zebraman

Week 11 was a busy week in the 16th region as the rescheduling from “flu games” came into play. The Tomcats kept winning and is 26-0. Rowan and Boyd County both have shown they are on the top tier as well and look for the change to be the one that gives Ashland it’s first loss. Bath County continues to rise, playing very well as of late. Everyone is just looking forward to getting to the tournaments and playing the real season very soon. 1) Ashland (Season: 26-0 This week: 3-0) A new week but more of the same results for the Tomcats this week. Ashland was 3-0 for the week with wins over Rowan County, Bath County, and Russell. Something to watch for Ashland is in recent games, the Tomcats have just looked tired. There is always the possibility that illness and such is coming into play and will correct itself but certainly something to watch for. 2) Rowan County (Season: 21-7 This week: 2-1) Rowan County was 2-1 for week 11. The loss in the anticipated battle with AP #1 Ashland. Rowan battled but ended up with a 6-point loss. Mason Moore has been playing lights out. This week, Moore averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds a game, including a 31/10 games against Ashland. 3) Boyd County (Season: 16-11 This week: 2-0) Boyd County was 2-0 for the week with wins over East Carter and Huntington Prep Regional team. Blake led in scoring for the week with Gibbs leading the team in rebounding this week. 4) Raceland (Season: 17-7 This week: 2-1) Raceland started the week with a chance to end with a tie for the District #1 seed. However, Lewis County came to Ramland and got the win which put Raceland in a tie with Russell for the #2 seed. Raceland then finished the week with close contests with East Carter and Rose Hill. Raceland’s leading scorer, Kirk Pence has been sidelined the last couple of games with an ankle injury. Indications are that he is healing and they anticipate him being ready to go in time for the tournament. 5) Greenup County (Season: 18-9 This week: 2-1) Greenup County was 2-1 for the week with wins at Rose Hill and with Symmes Valley (OH). Greenup also had a road loss to Elliott County this week. Dryden has been the rebound king this week with 18, 15, and 16 rebounds in the games this week. 6) Bath County (Season: 15-12 This week: 2-1) Bath County was 2-1 for the week this week. Bath had wins over West Carter and Fairview. The Wildcats only loss was to AP #1 Ashland. Williams, Otis and Patton continue to show that each is capable of a big night anytime the Wildcats step on the court. 7) West Carter (Season: 14-10 This week: 1-2) West Carter was 1-2 this week. West has a home win against Lewis County this week and road losses to Russell and Bath County. Leadingham led the Comets this week with 16 points and 8 rebounds for the week. 8) East Carter (Season: 9-13 This week: 0-3) East Carter had a rough week this week, finishing at 0-3. East had losses to Raceland, Boyd County, and Rowan County. The Raiders are currently on a 7 game losing streak. But worthy of note, the Raiders are in a very difficult stretch on their schedule, playing the top teams in the region. 9) Russell (Season: 9-14 This week: 1-2) Russell went 1-2 for the week. Russell had a home win against West Carter and losses to Ashland and WV large division top 5 Cabell Midland. The encouraging thing for the Devils is that they seem to be coming together and playing better basketball at the right time. A 5 point loss to Ashland was certainly better than the 40 point pounding the Tomcats game them a month ago. 10) Lewis County (Season: 12-15 This week: 1-1) Lewis County had a very busy week 11. They went 3-1 for the week with wins at Raceland, at Fleming and home with Fairview. The Lions also lost at home to West Carter. A little accolade this week, as Lewis County’s Sam O’Keefe was named the 16th Region Mr Basketball Finalist by the KABC. O’ Keefe is a solid player and a solid young man. Congrats to him. 11) Fleming County (Season: 9-19 This week: 1-2) Fleming County was 1-2 for the week. They had home losses to Lewis County and Sayre this week. However, what the Panthers will focus on is the breaking of the 21 games losing streak to rival Mason County. That was a big win by Fleming against a very good Mason County team. 12) Elliott County (Season: 7-12 This week: 1-1) Elliott County was 1-1 for week 11. Elliott lost to Menifee County and then followed that up with a win against a very good Greenup County team. Whitley had quite the week scoring 30+ points in both of these games. 13) Menifee County (Season: 10-17 This week: 1-1) Menifee County went 1-1 for the week. A home win against Elliott County and a home loss to Prestonsburg. 14) Morgan County (Season: 8-16 This week: 1-2) Morgan County went 1-2 for the week. A win at Powell County and losses to Magoffin and Rowan County. Jake Helton led the offense for the Cougars this week, averaging 22 points a game. 15) Fairview (Season: 7-16 This week: 1-2) Fairview was 1-2 for the week this week. The Eagles had a home win against St Patrick from Maysville. They also has losses to Lewis County and Bath County. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 4-20 This week: 1-2) Rose Hill was 1-2 on the Week. The Royals had a win against Portsmouth Notre Dame. Their two losses were to Raceland and Greenup County. The Royals showed some good play this week. Their loss to Raceland was a 2-point loss in which the Royals put up a shot at the buzzer in an attempt to tie. In the Greenup County game, the Royals gave Greenup all they wanted for the first half until Greenup started pulling away late.

Games in the 16th Region were few and far between. As a result of the flu outbreak several games were cancelled this week. The region looks will have a chaotic finish as the scheduling gets completed. 1) Ashland (Season: 23-0 This week: 0-0) Ashland did not have any games during week 10 due to the flu outbreak. 2) Rowan County (Season: 19-6 This week: 1-0) Rowan County has some cancellations and only ended up playing one game this week, against Menifee County. It is fair to say that Mason Moore was feeling good as he led the game with 37 points and 14 rebounds. 3) Boyd County (Season: 14-11 This week: 1-0) Boys County was 1-0 for the week with their only contact being a Senior night game against Fairview. The Lions were dominate with 19 from Stewart. There was 10 different Lions that got in the scoring column for this game. 4) Raceland (Season: 15-6 This week: 1-1) Raceland was one of the few teams that played 23 games this week. Raceland had a win against Menifee County and a loss in the 63rd district to Greenup. Raceland has 1 district game left, against Lewis County. With a Ram win, they will finish tied for the #1 seed with Greenup. A loss to Lewis and Raceland will finish tied with Russell for the 2/3 seed with a 3-3 district record. 5) Greenup County (Season: 16-8 This week: 1-0) Greenup County’s only game of the week was a big one. The Musketeers avenged an earlier loss to Raceland 72-69. With that win, the Musketeers will await the Raceland Lewis County game. A Raceland loss secures the #1 seed for the tournament which will be held at Greenup. A Raceland win and it will be a tie for the #1 seed. 6) West Carter (Season: 13-8 This week: 1-0) West Carters lone game was against Elliott County. The 62nd district matchup was won by the comets. Leadingham led the Comets with 22 points in the win. 7) Bath County (Season: 13-11 This week: 0-0) Bath County did not play any games this week. 8) East Carter (Season: 9-10 This week: 0-1) East Carter has one game this week, a district matchup with Morgan County at home. The Raiders couldn’t get it done and got the loss to Morgan. The Raiders are currently sitting at 4 straight losses. 9) Russell (Season: 8-12 This week: 1-0) Russell’s only game of the week was a home game against Lewis County. The Devils had a huge worth quarter for a lobsided win. The player of the game was certainly Max Cantrell. Cantrell finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. However his biggest contribution was being man to man on O’Keefe. 10) Lewis County (Season: 9-14 This week: 1-1) Lewis County went 1-1 for the week with a win versus St Patrick and a loss at Russell. The Lions had trouble getting traction against their district foe. With the loss to Russell, the Lions will be the #4 seed in the district tournament. However, it is worthy of noting, the Lions are a very dangerous team. When O’Keefe gets rolling and a few of their other weapons get going, it would not be farfetched to see this team moving on. 11) Fleming County (Season: 8-17 This week: 0-2) Fleming County was 0-2 for the week. The Panthers had losses to Robertson and Harrison County. The Panthers have had trouble getting points on the board in the last 4 games being held to less than 50 points in each of the losses. 12) Elliott County (Season: 6-11 This week: 0-1) Elliott County’s only game of the week was a district loss to West Carter. They will get one more shot at the Comets in the regular season coming up. 13) Menifee County (Season: 9-16 This week: 0-2) Menifee County went 0-2 for the week with Losses to Rowan and Raceland. Both of the losses were close games against upper level teams. The Wildcats seem to be improving significantly in the later part of the season. 14) Morgan County (Season: 7-14 This week: 2-0) A good week in West Liberty as Morgan County went 2-0 for the week. The Cougars won at East Carter and at home against Nicholas County. 15) Fairview (Season: 6-14 This week: 0-1) Fairview traveled next door to play at Boyd County this week. Manning and Smith had 24/22 respectively but it wasn’t enough as Boyd got the win. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 3-18 This week: 1-0) Rose Hill avenged an early season loss this week as they defeated Covenent Christian (WV) 64-52.

The question for a while has been can any region teams beat Ashland. The general consensus was that the Tomcats were on a level all of their own. This week, Boyd County showed us the answer to that is yes, it can happen. Did it happen, no, the Tomcats did enough to win. However, the Lions showed they can compete. With the question answered that yes a region team CAN beat the Tomcats, we are still left with the question of WILL any region team beat the Tomcats? Time will tell 1) Ashland (Season: 23-0 This week: 3-0) Ashland maintained their view fro, the top of the hill for the state this week. However, it wasn’t without challenges. Ashland had one of their toughest games of the season at rival Boyd County. In the end, the Tomcats pulled off the win with a huge second half by Colin Porter. Ashland also had wins over East Carter and Fairview in week 9. 2) Rowan County (Season: 18-6 This week: 3-0) It was a very good week to be a Viking! Rowan county went 3-0 for the week. That recorded victories against Russell, Fleming County, and Greenup County. Mason Moore’s play for the week was quite impressive as well. Moore, leading the Vikings, averaged 26.7 points and 10.7 rebounds for the week. 3) Boyd County (Season: 14-11 This week: 2-2) Boyd County split their games for week 9. The Lions had wins over Morgan County and Rose Hill while losses to Ashland and Mason County. The thing Boyd will remember from the week is that Ashland is not unbeatable. The Lions will look back to that film and will certainly be waiting on the district tournament for a chance to accomplish the task. 4) Raceland (Season: 13-5 This week: 0-1) Raceland only had 1 game during week 9. The Rams suffered a home loss to West Carter. Out of Raceland’s 5 losses, 2 of them are to West Carter. Pence was the leading scorer for the Rams with 25, 9 of those coming from the free-throw line. 5) Greenup County (Season: 15-8 This week: 2-1) Greenup County went 2-1 during week 9. They had a win against Bath County. Then the Musketeers have a home overtime win in a very important district match-up with Russell. Greenup’s loss of the week came to Rowan County. An unexpected shining star for the week was 8th grader Zander Carter. Carter drilled 2 important 3-pointers in the Russell win enroute to his 22 point night. 6) West Carter (Season: 13-8 This week: 3-0) West Carter went 3-0 for week 9. The Comets recorded wins over Raceland, East Carter and Menifee County. The win over East Carter has the Comets sitting in a good spot for the #1 seed in the district tournament. Leadingham lead the Comets in scoring this week with 19 points a game. 7) Lewis County (Season: 9-13 This week: 2-0) Lewis County went 1-1 for the week with a loss to Lawrence County and a win over St Patrick. The Loins will be looking to inject themselves back in the district race as they face Russell and Raceland in their next 2 games. 8) Bath County (Season: 13-11 This week: 1-1) Bath County went 1-1 on the week. The Wildcats has a win against Rose Hill and a loss to Greenup County. Williams, Patton, and Otis continue to take turns with the scoring crown. Either of the three is capable of scoring points in bunches. 9) East Carter (Season: 9-9 This week: 0-2) East Carter went 0-2 for the week. The Raiders lost to Ashland and then suffered a road loss to West Carter. East will look to wrap up the #2 district seed with a victory in a week 10 matchup with Elliott County. 10) Russell (Season: 7-12 This week: 0-2) Russell went 0-2 for the week, for the second week in a row with losses to Rowan County and Greenup County. The Greenup County game has to sting as little as the Devils were up 5 points with 17.5 seconds left in the game, only to lose in overtime. Jachimczuk had a notable performance in the Greenup game scoring 35 points. 11) Fleming County (Season: 8-15 This week: 1-2) Fleming County was 1-2 for week 9. They had a win over Estill County and losses to Menifee and Rowan County. Similar to Bath, Fleming had a trio that took turns leading the scoring this week with Flannery, Lutz, and McKee. 12) Elliott County (Season: 6-10 This week: 0-1) Elliott County is in a lull in their schedule and played only 1 game during week 9. The Lions lost on the road at Ironton (OH). 13) Menifee County (Season: 9-14 This week: 1-1) Menifee County went 1-1 for the week with a win over Fleming County and a loss to West Carter. Worthy of note, the Wildcats ended above 500 for the month of January, going 5-4. 14) Morgan County (Season: 5-14 This week: 0-2) Morgan County again went 0-2 during week 9. The Cougars lost to Boyd County and to Lawrence County. Jake Helton averaged 20 points a game this week. 15) Fairview (Season: 6-13 This week: 1-1) Fairview went 1-1 for the week. They had a win against Covenant (WV) and a loss to Ashland. Smith led the eagles with just over 21 points per game. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-18 This week: 0-3) Rose Hill was 0-3 for the week. The Royals lost in home games to Bath County and Ironton St Joe (OH) as well as a road loss to Boyd County. Wilburn was the scoring punch for the Royals this week at over 21 points per game.

Congrats to the winners and finalists for a job well done.

Week 8 was pretty exciting up in our little neck of the woods. Something happened this week that has not happened in many years. A school from the 16th region is currently the AP #1. The BGP ranking has then at #5. Either way, they are a force. Things are really heating up in week 8 and 9 with district contests. The 62nd and 63rd continue to be a pick ‘em for any of the seeding games. Literally, any of the 4 can win it. 1) Ashland (Season: 20-0 This week: 2-0) Ashland is the current AP #1. This has not happened since 1971. Week 8 did not show a true test with blowout wins over Rose Hill and Greenup County. This week, the Tomcats have 3 games in 4 days. Lovers of the sport in the 16th have Jan 29 circled on the calendar as the Tomcats will go to Boyd County 2) Rowan County (Season: 15-6 This week: 2-0) Week 8 was smooth sailing for Rowan County. The Vikings were 2-0 with wins over West Carter and Lewis County. Mason Moore scorched the nets last week going for 27 in one game and 26 in the other. The Vikings are very dangerous when Moore lights it up. 3) Boyd County (Season: 12-9 This week: 1-1) Boyd County got a bit more of a handful this week in their game at Lewis County than they were expecting. Lewis County pulled off the home upset over Boyd County. In Boyd’s other game of the week, they defeated Morgan County. In the loss to Lewis, Blake Stewart was in his zone, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds. 4) Raceland (Season: 13-4 This week: 2-0) Raceland had a big district win during week 8, beating Russell on the road. Kirk Pence found the rims at Russell to be to his liking as he scored 28, to secure an important win. That win puts the Rams at 4-1 in district and in good shape to secure the #1 seed. In their other game of the week, the Rams beat Portsmouth West at home. Floyd gave the Rams 22 points in that win. 5) Greenup County (Season: 13-7 This week: 0-3) Week 8 was a week to forget for the Musketeers. They went 0-3 for the week. Greenup had home losses to Ashland and Wheelersburg (OH) and a district road loss to Lewis County. Nelson and Dryden continue to lead the team, however, Zane and Zander Carter showed that they also can score points when needed. 6) West Carter (Season: 10-8 This week: 0-2) West Carter also had a rough week this week. The suffered a road loss to Rowan County. Following the loss, the Comets went to the All-A state tourney. There they played a very good Owensboro Catholic team and suffered a first round exit. Leadingham went for 20 points in the Rowan County game. Against Owensboro Catholic, the Comets struggled for much offense as no players hit double digits in scoring. 7) Lewis County (Season: 8-12 This week: 3-1) Lewis County had a very busy week 8. The Lions played 4 games this week, going 3-1. Their lone loss, a road loss to Rowan County. The captured a neutral site win against Scott as well as home wins against Boyd County and Greenup County. The Greenup game was their first district win. The Lions certainly cannot be counted out of the district race. 8) East Carter (Season: 9-7 This week: 0-1) East Carter had a quiet week this week with only one game scheduled. The Raiders hosted Lexington Christian and suffered the defeat. The Raiders are certainly looking at a road game to West Carter and home game with Morgan coming up soon. 9) Russell (Season: 7-10 This week: 0-2) Russell went 0-2 for the week. They suffered a Friday night home loss to Raceland and followed it up with a Saturday road loss to Bath County. In the Bath County game, the Devils looked to work the middle a little more. Bechtel finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Cantrell had 11 points and 10 rebounds. 10) Bath County (Season: 12-10 This week: 1-1) Bath County went 1-1 on the week. They started with a home overtime loss to Montgomery County. The Wildcats followed that up with a home win against Russell. Patton lead Bath in points for the week with 21 against Montgomery and 20 against Russell. 11) Fleming County (Season: 7-13 This week: 1-1) Fleming County split their games for the week. The Panthers had a road loss to Paris and a home win against Nicholas County. 12) Elliott County (Season: 6-9 This week: 1-0) Elliott County played only one game this week, but it was important. The Lions had a district game against Morgan County in the very tight 62nd District. The Lions pulled off the win. 13) Morgan County (Season: 5-13 This week: 0-2) Morgan County continued to struggle this week, dropping both games. The Cougars suffered home losses to Elliott County and Magoffin County. The Cougars will look to right the ship with upcoming district games. 14) Menifee County (Season: 8-13 This week: 2-0) Menifee County went 2-0 for the week. Both games for the week were on the road as Menifee went to Powell County and to Rose Hill. Ben Ross had quite a week, especially in the Powell County game going for 17 points and 15 rebounds. 15) Fairview (Season: 5-12 This week: 1-0) Fairview played only one game for the week. The Eagles went on the road for a win at Rose Hill. Terrick went for 28 points in their win. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-15 This week: 0-3) Rose Hill was 0-3 for the week. The Royals lost in home games to Ashland, Fairview and Menifee County. Wilburn was a bright spot with his 17 points against Ashland.

The two that surprised me the most were the 4A finals in Johnson Central beating Boyle and regular season Russell beating Greenup County 42-0. That was also the halftime margin. I don't think anyone saw that big of a margin coming.

The big event of the week in the 16th region for week 7 was the all-A tournament in Raceland. The tournament saw some good basketball and ended with the Comets of West Carter holding the nets. The Region wished the Comets well as we get back into the slate of district games that are scheduled for week 8. At this point, in the 61st district, Rowan County and Bath County would be favored to head to the regional tournament. In the 64th, Ashland and Boyd are heavy favorites. In the 62nd and 63rd, who knows? Those two districts are totally up for grabs. 1) Ashland (Season: 18-0 This week: 1-0) Ashland had only one game during week 7. The doubters had said, “Wait until they play a team with a good big man” or “Wait until they have an off shooting night” The Tomcats had both of those Friday night and still came away with an unblemished record. 2) Boyd County (Season: 11-8 This week: 2-1) Boyd County went 2-1 for the week. They recorded victories over Greenup County and Spring Valley and a loss to Johnson Central. Gibbs had a notable night for the Lions against Johnson Central with 21 points and 10 rebounds 3) Rowan County (Season: 13-6 This week: 1-0) Rowan County had a light load this week with only 1 game on the schedule. The Vikings had a road game with Fleming County during week 7. Moore and Alderman led the Vikings offense, with a strong performance over the Panthers. 4) Raceland (Season: 11-4 This week: 0-2) Week 7 was not kind to Raceland. Starting the week with only 2 losses, they added 2 mote losses. The Rams lost at home in the All-A finals and also lost on the road to Bath County. Pence put in 23 points against the Comets 5) Greenup County (Season: 13-4 This week: 1-1) Greenup County split during week 7 with a home loss to Boyd County and a road win at Huntington St Joe. Dryden had quite the week with not one, but two 20/20 nights. He has 21 points and 20 rebounds against Boyd County as well as 23 points and 25 rebounds against Huntington St Joe. 6) West Carter (Season: 8-6 This week: 3-0) West Carter had a good week 7! The Comets were 2-0 for the week, capturing the Regional All-A crown while doing so. The Comets games were both played at Raceland as they had wins over Bath County and Raceland. The Comets got their scoring from different sources this week, in one game Callihan was the leading scorer with 19 points in the Bath County game it was Webb and Leadingham with 17 points a piece 7) East Carter (Season: 9-6 This week: 2-0) East Carter went 2-0 for the week. They had a road win against district rival Morgan County and a home win against Rose Hill. The most important numbers at this point is that after the first go through of district opponents, the Raiders are 2-1. 8) Russell (Season: 7-8 This week: 2-0) Russell went 2-0 for week 7. It was a road week for them as they went to Vanceburg for a big district win and Westwood for a win against Fairview. A big piece for Russell that could make a big difference is the expanded role of Chuck Bechtel. The 6’5 senior as some size and strength in the middle that the devils haven’t had. As his game conditioning improves so to will his playing time. 9) Lewis County (Season: 6-11 This week: 1-1) Lewis County had only 1 game on the schedule for week 7, a home district game to Russell. O’Keefe put up 21 points in an attempt to defend their house but in the end, Lewis County took the loss this week. Through the first round of district games, the Lions are 0-3. However, don’t count the Lions out. They are a good team with a lot of talent. 10) Bath County (Season: 11-10 This week: 2-1) Bath County went 2-1 this week. The Wildcats started the week with an All-A Semi-final loss to West Carter followed by wins against Fleming County and Raceland. This was a good week for Bath as they start getting some momentum. 11) Fleming County (Season: 6-12 This week: 0-3) Week 7 is one to forget and move on for Fleming County. The Panthers went 0-3 for the week. They lost at home to Rowan County and Bath County and on the road to Pendleton County. 12) Morgan County (Season: 5-10 This week: 0-1) Morgan County only had 1 game this week as they hosted East Carter. The Cougars were overpowered and had a 20-point loss. The Cougars finish the first time through with each district opponent at 0-3. However, do not sleep on them in the 62nd district. 13) Elliott County (Season: 5-9 This week: 0-1) Elliott County lost in their only game of week 7. It was a road loss to Raceland. Worthy of note in this game was Elliott’s ability to control the tempo. Elliott held Raceland to only 36 points, which is 25 points less than their second lowest scoring game. The Lions lost to Raceland 36-30. 14) Menifee County (Season: 6-13 This week: 1-1) Menifee County went 1-1 for the week. Menifee recorded a win over Lee County and had a loss to Wellspring Guardian. 15) Fairview (Season: 4-12 This week: 1-1) Fairview split in week 7, going 1 and 1. The Eagles were happy to stay at home this week with a home win against Green, OH and a home loss to Russell. The Eagles were led in scoring this week by Smith with a 19 ppg average 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-12 This week: 0-2) Rose Hill was 0-2 for the week. The Royals lost to East Carter and Johnson Central.

Week 6 saw a definite flex of the muscles by Ashland. The Tomcats are now 17-0 and are approaching one of the best starts in their history. At this point, a legitimate question is can any 16th region team beat them. The answer is that any team can be beat any night. However, at this point it looks like it would require an off night for the tomcats and a great night for their opponent. 1) Ashland (Season: 17-0 This week: 3-0) Week 6 was a great week for the Tomcats. They started off by getting a little revenge against the team that put them out of the Sweet 16 last year, Trinity. After that win, they came home for rivalry weekend, defeating Russell and Boyd County. Porter had a very good week with points and with assists. The team as a whole has an amazing court vision and excel in ball movement. 2) Boyd County (Season: 9-7 This week: 2-1) Boyd County went 2-1 for the week. They recorded victories over Fleming County and Rose Hill. The Lions finished the week with a loss to Ashland. The Lions were paced by Blake Stewarts 19 points a game this week. Austin Gibbs took care of the rebounding averaging 9.6 rebounds a game this week. 3) Rowan County (Season: 12-6 This week: 2-1) Rowan County spent the week competing in the 2A Championship. They went 2-1 for the week with wins over Mason County and Pendleton County. Their run for the 2A Championship ended with a loss to Bourbon County, which is 15-2 for the season. The Vikings have a quite formidable 1-2 punch with Moore and Alderman. Moore averaged 21 points and 11.6 rebounds for the week. Alderman was 15.6 points and 7 rebounds for the week. 4) Raceland (Season: 11-2 This week: 2-0) Raceland continued doing what they have done all season, winning. The Rams were 2-0 for Week 6. They recorded a win over district foe Lewis County and a win in the All-A classic against rival Fairview. Kyle Broughton joined the usual attack of Pence/Floyd/Cumpton scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Fairview game. 5) Greenup County (Season: 12-3 This week: 3-0) Greenup County had a very good week, going 3-0 this week. Greenup started off with a visit to Russell in what was a fantastic game for fans to watch. With several 4th quarter lead changes, the Musketeers left with the key district win over Russell. Greenup then recorded wins over 2 Ohio schools. One of those games, against St Joseph Altercrest, the Musketeers put 109 points on the board, with points from 14 different players. 6) West Carter (Season: 8-6 This week: 3-0) West Carter was certainly slow out of the gates, losing a few early games that were somewhat surprising. However, the Comets seem to have hit their stride. The Comets have won 5 in a row. They went 3-0 this week with a win over East Carter and then 2 wins in the All-A Classic. Currently, they are sitting in the Championship game awaiting the other semi-final winner. Webb and Leadingham continue to pace the Comets. 7) East Carter (Season: 7-6 This week: 1-1) East Carter finished week 6 with a win and a loss. The Raiders were in district play with a win at Elliott County and a loss to cross-county rival, West Carter. Micah Adams led the Raiders in scoring this week with 16 points a game average. 8) Lewis County (Season: 5-10 This week: 1-1) Lewis County went 1-1 during week 6. The Lions had a win over Elliott County and a loss to district rival Raceland. Week 7 will be a big week for the Lions with district games against Russell and Greenup County. A notable performance this week was O’Keefe’s game against Elliott County. O’Keefe went for 39 points and 13 rebounds. That is not a bad day at the office! 9) Russell (Season: 5-8 This week: 0-2) Week 6 was a week that Russell will be happy to put behind them. They went 0-2 for the week with a big home loss to district rival Greenup County and an absolute beat down to a very good Ashland team. The Ashland game aside, Russell seem to be a “Close, but not quite” team as they have had troubles finishing. The team has the talent to be a sleeper team come tourney time but will have some adjustments to get there. 10) Fleming County (Season: 6-9 This week: 1-2) Fleming county went 1-2 again this week. The Panthers had a win over Bracken County and losses to Boyd County and Augusta. The Panthers offense continue to come from Argo/McKee/Maher, depending on the night. 11) Morgan County (Season: 5-9 This week: 1-1) Morgan County only had 1 game this week with an early exit from the 2A Championship Tournament. The Cougars had a 5-point loss to Magoffin County. They will use the rest and preparation time to get ready for a couple of key district games with East Carter and Elliott County coming to town soon. 12) Bath County (Season: 9-9 This week: 2-1) Bath County went 2-1 this week. The Wildcats had a home win against Menifee County. They then suffered an All-A Semi-final defeat to West Carter. Jacob Patton had a good week this week with a double-double and leading the Wildcats in scoring for the week. 13) Elliott County (Season: 5-8 This week: 0-2) Elliott County went 0-2 for the week. The Lions had losses to East Carter and Lewis County this week. 14) Menifee County (Season: 5-12 This week: 1-2) Menifee County went 1-2 for the week. Menifee recorded a win over Fairview and had losses to Bath County and West Carter. Fugett averages 18 points a game this week. 15) Fairview (Season: 3-11 This week: 0-2) Fairview went 0-2 for the week with losses to Menifee County and Raceland this week. Terrick Smith had a 27-point night against Raceland in the All-A. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-10 This week: 0-2) Rose Hill was 0-2 for the week. The Royals lost to Boyd and Bath Counties. Kenny Wilburn had a nice night against Boyd County with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Still think Russell is in the mix. The 63rd is a toss-up and will be an all out battle.

Week 5 further showed us the 62nd and 63rd districts are going to be wars. In the 63rd, Raceland has played 2 district games, one (Russell) was an overtime loss. The other (Greenup) was a triple overtime win. There seems be a lot of parity. However, mix in the rivalry and the heart and these could be wars. Ashland continued to be what we have seen of Ashland this season so far. The circle on their schedule points to a week 6 game with Trinity, which knocked the Tomcats out of the Sweet 16 last season. 1) Ashland (Season: 14-0 This week: 2-0) Ashland continued their dominance over all comers this week as they hosted Union County and Woodford County this week. Ashland sent both teams home with a loss. Porter provided the most offense this week, with 18 and 27 points, respectively. The Tomcats are undoubtedly looking forward to the revenge game with Trinity that is scheduled for week 7. 2) Boyd County (Season: 8-6 This week: 2-0) Following a week 4 glitch in my crystal ball, the Lions are back in the #2 spot, where they should have stayed. In week 5, the Lions hosted Fleming at home and traveled to neighbor Fairview. Boyd won both contests in dominant fashion 3) Rowan County (Season: 10-4 This week: 1-1) Rowan County had an up and down week this week, suffering a loss to Wayne County (8-6) and capturing a 2A Classic win against Mason County, in overtime. In their loss to Wayne, Mason Moore continued his stellar play with a 30 point, 10 rebound night. Moore seems to be elevating his game in an impressive fashion. 4) Raceland (Season: 9-2 This week: 1-0) Raceland only had 1 game in week 5, but it was a big one. Raceland hosted Greenup County to a triple overtime thriller. Pence lead the Rams with 27 points while Gunnur Lewis provided the rebounds with 12. The victory of Greenup was enough to move Raceland up a slot this week. 5) Greenup County (Season: 9-3 This week: 1-1) Greenup County also had a split this week with a win against Letcher County Central and a triple-overtime loss to Raceland. Dryden’s scoring output was decreased this week. However, Carter and Griffin stepped in as needed to put points on the board. The game with Raceland was certainly the most interesting of the week as it is a district game and shows there are some battles in the future. 6) West Carter (Season: 5-6 This week: 1-0) West Carter has only played 1 game since the New Year, a district showdown with Morgan County, which handed the Comets a 20-point defeat in December. The Comets were determined not to let that happen in the New Year. With 27 points from Leadingham, the Comets collected a 19-point victory over the Cougars 7) East Carter (Season: 6-5 This week: 1-0) East Carter hosted Russell during week 5. At the end of the third quarter the Raiders trailed by 10 points and had been outplayed most of the game. However, we play 4 quarters and the Raiders dominated the 4th, beating the Devils by 5 8) Lewis County (Season: 4-9 This week: 1-0) Lewis County broke their 8 game losing streak with a victory over Union County (6-7) at the Marv Meredith Classic. O’Keefe looked very strong in the game as he joined the 30-point club. 9) Russell (Season: 5-6 This week: 2-1) Russell started the week by capturing the championship of the King of the Smokies tournament beating Franklin Road Academy out of Nashville. The Devils followed that up with a 4th quarter meltdown against East Carter and an overtime win at home against Johnson Central. The Devils seem to not be content with only playing 4 quarters in a game as they had their 5th game to go to overtime, which is just less than half of their games. 10) Fleming County (Season: 5-8 This week: 1-2) Fleming County went 1-2 for the week. The Panthers had a win against St Patrick and losses to Bath County and Boyd County. Argo had a memorable game against St Patrick with 23 points and 11 rebounds. 11) Morgan County (Season: 5-8 This week: 1-1) Morgan County split for the week with a victory over Menifee County and a district loss to West Carter. Jake Helton led the Cougars with 22 and 21 points, respectively 12) Bath County (Season: 7-8 This week: 2-0) Bath County went 2-0 in week 5 and certainly found an offensive rhythm, averaging 84.5 points a game this week. Each game the Wildcats had 4 players to score in double-digits and were led by Otis. 13) Elliott County (Season: 5-6 This week: 0-0) Elliott County had a bye week and have not played since the New Year. 14) Fairview (Season: 3-9 This week: 0-2) Fairview went 0-2 for the week with a home loss to Boyd County and a road loss to Symmes Valley (OH). In the Symmes Valley game, Manning went for 28 points and 9 rebounds. 15) Menifee County (Season: 4-10 This week: 0-1) The Wildcats lost their only game of the week, a home game to Morgan County. Menifee was led in scoring by Fugett and Martin for the game. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-8 This week: 0-0) Rose Hill has been on bye during week 5.

Very true statements. The Dryden kid seems to be the real deal. Have you seen him live yet? They have been in a steady climb up the rankings as they were first projected like 9-10.

It would appear I had too much egg-nog and that slipped my memory. I think that certainly makes a difference. All things equal, I will fix it next week. Thanks

I certainly understand the Rowan versus Boyd for #2. I may very well have been wrong to switch them. Time will tell. I think we will really start seeing some clarity over the next couple of weeks.

Week 4 is now in the books. Ashland proved this week, not only are they at the top of the heap for the 16th region but they are able to play with good teams from other regions as well. Rowan County continued their winning ways as well. Outside of that, things are still a little jumbled. We look to get a little clearer picture over the next 10 days. 1) Ashland (Season: 12-0 This week: 3-0) This week was a big week for Ashland. Ashland hosted and won the 65th Annual Ashland Invitational Tournament. This was quite a big accomplishment based upon the amount of talent in the tournament. Ashland had wins over Lawrence County, Warren Central, and Louisville Butler. Ashland is approaching one of the best starts in their storied history. 2) Rowan County (Season: 9-3 This week: 2-0) Rowan County traveled to Freeport, FL to bring in the new year. They went 2-0 last week with victories over Winter Park, FL and Troy, AL. Both were low scoring games with Rowan scoring 43 in one game and 39 in the second. Rowan continues to play there this week with a game on the 30th and 31st. 3) Boyd County (Season: 6-6 This week: 1-2) Boyd County spent the holidays close to home as they also participated in the Ashland Invitational. Boyd County started it out on the right foot with a win against Scott County. The ended the tournament with losses to Warren Central and Butler 4) Greenup County (Season: 8-2 This week: 2-0) Greenup County hosted the Stultz Pharmacy Holiday Classic last week. Greenup went 2-0 at the classic with victories over Rockcastle and Portsmouth West (OH). It was much of the same for the Musketeers with Nelson and Dryden providing a one-two punch. Against Rockcastle, Dryden went for 27 points and 15 rebounds. 5) Raceland (Season: 8-2 This week: 1-1) Raceland traveled to the Buckhorn Lake Christmas Classic last week. There were 1-1 while there. They played these games without one of the region’s top players, Kirk Pence. Kyle Broughton did his best to make up the difference averaging 14.5 points a game in the Classic. Raceland had a win against Lee County and a loss to Betsy Layne. 6) West Carter (Season: 4-6 This week: 1-2) West Carter participated in the Mountain Schoolboy Classic last week. They were 1-2 for the week with a victory over Belfry and losses to Magoffin County and Shelby Valley. The Comets had a different leading scorer for each game. Webb (25), Leadingham (17), and Dean (17) each took a turn as leading scorer for the Comets 7) East Carter (Season: 5-5 This week: 1-1) The Raiders visited Greenup for their Holiday tournament. They went 1-1 for the week. The Raiders lost to Rockcastle and recorded a victory against Portsmouth West (OH). The next 10 days should really show us who the Raiders are this year with scheduled games against Russell, Morgan, and West Carter. 8) Lewis County (Season: 3-9 This week: 0-3) Lewis County participated in the Ashland Invitational this week. The Lions suffered losses to Warren Central, Lawrence County, and Christian County. This extends the Lions losing streak to 8 games. O’Keefe continued to be the leader on both ends of the court. 9) Russell (Season: 3-5 This week: 2-0) Russell traveled to Pigeon Forge this week for the King of the Smokies tournament. Russell won over Copper Basin (TN) and Louisville Holy Cross. The impressive piece for the Devils was against Copper Basin, which was 8-1 going into the game, the Devils stingy defense only allowed 16 points in this game. Jadon Argo lead the Panthers in scoring 2 of the games with 10) Fleming County (Season: 4-6 This week: 0-3) Fleming County went to Bath County for the Dan Swartz Classic. The Panthers were 0-3 at the Classic this year. They were handed defeats by Iroquis, Estill County, and Powell County. Dugan taking the honor in the 3rd. 11) Morgan County (Season: 4-7 This week: 2-0) Morgan County participated in the Mountain Schoolboy Classic last week. They were 1-0 at the Classic with a victory over Sayre. The Cougars then had a road game at Fairview that they won in a lopsided way. Helton averages 27 points a game this week for the Cougars. 12) Elliott County (Season: 5-6 This week: 2-1) Elliott County went 2-1 at Bath County’s Dan Swartz Classic last week. They recorded victories over Estill County and Shelby Valley and a loss to Iroquis 13) Bath County (Season: 5-8 This week: 2-1) Bath County hosted the Dan Swartz Classic during week 4. It proved to be a good week for the Wildcats, going 2-1. They won against Powell County and Shelby County but had a loss to Iroquis in the championship game. Otis, Williams, and Brooks provided the scoring this week for the wildcats. 14) Fairview (Season: 3-7 This week: 0-2) Fairview went 0-2 for the week with a home loss to Morgan County and a road loss to Dawson Bryant (OH). Johnson and Manning each took a turn leading the team in scoring with 13 points this week. 15) Menifee County (Season: 4-9 This week: 1-2) Menifee County participated in the Dan Swartz Classic week 4. The Wildcats had losses to Shelby Valley and Estill County and a win over Powell County. Dalton Martin lead the way in scoring this week, averaging just over 22 points a game. 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-8 This week: 0-1) Rose Hill had 1 game during week 4, hosting Nicholas County. The Royals played well early, with good shooting. However things cooled off in the second half as Nicholas got the win.

One of the premier Holiday Tournaments in Kentucky tips off Friday in Ashland. This year's field included three of last years final 8 teams in the Sweet 16 (Butler, Scott County, Warren Central). The tournament is Dec 27-29 of every year. This following is the schedule for Friday: 2:30 Lewis County versus Warren Central 4:00 Louisville Butler versus Christian County 7:00 Ashland Blazer versus Lawrence County 8:30 Boyd County versus Scott County

With three weeks complete we are starting to see who teams are. There are still a few that are quite baffling and we will need time to see how good they can ne, looking at you West Carter. One thing that is certain is come March, the battle in the 62nd District (East Carter, Elliott County, Morgan County, West Carter) and the battle in the 63rd District (Greenup County, Lewis County, Raceland, and Russell) is wide open and will be a battle the rest of the season. 1) Ashland (Season: 9-0 This week: 3-0) Another week of Ashland looking quite impressive. Ashland went 3-0 this week with victories over BGP Top 20 #9 George Rogers Clark at GRC. Ashland then went through the WV gauntlet of Capital and George Washington, both large division powers in WV. Porter led the way with scoring this week, averaging 19 points a game. This week, Ashland will be hosting the AIT Dec 27-29. This is always a great tournament with great competition. Ashland will look to keep the hardware at home this year. 2) Boyd County (Season: 5-4 This week: 1-4) Boyd started the week off with a victory against 16th region foe West Carter. They then traveled to Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic. Boyd County played in the “Eastbay” division of the 200 team tournament. Boyd went 0-4 losing to a team from Arizona, Ft Lauderdale, and 2 Nevada teams. During the tournament, Boyd seemed to have troubles getting the shots to fall. In their 4 games, their FG percentage was: 43.3, 36.6, 38.3, and 34.4. With knowing very little about these teams, hard to evaluate these losses. This week, Boyd will be in the AIT, opening with Scott County. 3) Rowan County (Season: 7-3 This week: 4-0) Rowan County had what we call a good week this week, going 4-0. Rowan earned victories over Menifee, Bath, Butler, and St Henry this week. Mason Moore continued his exciting play, averaging 24 points a game this week. Alderman has also been picking things up for Rowan going double-double multiple times this week. Rowan will look to continue their success in the sunshine state this week, heading to the Hilton Sandestin Beach tournament 4) Raceland (Season: 7-1 This week: 3-1) Raceland started the week taking their first loss of the season in an overtime thriller to Russell. The Rams bounced back from that to win their Derby Classic. The Rams were hardly tested by East Ridge and Leslie County but then got a nice win over talented Lawrence County. The three headed monster of Floyd, Pence, and Cumpton continues to lead the way. Following Christmas, Raceland will head to the Buckhorn Lake Classic. 5) Greenup County (Season: 6-2 This week: 3-1) Greenup County continues their best start in several years this week with a win versus South Point and then a good showing in Alabama at the Cherokee County Invitational. Greenup went 2-1 against 3 Alabama teams. Dryden continues to impress going for 21.75 points per game and 15.25 rebounds per game this week. Following their trip to Alabama, Greenup will be home for the Holidays, hosting the Stultz Pharmacy Holiday Classic. 6) West Carter (Season: 3-4 This week: 1-2) The most confusing thing in the 16th right now is trying to figure out what West Carter is. In their good times, the Comets have looked very good with wins against Russell and Frederick Douglas. But they have had bads as well with an 18-point loss to Morgan County. We will look to figure them out in the coming week. The win against Douglas was certainly a good win for the Comets. Prior to the game, Douglas was #2 in the first RPI ratings of the season put out by the KHSAA. West Carter was impressed enough to give Douglas their first loss of the year. The Comets were led in scoring this week with Tyson Webb, averaging 20 points a game this week. 7) East Carter (Season: 4-4 This week: 2-1) The Raiders went 2-1 on the week this week. They earned victories over Fairview and Lewis County and a loss to Ryle. Thus far, East Carter has been about who everyone thought they would be, winning the ones they should and losing the others. We will get a good look at what the Raiders have when they start digging into district games right after the first of the year. 8) Lewis County (Season: 3-6 This week: 0-3) The Lions continued a losing streak this week as they have currently lost 5 games in a row. Lions have losses this week to East Carter, Montgomery, and Holy Cross. O’Keefe continues to shine for the Lions but he would gladly trade that shine in for some wins. It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Lions will go to Ashland for the AIT, opening with Warren Central 9) Russell (Season: 1-5 This week: 1-2) Russell started the week out, by getting their first win of the season, in an overtime win at Raceland. This game continued their streak of 3 overtimes games in a row. The Devils then went to Rowan County and suffered losses to Fredrick Douglas and Covington Holy Cross. Brady Bell has had streaks that he looked to be the stud that was anticipated, but also a game or two that he seems to go invisible. Russell is better than their 1-5 record indicates, but how much better? That is the big question right now. After Christmas, the Devils will head to Pigeon Forge for a Holiday Tournament. 10) Fleming County (Season: 4-3 This week: 1-1) Fleming County went finished week 3 out with a win and a loss. The Panthers beat Rose Hill behind the scoring of McKee (21), Argo (20), and Lutz (19). They followed this up with a very lopsided loss to rival Mason County. The 28-point loss will certainly sting for a bit. 11) Morgan County (Season: 2-7 This week: 0-4) Morgan County had a big win in week 2 however, they could not carry any of the momentum forward, losing 4 games this week. The Cougars lost to Elliott, Betsy Layne, Prestonsburg, and Shelby Valley this week. They will certainly look to forget this week and move on 12) Fairview (Season: 3-5 This week: 1-2) The Eagles started the week well with a victory against Hannan, WV. Twelve players scored and eleven players grabbed at least one rebound for the Eagles in this game. Following the win, Fairview lost to East Carter and Green, OH. In the Green game, Roy recorded a double double with 20 and 10. 13) Elliott County (Season: 3-5 This week: 2-2) Elliott County had a good district win to start week 3 as they sent Morgan County home with a loss. Elliott then traveled to Raceland for the Derby Classic going 1 and 2 there. Elliott beat Rose Hill and suffered losses to Lawrence and Knox County. 14) Bath County (Season: 3-7 This week: 1-3) Week 3 was a busy week for Bath County. They started with a road loss to Rowan County. They then got comfy in the bus as they played in the Smokey Mountain Classic the next day in Gatlinburg. Bath went 1 and 2 in the classic beating Gordon Central out of Georgia and losing to Claiborne and Cannon County out of Tennessee. 15) Menifee County (Season: 3-7 This week: 2-3) Menifee traveled to Berea for the All A Holiday Classic. They were able to get 2 wins there, beating Monroe County and Red Bird. The Wildcats lost to Estill County and Jackson County in the Classic. Also this week, Menifee lost to Rowan County 16) Rose Hill (Season: 2-7 This week: 0-4) A rough week for the Royals. Rose Hill lost at home to Fleming County and then went 0-3 at the Derby Classic in Raceland. In the Classic, Rose Hill lost to Leslie County, East Ridge, and Elliott County.

The boy has stayed at my house several times, yet, I misspell his name.. ughhhhhh Thank you, won't make that mistake again lol

Week 2 we are starting to see more about what the 16th region has to offer. This week, we saw that, at this point, Ashland seems to be a well-oiled machine that is a level better than the others. However, it is still very early. At this point, there will be 4 or 5 schools that could be standing come tournament time to make a run for the title. Only time will tell. 1) Ashland (Season: 6-0 This week: 3-0) It is VERY early in the week, but all Ashland did in week 2 was pull further away from anyone else in the region. Ashland looked very good this week with victories over Fairview and two West Virginia teams, Spring Valley and Capital. Capital is the number 7 team in the WV large division. They continue an up tempo with deadly shooting. 2) Boyd County (Season: 4-0 This week: 2-0) Boyd County had a couple of good wins this week, over 15th region power Lawrence County and a very good 15th region team in Rowan County. Boyd has a little way to go to catch up to Ashland, at this point. Boyd looks to do just that after a game with West Carter and then a trip to Las Vegas 3) Rowan County (Season: 3-3 This week: 2-1) After a tough first week, Rowan County did in week 2 what was expected of them. The Vikings had winds over Lewis and West Carter and a loss to Boyd County. Mason Moore really got going in the West Carter game with 2 points and 11 rebounds. Chase Alderman had been chipping in with the points as well. 4) Raceland (Season: 4-0 This week: 2-0) Raceland remains unblemished through week 2. However, the schedule has not yet shown us what the Ramblers are capable of yet. Pence, Floyd, and Compton continue to be the three-headed monster for the Rams. We will be able to tell more on the Rams in Week 3 as the host district rival Russell and the Derby Classic this week. 5) Greenup County (Season: 3-1 This week: 2-0) Greenup County is moving on up in the polls after week 2 makes us wonder how good the Musketeers can be. This week Greenup had a big district win over Lewis County and also a win against 6A Dixie Heights. A player to watch out for is region newcomer Rodrell Dryden. In the two games this week, Dryden averaged 20.5 points and 17.5 rebounds. Mixed with Brady Nelson’s success, Greenup County could have a very good year. 6) West Carter (Season: 2-2 This week: 0-2) West Carter had a tough week 2. They had a 15-point loss to Rowan County and then an 18 point loss to Morgan County. Week 3 doesn’t get any easier as the Comets host Boyd County to start week 3. Tyson Webb paced the Comets in scoring this week, averaging 18 points a game. 7) Lewis County (Season: 3-3 This week: 1-2) The Lions had a rough week this week going 1-2 for the week. They advanced in the EKC Tournament with a win over East Carter. Then losses to Rowan County and an important district loss to Greenup County. 8) Russell (Season: 0-3 This week: 0-1) After an early exit from the EKC tournament last week, the Devils have had more practices than games. In their one game this week, the Devils lost in double overtime to WV large division #4 Cabell Midland. I think the end of the season; the devils will be in the mix. However, have to keep them high in the region ratings until they get rid of the goose egg in the win column. 9) East Carter (Season: 2-3 This week: 0-2) The Raiders had losses in both of their games this week. They lost to Lewis County in the EKC tournament and to WV George Washington. GW is the large division #3 in WV. The Raiders will look for improvement this week with a revenge game against Lewis County and a trip to Fairview. 10) Morgan County (Season: 2-3 This week: 1-1) The Cougars split their games this week with a little hot and cold. They lost to Bath County in the EKC, in a game most would have looked for the Cougars to win. They followed that up with an 18-point win against a favored West Carter team. Morgan certainly has the potential to play very well. Time will show us who the real Morgan County team is. 11) Fleming County (Season: 3-2 This week: 2-1) Week 2 was a week that Fleming did what was expected. They beat the teams they should beat and struggled with the team they were thought to struggle with. McKee and Flannery took turns putting the points on the board for the Panthers this week 12) Fairview (Season: 2-3 This week: 2-0) After a very good start for the Eagles in week 1, they opened week 2 hosting the #1 Tomcats. Following that loss, Fairview suffered a home loss to Fleming County. Manning and Smith led the Eagles in points this week. 13) Bath County (Season: 2-4 This week: 2-1) Bath County also got a couple of notches in the win column this week with victories over Morgan County and Menifee County. They ended a busy week with a loss to Belfry. 14) Elliott County (Season: 1-3 This week: 1-1) Elliott County got their first win this week with a victory over Nicholas County. They also suffered a loss at Raceland. Week 3 will be important as they have their first district game against Morgan County this week. 15) Rose Hill (Season: 2-3 This week: 1-2) Rose Hill put another win in the books this week with a victory over Sciotoville. They followed it up with a loss to Portsmouth Notre Dame. Stephan Barker shined in their win with 36 points and 10 rebounds. 16) Menifee County (Season: 1-4 This week: 1-2) Menifee dropped out of the winless club this week when they beat Powell County at home. Menifee also had loses to Fleming and Bath County this week. Ben Rose averaged 17 ppg this week to lead the way for Menifee County.

Week 1 is in the books. While the picture is still fuzzy, we have enough to know it is going to be an exciting year of basketball in the 16th! 1) Ashland (3-0) Ashland started the season off on fire. The pace will be blistering this year out of Ashland. Hudson, Sellers, and Porter are every bit as good as advertised. This week they had wins over Lewis County, Region 15 Power Johnson Central, and Madison Central. 2) Boyd County (2-0) Boyd County had a good win at Russell in what was an impressive environment for the first week of the season. Boyd was calm and just did what they do. Stewart and Webb lead the way for the Lions. They will certainly be in the mix in Morehead. 3) West Carter (2-0) West Carter moves up a spot after an overtime win against Russell and a win against Fairview. West showed the ability to score a bunch of points in a short time period. They have had 5 different players to score in double digits thus far. 4) Rowan County (1-2) Rowan County started rough. They captured a win over Montgomery County, but losses to Campbell County and Fredrick Douglas. Both of these are quality programs and undoubtedly provided Rowan will some insight to some areas to work on for this year. Mason Moore’s 32 point and 17 rebound performance against Montgomery was quite a performance to watch. 5) Lewis County (2-1) Lewis County had a busy week with wins over Mason and Morgan Counties. Their loss came to Ashland. For much of the Ashland game, Lewis was holding close until Ashland got on fire late. The wins move them up 1 spot. 6) Raceland (2-0) Raceland was unblemished through week 1. They put away wins over Dawson Bryant (OH) and Dayton. Neither of these opponents would be listed as top tier, but Raceland did what they needed to do. Austin Compton was impressive to start the season with his 23 points and 12 rebounds against Dawson Bryant. 7) Russell (0-2) Russell slides down a couple of spots with an 0-2 start. Worthy of not, both losses were against 16th region foes that are ranked higher. Russell lost at home against Boyd County and in overtime at West Carter. The system is still working out some kinks, but expect Russell to make noise later in the year. 8) East Carter (2-1) The Raiders had wins over Elliott County and Bath County this week and a loss to 15th region Lawrence County. They look to get scoring for several players and did in the first week. Of note was Hunter Binion’s 19 point and 1 rebound game against Lawrence County. 9) Morgan County (1-2) Morgan County started the season with a win against Bath County and losses to Lewis County and Floyd Central. As expected, Jake Helton is leading the way for the Cougars in both scoring and rebounding. 10) Greenup County (1-1) The Musketeers started off at 1-1 with a win over Menifee County and a loss to Montgomery County. Newcomer Rodrell Dryden is making his presence known early, averaging 16 points and 18.5 rebounds a game over the first week. Brady Nelson is doing as expected, averaging 23.5 points a game in week 1. 11) Fleming County (1-1) Fleming had a loss to Bourbon County and a win against Ripley this week. This week showed the character of the team this week as team captain Johnathan Mayer chase to stay and play instead of going to Kroger Field to accept his player of the year award. That type of team-first mindset will certainly propel the Panthers this season. 12) Fairview (2-1) Fairview got started with some wins as Fairview had a home win against Covenant Christian (WV) and an overtime win against Rose Hill. Fairview has a loss to West Carter this week. Those wins move them up a couple of spots. 13) Elliott County (0-2) Elliott County suffered losses to East Carter and an Australian team this week. They will look to recover and get some momentum in week 2. 14) Bath County (0-3) Bath County did not get the start they wanted. This week, Bath lost to George Rogers Clark, Morgan County, and East Carter. They are off until Dec 13 and will look to make the tweaks they need to get some wins next week. 15) Rose Hill (1-1) Rose Hill got a win over Burgin and an overtime loss to Fairview. Close to finishing out the first week 2-0. Rose Hill will look to continue momentum during week 2. 16) Menifee County (0-2) Menifee went 0-2 this week with loses to Greenup County and Boyd County. Menifee did show they can score some points. However, they also showed they can give points up. They will look to tighten the defense after allows 87 and 96 points in those two games.

One of the biggest joys of basketball is that no matter how hard we try, it is very difficult to get an understanding of who is good and who isn’t until several games are under their belt. Teams that we look at before the season, or after 1 or 2 wins, and think they are unstoppable can quickly show us that they are really not that good as they get punched in the mouth by a team that shocks everyone, yes, we are looking at you, Evansville. Even as the end of the season it can be tough. The 16th last season had a clear cut favorite to cut down the nets at Morehead State. However, Ashland got hot at the right time and added to their vast collection of championships nets. Who will cut down the nets this year? The most accurate method at this point is old-fashioned Rock, Paper, Scissors, but we will try to rank and see where it goes. 1. Ashland Blazer - The defending regional champions are on top of the hill until they get knocked off. Ashland is loaded with young talent at the guard position this season with Villars, Sellers and Elliott County transfer Collin Porter. The tomcats will most likely look to push the pace this season. 2. Boyd County - Boyd County is coming off a 24-11 season and a loss in the regional finals last year. The Lions graduated only 3 seniors and will be bringing back a bunch of talent. Blake Stewart will be the catalyst for the team this year looking to continue a long streak of 20 win seasons. 3. Rowan County - Rowan County had the region’s best record last season at 26-6. They graduated 2 players from last year’s squad so will be bringing back players that are accustomed to winning. Mason Moore will look to continue his high scoring from last year. 4. West Carter - West Carter is coming off of a 16-13 season last year that saw the departure of 2 seniors. This year they will add experience to their fast play. The Comets will have 6 seniors this season and anticipate the experience will lead to more success on the court. 5. Russell - Russell returns just about everything from last year’s 9-18 team, including their top 8 scorers. What is different about Russell this year is the man in charge. Russell brought in Ohio High School Hall of Famer and 350 game winner, Tom Barrick. There is excitement in Russell that has not been present for several years. 6. Lewis County - At 21-10 last season, the Lions are the defending 63rd District Champion. They seek to continue their success and their super Senior Sam O'Keefe will lead the way. O'Keefe is a do it all players for Lewis and the team will follow. 7. Raceland - The Rams at 16-14 last year lost 4 seniors. However, they maintain a nucleus of sharp shooters lead by Pence and Floyd. They will do a lot of work from the 3-point line this year, which has brought them success in the past. 8. East Carter - Brandon Bakers Raiders had quite the wild ride last year, starting the season by losing 12 of their first 14 games, only to won 10 of their last 13. After graduating 2 seniors, the Raiders look to keep the wins going from the beginning this year. 9. Morgan County - The Cougars were 18-12 last season. They graduated 4 seniors and bring back 3. They will try to continue the winning ways these seniors have gotten used to. 10. Greenup County - Robert Amis will be in his second year at Greenup. The first year ended at 11-19 but things are different this year. The athletes are more familiar with the coach and the coach familiar with athletes and opponents. Greenup looks to make some noise in the wide-open 63rd district. 11. Fleming County - The Panthers were 11-19 last season. They graduated 4 and replace them with 4 seniors for this year as well. They will have to do better this season of scoring points Only 2 16th region teams scored less points than them last season. 12. Elliott County - Following last years, 26-4 season, Elliott County looks to continue their winning ways. Things will look different this year with the graduation loss of Korbin Spencer and the transfer loss of Collin Porter, but Elliott County still has plenty of young talent on the roster. The question will be how quick can that talent grow? 13. Bath County - Bath County finished last year at 12-21. They bring in a new platoon of seniors, having lost 6 seniors to graduation, but having 6 seniors this year as well. Last season, Bath had the sharpshooters to put a lot of points on the board in a short time. They look for more consistency in their scoring this season. 14. Fairview - With a different Cooksey at the helm this year, the Eagles look to expand on last year’s 10-20 record. Fairview graduated 3 seniors. Their youth and familiarity with new coach Brett Cooksey, the Eagles should hit the ground running. 15. Menifee County - The Wildcats return the core from last season, losing only 2 seniors. They will be a senior laden class this year with 6 of their players this year being seniors. They scored the fifth most points in region last year, but finished at 9-22. They will look for defensive improvements while keeping their offense powered. 16. Rose Hill - The Royals will continue to be the youngest team in the region this year. The 4-25 team from last year graduated only 1 senior. They hope a little more experience will lead to some additional wins this season. Pre-season Top 10 Players 1. Blake Stewart Senior - Boyd County Senior A 4-year starter and leader for Boyd County. Last year he averages 21.5 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. 2. Mason Moore Junior - Rowan County Mason Moore will lead the Vikings again this year. As a sophomore last season, Moore averaged 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. He looks to be an even bigger force with an additional year of experience and muscle. 3. Kirk Pence Junior – Raceland Pence is one of the top clutch players in the region. He is deadly with the ball in his hands. He also does a good job of making all of his teammates better. Pence averages 14 points a game last year and will certainly see that improving this season. 4. Sam O’Keefe Senior - Lewis County O’Keefe is an all-around player and the leader of the Lions. Last season he averages 18.5 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. 5. Tristan Miller Senior – Russell Miller has been one of the top 3-point threats in the region over the last 2 years. This trend will certainly continue. Last year, Miller averaged 14.7 points a game while shooting 42.9% from the arc. 6. Braden Leadingham Senior - West Carter Leadingham is a dual threat with his points and rebounds that he brings to the table each night. Leadingham will be the leader of the fast paced offense, pushing the temple throughout. 7. Cole Villers Sophmore – Ashland After an injury limited his season last year, Villers looks to make the most of this year. Villers averaged 10.4 points a game last year with high success from the 3-point line. 8. Brady Nelson Senior – Greenup County The offense in Lloyd goes through Nelson. Coming off of a year in which he averages 17.7 points and 7 assists a game, if he isn’t doing the scoring, he is getting the ball to someone who can. 9. Jake Helton Senior - Morgan County Helton averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds a game last year in West Liberty. He will be the leader of the team this year looking to lead in attitude and in performance. 10. Collin Porter Freshman – Ashland Porter a freshman transfer from Elliott County will be the point guard for the Tomcats this year. Last year, at Elliott, Porter averaged 7.7 points a game in varsity play, as an 8th-grader. He has an amazing vision of the court and will put his teammates in a position to score.

Neither of these teams finished the season in the BGP Top 10. However, both spent time in the standings this season and was always hovering close. This should be a very competitive game as these teams seem to match up well on paper. Who wins?

Bardstown got a little playoff revenge last week, defeating Elizabethtown after Etown beat them in the regular season. Desales continued taking care of business. Desales will certainly be the favorite, but there is a reason they play the game. Who wins?

The 3A game of the week takes place in CAM stadium this week, as the Pirates host Ashland's Tomcats. Belfry comes into this week after barely being tested as week. Ashland have to work harder to put Russell away, however, Ashland looked razor sharp last week and looks to continue that. This will be Belfry power against Ashland speed. Who wins?

Fleming County leaves that confines of home traveling southeast to Pine Mountain. Bell County will look to continue their winning ways. They will do this be trying to stop Fleming's pass happy offense. Who wins?

Bardstown will begin their playoff run this week as they host Larue County. The teams played Sept 27 and Bardstown won the game 42-0