Nathaniel Bryan

The Central Hardin roster that played Bowling Green tough and led CAL in the second quarter is NOT the same CH roster which got crushed in the second half by CAL or got pounded by South Warren or lost to Southwestern. Depending on how you look at it, Central Hardin is down to its FIFTH string quarterback (Hobbs quit to focus on basketball, Chase Elmore got hurt late in first half against CAL, Gavin George also got hurt vs. CAL in same quarter, top RB threat Deonco Wilkerson ran the wildcat but teams stacked the box with no throwing threat). Hobbs could go both ways. Elmore was a two-way starter. So are/were George (still not completely healthy) and Wilkerson. Comparing Central Hardin NOW to Central Hardin early summer would be like comparing the Kentucky NIT team to the one which started with Noel. Same school. Same season. Two completely DIFFERENT rosters.

The sports that are classed have been classed for a long time. And they are only one day a week for the most part (Saturdays for cross country meets and track meets, Fridays for football). Not a lot of late nights during the weekday school week. Some things won't change. In the 5th Region, North Hardin and John Hardin would still have to go through Central Hardin (a district and region dynasty thay shows no signs of slowing down). E'town would get an easier ride (getting out of a district and region with Mulberry Street neighbor Central Hardin), but doubt they'd like going to Hart, Nelson or LaRue better or having to put up with Louisville traffic). And poor Fort Knox, there is no one close to play classwise. So you might get more competive games, but it will cost you time, gas and ticket sales. The KHSAA just posted the state tournament financial recap. Softball got outdrawn by track by a wide margin and blown out of the water by baseball (even though softball had more games, more teams alive after Day 1 and cheaper tickets). So you're not making money and you want to make it even more expensive in a day and age of cutbacks? Good luck getting that pushed through.

I'm not really sure how the Smith thing came about, but I can tell you NEITHER of his last two coaching opportunities (interim at JH after Todd resigned after start of season; and now E'town assistant) were planned. At all. Right place. Right time. He didn't resign from JH to become an assistant at E'town. As far as teams and players, my top ten teams and players would be laughable because there is so much parity after the top. For players, you start with Hay. Cotton may end up a better player with more offers. Walker can put up double doubles, but is coming off that injury. Taylor is now facing way more challenging schedule and she won't be the focal point of the offense. After that, I'm not sure how many truly great players there are in the region. Graduation took a toll. Walls and Peeples were D-I and Presley Brown was D-2. Love got a college scholarship. As far as teams, it's E'town and Bardstown. Maybe Bethlehem rebuilds with the NC transfers. None of the three Hardins has a star. That 3-10 group will fluctuate. IF E'town and Bardstown draw into same semi at region, you could be looking at Bethlehem/Nelson as your region runner-up. That's NOT good for what is supposed to be a decent region on a yearly basis.

I'm hoping I missed the sarcasm here, but the Lit Ratings are a COMPUTER algorithm and NOT human based.

Gattis, Knight and Murphy combined for a whopping 11 points amongst the 3 of them in the loss. Hay had 25 and Walker had 12. Gattis, Knight and Murphy combined for 17 in the second meeting. Hay/Walker went 23/12. Hay and Walker outscored Bardstown's entire team in the region Hay and Walker were 1-2 on the team in scoring, 1-2 in free throw percentage, 2-3 in field goal percentage (fg percentage leader Sydney Clark is also back after shooting 59 percent from the field and averaging 4.1 ppg), and Hay/Walker were 2-3 in rebounding. Knight and Murphy were not in the top 2 in any category and Gattis was first in rebounding. I think the addition of Taylor (led Bethlehem in scoring and rebounding) more than negates E'town losing its 3-4-5 options. Especially when returnees Evans and Clark played in every game last year. That's a solid five and E'town rarely goes deep, rarely has multiple injuries and rarely gets into foul trouble (because it is one of the best zone teams in the state and has been for a while). Not to mention, Caleb Smith (John Hardin's coach the past two seasons who led JH to the region final a few years ago) is now an Etown assistant. Between him and Swiney, that's a lot of experience.

Rowe was honorable mention All State in a vote of the state coaches for the Herald Leader. Don't know of any other frosh who can claim that. McClure might have been all region.

As others have said, Rowe (who might be limited this year as she hurt her knee in AAU ball) has already committed to UK and had a ton of other DI offers already. She has gotta be near the top of these freshman lists.

17th District runner-up behind E'town is up for grabs. John Hardin has Witherspoon in the post, an inconsistent but potentially lights out shooter in Graham and an athlete in Freeman, who is a whirling dirvish. Freeman is great in open court, but rarely shines in halfcourt games. Witherspoon is more athletic than her older brother, but doesn't have the hardwood IQ. New coach didn't have much time to work with them before summer ball began and it showed mightily. North has Gregory and Sutton. Central has Bryant and Beger, who are good players bit are softball players first and foremost. Once Walker gets back, no team in region will have size to deal with Taylor and Walker for E'town. Plus, E'town plays a loaded scheduled. Their younger and more inexperienced kids will be battle tested for 5th Region games, which will be the easy part of their schedule. Until someone proves it can beat or play with E'town once in a blue moon, this region still belongs to E'town. I'd be shocked if E'town doesn't run the table in the region. Bardstown and Bethlehem have some nice pieces but there are doubts (past history, coaching, scheduling, multiple key players) if they can put together a whole puzzle like E'town. Last year was supposed to be a DOWN year for E'town after losing a D-I point guard and they still dominated plenty of folks in the region. While they lost more starters than the yeae before, they actually return more experience/games played because of Hay and Walker (and Taylor has played plenty, too). Payne and Presta will get time and there will be a freshman who will make noise since teams will leave her open.

Elizabethtown's got Whitney Hay, who has multiple D-I offers. Lady Panthers also have Leikyn Walker in the post, although she is coming off an ACL injury. However, Bethlehem's Ellie Taylor transferred to Elizabethtown. This region is E'town's by a country mile because of Hay/Taylor (and eventually Walker back). Bardstown will be in top four, maybe top two, because of Cotton. After that, throw everyone else in a hat.

Prep (post-grad) program based NOW at Holy Cross (Aspire players use the remodeled dorms there). Was at DeSales last year. The split was mutual and wasn't exactly friendly. WITHOUT talking to the folks at Aspire, I have concerns: - Will they have their own school building? - Do they realize that scholarships and recruiting aren't allowed (scholarships to Trinity and X are controlled by national third party)? Unless Aspire drastically changes its ways, I don't see any way this gets cleared. They might get a waiver to play KHSAA teams, but I thought they had one anyway.

Some softball related things on KHSAA Board of Control docket for Thursday (9-20): 4.6. Consider Alternative Formats, State Softball 4.7. Staff Discretion on Postseason Site Specifications 4.8. BGSG Request - SB scrimmage exemption https://portal.ksba.org/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=443681 LINK TO FULL DOCKET: KSBA's Public Portal

Some baseball related things on KHSAA Board of Control docket for Thursday (9-20): 4.6. Consider Alternative Formats State Baseball 4.7. Staff Discretion on Postseason Site Specifications 4.8. BGSG Request - for scrimmage exemption 4.9. Local Authority for 3rd Inning 15 Run Rule Link to full docket: KSBA's Public Portal

Some football related things on KHSAA Board of Control docket for Thursday (9-20): 4.1. Football Finals Schedule 4.2. Discussion of Helmet Allowance on Campus 4.3. Discussion of 6, 8, 9 Football Player Link to full docket: KSBA's Public Portal

Basketball related things on KHSAA BoC docket for Thursday (9-20): 4.5. Officials Assignments for Postseason 9.2. Aspire Academy Request for Membership Link to full docket: KSBA's Public Portal

So look what's on the KHSAA board of control docket for Thursday, September 20th (first meeting of 2018-19 school year): 10.2. Discuss Any Necessary Movement of 2020 Soccer, Volleyball, Cross Country Seasons/Championships Link to full docket: KSBA's Public Portal

HALFTIME 13 @loucentralsport 10 @stxtigerSports Central 22 plays for 147 yards, 0 TDs, 1 turnover St. X 31 plays for 94 yards, 1 TD, 1 FG, 2 turnovers (both pick 6s)

Calpreps/MaxPreps is a national computer algorithm which DOES take into account ALL out of state games. If you are talking about the BGP rankings themselves, the voting block is NOT as Louisville centric as you think.

Actually according to CalPreps/MaxPreps national computer ratings, Moeller is in the 600s. DeSales in the low 800s.

The Central Hardin team that South Warren saw is NOT the same roster that Bowling Green saw. Like HCP said, Central Hardin lost a pair of starters on both sides of the ball. CH just lost a QB, a WR and two starters in the secondary. That hurts. Remember, Central Hardin was beating CAL at CAL with George and Elmore (they both got hurt late in 2Q). That being said, South Warren still wins even if Central Hardin was completely healthy. South Warren is a solid ballclub. Just pointing out this IS a case of when comparative scores does NOT apply. It would be like NFL fans saying that what happened in Week 2 of the preseason will determine what will happen in regular season. Bowling Green struggled, but beat Central Hardin 2.0. The Central Hardin team South Warren throttled could struggle a couple more times this year. I'm not sure Central Hardin is a lock to beat North Hardin or if Central Hardin will beat John Hardin with as much ease as North Hardin did.

Hardin County Preps is 100 percent correct. The Central Hardin team that South Warren saw is NOT the same roster that Bowling Green saw. Like HCP said, Central Hardin lost a pair of starters on both sides of the ball. CH just lost a QB, a WR and two starters in the secondary. That hurts. Remember, Central Hardin was beating CAL at CAL with George and Elmore (they both got hurt late in 2Q).

The new Maher computer rankings are out here: http://www.maherrankings.com/girls-maher-rankings-9118/ Manual and Sacred Heart go 1-2. Bardstown Bethlehem, which has at least two D-I players that I know of, up to 4th.

Rankings were updated at Boys Maher Rankings 9/1/18 – Maher Rankings St. X and Trinity go 1-2. St. X also No. 1 overall in Kentucky-Ohio-Indiana.

In my 18 years of doing this, I have yet to have any kid in any sport tell me, "You know, getting to play varsity as a third-string freshman in the annual blowout of Podunkerton really helped my development."

There is NO bylaw in ANY KHSAA sport banning a senior from playing JV. None.