1st Region: Week 3

[D Wolf]

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Let's go ahead and mark our calendars for January 14 and February 7.  Those are the two dates when the Lakers and Marshals battle it out.  It is looking more and more like these two are headed for regional title game for quite possibly their fourth matchup of the season.  Here D Wolf's update tiers:

Tier 1 (The Favorites) - Calloway and Marshall.

Tier 2 (The Contenders) - Tilghman, St. Mary, McCracken, Graves.  These teams are in the mix, but the only problem is they'll most likely have to knock off both the Lakers and Marshals to claim the 1st Region title.

Tier 3 (Sleeper Teams) - Mayfield, Carlisle, Murray, Ballard Mem.  I think these teams have some talent and could definitely upset one of the above teams.  But not quite sure they could win three in a row at the 1st Region tourney.

Here are my rankings:

1. Calloway Co. (9-0) - W 81-60 at Union Co. (2A Section 1 quarterfinals), W 70-55 at Murray, W 69-54 Peoria (IL)

This week - WGM Holiday Tournament

Butler/Finley and Company just keep on rolling.  I think we will find out this week what the Lakers are made of as I've seen the teams in the WGM Holiday Tournament - it looks like a stacked field!  Conner Lockhart has been out as of late, and hopefully he can return to the lineup sometime soon.

2. Marshall Co. (10-0) - W 73-47 vs Murray, W 71-66 S. Oldham, W 48-45 Owensboro Catholic, W 70-62 at S. Warren

This week - FNB Holiday Classic

Congrats to the Marshals as they won the BCBS Holiday Classic.  This team has four guys in double figures.  Matthew Langhi is 6-5 and is a great scorer - particularly solid in mid-range.  Alex Staples is not a prolific shooter, but good luck keeping this guy out of the lane.  Kyzer Phillips is a knockdown shooter.  Tommy Robertson might be the best athlete of the bunch and shoots it well too.  All of these guys are solid defenders too!

3. Paducah Tilghman (5-2) - W 67-59 vs St. Mary, W 82-59 vs Ballard Mem., L 66-80 Chicago Dyett

This week - BSN Borderline Classic

Is this Tornado team on the level of Calloway and Marshall?  I'm not quite sure.  Last year they were slightly behind those two, and neither of those teams lost much to graduation.  I guess time will tell as it looks like the Tornado might play both the Lakers and Marshals twice this year (if they end up playing the Lakers in the 2A Section 1 finals).  This is a talented team - they have 8+ athletic guards that can swarm around on defense, and a few of those can score (most notably Miles Woodfork).

4. St. Mary (7-1) - L 59-67 at Tilghman, W 69-47 vs S. Fulton (TN), W 69-50 vs Hopkins Co Central

This week - Richmond Holiday Classic

The Vikings were on the verge of getting blown out at Tilghman, but then in the 2nd half they made a huge run and at one point cut the Tornado lead to one.  The game when PT goes to the Holy Hardwood should be very interesting!  The Vikings will host Carlisle on Monday for their holiday championship and I look for the Vikings to take care of business.  This team has four guys who can score, and two of them are in 8th and 9th grade, but they are playing like upper-classmen already.

5. McCracken Co. (3-4) - W 49-36 at Mayfield, W 52-41 Evangel Christian, L 40-62 Dupont Manual.

This week - Poplar Bluff (Mo.) tournament

This is a very good team for 3-4 as there four losses were Butler Co., Montgomery Bell Acad. (TN), Marshall Co., and Manual.  How about Owen Grogan stepping up with 14 points to be the co-leading scorer against Evangel Christian.  This team needs some guys to step up and help Martin and Jackson with the scoring load.  But I will say one thing - the Mustangs have a ton of depth and there are about eight or so guys who are capable to be the leading scorer on any given night.

6. Graves Co. (5-2) - W 41-40 Franklin Co., W 50-45 Greenwood

This week - Henry Co. Invitational Tournament

Who on the Eagles staff is responsible for getting stats into Riherds?  Maybe they've been out sick.  I have heard it is more difficult this season.  Please put in the rebounds each game too.  Can Brian York do something about this?  I haven't seen the Eagles yet this year, but I've heard they're very good, and I think they may end up higher than this ranking by season's end.

7. Mayfield (6-1) - L 36-49 vs McCracken, W 65-36 Montgomery Central (TN), W 65-29 Todd Co. Central, W 55-52 Union Co.

This week - Rafferty's Cleveland Classic

Congrats on the championship of the Battle on the Border.  Also, congrats to Coach Croft on his 100th victory of his career.  I think he is one of the more underrated coaches of this region.  The Cardinals' schedule has started out sort of light, but it will pick up very soon.  

8. Carlisle Co. (4-3) - W 81-46 at Fulton City, W 73-40 Heritage Christian, W 64-60 Caldwell Co.

This week - Southwire Holiday Classic

After starting out 0-3 the Comets have reeled off four straight.  They get a second chance at St. Mary and an opportunity to win the St. Mary Holiday Tourney.  Wyatt Rickard is the real deal, and one of the players that I hear most often when talking about highly recruited players from the 1st Region.  The Sophomore is 6-9 and he can really shoot the three - pretty decent combination.

9. Muray (5-6) - L 47-73 at Marshall Co., L 55-70 at Calloway Co., L 52-83 West Creek (TN)

This week - Colonel Basketball Classic

The Tigers easily win the prize for most brutal schedule so far this season.  This week they had the Marshals, Lakers and a tough Tennessee team.  Harris Moore continues to lead the way for the Tigers.

10. Ballard Memorial (3-4) - W 77-54 vs Hickman Co., L 59-82 at Tilghman, L 62-79 Spencer Co.

This week - Rafferty's Cleveland Classic

This is a talented team, and I think the Bombers will win a bunch of games this season.  My question is - how close is this team to their 3rd District competitors.  Could the Bombers win a game or two over the Eagles and Cardinals this year?  One thing is for sure - Jace Birney is tough to guard!

11. Christian Fellowship School (3-6) - L 61-68 CCA, W 53-42 Hickman Co., W 46-36 Dresden (TN)

I'm having a very difficult time ranking the teams 11 through 14.  They all just keep beating up on each other.  CFS has four players in double figures - Elijah Grigg, Daxton Kite, Samuel Grigg and Jakin Burnett.

12. Fulton Co. (3-5) - L 66-69 Halls (TN), W 49-46 Milan (TN), 

Tristan Kinney is scoring 14 points per game for the Pilots.

13. Hickman Co. (3-7) - 54-79 at Ballard Mem., L 36-63 Dresden (TN), L 42-53 CFS, W 65-62 at CCA

Nice win over CCA late this week!

14. Community Christian Acad. (4-4) - L 42-75 at Tilghman, W 68-61 vs CFS, W 78-61 vs Fulton City, L 62-65 vs Hickman Co.

The Warriors have two Freshman in double figures - Anderson is scoring 11 ppg, and DeJarnett is scoring 10 ppg.

15. Fulton City (1-11) - L 46-81 vs Carlisle Co., L 52-71 Gleason (TN), L 61-78 at CCA, L 60-76 Dresden (TN)

This team has a very young roster.  Freshman Kaybrun Burton is scoring 16 ppg.

[theguru]

Bump.

[PTHSalumni]

I know Fulton City isn't playing the best teams, but having a freshman scoring 16ppg is pretty good. It's a shame he probably won't get recognized by too many people. If memory serves me, didn't Fulton County have someone a few years ago average around 25ppg and we never heard a thing about him?

[D Wolf]

I guess some mixed results for 1st Region so far this week:

Calloway narrowly defeated Trinity 57-56.  They take on a tough LaRue Co team this evening.  The Lakers have been missing Conner Lockhart for several games and I’m not sure when he’s expected to be back.

Marshall begins play in the FNB today.  There are 8 teams including Louisville Ballard and Sayre and then 5 out of state teams.

I expected PT to have a really tough one with Jeffersontown, but I was surprised how bad they were beat.  I think I saw they lost by 35.

[sweet16]

On 12/27/2024 at 10:55 AM, PTHSalumni said:

I know Fulton City isn't playing the best teams, but having a freshman scoring 16ppg is pretty good. It's a shame he probably won't get recognized by too many people. If memory serves me, didn't Fulton County have someone a few years ago average around 25ppg and we never heard a thing about him?

That kid can play. Their best three players are 2 freshman and a 7th grader.