Ballfan34

Barth is such a skilled passer! I know some might think it’s easy throwing it up to Sam, but he’s had multiple lobs and this one is RIDICULOUS !

Unofficial stat line for Sam Vinson tonight but this is what I got... 28-11-11-7-6 😳

Good win for the birds after a lost to Beechwood at home the night before.!

Great recap! Birds battled back and won in a good one! Didn’t watch 1st half, but I think #4 Leyton Reed had about 3-4 charges in the 2nd half. Obviously Vinson brought them back, but Leyton won them that game with those charges and extra possessions. Pleased with the Birds defense and decision making in the 2nd half. Muller battles down low and has taken a bigger responsibility this year on the defensive end then last year, and I love seeing him grow every game! Only person that has any business going up in the air and trying to block a shot is Sam. The rest of them need to take notes on what Reed does, especially against bigger teams like CovCath if they do end up meeting again! Go Birds!

Still don’t know what difference it would make, but glad we got the hire 🙂

Anyone know what kind of defense Sphire will be running? I think the offense will be just fine. Defensively they lose a whole bunch of seniors. Senior DB Will Hartman will be the leader of this team this year. Kid hits like a truck. Sam Robinson will also assume a leadership role of the defense as he started as a sophomore last year at ILB. Adam Dunn will be a solid option in the secondary for the birds as another upcoming junior. Senior Ivan Roller will be a solid player on the D-Line too. I think a lot of kids will go both ways this year with a lot of Sophomores stepping up on the defensive side of the ball. Just don’t know who? Time will tell, just excited for these boys to finally get after it! Go Birds!

Great win for Beechwood, I wouldn’t consider this one entirely an upset. Beechwood can play and showed that tonight.

9th Region Week 4 1.Covington Catholic Head Coach: Scott Ruthsatz District 35 Current Record: 9-2 The Colonels went 2-1 on the week starting off on the losing end against St. Xaiver, Ohio 52-49. Donovan Stocks lead the team in scoring with 13 points, while Rylee and Starks both tagged along with 10. I'm assuming the colonels ran into someone finally their size, but the surprising stat of the night was that Rylee only had 4 FGA and Starks had only 5 FGA. Anyone who has seen this team play knows that these 2 make the colonels go, and I am surprised that they didn't even make it into the double digits combined on FGA! My assumption is that St. Xaiver slowed down the game because that is what a lot of GCL teams do if I am not mistaken! Good loss for the colonels in my opionion, they are still a scary team to see in Kentucky. Walton Verona and Conner will say so themselves as each team lost by 20+ this week. Cov Cath takes on an extremley tough part of their schedule this week as they play La Salle (Ohio), St. Xaiver (Louisville), and Male! 2. St. Henry Head Coach: Dave Faust District 34 Current Record: 7-1 St. Henry took care of business against district opponent Lloyd Memorial 75-51 win! Wyatt Vieth lead the way with 23 points while shooting 10/18 from the field, while his buddy Jude Bessler tagged in 16 points while bringing down 5 rebounds! Crusaders take on Beechwood this week in a rematch of the All "A" Classic where St. Henry came out on top 59-52. Following the Beechwood game, the Crusader have back to back home games against Dixie and Holmes! 3. Highlands Head Coach: Kevin Listerman District 36 Last season: 5-3 Bluebirds handled business last week against Scott and district opponent Bellevue. In the 85-60 win against Scott, Sam Vinson lead the way with 26 points while bringing down 8 rebounds! The best part about this game was seeing my boy Luke Muller succeed, he poured in 21 points and brought down 10 rebounds for an impressive double-double! In the 104-42 win against Bellevue, Freshman Brody Benke shined as he had 16 points off 8/10 from the field! Benke can be a force if he works at this thing, which I know he will! Birds take on Cooper tomorrow and Lloyd and Conner at the end of the week. 4. Dixie Heights Head Coach: Roger S. Stainforth, II District 34 Current Record: 5-2 Dixie moves up to #4 this week after an impressive performance this week. They took care of business against district opponent Ludlow 91-35. But the big game of the week was against Simon Kenton and star player Kelly Neice. Neice gave the colonels all they could handle with 42 points on the game, but Dixie was able to pull out in a close one 77-75 where the scoring was extremely balanced with Snelling and Summe scoring 19 points each and Geraci adding in 17 too. I don't know all the detail of the ending to this game, but I'm sure it was a performace to remember for all! Dixie also handled North Bullitt 85-33. This week Dixie takes on 2 district opponents with Lloyd and St. Henry, then they travel to Newport to take on the Wildcats! 5. Conner Head Coach: Matthew Otte District 33 Current Record: 6-1 Conner took on Beechwood and Covington Catholic this week. They started off the week with a great win against Beechwood 55-49. Sophomore Guard Landen Hamilton dropped in 17 points for the Cougars, and Cole Skiles earned himself a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds! However, they ran into the strong Covington Catholic team where senior Spencer Couzins had 15 points and Ayden Lohr had 14 points. Lohr and Hamilton seem to be a nice little sophomore duo for the cougars as they have been filling it up recently, and will continue to do so in the years to come! Cougars take on Scott Eagles tomorrow and play Highlands in Fort Thomas Saturday! 6. Beechwood Head Coach: Erik Goetz District 35 Current Record: 6-1 Beechwood had a very busy schedule this week and started it off with a loss to Conner. They move down to number 6 this week, but will be able to redeem themselves in my eyes if they beat St. Henry this week! In the Conner loss Scotty Draud lead the way with 19 points, but was not very efficient as he shot 7/22 from the field. Downton and Draud shot a combined 19 threes in the loss, and I know both of them are more then capable of shooting from the outside, but at some point you got to get buckets the tough way. Beechwood came back won 3 straight against solid teams in Cooper, Aiken, and South Deabron. In the Cooper game Draud lead the way with 28 points and was much more efficient off of 10/17 from the field. Downton scored 34 points against South Deabron, this Beecwhood team obviously ran into a bump after losing to a solid Conner team, but I still believe they will be able to make some noise in the 9th region tourney! They can prove themselves this week against St. Henry, Holy Cross, and Simon Kenton! 7. Holy Cross Head Coach: Brandon Grammar District 35 Current Record: 5-3 The Holy Cross Indians played 2 solid teams this week in Newport and Walton-Verona. The Newport game surprised me with how close the score was, but those boys from Newport can certainly play! Senior Forward Jeremiah Hicks lead the team with 25 points and 7 rebounds! They traveled out to Walton-Verona where Jacob Meyer came back with a hot performance of 34 points and Hicks was a beast on the boards with 15 ! Indians will be tested this week as they take on Great Crossing, Beechwood, and South Oldham! 8. Cooper Head Coach: Tim Sullivan District 33 Last Season: 3-4 Cooper Jaguars took on Beechwood at the beginning of the week in a disappointing performance 66-36 where Montana Phillips lead the way with 14 points! But Coach Sullivan and his squad trucked through the week and got 2 solid wins including a triple OT victory agaisnt Grant County 58-47 where Gavin Rabe and Jacob Deere both totaled in 19 points each! 2 days later the Jaguars traveled to Coach Sully's Alma mater Holmes where they were able to squeeze out a win 57-56 where Gavin Rave kept up his scoring for 24 points. 9. Ryle Head Coach: Keaton Belcher District 33 Current Record: 4-2 Ryle stays at #9 this week because they beat Holmes in a head to head matchup earlier in the season! They haven't been able to play most of their games which has been disappointing because I know they are a solid team! However, they get to give it another go against Mason County, Bracken County, and Augusta this week! 10. Holmes Head Coach: Bradford Carr District 35 Current Record: 3-5 The Bulldogs continue to impress me each week, but this group has to learn how to FINISH! They lost to Scott less then 5, they lost to St. Xaiver (Louisville) in OT, they lost to both Holmes and Cooper each by 1! This team can be good, but like I said they just need to learn how to finish ball games out! They take on St. Henry and Conner this week, we should know by these 2 games if Holmes is able to compete with some of the better teams in the region! 11. Newport Central Catholic Head Coach: Ron Dawn District 36 Current Record: 2-3 NCC was not able to play this week because of COVID-19! They are eager to get back out on the court against Bishop Broassart tomorrow and Cooper Thursday! 12. Newport Head Coach: Rod Snapp District 36 Current Record: 3-5 The Newport Wildcats started off the week with a solid win against Lloyd 60-55. KeAndre Nelson continues to lead the way for the Wildcats as he dropped in 18 points. The biggest surprise this week came from Newport as they battled Holy Cross to the very end losing 72-70. Nelson again poured in 18 points while Greene and Miller both added in 14 a piece! This Newport team is scrappy and may have a shot at getting into region if they can beat out NCC! 13. Lloyd Memorial Head Coach: Michael Walker District 34 Current Record: 2-3 The Juggernauts move up in my rankings past Ludlow after finally getting in 2 games! They battled both Newport and St. Henry, but were not able to come out on top! Monroe had 20 points in the Newport loss, and also 12 points in the St. Henry loss! They take on Dixie, Highlands, and Pendleton County this week! 13. Ludlow Head Coach: Dan Sullivan District 34 Current Record: 5-4 The Ludlow Panthers went 1-2 this week as they started off the week with a blowout win against Dayton as Ryan Gaiser poured in 26. But shortly after the Panthers ran into 4th ranked in region Dixie Heights and was not able to stop them as they lost 91-35. Noah Hoffmesiter had 15 points in the loss. Panthers take on Oyler, Ohio tomorrow, Villa Madonna, Bellevue, and Boone County! 15. Boone County Head Coach: Nathan Browning District 33 Current Record: 1-4 The Boone Country rebels were sadly hit with another COVID-19 case in the program and were not able to play this week. I'm hoping for the players sake that they are able to play as I know this season has been extremely tough on everyone! They hope to get back out on the court Thursday against Scott and Saturday against Ludlow! 16. Dayton Head Coach: Ron Kinmon District 36 Current Record: 1-6 The Dayton Green Devils were able to get after it this week after a decently long battle with Covid-19! To start off the week they had a tough loss against against Ludlow where Lorenzo Price was able to drop in 15 points! They also had tough losses against Grant County and Bracken County where Price again shined with 15 points + in each of them! Dayton takes on Villa Madonna tonight and St. Patrick Friday and Eminence Saturday! 17. Villa Madonna Head Coach: Trevor Gould District 34 Current Record: 3-4 Villa Madonna played 2 games this week where they came out with both a loss and a win! They won against Heritage Academy 74-63 where Colin Chillo dropped in 21 points. Sadly, they took a tough loss to Calvary Christian 58-29 where Chillo droped in 10 points! They take on Dayton, Ludlow, and Brossart this week! 18. Bellevue Head Coach: Jim Hicks District 36 Current Record: 1-6 The Tigers were finally able to get their first win of the season against Covington Latin 75-20 where Zach Mertens poured in 20 points! Later in the week the Tigers ran into Highlands where they lost 104-42 and lost to Calvary Christian as well 76-34. They taken Newport tonight in a district matchup along with Gallatin County and Ludlow! 19. Heritage Academy Head Coach: Jerry Miles District 33 Current Record: 1-5 Heritage Academy had a busy schedule this week, one in which they got their first win of the season against Frankfort Chritsian 84-70 after losing to them the first time around 70-84! Eagles take on Calvary Christian, St. Francis, and Covington Latin this week! 20. Covington Latin Head Coach: Joe Hornback District 35 Current Record: 0-5 The Trojans took a tough loss to Bellevue this week 75-20. Gunnar Brummett was able to drop in 13 points! Cov Latin takes on Heritage Academy and Dayton this week!

Is there a schedule out yet?

Man I’m just trying to give the kids some love and do it in the same thread that’s been going on since HHS made the decision to part ways with BW. I guess I’ll just answer my own questions then. The offensive line will actually be one of the better position groups IMO coming back. Big Senior Kissey will be the leader with upcoming juniors Adam Bowman, Wilson Bibb, and Carson Schwalbach. There was also another upcoming Senior who started to play at the end of last year who was solid when he was in. Hopefully Coach Turner is back on the staff this year as I know he would love to continue to work with these young men and develop them not only into great players, but better men. Anyone else chime in on the players this upcoming season or should I stop myself?

Why? I am actually quite tired of hearing about the coaching hiring. I’m ready to hear about the players. What will the o-line look like? What’s the defensive side of the ball looking like? I know the upcoming junior and sophomore class are loaded. I just want to get away from the same old stuff we’ve been hearing for the past months!!!

Fair enough, what kids are capable of going both ways this year?

What kids should've been playing both ways in your opinion? Who was sitting the bench that should've been playing? This years team or years in past? Please be specific.

Crazy that CCH out rebounded Highlands 37-11

Yup I easily believe Cov Cath should be higher ranked then St. Henry, but maybe St. Henry’s win against Highlands and battle in OT with Lex Cath was to much not to put them above Cov Cath. Although, Cov Cath does have quite the schedule themselves. But I don’t see it that way especially after Colonels beat the breaks off Highlands with their domination down low and St. Henry winning off an unlucky pass and score from Highlands! It is what it is though, these 3 teams will be so much fun to watch in the region tourney assuming they all get there!

That’s awesome, kid is talented and probably works his tail off! Congrats to Will!

9th Region Rankings Week 3 1.Covington Catholic Head Coach: Scott Ruthsatz District 35 Current Record: 7-1 The Colonels had quite the week as they won all 3 of their games! To start off the week they took down Indian Hill from across the river pretty easily beating them by 19 points! Mitchell Rylee and Chandler Starks were the leading scorers in the contest at 17 and 13 for the colonels! The blue boys then traveled down to Louisville and took down powerhouse Trinity in a close game decided where they were able to hold on 51-50, sophomore point guard Evan Ipsaro lead the team with 14 points! Covington Catholic then played Highlands the very next night where they took home an impressive W where Starks and Rylee were just to dominate down low! The colonels schedule doesnt get any easier from last week as they take on St. Xaiver (Ohio) tomorrow night, Walton Verona the next night, and Conner Saturday night! The Colonels will probably be staying at my number 1 spot for a long time unless St. Henry is able to knock them off when they meet in late February! 2. St. Henry Head Coach: Dave Faust District 34 Current Record: 6-1 The St. Henry basketball team only played 1 game this week as the other 2 were cancelled due to COVID-19! They battled Bishop Brossart @ home and came out on top with a 69-56 win! The Crusaders had a balanced scoring attack with Vieth and Bessler leading the way with 15 points each! They look to get back into the action this week as they take on Lloyd Memorial High School this Friday at home @ 7:30 PM! 3. Highlands Head Coach: Kevin Listerman District 36 Last season: 3-3 The Birds met a tough part of their schedule this week as they played Oldham County tuesday down there and took care of business 73-63. After starting off slow, the Birds were able to ramp it up in the 2nd half lead by 22 points from Sam Vinson, Harris and Muller added 12 each as well! The Bluebirds are shooting a team high 37.5% from 3 point land this year, and if they want to contend for region they will have to bump that up as we saw that this Saturday against a great team in Covington Catholic. They ended up losing the game 81-65 as they were not able to stop Starks and Rylee down low, Vinson had a team high 22 points and a couple impressive dunks in the loss! Bluebirds will have to figure it out if they want to contend! Birds take on Scott, Bellevue, and district rival NCC this week! 4. Beechwood Head Coach: Erik Goetz District 35 Current Record: 6-1 The Beechwood tigers played twice this past week against Newport and CAL where they took care of business against both of them! In the Newport game they won 67-52 lead by Scotty Draud with 29 points and Downton with 17 points too! In the Christain-Academy Louisville game Draud was able to get 26 points off of 10/18 shooting! One thing that has impressed me with Mr. Draud this year is his high field goal percentage, people and colleges tend to knock him for not being an efficient scorer! His numbers from last year to this year has risen 10% and I believe he will be able to keep that up! Beechwood takes on a tough part of their schedule this week against Conner, Cooper, Aiken, and South Deaborn! 5. Dixie Heights Head Coach: Roger S. Stainforth, II District 34 Current Record: 5-2 Dixie played 2 games this week against Grant County and North Hardin where they took care of business against each team! In the Grant County game there were no stats besides the score where they beat them 69-29. There were no stats provided for the North Hardin game either besides the score at 64-57 in a close one. I have no idea on where North Hardin stands in their region, but they must be a tough team if they kept it to single digits with Dixie. Either way, its a solid road win for the red colonels! 6. Conner Head Coach: Matthew Otte District 33 Current Record: 6-1 In last weeks action, Conner redeemed themeselves enough to move past Holy Cross in my rankings! They handled a tough Cooper team 55-40 where point guard Riley Osterbur scored a team high 18 points! The Cougars also took care of Lawrenceburg (Indiana) 64-46 where one of the best shooters in the region Spencer Couzins got it going with 14 points! on 3/5 from behind the arch. The Conner Cougars take on an extremely tough part of their schedule this week as the face off against Beechwood and Covington Catholic! 7. Holy Cross Head Coach: Brandon Grammar District 35 Current Record: 3-3 Holy Cross did not play at all this week and they move back in my rankings one spot because of that, but I will say they had an impressive outing against St. Henry in the All "A" Classic from week 2! They plan to get back in the action against Newport this Thursday and head out to Walton Verona Saturday! 8. Holmes Head Coach: Bradford Carr District 35 Current Record: 3-4 The Bulldogs of Holmes took on 2 tough teams this week in NCC and St. Xaiver! They started off the week with a solid win against NCC 68-55 where Quantez Calloway dropped a 30 ball on 12/20 shooting! The Bulldogs then took on St. Xaiver (Louisville) @ home and lost in Overtime 72-67 in a hard fought battle! This Holmes team is gaining a lot of confidence and has impressed this year! I believe they will be a tough battle for either Beechwood, Holy Cross, or Covington Catholic in the district tournament! 9. Ryle Head Coach: Keaton Belcher District 33 Current Record: 4-2 Ryle moves back in my rankings because they were not able to play this week due to COVID-19! They had scheduled games against Cooper, Beechwood, Conner, and Boone County! It's a shame these games were not able to be played because these games would've told us a lot about Ryle and whether they could compete with some of the better schools in the region! They will be able to play Mason County February 2nd down in Mason County! 10. Cooper Head Coach: Tim Sullivan District 33 Last Season: 1-2 Cooper Jaguars were not able to play some of their games this week due to COVID-19 affecting their opponents including Ryle, but they were able to get in a game against Conner where they lost 55-40! They were lead by Jacob Deere with 14 points, Jaguars will have to step it up this year if they want to be a contender this year for getting into region! Cooper will look to get back on track against Beechwood, Grant County, and Holmes this week! 11. Newport Central Catholic Head Coach: Ron Dawn District 36 Current Record: 2-3 NCC started off the week with a loss to Holmes! It got worse when COVID-19 hit the team and they were not able to play their games against St. Henry or Walton Verona tomorrow! However, it looks like they will be able to play against Highlands this Saturday which should be a good game considering the rivalry and NCC always plays well against Highlands! 12. Newport Head Coach: Rod Snapp District 36 Current Record: 2-4 The Newport Wildcats went 1-1 this week battling Beechwood 67-52 lead by KeAndre Nelson with 23 points! They took on a stingy Boone County team and came out with a W 57-52 in a tight contest where Nelson and Alex Greene lead the team with 17 and 16 points! Wildcats take on Lloyd Memorial tomorrow in what should be a good one, then they take on Holy Cross and New Richmond (Ohio)! 13. Ludlow Head Coach: Dan Sullivan District 34 Current Record: 4-2 Ludlows opponets this week ran into COVID-19 this week and they were only able to play 2 games this week where they handled business against Calvary Christain in a close 74-72 where Liam Singer scored a team high 20 points, and teammate Ryan Gaiser scored 19 points! Thyey had another tight contest against Gallatin County 76-75 where Singer and Gaiser scored 23 and 22 for the panthers! This week, they take on Dayton and district opponent Dixie ! 14. Lloyd Memorial Head Coach: Michael Walker District 34 Current Record: 2-1 The Juggernauts have been hit by COVID-19 for about 2 weeks now and I am sure they are just itching to get back out on the court! They take on Newport and St. Henry this week! 15. Boone County Head Coach: Nathan Browning District 33 Current Record: 1-4 The Boone Country rebels were finally able to get back out on the court after a long battle with COVID-19, but were not able to come out on top against Newport as they lost 57-52. Leon Cleary lead the rebels with 17 points along with Senior forward Parker Fields with 12! 16. Dayton Head Coach: Ron Kinmon District 36 Current Record: 1-3 The Dayton Green Devils were also able to play this week after they had a long battle with COVID-19! They took on Williamstown in which they lost in a close one 70-66. There were no stats provided from Dayton, but it was a good one from the looks of the score! The Green Devils play Ludlow this week in what should be a fun game to watch, and then play Trimble County and Bracken County! 17. Villa Madonna Head Coach: Trevor Gould District 34 Current Record: 2-3 Villa Madonna was also hit with COVID-19, but after a long haul with it, they look to get back out on the court against Heritage Academy tomorrow night, and then battle Boone County and Heritage County in what should be solid games! 18. Bellevue Head Coach: Jim Hicks District 36 Current Record: 0-4 Bellevue was hit by COVID-19 and look to get back out on the court against Covington Latin tomorrow! They will also take on Highlands in a district battle this week along with Calvary Christian! 19. Heritage Academy Head Coach: Jerry Miles District 33 Current Record: 0-3 Heritage Academy took a tough loss to Calvary Christian this week 75-37 where Keegan Kennedy scored 11 points! They take on Villa Madonna this week in what should be a good one! 20. Covington Latin Head Coach: Joe Hornback District 35 Current Record: 0-4 The Trojans took on St. Patrick this week and took a hard loss 69-23 where Jackson Richardson scored 10 points! They take on Bellevue tomorrow and take a long week off after that!

The Blue Colonels of Northern Kentucky head on over to Fort Thomas to take on Highlands Saturday at 6:00 PM. Usually this game would have an atmosphere like no other, but COVID-19 will limit fans like it has done to other great games this season! However, this will still be a very fun game to watch! I think Cov Cath wins in this one because Highlands is not there defensively yet. The Colonels will over power Highlands, and they will make enough outside shots to pull away in the game. I also think, they will contain Sam Vinson and have a good game plan against him! If the Birds are hitting their 3s it may be a tough night to win for the Colonels! I still like Cov Cath 68-56.

Chris Wolfe still an option?

9th Region Rankings Week 2 1.Covington Catholic Head Coach: Scott Ruthsatz District 35 Current Record: 5-1 The Colonels stay at #1 after the 2nd week of action. Cov Cath did hit a bump in the road when they went down to North Laurel and ran into one of the best players in the state in Reed Sheppard. However, the colonels were able to get back on track against DeSales as they posted a 68-62 victory away from home! Colonels also took care of business against Indian Hill where they won 67-48! Covington Catholic have been big man orientated as they have gone down to Mitchell Rylee and Chandler Starks each leading the way in PPG (Rylee - 18.2) (Starks - 14.0). while both grabbing rebounds like machines (Rylee - 9.0) (Starks - 8.0). The guard play for the colonels has been great as well, lead by Ipsaro, Stocks, Horn, & McHale, these 4 can fill it up and knock down shots at any moment in the game! Covington Catholic has a tough scheudle to close out the week as they take on Trinity down in Louisville Friday and then travel to Fort Thomas to take on Highlands! 2. St. Henry Head Coach: Dave Faust District 34 Current Record: 5-1 The Crusaders stay at #2 in the rankings after having a tough week of close games to a variety of 9th region games. St. Henry started off the week playing against Newport Central Catholic in the annual 9th Region All "A" Classic where they handled business and posted a 54-42 win against a solid Breds team. Wyatt Vieth and company then traveled to Fort Mitchell to take on the Beechwood tigers in an exciting game where Jude Bessler scored 17 points to lead the way in a 59-52 victory against the Tigers. In the Championship St. Henry battled a tough Holy Cross Indians team and survived a 58-54 victory where Wyatt Vieth took over at 19 points. St. Henry takes on Bishop Brossart January 21st at 7:30 PM and play NCC the following day with back to back home games! 3. Highlands Head Coach: Kevin Listerman District 36 Last season: 3-2 The Birds battled off against Dixie last Thursday in a great game that went into double overtime. Sam Vinson lead the way 34 points and while grabbing 10 rebounds. Highlands had a tough game against Lexington Catholic where they weren't able to keep Ben Johnson in check as he exploded for 29 points. I've been saying it again and again, this Highlands team won't win the 9th Region if they can't come together on the defensive side of the ball! On the bright side, the Birds took care of business against a solid team in Oldham County yesterday and had a nice 4th quarter to pull away 73-63. Birds take on Covington Catholic this Saturday at home at 6:00 PM in the game of the week! 4. Beechwood Head Coach: Erik Goetz District 35 Current Record: 5-1 The Tigers stay at 4 after taking care of business against Villa Madonna 85-24. Shortly after though, the Tigers fell to St. Henry and lost 59-52. Scotty Draud lead the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds. They also posted a solid victory against a scrappy Newport team where they came out on top 67-52. Mr. Draud lead the way again at 29 points while Cameron Decker lead the way rebounding the ball at 9. Will Downton has been solid this year as he has averaged 14.8 PPG and has probably had a few nasty dunks along the way. This Beechwood team will be scary if things are clicking on all cylinders by tournament time! Next up the Tigers Lexington Christain Friday and then play Ryle at home at 7:30 PM. 5. Dixie Heights Head Coach: Roger S. Stainforth, II District 34 Current Record: 3-2 After playing Highlands so tough in Fort Thomas, I had to give the red colonels some love and moved them up to 5. To recap that night, Dixie fought like hell in a great battle between 2 good teams! Jason Summe was hot and was hitting from anywhere on the floor and had a team high of 22 points while teammate Billy Wogenstahl was an absolute presence down underneath recording 18 points for the night! Dixie hasn't played since then due to COVID-19, but play Friday against Grant County at Home at 7:30 PM then travel down to Central Hardin as they take on North Hardin at 2:30 PM. 6. Holy Cross Head Coach: Brandon Grammar District 35 Current Record: 3-3 Holy Cross stays at number 6 for this week! Some may disagree because Conner beat Holy Cross earlier in the season, but the Indians did not have one of their better players in Brandon McClendon who had chipped in 10 points in a loss to St. Henry in the Championship of the All "A" Classic 58-54. Holy Cross might've had an easy path to the championship in the tournament, but they certainly did not disappoint in the championship game! Leading the way for the Indians was Sophomore Jacob Meyer with 17 points. This week Holy Cross takes on Ludlow at home tomorrow at 7:30 PM! 7. Conner Head Coach: Matthew Otte District 33 Current Record: 4-1 Conner fans could make the same argument that I just made against them as 2 of their key players were out against Dixie in Cole Skiles and Aiden Saffell especially after beating Holy Cross 59-42. But I put Holy Cross above them just because they played St. Henry, one of the top teams in the state, and played them well with McClendon. At the end of the day, it's only one spot and it's not the end of the world. This Conner team will come back stronger with hopeful speedy recoveries from Saffell as Skiles has already returned to action as they posted wins against South Deaborn 58-55 and Grant County 71-60. I don't know much about South Deaborn as they are from Indiana, but I know Grant County lost to Beechwood earlier in the year 66-37 which helps my case again, as Beechwood lost to St. Henry by 7 and Holy Cross only lost by 4. However, like I said, once Saffell gets back I think this Conner team will be at full strength and will be another scary team in the 9th! They take on Cooper tonight in a good one and Lawrenceburg, Indiana. 8. Ryle Head Coach: Keaton Belcher District 33 Current Record: 4-2 Ryle jumps from 11 to 8 in the rankings this week. The Ryle Raiders took care of business against 2 County teams in Nicholas and Carroll as they beat both by an average of 20-30 Points. They took home a close one against Holmes 51-50. Donovan Robinson leads the Raiders with 19.3 PPG along with Tyler Bush at 17.5 PPG. Ryle takes on Cooper Friday @ home @ 7:30 PM and then they turn around and play Beechwood at the Den at 7:30 PM Saturday! These 2 games should tell us a little bit more about the Raiders! 9. Holmes Head Coach: Bradford Carr District 35 Current Record: 3-3 Holmes jumps from 12 to 9 in the rankings this week. Holmes had a pretty hard schedule last week as they had to travel to Ryle where they lost by only 1 then traveled down to Lexington Catholic where they lost 85-60 but battled! To end the week on a good note though, the Bulldogs beat NCC 68-55 which ultimately moved them up in the rankings! The Bulldogs take on a tough challenge this Saturday as they take on the St. Xavier Bombers at home at 6:30 PM. 10. Cooper Head Coach: Tim Sullivan District 33 Last Season: 1-2 Cooper moves back into the region at the 10 spot as they haven't played since January 9th! Tonight will tell us more about this Cooper Squad as they take on Conner tonight @ 7:30 PM. They also play Ryle Saturday at 7:30 Pm! I'm sure this Cooper squad is itching to get back on the court to play someone and prove me wrong for moving them down! 11. Newport Central Catholic Head Coach: Ron Dawn District 36 Current Record: 2-3 The Thouroughbreds lost 2 this week against solid teams in St. Henry and Holmes! Each loss was only by 12 and 13 points so this team battles none the less! Leading the way this season has been Junior Forward Joel Iles at 18 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Kaedon Butts has also been a big contributor to the team as he has been averaging 11.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG. NCC takes on St. Henry again this week in regular season play Saturday at St. Henry at 7:30 PM. 12. Newport Head Coach: Rod Snapp District 36 Current Record: 1-4 Newport moves up to #12 in the rankings after a tough week of games. They lost all 3 of their games to Holy Cross, Brossart, and Beechwood. However, they battled in all of their games. KeAndre Nelson is leading the wildcats at 18.2 PPG while also grabbing down 6.2 RPB. The Wildcats take on Boone Saturday as this will be a good one! 13. Ludlow Head Coach: Dan Sullivan District 34 Current Record: 1-2 I would have been considered a hypocrite in my eyes had I not moved up Ludlow above the teams who have been hit with COVID-19 as I moved Cooper down because of it. Ludlow had a themselves a week as they beat St. Patrick 74-42 where Ryan Gaiser lead the way with 18 points. After that the Panthers took on Calvary Christain at home and won in a close one 74-72 where they were lead by Liam Singer with 20 points! Ludlow takes on Holy Cross Thursday and Gallatin County Saturday. 14. Lloyd Memorial Head Coach: Michael Walker District 34 Current Record: 2-1 The Juggernauts were hit by COVID-19 and are looking forward to playing against Newport next week in a good matchup! 15. Boone County Head Coach: Nathan Browning District 33 Current Record: 1-3 The Boone Country rebels were hit by COVID-19, but right before they were able to get in a game against Simon Kenton where they lost 92-62. They look to play against Newport this Saturday in a good one! 16. Dayton Head Coach: Ron Kinmon District 36 Current Record: 1-2 The Dayton Green Devils were hit by COVID-19! They look to get back out there against Williamstown next week! 17. Villa Madonna Head Coach: Trevor Gould District 34 Current Record: 2-2 Villa Madonna was also hit by COVID-19 and has had to sit out a few games! They look to play against Heritage County next week! 18. Bellevue Head Coach: Jim Hicks District 36 Current Record: 0-4 Bellevue was hit by COVID-19 and look to get back out on the court against Covington Latin next week! 19. Heritage Academy Head Coach: Jerry Miles District 33 Current Record: 0-2 Heritage Academy took a tough loss to Holy Cross 87-26 where Keegan Kennedy was able to come up with 14 points! They look to play against Calvary Christian tomorrow at 7:30 PM! 20. Covington Latin Head Coach: Joe Hornback District 35 Current Record: 0-3 Covington Latin took a hard loss to Bluegrass United this week 77-18. Leading the way is Andrew Apollonio at 9 PPG. They take on Christian Educational Consortium Friday at 7:30 PM!

I went back and watched. Didn’t think he pushed him intentionally. There was obviously contact, but to make a huge deal out of it, I don’t think so...

55-43 Lex Cath end of 3rd

Little run and momentum by the Birds 45-34 after down close to 20. Timeout Lex Cath. 2:44 left in 3rd.

Lot of questionable calls for sure.

Lex Cath up 35-20 at half. Birds aren’t shooting well, and continue to look uninterested in defending.