found their QB1 last year, could have caused a lot of stress and forced the kids to try and make a play or fear getting pulled quickly.  If Ezell can find a starter and put them in position to succeed, could be a better season for the Wildcats... Trigg has a pretty difficult schedule coming up, I don't see a lot of wins, but hopefully they can compete a little more. 

-Ballard Memorial (New Coach): Ballard is Ballard, but I know Hedges is a hard-nosed Coach and was a fantastic player back in the day.  They may not win a lot of games or have many kids on the sideline, but the kids they do have will be tough if they buy into Hedges lead.  Ballard for sure upgraded their coaching staff this season.  Not sure if they pull off any wins, but Fulton County game should be a good opportunity to see if they have grown as a team.  I expect Ballard to win it this season!

-Union County: Union has built a great program behind Johns.  They will always be one of the toughest teams on this side of the state, a stacked wrestling program helps mold aggressive hard nosed kids.  They return the QB Johnson who was a Do-Everything player for the Brave last year.  He was obviously their top passer, but also their best runner.  Never the most talented OL, but again, very tough and will not back down.  They give Johnson a hole or some time and he will make things happen.  McPeake is coming back to help form a two headed monster running the ball with Johnson.  They do lose their leading receiver, but again, they are a run heavy offense.  I expect their run game to open up passing lanes.  Biggest loss will be on defense.  Losing their top two defenders will hurt.

-Hopkinsville (New Coach): Another new coach on the list, but I don't expect a lot of change for the Tigers.  I think that Clark checked out pretty early the past few years and had his eyes set on the mega school.  I don't think that will be a issue with Lopez who is a Tiger through and through.  Athletes will not be an issue for Hopkinsville, they should be loaded with talents on the perimeters.  After starting winless most of the season, they smacked Calloway and lost back to back one point games to a good ACS and really good Logan.  I believe their QB was hurt a lot of the season if not all, but QB is going to need to improve if they want to play with the good ones.  They had a good run game, but teams also stacked the box on them.  They HAVE to find a QB that can get the ball to their athletes in space.  If they can produce a average pass game and play disciplined defense; it will complement their run game and give them a chance to win a lot more games next season.

-Christian County (New Coach): Another team full of athletes and talent, just unable to put it all together.  Both QBs last season, Northington and Miles, will be gone and might be for the better for the team.  They were their leading passers and leading rushers, but also turned the ball over at a high rate.  Much better runners than they were passers and I believ they were put in a bad position to succeed.  If Atchley can find a QB that can take care of the ball and manage the game, they can win a lot more than the 2 games they won last year.  He is a great coach and I think he can figure it out.  If he can turn the program back into a competitor, I think it puts him in the driver seat for their upcoming mega school.  
 

-Crittenden County:  Had a pretty mid season last year.  Not awful, not great, but I believe it was down to what they have come to expect at Crittenden.  I think Courtney is a fantastic coach and produces a solid defense, but I think they lost a lot this year.  Not sure if they improve too much as a program when it comes to Wins and Losses.

 

[Westernside]

Returning starters for some of the Western Kentucky Teams

Murray 4 on offense/4 on defense

Madisonville North 7 on offense/4 on defense

Union 9 on offense/6 on defense

Trigg 6 on offense/7 on defense

Caldwell Co 9 on offense/8 defense

HCC 5 offense/5 defense

Crittenden 3 on offense/4 on defense

Webster 5 on offense/7 on defense

[Brown]

This list isn't all the western KY teams - I call most of these west coast teams (heard that from a guy down in McCracken).

[zoneblitz24]

Talking to people in the area Graves County might be returning the most of any team in far West KY.  I believe it is something like 10 starters on offense and 6 on defense.  The players who will be replacing the outgoing players have started multiple games due to some injuries or other reasons last season.  They also have a very good group of skill players in the freshman class who will se significant playing time this season. 

[WKY_Football]

On 3/20/2024 at 8:40 AM, Westernside said:

Returning starters for some of the Western Kentucky Teams

Murray 4 on offense/4 on defense

Madisonville North 7 on offense/4 on defense

Union 9 on offense/6 on defense

Trigg 6 on offense/7 on defense

Caldwell Co 9 on offense/8 defense

HCC 5 offense/5 defense

Crittenden 3 on offense/4 on defense

Webster 5 on offense/7 on defense

Hopkinsville 

10 offense - 6 Defense

Christian County

3 Offense-4 defense 

Paducah 

7 offense- 8 defense

(Absolutely loaded)