DearToday

Here are the finalists. 1. Kace Eastridge, QB - Campbellsville 2. Kris Hughes, ATH - Somerset 3. Markezz Hightower, RB - Madisonville-North Hopkins 4. Jacob Savage, RB/LB - Ryle 5. Cam OHara, QB - Cooper 6. Marlon Harbin, ATH - St. Xavier 7. Evan Hampton, RB - Owensboro 8. Wyatt Robbins, QB - Murray 9. Ji'Dyn Smith-Hisel, RB - Boyle County

I think Boyle made Franklin look a lot worse than they were. Don't forget going into this Franklin had beat this year's 2A state champs LCA, had beat Bowling Green worse than CAL did, and knocked off defending state champion Paducah Tilghman holding them to their lowest scoring total since 2023.

I'd have Boyle over Wayne and Somerset for sure. Time will tell about being over Southwestern as well.

Boyle throttled Dunbar, who in turn played Lincoln pretty close. The Rebels are going to be fine this year.

Hazard coming off a 5-7 year.. I'm not sure who else would have had them top 3.

Big win for the panthers.

I would almost guarantee they called Knox K-N-O-X.. feel like in the WYMT streams they always get called that. Lol

Kids a stud. Glad he is a senior.

15th Region Boys Basketball Preview: First week in the 15th in the books, let's look at it! 1. Lawrence County (3-0) - Three games, and three wins. Unfortunately there are no stats posted yet, but all the wins were pretty convincing except the Lewis County win. They won by 15, 7, and then blew out Betsy Lane by 43. Again, I think they’re the favorite to cut down the nets this spring. They have a busy week with Magoffin County, Pikeville, and Prestonsburg all looming. 2. Martin County (3-0) - The Cardinals may end up being the favorite when it’s all said and done. They’re sitting at 3-0 after a 10 point win over Floyd Central, 26 point win over Perry Co Central, and a 37 point win over OBI. Braxton Keathley is doing what he does averaging right under 30 per game, and Bryson Dials is a heck of a Robin as he’s sitting at 25.7 per game. The recipe for success is to shut down those two, but it’s not been done yet. This week they will take on Huntington Expression Prep, and Harlan. 3. Johnson Central (1-1) - An opening season win over Lewis County by 25 got things started off hot. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles came back down to life and were drubbed by 23 to Boyd County. Cooper Blair has been a bright spot averaging 20.5 through both games, with Brayden Shepherd and Austin Slone rounding them out with 18 and 15 respectively. They get most of the week off till Saturday, then they’ll take on Greenup County at home. 4. Pikeville (2-0) - The Panthers are rolling to start the year with a 24 point win over Knott County Central and a 60 point win over Lee County. Neither of those stats are in yet. They have a chance to show if they’re for real or not this coming week with Lawrence County on Tuesday, and then Rowan County on Saturday. 5. Paintsville (0-2) - The Tigers are struggling to start the season. They lost the first by 2 to Ashland, then lost by 13 to Chesapeake OH. Anderson Lauffer had a heck of a game with 36 in the loss to Ashland. This week they have Hazard on Tuesday in the WYMT Classic. Based on how they do then, we’ll see who they have the rest of the week. 6. Floyd Central (2-1) - The Jaguars opened up the year with a doozy against Martin County. They only dropped the game by 10 and it was on the road, which I think says a lot about how Floyd Central may be this year. They bounced back nicely with a 29 point win over Prestonsburg, and then a 13 point win over Powell County. They keep it rolling in this week's games against Phelps and Betsy Lane. 7. Pike County Central (3-0) - Coach Al Holland is 3-0 so far in his first year stint with the Hawks. A 12 point win over Wesley Christian, a 2 point win over Owsley County, and a 17 point win over Breathitt County. Freshman Owen Bowman leads the way in scoring with 16.7 per game, and William Rowe is putting up 15 in addition to it. Been a great start to life without Jaden Stewart. This week they open with Leslie County tonight in the WYMT Mountain Classic. 8. Shelby Valley (1-1) - The Wildcats opened up the year with a 4 point loss to Knott Co Central at home, but then had a 20 point win over Mountain Mission School VA. This week they will take on Phelps, then a huge game with Great Crossing. If they can hang close in that one, it would say a lot about Shelby Valley this coming season. 9. Phelps (1-1) - The Hornets had a nice region win to open the season when they knocked off Betsy Lane by 1. Tyler Weddington led the way with 28 and 20 on the game. What a stat line. They did drop the next game to Leslie County by 20. This week they take on Shelby Valley, Floyd Central, and Breathitt County. It should give more clarity to where the middle of the pack lands in the region. 10. Belfry - The Pirates haven’t had their first game yet. They will open with Harlan County and Magoffin County this week. 11. Betsy Lane (1-3) - A less than ideal start for the Bobcats. A 1 point loss to Phelps, a 10 point win over Magoffin County, a 43 point set back to Lawrence County and a 7 point loss to Middlesboro. They will look to flip the script with Floyd Central on the road Friday. 12. Magoffin County (0-2) - A 10 point set back to Betsy Lane and a 19 point loss to Knott Co Central is how the year has started for the Hornets. This week they play Lawrence Co, Estill Co, Belfry, and East Ridge. 13. Prestonsburg (0-2) - The Blackcats opened up with a 22 point loss to OBI and a 29 point loss to Floyd Central. Life post the Keathley era has been tough so far. This week they look to turn it around with Morgan County and Lawrence County on the schedule. 14. East Ridge (1-2) - The Warriors are 1-2. They beat Hurley VA, but then lost to RIchlands VA and Chilhowie VA. I don’t know anything about VA basketball. This week they play their first in-state opponent as Magoffin County comes to town.

13th Region Boys Basketball Week 1: With week 1 in the books we will look and see how it all falls! Whitley County is my team of the week with a big win going into Harlan County and coming out on top. North dropped a game against Lex Cath, but they’re still my favorite right now. Bell County looks to push them, but Bell isn’t playing a tough schedule right now. Time will tell how it all shakes out. Here we go. Rankings: 1. North Laurel (2-1) - I’m going to keep the Jags in the top spot even with taking an L. They lost their opener on the road at Lex Cath by 9. Talk about a tough game to open with. They did rebound nicely with a 16 point win over South Laurel and a 24 point win over David School in the Legacy Nissan Classic. Reece Davidson is picking up where he left off with 16.5 per game through those games. Cooper Elza is putting up 10.5, and Corey Cunagin with 10 per game through the games as well. This week they have Perry County Central in the first round of the WYMT Classic. They will have more games after that this week in the tournament. 2. Bell County (1-0) - The Bobcats absolutely blitzed Williamsburg in their opener by a score of 95-20. 8th grader Bently Buell led the way with 18, Braxton Ferguson added 16, and Blake Burnett had 12. Everyone got in on the scoring and got plenty of PT. Bell County is going to be extremely talented this season. This week they play Harlan on Tuesday, Middlesboro at home on Friday, and Wayne County at home on Saturday. Bell has an extremely favorable schedule in the first part of the season. 3. Clay County (3-0) - The Tigers have had a great start to the season sitting at 3-0 with wins over Pineville, Harlan, and Knox Central, three region teams. Adon Grubb is averaging 17.7, Aiden Wagers 15.7, and Jacob Rogers 14 per game. Grubb is also putting up 8.7 boards per game. The three wins were by 53, 38, and 24. Dominating wins. This week we get a big show down with South Laurel on Tuesday, and then Corbin on Friday. This should help us sort the middle of the pack. 4. Corbin (0-0) - The Redhounds haven’t had their first game, but they have had a few weeks to get their football guys acclimated to the court. They open up with Clay County on Friday, and then Tri-Cities Christian Academy on Saturday. 5. South Laurel (1-1) - The Cardinals got bounced by their cross town rival by 16 to open the season, but bounced back nicely with a 18 point win over McCreary Central. In the NL game, Kaden Taylor led the way with 14, and Isaiah Robinson added 10. As a team they had a bad shooting night averaging just 31.2%. They have a shot at redemption this week with Clay County on Tuesday, and then Harlan on Friday. 6. Whitley County (2-0) - I’ll nominate the Colonels for team of the week! A 2-0 start to the season is big, two wins over region opponents is big, and to go into Harlan County and pick up a five point win is even bigger! There are no stats posted yet, but those are two big time wins. Whitley looks to keep amping things up as they take on Boyle County at home tonight, and then Jackson County and Clark Range at home this weekend. A 5-0 start would be huge. 7. Harlan County (0-1) - A pretty rough start for the Black Bears entering the 2025/2026 season. They opened up with a home game with the Whitley County Colonels, and got bounced 71-76. The stats aren’t up so I can’t delve into those, but this is either a head scratcher or a realization of how life will be post Noah and Huff era. It could also be a tell of how Whitley County will be this year. 8. Knox Central (1-1) - The Panthers had a great start to the year with a 29 point win over Harlan. Coach Tony Patterson picked up where he left off. They did however, get bounced their next game by 24 to Clay County. They have a shot to rebound in the first round of the WYMT Classic tonight against Knott Co Central. There will be more games depending on how they do tonight. 9. Jackson County (3-0) - What a start for the Generals! Three wins, and all were dominating. Wyatt Gray is leading the way with 14 per game, and Tyler Sandlin is up next with 9.7. As a whole the team is shooting 52% from the field. They’re having a really solid year so far. Things do get tougher this week, as they play Breathitt County on Tuesday and Whitley County on Friday. 10. Barbourville (0-1) - The Tigers lost a heart breaker over a solid Wayne County squad at home on Monday. They were in a back and forth battle all game before Wayne Co hit a game winning three to ice it. Would have been a big win to start the year too. I think that bodes well for the Tigers they played them so close. This week they look to take on OBI and Campbell County TN. 11. Harlan (0-2) - I may have jumped the gun some with the Green Dragons. They dropped their first two games to region teams, and got absolutely blistered. The first a 29 point L to Knox Central, the second a 38 point L to Clay County. I will hold the L on this one. They get the chance to bounce back this week with Bell County, South Laurel, and Martin County. They will be the underdog in all three. 12. OBI (2-1) - The Mountaineers are 2-1 with wins over Prestonsburg and Buckhorn, and a loss to Martin County. This week they play Barbourville on the road on Tuesday. 13. Middlesboro (1-1) - Middlesboro opened up with a 31 point loss to Whitley County, but bounced back with a 7 point win over Betsy Lane. This week they have games with Williamsburg, Lynn Camp, J. Frank White Academy, and Bell County. 14. Williamsburg (0-1) - The Yellow Jackets got absolutely thumped by Bell County. They were beaten by 75. Lane Jeffries was the lone bright spot with 7 points. They get the chance to redeem themselves this week against Middlesboro and Pineville. 15. Pineville (0-2) - The Mountain Lions dropped their first two of the year. They got beat by 53 to Clay County, and 13 to Franklin County. They look to set things straight this week with games against Williamsburg and Somerset Christian School. 16. Lynn Camp (2-1) - Lynn Camp is 2-1 with wins over Red Bird and Trinity Christian, and a loss to Owsley County. A much better start than years past. They play Middlesboro, Buckhorn, and Casey County this week. 17. Red Bird (0-3) - The Cardinals are back at 0-3. Lost three games to June Buchanan, Lynn Camp, and Jackson County. They have Owsley County this week at home tonight.

Now the Boyle County kids will enjoy the next 28 days off before they're back in the weight room at 6:45 AM, January 6th, ready to get after number 14.

Ganaway and Oakley. First year, state title, HCs.

Someone’s gonna have that picture of him reaching and that’ll be the Mr Football picture that gets shared.

Tackle over. Wonder if they let Hampton throw it and leak that guy out.

Yeesh what a stick.

Ultimate equalizer!

Owensboro crowd going nuts. That was cool to hear from the stream.

Mr. Football.

Someone hand me a mic. ?

Will Owensboro offense touch the field this quarter?

Huge play!!

66 looks pretty dang good.

That’s brutal. Maybe it was the timeout!

Interesting timeout.

As I’m typing. Lol