article Bluegrasspreps' Eastern Kentucky Power Rankings 9-8

1. Johnson Central Golden Eagles (4A, 2-0)- The Eagles leave their week off behind and get back into action against South Charleston, WV. This same team just got beat badly by the Capital squad Johnson Central already defeated. Expect the Golden Eagles to roll on.

2. Belfry Pirates (3A, 2-0)- Belfry also enjoyed an open date and will get back into action against an opponent from a different state. Belfry won’t be favored when they travel all the way to Kettering, Ohio to take on traditional power Archbishop Alter.

3. Somerset Briarjumpers (2A, 3-0)- It is Somerset with a bullet. The Briarjumpers are red hot and just put the finishing touches on an impressive romp of powerhouse Beechwood. Somerset takes this week off before taking on another highly ranked small school team.

4. Pulaski County Maroons (5A, 2-1)- Not only did Pulaski make a statement by knocking off Corbin, they saw their lone loss of the year turn heads when Lexington Catholic gave Covington Catholic all they wanted. The Maroons will get a solid 6A Henry Clay team next as they try to keep the momentum going.

5. Corbin Redhounds (4A, 2-1)- Corbin suffered a rare loss to another Southern Kentucky team during the Coach Haddix tenure. The Redhounds will look to rebound against a Beechwood team that also have some proving to do of their own.

6. Ashland Tomcats (3A, 3-0)- The Tomcats just keep turning heads, this time by making short work of George Washington, WV. Ashland will get perhaps their stiffest regular season test against a very strong Wheelersburg, Ohio squad.

7. Pikeville Panthers (1A, 3-0)- It may not have been pretty, but the Panthers got the big win on the road at Paintsville. The Panthers now look to knock off their second ranked 1A team in as many weeks when they hist Raceland.

8. Bell County Bobcats (3A, 3-0)- The Bobcats blew up the scoreboard by scoring 80 points against South Laurel. Unfortunately, one of the biggest takeaways might have been what the Bobcats gave up. The Cardinals put up 40 points, most of those against the Bell Varsity, leaving questions to be answered big picture.

9. Paintsville Tigers (1A, 2-1)- Paintsville fans will argue the only thing the Tigers did not outperform Pikeville on Friday was the scoreboard. The Tigers looked solid, but Special Teams play proved the difference as they fell 9-8. The tigers will try to put that heartbreak in the rear view against 5A East Jessamine.

10. Russell Red Devils (3A, 2-1)- Russell fell 10-0 to rival Ironton, Ohio and tasted defeat for the first time. A win at Ironton is never an easy thing. Russell looks for a rebound against fellow 3A Lawrence County.

11. Breathitt County Bobcats (2A, 3-0)- Breathitt continues to tear up the stat sheet against lesser competition, this time by trouncing Magoffin County. Estill County is a little better competition, but still expect the Bobcats to take care of business once more.

12. Williamsburg Yellowjackets (1A, 3-0)- Williamsburg may not have move dup in ranking, but they bolstered their resume for a better ranking by making short work of a pretty good Leslie County team. If Williamsburg can shock Somerset, the Jackets can make a monster move, but first is Frankfort.

13. Knox Central Panthers (4A, 1-2)- Knox Central finally broke into the win column with a hard-fought win over 5A Southwestern. The Panthers now get yet another tough opponent in a confident 5A Harlan County.

14. Wayne County Cardinals (4A, 2-1)- Wayne County took Rockcastle’s punches and then delivered their own hay-makers to pull away from the Rockets and make a statement. Wayne will try to keep their trajectory upward against 5A Southwestern.

15. Raceland Rams (1A, 2-1)- A blowout win over Rowan County was just what the doctor ordered for Raceland to get over their first defeat. The Rams will need every bit of that confidence as they travel to the Hambley Athletic Complex and a date with 1A’s top-ranked Pikeville Panthers.

Three Big Winners:

Pineville Mountain Lions (1A, 3-0)- Pineville kept their perfect record intact by pounding Paris. The Mountain Lions will keep their Offense hot against an East Ridge team they should be able to defeat.

East Carter Raiders (3A, 3-0)- Speaking of 3-0 starts, how about the Raiders? Not only are they winning, but they are winning impressively. Their 49-0 win over Morgan County means they have outscored opponents 152-12. This week is a big game against rival West Carter.

Middlesboro Yellowjackets (2A, 2-1)- The Coach French project continued with their second nice victory, this time over a Lynn Camp team that was riding high. The Jackets have twice as many wins as they did last year and will make it three times as many against Harlan.

Three Tough Losses:

Shelby Valley Wildcats (2A, 2-1)- It was a long night for the Wildcats against Ridgeview, VA as they allowed 63 points. They will need to re-calibrate their Defense, but back to back games against Knott Central and Phelps should aide that.

North Laurel Jaguars (5A, 1-2)- The Jags had lofty expectations entering the season, but through three weeks they are now staring at a whole lot of the same struggles they saw in 2018. Lincoln County is not going to be the easiest game to turn their fortunes around with.

South Laurel Cardinals (4A, 1-2)- Losing by 40 hurts. Losing by 40 when you allow 80 is even worse. South Laurel allowed 123 points against back to back Bobcat opponents If the Cards cannot sure things up against West Jessamine it may be a long year.

Player of the Week:

RB Braedon Sloan, Wayne County

Sloan was superb in Wayne County's victory over Rockcastle County. The Junior ran for 238 yards and four huge scores on the ground and added a 37-yard Touchdown reception for the fun of it. Sloan has amassed almost 750 total yards and 13 TD's through only three games.

Game of the Week:

West Carter Comets (2A, 1-1) at East Carter Raiders, (3A, 3-0)- This may be the most anticipated game between these two cross-county rivals in recent memory. East Carter is looking as sharp as they have in several years and West Carter feels confident, they will be a player in the 2A playoff picture. This will be bragging right worth having this year.

Watch Sloan doing work this past week:

Rockcastle County High School - Braedon Sloan highlights - Hudl

Wheelersburg is down this year, Ashland should handle them pretty easy if they are a threat this year. It's not like Wheelersburg is a bad team( Bad if you compare them to some past teams) but Ironton beat them 30-6. From what I've heard the 6 scored on Ironton was on a broken play.

Spring Valley, Ironton, Russell could be their stiffest tests this year.