Central has excellent speed. PT may be the only other team that could matchup with them in the speed dept, but, there are other areas of the game besides speed. Central does not throw the ball that well and a team with a strong defensive line to contain the inside running and good LBs that can contain the outside runs have a good shot at them. Bell, Belfry, PT and Breathitt all have those things. Also, Centrals defense has been susceptible against teams with a balanced offense. This may cause Belfry and Bell some problems because they're more power running teams, whereas Breathitt and PT mix the pass and run up pretty well..

If anyone is best capable of playing with Central, I would say Paducah.

They're pretty close in that regard. The other 4 classes,however, only have 1 or 2 contenders.

 

It appears that way, if there is one class that may have a dark horse year, maybe 2A, other than that, I agree. I believe that the 2A class has much more parody in comparison to last season.

I agree with everyone on the top 5. Central and Bell County, in that order, are clearly the top two teams. I don't know as much about Tilghman, but I wouldn't have a problem with any order consisting of Tilghman, Breathitt County and Belfry. I think a potential third round Breathitt/Belfry matchup is a game that could go either way. Those two programs have hooked up for some memorable playoff games over the years that have featured just about anything you can think of...muddy fields, questionable calls, blowouts, nailbiters, etc.

 

I think Bell County or Central would have to be a solid favorite against any other Class 3A team. The good news for the rest of us is that those two will likely face off in the region finals. That means none of the 3-5 teams will have to beat both of them to win the state. I can't speak for other teams, but I think Breathitt County would have to play flawless and get a little luck to boot to beat Central. They would be a terrible matchup for Breathitt County.

I agree with everyone on the top 5. Central and Bell County, in that order, are clearly the top two teams. I don't know as much about Tilghman, but I wouldn't have a problem with any order consisting of Tilghman, Breathitt County and Belfry. I think a potential third round Breathitt/Belfry matchup is a game that could go either way. Those two programs have hooked up for some memorable playoff games over the years that have featured just about anything you can think of...muddy fields, questionable calls, blowouts, nailbiters, etc.

 

I think Bell County or Central would have to be a solid favorite against any other Class 3A team. The good news for the rest of us is that those two will likely face off in the region finals. That means none of the 3-5 teams will have to beat both of them to win the state. I can't speak for other teams, but I think Breathitt County would have to play flawless and get a little luck to boot to beat Central. They would be a terrible matchup for Breathitt County.

I think Tilghman's speed, especially on the defense, would give Bell County a lot of problems. For that reason, I think Tilghman would be a legitimate threat to Bell County, but perhaps not Central, who has probably even more speed and athleticism.

What I said was not intended to slight any of the other programs. I just think Central presents the worst matchup possible for my home team. Breathitt County is an above average team athletically, IMO, and they rely on that to be their advantage.

 

They run a shotgun spread option (think West Virginia under RichRod). They are more of a running team (260+ yards per game), but they have good balance (180+ passing yards per game). However, they are not a grind it out, pound the ball team. They thrive on big plays. I'm afraid Central's speed would take the big plays away.

 

Of course, I'll be happy if they make it that far.