Nathaniel Bryan

How does Central Hardin or McCracken County winning Region 1 (which has nobody in the top 7 in its class based on ANY poll or ranking) somehow make the MC-CH winner a top-five team? It means you're one of the last four teams playing in your class, that's it. Not sure how/why Central Hardin or McCracken would jump past Male-Trinity-X-Manual when CH and McCracken have been behind them all year long. So lemme get this straight: -- Central Hardin and McCracken pick up playoff wins against unranked teams -- Manual/Male/Trinity/X beat better teams (than CH or MC) and then get knocked out by better teams (than CH or MC) -- Therefor CH or MC has leapfrogged teams from the Region of Death. Got it. I guess?

Agreed. Just because you're one of the final four or even one of the final 8 does NOT mean you're a top-five team (especially when two of the T-X-Male-Manual combination aren't even eligible). An eastern Kentucky (regions 13-16) soccer team is ALWAYS guaranteed to be in the final 8 because of the setup. Unranked teams make it to state all the time in volleyball, while a NATIONALLY RANKED team (Sacred Heart or Assumption) sits at home (because it lost to another nationally ranked team). Being the survivor of a weak region (which is what District 1 and District 2 is in 6-A football) does NOT make you a top-five team ... especially if you become cannon fodder for the Male-T-X-Manual guantlet king.

Cooper is AHEAD of Ryle in CalPreps/MaxPreps. Cooper is BEHIND Ryle in LIT and Cantrall (which factor CovCath differently and do NOT include 3 out-of-state losses for CovCath). Surely you see why there can be a difference? But again, computer does NOT care School A beat School B, so therefore A must be in front of B (while throwing everything else out the window). Which is why I brought up Knox Central. They beat Louisville Central. But they're not ranked ahead of Louisville Central. Same thing for Louisville Central beating X (but not being ranked ahead of X). So therefore there must be something else that factors in. I REALLY think CovCath's ranking is what helps Ryle in Cantrall/Lit (no out of state losses) but helps Cooper in MaxPreps/CalPreps (because it factors in those 3 losses).

For in-state (out of state wins NOT counted) such as LIT and Cantrall, Ryle's schedule is not that much weaker, if at all. For in-state, CovCath is ranked VASTLY different than out of state (because of CovCath's three out of state losses). Plus, when you factor performance against common opponents, Ryle fared better (based on points allowed and point differential). That being said: - Knox Central beat Louisville Central - Louisville Central beat St. X Are you advocating for BOTH Knox Central and Louisville Central to be in the top 10 or so?

In the in-state only rankings (Lit, Cantrall), Ryle is given MORE CREDIT for its win over Cov Cath than the national computers (MaxPreps, CalPreps) because instate does NOT factor CovCath's 3 out-of-state losses). Cooper is AHEAD of Ryle in the CalPreps rankings

For Louisville Central, that loss to Knox Central. According to CalPreps, it's one of the biggest upsets in the entire state. Take that loss out of the mix and Central shoots up the rankings (it is decently high now because of everything else in spite of that head-scratching loss).

Iam4thecats said it easier than I could have. Because enrollment also helps/factors, it's better for Ohio teams to beat St. X and Trinity instead of DeSales and CAL and Lexington Catholic (as good as D-CAL-LexCath are) because of the enrollment bonus. Ohio also does that to keep bigger schools from loading up on smaller schools just to pad their win total.

I've said this before: You absolutely CANNOT take head-to-head into account when looking at a computer list of 221 teams (Kentucky for C-J Litkenhous and LHL Cantrall) or more (nationally for MaxPreps/CalPreps). ... Because then you're saying that and ONLY that overrules points for, points allowed and who the teams played. If we do all that head-to-head garbage, freakin Knox Central is a top-20 (maybe higher) team because it beat Louisville Central (which beat X).

Louisville Central's that high because of the strength of its non-district schedule, its defense (points per game allowed) and the fact it won a pretty decent district. Central Hardin's that high because of its non-district strength of schedule. Central Hardin played BG, South Warren and Boyle (3 teams which would go 3-0 against 90 percent of the state). This is CH's schedule according to CalPreps/MaxPreps (CH is 28 in those rankings, FWIW): Losses: 06 Bowling Green 07 South Warren 10 Boyle County Wins 43 Paducah Tilghman 47 John Hardin 61 Collins 65 North Hardin 100 Bullitt East 114 Meade County That's seven games against top-65 teams (out of 221) and every game against a team in the top half of the state. No cupcakes. It also helps Central Hardin that it beat who it was supposed to beat. - Louisville Central would have been higher had it not lost to Knox Central. - Boyle would be higher had it not lost to LexCath - Bowling Green would be higher had it not gave up a ton of points in a loss to St. X - McCracken would be higher if it hadn't lost to Tilghman - Mayfield would be higher if it hadn't lost to McCracken - Cooper would be higher if it hadn't lost to Station

Um, Ohio St. X needs to beat Kentucky St. X to get in the playoffs, so it's clear out-of-state wins matter ... at least in Ohio. If out-of-state (for Ohio) did NOT matter, Cincy St. X would have dropped Louisville St. X a long time ago. As far as the computer rankings you've seen -- I'm assuming the Courier-Journal Litkenhous (LIT) rankings and the Herald-Leader Cantrall rankings -- it's because a local person (CJ, LHL) isn't going to take the time to figure out the opponents' opponents part of the equation. Thus, it's dropped. Now, Calpreps/MaxPreps DOES include out-of-state wins, mainly because it ranks nationally. FWIW, Kentucky's playoff tiebreaker (for teams which finish in a three-way tie in district) does include part of the "Harbin" system that Ohio uses (total wins of teams you've beaten).

T.K. Stone beat Hopkinsville in 8th Grade D-II. MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL: T.K. Stone moves into state semifinals (10/25) | TheNewsEnterprise.com

North Hardin's Simeon Packer connected on a bicycle kick off a corner in a rout of John Hardin. BOYS' PREP SOCCER: North Hardin locks up top seed (09/23) | TheNewsEnterprise.com

Not this week, but PRP would have been better off LOSING to Butler instead of winning. PRP has Trinity in first round. PRP could have had Simon Kenton in first round instead (and easier games instead of X in round 2 and Male in Round 3).

Knott kinda has seven points, as East Ridge plays South Floyd (and Knott beat them both). Knott can end it by simply beating Allen Central. Then it would have 11 points. HOWEVER, Morgan can pick up FOUR points this week (beat Sheldon Clark gives them two, having Jackson beat Clinton would give them another AND having Allen Central beat Knott would give them another point AND Knott wouldn't pick up any). If Magoffin beats West Carter, it would go from 0-7 points. However, with no other wins, I'm pretty sure they're out of the tiebreaker. Knott obviously in the driver's seat, but it's NOT over.

That being said, North Hardin and John Hardin boys have both given out double assists in the past few seasons. Corner Kick - Header across box - one touch goal. Throw in - redirect - one touch goal. Free kick - header or redirect - goal. I've seen all three of those plays result in goals over the last two seasons (and two of the three this season alone). Double assist is warranted. Same thing for a long thru ball from a defender up top and an immediate cross from a wing to a striker. Double assist is OK in that instance. That all being said, SK should be missing an assist for shootout win (team goal, no assist) and any time you get a PK or score directly off a direct.

Zoeller had a team-leading 12 assists last year at SHA. One of the best teams in the state. And no one else (at SHA) had more than 6 assists. Let's assume that she can pass. She had 23 assists (team high by 6) and 18 goals (third best on team) as a freshman for the state runner-ups. Three straight years with 14 goals/12 assists (unless you're calling out SHA stats, too) for a region champ. No matter what the numbers say, it's clear she's an impact player.

I know. Just didn't want people thinking I was ignoring other players. Not doing that in the least.

In order to get closer to a better idea: WEST: Loses no one. Adds Hancock, Ohio, Butler, Logan. CENTRAL: Loses Hancock, Ohio, Butler, Logan. Adds Meade, Woodford, Bourbon, Fayette, Franklin, Clark, Madison, Montgomery, Jessamine, Garrard, Lincoln. LOUISVILLE: Loses Meade, Trimble and Henry. Adds Anderson. NORTH: Loses Woodford, Fayette, Franklin, Clark, Bourbon, Montgomery. Adds Trimble and Henry. EAST: Loses Madison, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln. Adds no one.

That's rich. And back to your geography debate, Trimble and Henry's southern boundaries are both 100 percent north of at least five Northern counties' northern border, yet, you know ... they're NOT in the north. Then you put Meade with Jefferson (Louisville metro), although Meade DOES NOT border Jefferson period. It looks bad to put Meade in the west (because Meade is eastern time). You've got two other counties that DON'T border Jefferson (Trimble, Henry) in with Jefferson, yet Hardin County is the ONLY county bordering Jefferson NOT with Jefferson. Meade's not in any region with any Louisville metro teams. If you're going to consider Meade (borders no Louisville metro counties) as Louisville, you might as well consider Anderson (which borders Louisville metro Shelby and Louisville metro Spencer). because Anderson sure AIN'T NKY. Jessamine (Nicholasville) borders Fayette and is part of Lexington Metro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington%E2%80%93Fayette_Metropolitan_Statistical_Area Nicholasville Road runs right through Lexington. Jessamine, Garrard and Lincoln are CKY counties. Not EKY. No way. No how. And there in lies a problem. You take metro counties/suburbs with Louisville, but don't do the same thing with Lexington (which has its own MSA). Basically every school in Region 1-3 (with exception of Meade) is west. Meade, plus every school in Region 4 (for the sake of this), 5 (E'town-Bardstown-Lebanon-Springfield-Hodgenville) and most of 12 (Danville, Harrodsburg, Somerset). I'd say all of 12, but you have the Jessamines. Region 6-7 and part of 8 is Louisville. Part of Region 8, plus 9 and 10 is NKY. Apparently Region 11 is now split 3 ways (NKY, CKY, EKY). Part of 12 is CKY. Other Part of 12, plus 13-14-15-16 are EKY. I think. And all of this does NOT change: 1) Lack of overall voting members in NKY in general 2) The fact that LHL and the Lexington TV stations don't cover Campbell-Kenton-Boone, etc. You can do all the maps and geography lessons you want, but it won't change it. Bottom line is the number of voting members will NEVER be balanced. Ever. NKY teams get screwed in media votes (mostly for basketball and football) because the papers/stations that cover NKY are based in Ohio (and they don't want to pay just for voting rights; not much incentive on their behalf). If you want to even it up, you go 16 voters: One per each baseball/basketball/soccer/softball/volleyball. But that's one of the few (if only) ways to get the balance you want without trying to do the square-peg-in-round-hole approach (Lex is now NKY, for example; Meade in metro Louisville when it doesn't border Louisville or a metro county or in a region with a metro school).

Rachel Ayer, Meade County, senior infielder. Already headed to Bellarmine, but Bellarmine has a nice pipeline from Meade (Scarlett Powers). Ayer had D-I looks. Ayer has a shot at the state's career homer record (before Curry changes it). So Ayer could BRIEFLY hold it. Elizabethtown's Taylor Thomas already verballed to Tennesse Tech before her junior year. Might change. Another power hitter. They're at least in the conversation. Curry, Graybill, Tow are fantastic players. All worthy as well. Not trying to slight them.

And now we've come full circle.

"Not all saves are equal." Good point. Great point actually. Very rarely does Team A's defensive total (shots allowed, goals allowed, saves) equal Team B's offensive total (shots taken, goals scored, saves for opposing keeper). Heck, go look at American football. Yardage is EASIER to determine that saves. It's clear, cut and dry. Elizabethtown just beat Adair County in a top-10 battle of 3-A teams. Elizabethtown's stats (per KHSAA): 435 Rushing Yards by Elizabethtown 8 Passing Yards by Elizabethtown 204 Rushing Yards by Adair 191 Passing Yards by Adair Adair's stats (per KHSAA): 435 Rushing Yards by Elizabethtown 8 Passing Yards by Elizabethtown 214 Rushing Yards by Adair 211 Passing Yards by Adair So Elizabethtown's numbers match up. However, Adair says it is missing 10 rushing yards and 20 passing yards (30 total yards). It's hard to get two teams on the same page and yardage is easy to count (as long as you don't have penalties). Saves are more subjective.

Don't know. I know in E'town, we get the four Louisville TV stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX). Maybe one Lexington station (WKYT) and one BG station (WBKO). So if it is based on which TV stations you get, E'town is officially northern Kentucky (since it gets TV from Louisville and Louisville is more northern than Lexington).

Even college football uses computer ratings (which obviously include non-conference results) to break in-conference ties (and not if Florida or LSU beat UK worse). By doing in-conference as the end-all, be-all in tiebreakers, you start playing for a SCORE over a RESULT. And that's not a good thing. The 50-point cap is one thing, but then you're ignoring the defensive reserves getting benched in a blowout because the shutout is so stupidly important. I don't care if the JV or freshman get scored on in the final 3 minutes or not -- the game is already decided. But that should NOT determine a seed. While it might seem like the fairest way to do it, there are flaws and issues. Do I think in-district results should determine district standings? Yes. But how, exactly, do you fix the flaws in the data that can be exploited (while STILL encouraging sportsmanship and NOT running up the score in the last week of district play)? I'm not sure it can be done, at all, or if there is a blatantly easy solution that I'm missing.

I NEVER argued that percentage. HOWEVER, Louisville is one of those places which is ALSO more north than 75 percent of the state. So if Lexington is NKY ... than Louisville is NKY (if we're doing geographically speaking only). More people live south of Louisville than live south of Lexington, so how can Lexington be North but NOT Louisville. In terms of geography (your argument), you can't honestly put Lexington in the north but not Louisville (especially, based on geography, when Louisville is closer or equal distance to some northern KY places than Lexington is). Like I said earlier, it would be better to go the Golden Triangle approach (LOU-NKY-LEX). So lemme get this straight: - Louisville is MORE NORTH than Lexington, but Lexington is North (and not Louisville). - Lexington is CLOSER to Central Kentucky, but Owensboro is considered CKY (and not LEX). Again, you SAY you're using geography, but you're picking and choosing when the data/facts/lines are staring you in the face. I have NO PROBLEM calling Lexington north based solely on geography (latitude and longitude lines) BUT you MUST include Louisville (because Louisville is more north based on those same lines your forcing Lexington to use). And you don't want to put Louisville in the north because therefore it kills/deletes/erases one of your regions/areas that you came up with.