The Scribe

Lyon County's Cullan Brown signed with the University of Kentucky today. VIDEO – Cullan Brown Signs Letter to Play at Kentucky | Your Sports Edge

They are awaiting eligibility ruling from KHSAA. He did not play a KHSAA sport but did enroll in another school. This will be an interesting ruling moving forward

Interesting game. Hoptown lost to Logan County on the last play of the game Oct. 5 and then lost one of their best defensive players (EJ Austin) to an accidental shooting two days later. They haven't lost a game since. Hoptown has outscored their opponents 155-13 in that four game winning streak. Neither team has any legit playoff experience. However, I don't see Hoptown's Jay Bland going 1-of-16 passing in the game like the last time. Hoptown has also figured out their running game. Logan County is playing with a chip on their shoulder and want to prove to people that their first win over Hoptown wasn't a fluke. VIDEO – Hoptown Looking For Revenge Friday at Logan | Your Sports Edge

I think LaRue is a little better defensively than what people think. It will be interesting to watch all the Jaggers in the stadium Friday on both sides. VIDEO – Barnes Looks Ahead To Showdown With LaRue County | Your Sports Edge

Christian County has figured out their running game with McNeal getting the bulk of the carries now and producing. Here is what Coach Lovelace has to say about the Spartans.

LiAngelo Ball

I'm sure they didn't mean to mess up the stats. I think people need to take a step back and be grateful that Kentucky has a tool such as the KHSAA scoreboard that allows anyone to view scores and stats for each team (when the schools submit the stats). Other states are far behind in this area. I'm sure any college that is recruiting Blackburn will be more impressed with the 33 touchdowns rushing than any other line on the stat sheet.

You can thank the internet and sites such as this one who have really went above and beyond to not only produce region by region previews, but have the capability to go further in depth because there are no space limitations. As a result, TCP has moved their deadlines up to August when you really don't know who will be coming out for the team, who sticks to football, etc. Also, basketball coaches aren't usually in the mood to talk about their team in August. I'm not taking up for the TCP. But I am giving a pat on the back to BGP for making them change their game, and not for the better. I think you can trace the TCP quality drop to the time when BGP started doing indepth region by region previews.

If Crittenden remembers to let Nesbitt carry the football 20 times, they should have a good shot. If they fall in love with the pass, it may be the end of the Al Starnes era in Marion. Run. The. Ball.

The Main Street Grille downtown is about as good as they come. It's an Italian place that you will not leave hungry from. It's always my stop when I'm driving to or through Marion.

I always felt those two Madisonville teams should have fared better at the Sweet 16

Perspective? You betcha. I'm from a rural area far away from the Golden Triangle. I've watched sports teams that were probably among the best of their size in the entire state consistently ousted from the region tournament by schools like Henderson County, McCracken County, Christian County and Daviess County who have over 1,000 more kids in their schools. It happened to Lyon County in basketball in the early 1990s. It happened to Caldwell County in girls soccer in the late 1990s. It happens to Murray in girls soccer every year because they have to go through McCracken, Graves, and Marshall County -- sometimes all three in one tournament. Someone mentioned Collegiate as a small school example. Fifth ranked school in the state but lost in the first round of the region tournament to Ballard. Only a 1,700 kid difference in enrollment. Second round game would have been against Manual, a difference of 1,600 kids. Then a region title game against St. X, only an 1,100 student difference. Yes, Collegiate won the region in 2016. They lost to Trinity in the first round of the 2015 region tourney. Before that, their season ended at the hands of St. X, Trinity, Trinity, St. X, and Central Hardin each of the five years before that. I only make the exception in basketball because it's a concession. I realize the KHSAA will NEVER class basketball until someone from outside the Golden Triangle is made commissioner. Soccer and volleyball are the two sports that immediately cry out to be classed based on a past history of non-small schools being able to sustain long postseason runs on a consistent basis. And it's not just a small school issue. There are about 25-30 "tweener" schools that are too big to play in the "All-A Classic" yet are 600-800 students under the 4-5 larger schools in their region. Three classes in soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, track, and cross country are plenty. Do away with districts in soccer, volleyball, baseball, and softball. Create eight Super Regions in each of the three classes with the region winners to advance to the state tournament. It eliminates two opening rounds of blowout losses at the district and region tournament. It eliminates three-team districts. You can even require every team to play the other once and seed the region tourney based on the regular season results. I agree with Josh Moore of the Lexington Herald-Leader, who is from outside the Golden Triangle I might add. Why does basketball determine the post-season format for every sport in the state sans two?

I guess 48 other states, the NCAA, the NAIA, and the NJCAA are clueless in classifying their schools in each sport due to size. I'm not talking six classes like football. I'm asking for consistency. Track and cross country are classed. Ask Louisville Holy Cross and Bishop Brossart if their state titles won in cross country Saturday are less meaningful because they are 1A titles. Didn't look like it to me from what I saw on the awards stand. Take their times on the same course and neither finishes in the top five of an All Class Meet. I'm OK with leaving basketball alone. It's the cash cow, and it would alter the tradition the KHSAA preaches about despite the fact they have changed the format of the state tournaments in football, basketball, and baseball in the past decade. But it's just plain wrong that a small school has to have their best team in school history, hope that larger schools have a down year, and pray you get a halfway decent draw just to MAKE the state tournament, let alone have a shot at winning it.

This is along the same lines as basketball people pointing to Edmonson County winning the 1976 boys Sweet 16 as a reason why we don't need to class basketball. That was 41 years ago. You can count on one hand how many small schools have won a state title since. In case you missed it over the weekend, the school with highest enrollment of boys (St. Xavier - 1,344 boys) won the boys soccer title. The school with the 15th largest enrollment of girls (Assumption - 888 girls) won the state volleyball title, and West Jessamine, enrollment 1,221) won the girls state soccer for the second straight year. Keep in mind the average enrollment in the state is around 700 students in the top four grades.

You did. It's happened once in 25 years which is why I called it a fluke because it hasn't happened since. Small schools advance to the state tournament and then they are wiped out after the first round year in and year out except for the occasional golden triangle private school that has their best team in decades.

I agree. Tilghman has the playmakers and athletes to match E-town. If Tilghman can move the ball methodically and keep E-town's offense off the field, they have a shot. E-town is prone to mistakes if you let them

Any other examples outside of a private school in the state's largest city?

I'm OK with every sport being classes except basketball. I get tradition, even though the KHSAA doesn't mind altering tradition despite crying from the mountain that changing tradition would ruin the Sweet 16. But small schools do not compete for state titles on a regular basis in soccer and especially volleyball. Create three classes in every sport to match what they already do in track and cross country. Leave basketball alone.

Yes. A fluke final that has happened once in the 25 year history of the event should define whether the sport is classed. Makes total sense.

It should be classed. No small school has a shot at winning a state title in either soccer or volleyball based on the current setup.

Teams don't have to lose to drop. Sometimes teams are just playing better football and have higher quality wins that necessitate jumping a team in the poll.

Tilghman/McCracken is a rivalry game so records are thrown out there. Based on first few weeks, I agree. But from Caldwell on, they have been playing well.

In some ways, yes it was a fluke. Crittenden's defense has been terrible. Holding Russellville to 21 points was a bit of a surprise. But this isn't the Russellville team of recent years and nowhere near as dominant against the run as they have been. They allowed Crittenden to have a 100-yard back with a chuck and duck offense. If Crittenden figures out they can run a healthy Nesbitt 20+ times and limit Boone's downfield throws, they could do well in the postseason. I can see a rematch in the region final because District 2 is god awful this year.

Tilghman should be in the 9-10 range. Lost to Caldwell on a last second FG. Lost to 6A McCracken on a botched PAT. The Tornado have been playing well down the stretch.

Henderson County and UHA are the favorites. UHA's only region loss came to Henderson County 3-0. They are in the same upper bracket. Caldwell County should come out of the lower bracket Madisonville to Host the Second Region Girls' Soccer Tourney | Your Sports Edge