13th Region: Week 1

And that wraps up week 1 for your 13th region. Maddox Huff probably had the biggest week with multiple huge scoring games that we will dive into a little later. North Laurel had the biggest week team wise going 3-0 playing a pretty solid schedule for your first week. South Laurel got a big time region win and there were a few other region games that helped sort out these region rankings. This week will see a few other region games take place, some district games take place, and some football players come into action and continue to get in basketball shape. Although you don’t want to put too much stock into games your first week of the season, it's always better to win games than to lose them! Without further ado, let’s dive into these rankings. 

Week 1 Rankings:

1. South Laurel (2-0): I’m going to keep the Cardinals in the top spot right now. They started the week off with a 42 point win over region foe Harlan, before hosting Clay County in a big time region game. Well, things didn’t change too much here as they ran away with a 70-47 win. South hit ten 3’s in the ball game, with Colton Rawlings knocking down six of them. Jordan Mabe added 18 in the winning effort. South held Clay to only five points in the second quarter, and led 33-16 at the half. South has a stingy defense, and has one of the best defenders in the state in Jordan Mabe who can guard positions 1-5. South has North Laurel on the road Tuesday and Montgomery County in a tournament on Saturday for this week. 

2. Harlan County (3-0): The Black Bears started the year off perfect with a 40 point win over defending 14th region champ Perry County Central, a four point win over Corbin at home, then a 4 point win over Betsy Lane. Maddox Huff is currently averaging 38 and 10 on the season if that gives you any idea the type of week he had. His biggest game of the week was against Corbin where he had 49 points on 60% from the field. HC is scoring points in bunches, but we all know the defensive side will have to tighten up if they’re going to make the run that they expect to. Harlan County plays in the WYMT Classic tonight against Knott County Central, and barring how that game goes will determine who else they play this week. 

3. North Laurel (3-0): The Jaguars had the biggest week and are your 13th region team of the week. They opened up the year with a 25 point win over Lexington Catholic at home. Reece Davidson had 27-6 in the win. Then not to be outdone, they followed that with a 1 point win over Jeffersontown in OT. Jordan Rawlings nailed a 3 at the end of regulation to force OT. Then to add the cherry on top, they knocked off Henry Clay by 3 in a game that saw Reece Davidson put up 27 and 8. The Jaguars have started the year off hot and showed that they are ready to put their name in the region champ talks. They host South Laurel on Tuesday and travel to OBI on Thursday. If they can knock out the Cardinals, this would be a huge win in the early year. 

4. Clay County (1-1): I don’t want to punish the Tigers too much for dropping a game, but they did get killed by Harlan County. Adon Grubb had 20 and 8 in the loss, and Jerrod Roark had 16 and 2. Clay had five players combine to go 0-17 in the loss. They’re going to need more from their supporting cast if they’re going to show that they can compete with the top teams in the region. They did start the season off with a 38 point win over Harlan. They take on Perry County Central tonight in the WYMT Classic. Depending on how that game goes will determine who else they play the rest of this week.  

5. Knox Central (2-0): The Panthers started the year off 2-0. Neither win was against extremely difficult competition, but they were wins nevertheless. They opened the year up with a 58 point win over Red Bird, and then a 14 point win over OBI. Grayson Burton and Evan Hubbard are leading the way with points right now with 18.5 and 14, while Hayden Melton mans the middle with 10 boards per game. Knox hosts Wayne County on Thursday and goes to Bath County on Saturday. 

6. Bell County (2-2): Bell is a team I thought would have had a better start to the season than they have. They opened up with two wins, both blow out wins over Lee County and Red Bird. Cameron Hall and Ethan Buell had monster games in the wins and really imposed their will. They dropped a 4 point game to Tri-Cities Christian Academy, then a 3 point game to Walton-Verona in the Ted Cook Classic. The stats aren’t updated on those two games yet so it’s hard to look at the box score and see what went wrong. Bell will travel to Middlesboro on Friday, before hosting GRC on Saturday. A big win over GRC could turn some heads if they manage to pull that one out. 

7. Corbin (0-2): The Redhounds are off to a slow start, but they did have two big games against Harlan County and Madison Central. In the Harlan County loss, Ryder Adkins poured in 35 and Dawson Farmer had 16. They are both freshmen, so the future for sure looks bright. I’m pretty sure I read that Evan Ellis hasn’t gotten eligible yet, the big transfer from Whitley. If he gets eligible and Malachi Brown gets in basketball shape, the Redhounds will be tough to beat out. Corbin should get in the win column this week with games against Lynn Camp, Jackson County, and Tri-Cities Christian Academy. 

8. Pineville (1-0): Pineville got off to a good start with a 6 point win over Model. The stats aren’t up for the game yet on KHSAA so I can’t get too far into that, but I’m sure Sawyer Thompson and Ashton Moser both had good games. I also so on X this week that Pineville got a big transfer from Middlesboro who they are waiting on to get eligible. If he gets eligible, I firmly believe they can push Knox Central for the district title. Pineville plays Breathitt in the WYMT Classic tomorrow night, and if they can get a win over them then things could shake up in the rankings for next week. 

9. Whitley County (3-0): The Colonels are off to a hot start! They started things off with their first win over Wayne County since 2004. Bryson Mahan led the way with 19 and 5. They then beat Lynn Camp by 39, before finishing the week with a 36 point win over Cosby TN. The Colonels are led so far by two freshman, Bryson Mahan and Riley Fuson who are averaging 20 and 18 per game. Coach Swords is doing a great job after losing his top player to transfer to start the season. Whitley plays Middlesboro and Jackson County this week. 

10. Williamsburg (2-0): Shoutout the Yellow Jackets! They started the season off on the right foot 2-0. The first was an 83 point win over Ligon Cogo (may wanna drop them off the schedule coach!) and the next was a 30 point win over Knoxville Ambassadors. Andrew Smith went off for 28 in the win over Ligon on 87% shooting. The Burg has an extremely busy week as they play four games in 7 days. The first against Harlan tonight, then Apostolic Christian School, Cordia, and they wrap up with Lynn Camp. 

11. Jackson County (3-0): The Generals are off to a good 3-0 start. They took down Lee, Owsley, and Morgan County. They can make some noise this week if they can knock off Red Bird, Corbin, and Whitley County.  

12. Barbourville (2-0): The Tigers are also off to a good 2-0 start. They knocked off Lee County and a Christian school. They will take on OBI and Red Bird which should help sort out the back end of these rankings a little bit. 

13. OBI (1-2): OBI knocked off Red Bird before stumbling to Clinton County and Knox Central. They can move up the rankings this week if they pick up some wins over Barbourville, North Laurel, and Owsley County. 

14. Harlan (0-2): Harlan is 0-2 but had to play Clay County and South Laurel. A rough opening to the season. They take on Williamsburg, Lee VA, and Somerset Christian School this week. A win over Williamsburg would be big for the Green Dragons. 

15. Middlesboro (1-1): Middlesboro killed Lynn Camp but lost to Lakeway Christian Academy. They also just lost one of their best players to Pineville. The Yellowjackets take on Whitley County, Bell County, and Berea this week. 

16. Lynn Camp (0-3): The Wildcats found their head coach in Dinky Phipps, but haven’t found a win in his return yet. They dropped their games against Owsley, Middlesboro, and Whitley County. They return to action this week against Corbin, Somerset Christian School, and Williamsburg. 

17. Red Bird (0-3): The Cardinals opened up with tough losses to OBI, Knox Central, and Bell County. They continue to action this week with Jackson County and Barbourville.