15th Region: Week 2

Martin County had the biggest week in the 15th as they went into the the panther den and emerged victorious in a game where they dominated. Betsy Lane had some big inner region wins that saw them start to separate from the middle of the pack and inch towards the top. Lawrence separated themselves from the top the bottom of the upper teams, but it’s still early in the year. Johnson Central has been rather disappointing, but still has a lot of season to turn things around from the 1-2 start. Shelby Valley is likely the most off on my rankings, but if they keep winning it’ll all sort itself out in the end. Without further ado, there are your 15th region rankings. 

Week 2 Rankings: 

1. Martin County (4-1): The Cardinals had the biggest week in the region. After a setback to PCC last week, they rebounded with a 46 point win over Grace Christian then a dominating win over Pikeville by 11. Parker Watts dominated with 27 and Bryson Dials had 17. Martin Co is back in action Tuesday night with Shelby Valley at home, then they play in the 2024 Stockyards Bank Challenge. They’ll start off with Rowan County Thursday then Shelby County on Saturday. 

2. Pikeville (3-1): Pikeville blasted Lawrence Co Tuesday by 22 but then followed that up with an 11 point loss to Martin County. Jackson Keene had a solid effort against Lawrence Co with 28 on 65% shooting. Pikeville has a chance to get back in the win column Friday as they host Pike County Central and Saturday as they host Christian Educational Consortium in the PIT. 

3. Lawrence County (4-1): The Bulldogs took a drop in the rankings after a 22 point setback to Pikeville. They only shot 34% from the field, 26% from three, and 57% from the free throw line in the loss. All less than stellar numbers. They followed that up with a less than impressive 5 point win over Belfry that saw some drama go down at the end of the game. They look to try to pickup momentum as they host Prestonsburg tonight, then Friday they’ll play West Carter, and finish the week with Russell on Saturday. 

4. Betsy Lane (4-2): Betsy Lane put together another nice week going 2-0 with region wins over Pike County Central by 9, and Floyd Central by 3. Cameron Pente is on fire as of late, evidenced by his 39 point performance against PCC. The Bobcats look to keep it moving as they host Leslie County tonight. They also play Owsley County on Friday, and West Carter on Saturday. They have a lot of TBA on the schedule so we will see what that entails on the recap next week. 

5. Floyd Central (4-1): The Jaguars faced their first taste of defeat on the year with a 3 point loss to Betsy Lane. They did follow that up with a 7 point win over Rowan County. The stats aren’t in yet so I can’t really touch base on how those games went scoring wise. It seems as if they had a game cancelled for Tuesday, but they do play Paintsville on Thursday, then Campbell County on Friday. 

6. Pike County Central (1-3): The Hawks went 1-1 on the week, with a 9 point loss to Betsy Lane and a 16 point win over Rowan County. Jaden Stewart and Grant Hall both had solid games against BL, with 24 points by each. They’re going to need more from the rest of the team though it seems if they’re going to knock out more wins. PCC doesn’t play again till late in the week with Pikeville on the road Friday, then Christian Educational Consortium on Saturday in the PIT. 

7. Paintsville (2-2): The Tigers went 1-1 on the week. Their win was a 38 point drubbing against East Ride. Their loss was a close 3 point game to Russell. Jase Kinner was the player of the game over East Ride with 21 points on the night going 5-7 from deep. Ten different players got in the scoring column in the win. Paintsville hosts Belfry tonight, Floyd Central on Thursday, and Campbell County on Saturday. A perfect week could see them shoot up the rankings. 

8. Shelby Valley (5-1): Shelby Valley is likely a little too low in the rankings, it was just hard to rank them because their loss to Paintsville. Eventually, that will fall off the schedule and not be held against them because it was their first game. They had a big week with a 6 point win over Johnson Central, a 18 point win over Buckhorn, and a 66 point win over Riverview. They need to get their stats in though so I can give some kids some credit! They have a big time game at Martin County on Tuesday, before playing Monterey TN on Thursday. 

9. Johnson Central (1-2): The Golden Eagles have been less than impressive to start the season. This week saw a 6 point setback to Shelby Valley, before finally getting a win over Greenup by 13. Brayden Shepherd and Austin Slone combined for 51 in their win, but only 36 in their loss. They seem like the straws that stirs the drink for JC. This week JC plays Magoffin at home on Wednesday, Riverside Christian at home on Saturday, and Campbell County at home on Sunday. 

10. Belfry (2-3): The Pirates came back down to life this week going 0-2. The first, a 7 point loss to Jenkins, and the next a much better showing but still a 5 point loss to Lawrence County. They did just pick up a transfer from one of the Carolina States who will help, but it’s yet to be seen how much he helps. Belfry goes to Paintsville tonight, before hosting Tolsia WV Tuesday, then going to Bell County on Friday. It’s a busy week for the Pirates. 

11. Magoffin (2-4): The hornets went 1-2 on the week with their lone win coming over East Ridge. They’re back in action Wednesday at Johnson Central, then Saturday at home against June Buchanan. 

12. East Ridge (2-3): The Warriors went winless on the week going 0-2, unless their game yesterday was a win that’s not been updated yet on KHSAA. East Ridge goes to Phelps Monday, then plays in a tournament at Raceland where they’ll take on Holmes, Raceland, and Fairview this weekend. 

13. Prestonsburg (0-4): The Blackcats are off to a slow start this season after going winless on the week again. This time they look to turn it around with Lawrence on Monday, and their schedule says TBA on Friday so we will see if they have another game then. 

14. Phelps (1-2): The Hornets went 1-1 on the week with their first win over Wesley Christian. They look to extend their win streak with games against East Ridge and they will also take part in a three day tournament at Cherokee TN.