15th Region: Week 5

[DearToday]

What a week in the 15th. The star of the region this week was the Prestonsburg Blackcats led by Braxton Keathley. Just a few weeks ago Pburg was sitting at 0-5 and dead last in these rankings. Fast forward now, they are winners of five straight and finally at .500. The latest win, a huge upset in the first round of the All A classic over Pikeville. Because of the size of the 15th region, a lot of the teams are in the all A. It’s almost like a mini region tournament. Braxton Keathly also deserves his roses. In his first two games combined this week he put up 107 points combined, on 63% shooting, and 89% shooting from the line. The young man is just a sophomore, and he has been electric. He’s most likely the best player you’ve not heard of. I very much doubt any games will get played in the 15th this week, but we shall see! Here are your rankings:   

 

Week 5 Rankings: 

1. Martin County (10-2): The Cardinals win streak was snapped at the start of last week by Everglades FL by a narrow 2 point loss, but a new one began as they came back home and beat East Ridge by 27. Seniors Parker Watts and Peyton Davis had 26 and 20 in the loss respectively, but as a team they went 8-14 from the line. Shore that up, and they probably win the game. Watts poured in 27 in the win over East Ridge. This week they play Prestonsburg on Thursday in the All A and that is all that’s on the schedule. 

2. Lawrence County (9-3): The Bulldogs didn’t get any games in this past week and I’m not sure if they’ll get in any this week either. Only time will tell if that’s good or bad. They have a lot of TBA games on their schedule, so it’s hard to tell what they have planned for this week or if anything was cancelled last week. It seems like they have a game Wednesday against someone for the 2A Sectional. 

3. Paintsville (9-3): Paintsville went 1-0 on the week and pushed their win streak up to five games. They are quietly putting together a really nice season. Their top three scorers are Ethan Cole at 19.2, Anderson Lauffer at 14.8, and Brock Woods at 13.6. The good news? All three are sophomores. Things are set up nicely for the Tigers to make a run here in the next couple years, but it seems like they’re not gonna wait, they’re going to try to make their run now. 

4. Pike County Central (6-5): PCC now has their win streak up to 3 games, the latest a 6 point win over Floyd Central on the road. Jaden Stewart went off for 38 on 62% shooting in the win. Grant Hall also put in 21, and Peyton Owens added 16 in the win. The Hawks were supposed to play Magoffin tonight to start the 2A, but that has been cancelled. They are set to play Shelby Valley on Tuesday, then J L Burton VA on Thursday. We will see if those games happen. 

5. Shelby Valley (8-5): The Wildcats went 1-0 on the week with a 10 point win over Betsy Lane. I said last week if they won this game they’d shoot up the rankings, and they did just that! Again, not to sound like a broken record but there are no stats uploaded so I don’t know who to give credit to. But shoutout Shelby Valley! SV is set to play Paintsville in the All A on Thursday and Belfry at home on Friday. 

6. Johnson Central (5-4): JC got back in the win column with a 17 point win over Maine Endwell NY to wrap up the Marlin Classic. Brayden Shepherd went off for 42 in the win by hitting 7 3’s! Also went 6-9 from the field from 2 and went a perfect 9-9 from the line. What a game for the young man. This week the Golden Eagles are set to play Floyd Central on the road Tuesday for the 2A, and then Huntington Expression Prep WV on Thursday. 

7. Betsy Lane (7-5): The Bobcats have now lost three of their last four after dropping a 10 point game to Shelby Valley this week. After a 6-2 start, things have been trending down. Things don’t get easier as they play Prestonsburg on Friday. P Burg has been one of the hottest teams in the region as of late.

8. Prestonsburg (5-5): Shoutout to Harold Tackett and the Blackcats. Did I move them up too far? Is the hype for real? Who knows! But what I do know is that the Blackcats are en fuego, and Braxton Keathley is the man! Now with a win streak of five games, Mingo Central, Phelps, and Pikeville were the three latest victims. Pikeville was in the All A to add to the wonder. This was a huge upset win. Keathely scored 51 to start the week on 69% shooting. Not to be outdone, he put up 56 in the next win on 58% shooting. Against Pikeville he was limited to just 23, but Connor Napier and Kaden Allen both stepped up with 14 and 10 in the win. Can they keep the magic going? We will see Thursday as they play Martin County in the semi’s of the All A. They will also play Betsy Lane on Friday and Harlan on Saturday. 

9. Pikeville (6-4): Pikeville is 3-4 in their last seven games, and just went 0-1 this past week. Things aren’t great in Panther land. The 2 point loss to Prestonsburg was a head scratcher to say the least. Were they caught looking ahead to Martin County? Are they in a down year? Only time will tell. They will have to refocus as they are set to play East Ridge tomorrow and Johnson Central on Thursday. 

10. Phelps (5-5): The Hornets went 0-1 this past week. They lost a heartbreaker in double OT to Prestonsburg. The Hornets will play Mingo Central WV tomorrow, and then Magoffin County on Friday. Should be able to pick up two big wins and start the win streak back over. 

11. Floyd Central (5-7): The Jaguars went 0-2 on the week losing to PCC by 6 and Knott County Central by 12. They play Johnson Central on Tuesday this week in the 2A Sectional. 

12. Belfry (6-8): Belfry dropped a tough game to Paintsville by 5 but rebounded with a 13 point win over Mingo Central. They will pay East Ridge and Shelby Valley this week. 

13. Magoffin (3-7): Magoffin was off this past week. Their 2A game tonight was cancelled. They will play Phelps on Friday. 

14. East Ridge (4-9): The Warriors went 1-2 this week with a 41 point win over Hurley VA, and a 34 point loss to Morgan County and a 27 point loss to Martin County. East Ridge plays Belfry tomorrow.