1) Warren Central (4-1) - 12/13 80-37 W at #17 Russellville, 12/14 52-55 L PRP (at Bardstown)    
Previous Rank: 1    
This Week: 12/19 vs. Hurricane (WV), 12/20 vs. TBA, 12/21 vs. TBA    
    
2) Bowling Green (3-1) - 12/10 82-43 W at Elizabethtown, 12/13 70-38 W #7 Glasgow, 12/14 57-61 L Adair County (at Barren County)    
Previous Rank: 2    
This Week: 12/17 vs. Christian County, 12/19 vs. McMinn Central (TN) (at Pigeon Forge), 12/20 vs. TBA (at Pigeon Forge), 12/21 vs. TBA (at Pigeon Forge)    
    
3) Greenwood (6-0) - 12/10 65-41 W at #17 Russellville, 12/13 75-36 W #13 Logan County, 12/14 83-82 W North Hardin (at Barren County)    
Previous Rank: 4    
This Week: 12/16 vs. Central Hardin, 12/20 vs. Taft (OH) (at Montgomery County)    
    
4) Warren East (5-1) - 12/9 71-66 W Butler County, 12/13 64-50 W #9 Barren County, 12/14 59-52 W Shelbyville Central (TN) (at Barren County)    
Previous Rank: 3    
This Week: 12/17 at #13 Logan County, 12/19 at #15 Glasgow    
    
5) South Warren (5-1) - 12/10 94-51 W #11 Metcalfe County, 12/12 100-72 W at #10 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/14 92-65 W Christian County (at Hopkinsville)    
Previous Rank: 8    
This Week: 12/17 at #10 Barren County, 12/21 vs. Owensboro    
    
6) Cumberland County (4-0) - 12/10 80-77 W at #14 Russell County, 12/13 57-56 W #15 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 5    
This Week: 12/17 vs. #7 Clinton County, 12/20 vs. Somerset Christian (at Somerset), 12/21 at Somerset    
    
7) Clinton County (6-0) - 12/10 65-55 W at #15 Monroe County, 12/13 61-48 W at #11 Metcalfe County, 12/14 67-35 W #7 Glasgow (at Barren County)    
Previous Rank: 6    
This Week: 12/17 at #6 Cumberland County, 12/20 vs. Southern, 12/21 vs. Boone County    
    
8. Franklin-Simpson (2-2) - 12/9 50-54 L at Hart County, 12/12 50-45 W Ohio County    
Previous Rank: 12    
This Week: 12/19 vs. Santa Fe (FL) (at Rocky Top Sports World), 12/20 vs. TBA (at Rocky Top Sports World), 12/21 vs. TBA (at Rocky Top Sports World)    
    
9) Allen County-Scottsville (2-1) - 12/12 72-100 L #8 South Warren    
Previous Rank: 10    
This Week: 12/17 vs. Hart County, 12/19 vs. #10 Barren County, 12/20 vs. Edmonson County (at Apollo), 12/21 at Apollo, 12/21 vs. #11 Russell County (at Apollo)    
    
10) Barren County (1-4) - 12/9 46-72 L at Caverna, 12/13 50-64 L at #3 Warren East, 12/14 52-77 L LaRue County    
Previous Rank: 9    
This Week: 12/17 vs. #5 South Warren, 12/19 at #9 Allen County-Scottsville, 12/21 at Ohio County    
    
11) Russell County (2-3) - 12/10 77-80 L #5 Cumberland County, 12/12 83-38 W at Casey County, 12/14 74-90 L Central Hardin (at Green County)    
Previous Rank: 14    
This Week: 12/17 vs. #12 Metcalfe County, 12/20 at Apollo, 12/21 vs. Morgan County (at Apollo), 12/21 vs. #9 Allen County-Scottsville (at Apollo)    
    
12) Metcalfe County (1-3) - 12/10 51-94 L at #8 South Warren, 12/13 48-61 L #6 Clinton County    
Previous Rank: 11    
This Week: 12/17 at #11 Russell County, 12/20 vs. #14 Monroe County, 12/21 vs. Central Hardin, 12/21 vs. DeSales    
    
13) Logan County (1-3) - 12/10 58-50 W #7 Glasgow, 12/13 36-75 L at #4 Greenwood    
Previous Rank: 13    
This Week: 12/17 vs. #4 Warren East, 12/20 vs. Trigg County    
    
14) Monroe County (2-3) - 12/10 55-65 L #6 Clinton County, 12/13 56-57 L at #5 Cumberland County, 12/14 56-48 W at #16 Todd County Central    
Previous Rank: 15    
This Week: 12/20 at #12 Metcalfe County, 12/21 vs. DeSales (at Metcalfe County), 12/21 vs. Central Hardin (at Metcalfe County)    
    
15) Glasgow (0-4) - 12/10 50-58 L at #13 Logan County, 12/13 38-70 L at #2 Bowling Green, 12/14 35-67 L #6 Clinton County (at Barren County)    
Previous Rank: 7    
This Week: 12/17 at #17 Russellville, 12/19 vs. #4 Warren East, 12/21 vs. Rockcastle County (at South Warren)    
    
16) Todd County Central (0-5) - 12/10 30-51 L at Creek Wood (TN), 12/13 33-42 L Jo Byrns (TN), 12/14 48-56 L #15 Monroe County    
Previous Rank: 16    
This Week: 12/17 at Caldwell County, 12/20 vs. Fort Campbell    
    
17) Russellville (0-4) - 12/10 41-65 L #4 Greenwood, 12/13 37-80 L #1 Warren Central    
Previous Rank: 17    
This Week: 12/17 vs. #15 Glasgow, 12/20 vs. Muhlenberg County (at Todd County Central)    
    
18) Foundation Christian Academy (4-1) - 12/10 72-6 W Dayspring Academy (TN), 12/13 61-17 W Metro Christian Academy (TN), 12/14 67-22 W at Heritage Christian    
Previous Rank: 18    
This Week: 12/19 vs. Currey Ingram Academy (TN), 12/20 vs. Brown (at Portland Christian)    

Notes:

-The top seven teams are a combined 33-4, and that includes a game among those teams. So, in other words, those teams are a combined 32-3 against everyone else.  It is a much less pleasant picture below that, where only two teams are above .500 in the final 11 teams, and one of those is Foundation Christian Academy, who really don't count.  There have been some close calls between teams up top and those below - including both of Cumberland County's win this week, both narrow district wins, but it is clear that there is an upper echelon and a lower echelon to the region that has developed.  What remains to be seen is if the usual untouchable top two remains. 

-Warren Central took their first loss this week, falling to PRP 55-52.  The Dragons are still a team that is not whole, as they have a couple of players who will not become eligible until January, and Kash Carter is still out after an injury in the preseason.  That has left them with a shallow bench, and that bench got shorter going into the PRP game.  Starter Jarek Kirk was out after an ankle injury from the night before, and less than two minutes into the game Armani Byrd suffered an ankle injury of his own.  In the third quarter, starting PG Ryan Hulbert had to leave with cramps.  That combination meant that although Central led almost the entire night, never trailing by more than 4 and never trailing between scores of 4-2 and 51-49, they simply did not have the personnel to hold on.  We'll see what they have in terms of injuries when they go to Gatlinburg this week. Ant McAfee is averaging 21.2 PPG through five games, 26 PPG through the previous four. 

-Bowling Green took their first loss this week as well, falling to Adair County 61-57.  The Purples are similarly shorthanded as they are still waiting for some football personnel to return to the floor.  Chief among those is expected POY Deuce Bailey, but some reserves are not back as well.  Several players have stepped up in his absence.  Joseph Hurt has averaged 18 PPG so far, including a 32 point effort against Adair County, on 10/13 shooting, including 5/7 from three.  Braylon Banks had his best game of the year as well, going 8/14 from the field and scoring 20.  The biggest surprise so far has been the play of Luke Idlett.  He averaged 4.6 PPG last year and scored 116 all season.  He's out to a 16.2 PPG average through four games, has 65 already, and has been unconscious from three.  He has shot 12/18 from three so far, a big reason the Purples are shooting 48.3% from deep so far. 

-Greenwood continued their rapid ascension up the ranks, moving to 6-0 with three more wins this week.  That 6-0 start is the best for the program since the 1997-98 season when they started 10-0.  It is already their fourth best opening in program history.  It's a much smaller sample size, of course, but their 71+ average through six games is nine points higher than what they averaged last season.  Nick Simpson has led the team with 17 PPG through five, shooting nearly 60% from the floor.  They will match up with Central Hardin in a battle of unbeatens on Monday. 

-Warren East is out to another strong start, checking in at 5-1.  They hold the only win among teams currently played between top seven teams - knocking off South Warren by one in OT in the season opener - but they finally grabbed a win in a critical district opener for the first time since joining the 15th District.  Two straight years they've opened with losses to Barren County in the opener, and had lost three in a row at home to the Trojans.  The game was tight early, and tied at 23 all at halftime.  The Raiders found their stride in the third quarter, using a 15-3 run and 10/11 shooting in the quarter to blow the game open, and never leading by less than 11 in the fourth quarter.  Kaleb Prince had 26 points, and has averaged 18.8 PPG so far this year.  Brenden Bratcher has stood out as well with 16.8 PPG. 

-Special mention to Warren East naming their home court for Tommy Compton, one of two legendary coaches for the Raiders.  Compton led East to 5 region titles in 20 seasons at the helm.  He was head coach for 37.5% of the games in program history, and his 339 wins are significantly the highest for the program.  His teams went 136-74 on the floor that now bears his name. 

-South Warren has averaged 93.5 PPG over the last four games.  To put that in perspective, there are only four games in the history of the program they've scored 94 or higher in a single game, and two of those have come in the last four.  Those last four games increased the total times they've scored 88+ from 7 to 11.  It's been a highly successful stretch.  They will visit Barren County on Tuesday.  The road team has won the last six in the series, which seems favorable to the road Spartans, in addition to the relative play of each team to date.

-It didn't come easily at all for Cumberland County, but they matched the 4-0 start from 2012/13 as their best start in the "Riherds" era (that is, since the 97/98 inception of the glorious Riherds scoreboard database).  Their reward is a 2-0 start in the extremely competitive 16th District, knocking off Russell County 80-77 on the road, and edging out Monroe County 57-56 at home.  Zachery Harwood was a combined 15/25 from the floor (60%) in the two contests, posting 18 and 17 respectively.  The team shot extremely well from the field, going 31/53 (58.5%) and 7/12 from three (58.3%) against Russell County, and 24/50 (48%) and 6/15 from three (40%) against Monroe County.  The Panthers will look to move to 5-0 when they host a big game on Tuesday - district rival Clinton County, which is also the most high profile ranked game this week in the region.  Cumberland County knocked off the Bulldogs in two of three contests last year, snapping 15 years of futility in the series.  A win tomorrow would defend the crucial home court advantage, and stake them to an early 3-0 start in the district, a decided advantage in pursuit of the top seed in the district. 

-The same would be true of Clinton County, also already at 2-0 in district play, with the distinction being that they won both of theirs on the road.  First was a 65-55 win over Monroe County.  William Beaty led four double digit scorers in the game with 18, going 8/14 from the field. Jaxson Mason (17), Cannon Young (15), and Nick Poore (11) also reached double digits. Cannon Young did the heavy lifting in the 61-48 win over Metcalfe County, with 23 points on 10/15 shooting.  Mason stayed consistent with 17, and Beaty contributed 12 in that one.  The Bulldogs are hard nosed and consistent, and their defense has been suffocating.  No team has scored more than 55 yet, and that is the only game they've allowed more than 48 points. As big as the win in their matchup would be for Cumberland County, it would be even bigger for Clinton County, who would be 3-0 with four of their last five district matchups coming at home. 

Games to Follow:

-The aforementioned matchup between #6 Cumberland County and #7 Clinton County is definitely the game of the week.  In so many respects - competitiveness, rankings impact, and impact on their district play.  

-#5 South Warren at #10 Barren County is one to check in on.  As mentioned, the road team has typically won of late, and Barren County really needs to show some fight - it has been an extremely disappointing start for a team frequently in the upper echelon of the region.  

District Matchups:
--13th District - None
--14th District - None
--15th District - 12/19 #4 Warren East at #15 Glasgow, 12/19 #10 Barren County at #9 Allen County-Scottsville
--16th District - 12/17 #7 Clinton County at #6 Cumberland County, 12/17 #12 Metcalfe County at #11 Russell County, 12/20 #14 Monroe County at #12 Metcalfe County

Fantastic report as always @DragonFire!

Going to be a fun year in the 4th region!

While I still expect BG and Central to play 4 times, I think the other 5 teams at the top will have great games throughout the season and post season.  And Clinton vs Cumberland should be a fun game.