D Wolf

One note - the Graves/Ballard game for Friday is canceled and will be rescheduled since the Bombers are at the All A. I listened to Brian York’s 1st Region blog and his Power Rankings were 1-Marshall, 2-Calloway, 3-McCracken, 4-Ballard, 5-St. Mary. His blog is very good if you’re a 1st Region sports fan. Steve Springer, a fantastic writer for the Murray paper had 1-Marshall, 2-Calloway, 3-Graves, 4-McCracken, 5-Mayfield. Both rankings are solid. It goes to show that starting with #3 everything is up in the air.

Well I did it again. Two seasons ago I had the Marshals ranked something like 9th in the 1st Region and they ended up being one of the top teams. Last season I had them ranked in the back half of the Top 10 after losing some guys, and they ended up winning the regional tournament. This season they lost two bigs, and I thought that would hurt them some so I ranked them behind the Lakers. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. Not only did the Marshals go to Calloway and come away with the victory - they did it in dominating fashion! I hope I've learned my lesson, and you better believe the Marshals are #1 in my rankings this week. Perhaps I say this every week, but rankings 3 through 9 are a jumbled mess. I feel like any of those teams could beat one of the others on any given night. We'll see how correct this is when #3 travels to #9 on Tuesday night. I think that game could be a close one. Key games this week: Mon - Lyon Co. at Graves Co. Tues - McCracken Co. at Carlisle Co., Tilghman at Murray Fri - Calloway Co. at McCracken Co. (D Wolf's Game of the Week), Tilghman at Marshall Co., Graves Co. at Ballard Mem., Carlisle Co. at Hickman Co. Sat - McCracken Co. at Marshall Co., Mayfield at Murray, Carlisle Co. at Ballard Mem. Here are my rankings: 1. Marshall Co. (17-0) - W 79-52 at Calloway Co., W 54-49 vs Graves Co. Just your average 40 point game for Sophomore Matthew Langhi at the Jeff. He was 13 for 21 from the field (4 of 9 from 3!) and 10 of 12 from the FT line. I followed this score on Twitter and every time I saw it I was surprised as the game never really was very close. One thing to remember about this team is that out of their top eight players pretty much every one of them are solid defenders. 2. Calloway Co. (17-2) - L 52-79 vs Marshall Co., W 68-42 Rowan Co., W 52-44 LaRue Co., W 80-75 Harlan Co. (2A State Championship) Congrats to the Lakers as they are the 2A State Champions! Let's not talk about Tuesday night here, and focus on the bounce back that they had in Owensboro. Jonah Butler continues to put up huge numbers and he's now in 6th place in all-time Calloway County scoring. Ok - I'm definitely not going to predict a win for the Lakers when they visit Marshall, but I do believe they will make a game of it. This is too good of a team to get blown out twice to any team. 3. McCracken Co. (9-7) - W 76-59 vs Tilghman This team keeps getting better and they controlled the game against Tilghman for the majority of the night. It seems that someone new steps up each night and on Friday it was Owen Grogan who scored 21 points. The Mustangs have a chance to prove themselves Friday night when they host Calloway. 4. Paducah Tilghman (8-7) W 78-65 at Graves Co., L 59-76 at McCracken Co., L 63-71 Evansville Reitz (IN) Congrats to Miles Woodfork as he scored his 1,000th point against the Eagles on Tuesday night. He's a pure scorer. Will the real Tilghman please stand up? The Tornado looked outstanding in a comfortable win at Graves, but then laid an egg on Friday night when they visited McCracken. Tilghman travels to Marshall on Friday night, and if they played like they did in the Graves game it could be a close one. If they played like they did against McCracken they will get beat by 30. 5. Graves Co. (10-6) - L 65-78 vs Tilghman, L 49-54 at Marshall Co. It's strange to say that the Eagles gave the Marshals much better of a game than Calloway did, but the game at Reed Conder was close throughout. Braden Waller is a big body, and is putting up impressive numbers for the Eagles. He's averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds on the season. 6. Ballard Memorial (10-6) - W 73-45 vs Fulton Co., W 54-53 St. Mary, W 62-52 Mayfield (All A Championship) Did you see the shot that Ike Miller hit from 3/4 court to beat St. Mary by one. Pretty incredible! After a slow start this Bombers team has been impressive as of late. They followed up the win over the Vikings with a 10-point victory over Mayfield. All of a sudden it's not so crazy to think about these Bombers in the regional tournament. But first - good luck at the All A Classic! 7. St. Mary (12-4) - W 80-49 vs CFS, L 53-54 Ballard Memorial This is the team that I thought would be cutting the nets down in the 1st Region All A Classic. Tough way to go out as you've gotta say there was a little luck in Ike Miller's 3/4 court bank shot. It seems the Vikings are a very strong team at home, but have struggled some away from the Holy Hardwood. This week they play in the Superman Classic up in Metropolis, IL (home of Superman of course). 8. Mayfield (14-3) - W 81-44 vs CCA, W 50-47 Carlisle Co., L 52-62 Ballard Memorial It seems like Coach Croft has a deadeye shooter every year. This year it's Owen Webb - he makes over three 3s per game and shoots it from downtown at 52%. Pretty impressive! 9. Carlisle Co. (8-8) - W 62-25 vs Hickman Co., L 47-50 Mayfield On Tuesday night the Comets host McCracken. Can they make this a close one? I think that Wyatt Rickard will need to have a big night for the Comets to spring the upset. 10. Murray (6-12) - L 59-74 at Camden Central, W 74-57 vs Hickman Co. The good news for the Tigers is that none of their top three players are seniors. Both Maddox Mitchell and Acey Stricklin are Juniors. And their top scorer, Harris Moore, is a Sophomore. 11. Community Christian Acad. (8-7) - L 44-81 at Mayfield, W 72-69 at CFS, W 40-28 at Hickman Co. Ahmed Dee is averaging a double/double for this young Warriors team. 12. Hickman Co. ( 5-10) - L 25-62 at Carlisle Co., L 57-74 at Murray, L 28-40 vs CCA Which team will end up 2nd place in the 1st District. We may find out who rises to this spot when the Cardinals host Fulton Co. this week. 13. Fulton Co. (3-8) - L 45-73 at Ballard Mem. Tristan Kinney is also averaging a double/double for the Pilots. 14. Christian Fellowship School (6-11) - L 49-80 at St. Mary, L 69-72 at CFS Elijah Grigg is one of the top scorers in the state - averaging over 21 points per game. 15. Fulton City (2-14) - L 64-71 at CFS The top three scorers for this team are two Freshman and a 7th grader.

Did you pick 26 pages since that’s how many letters are in the alphabet???

I sure didn’t! I could’ve imagined a close Marshals win, but this one was a blowout at the Jeff! Langhi’s numbers were crazy!!!

How bold do you think this prediction is? Calloway and Marshall will meet Tuesday in the first of FOUR matchups this season. The third matchup will be in the 4th District finals and then the fourth matchup will be for the opportunity to head to Rupp Arena for the Sweet 16. It feels like the gap between the Lakers and Marshals and everyone else in the 1st Region is pretty wide right now. But you never know - a team like Graves County has some youth that is improving every game. Perhaps I will be soon talking about a Big 3 in the 1st Region instead of the Big 2 of Calloway and Marshall. Time will tell. Key games this week: Tues - Marshall at Calloway (D Wolf's Game of the Week!), Tilghman at Graves, Hickman at Carlisle (All A quarterfinals), Fulton Co. at Ballard Mem. (All A quarters), CCA at Mayfield (All A quarters) Fri - Graves at Marshall, Tilghman at McCracken, All A Semifinals Sat - All A Finals, McCracken at UHA Here are my rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (15-1) - W 103-77 vs Hopkins Co. Central, W 68-55 at Tilghman Congrats to the Lakers on the Section 1 2A Championship. In the semifinal game against Hopkins Central Jonah Butler had 41 and his teammate Eli Finley had 40. Not too often that you see dual 40-point scorers from the same team in high school! Butler is a huge matchup problem. The Stony Brook signee is around 6-5 and plays like an athletic guard. You need someone around his size and quickness level to guard him. He shoots the ball pretty well too. 2. Marshall Co. (15-0) - W 89-56 at CFS Lots of talk here about the duo of Butler and Finley for Calloway, but the Marshals definitely have the deeper team in my opinion. They have four that average double figures - Langhi (18 ppg), Staples (16 ppg), Phillips (13 ppg), Robertson (11 ppg). I know that the Marshals will have a good game plan for Tuesday night and this will be one that you'll want to follow. That's why the Marshals/Lakers game was a no-brainer D Wolf GoTW! 3. Graves Co. (10-4) - W 79-46 vs Murray, W 43-41 vs Mayfield The Eagles defended their homecourt with their 43-41 win over Mayfield on Thursday night. Braden Waller led the way with 17 and Raygon Mathis scored 12. Two interesting matchups for the Eagles this week. They host Tilghman on Tuesday night and then travel to Marshall on Friday. Any chance they can win both? 4. McCracken Co. (8-7) - W 52-39 vs St. Mary, W 67-50 vs Legion Prep (Mustang Madness) The Mustangs were in complete control against the Vikings, and they did an excellent job on Luke Sims, holding him well below his season average. Senior Dylan Jackson is really shooting the ball well this season - he's shooting 43% from downtown and making over two 3's per game. This team seems to be improving and I feel like there is a new name popping up every week. Garrett Miller has really been playing well as of late. 5. Paducah Tilghman (7-6) - W 80-59 vs Murray, L 55-68 vs Calloway Co. Yes, the Tornado has had quite a difficult schedule, but it's time for them to start winning some games. Two interesting opportunities this week on the road against #3 Graves and #4 McCracken. Tilghman has 1 win and 20 losses in their last 21 games against the Mustangs. Strawberry Hills is a tough place to win and I think the Tornado will need big games from both Woodfork and Wilkins in order to come away with this road win. 6. St. Mary (11-3) - L 39-52 at McCracken, W 67-32 vs CCA It is my understanding that the Vikings are the number one seed for the All A Classic and I definitely think they are one of the favorites in that tourney. The semifinal and final games are played at Graves County on Friday and Saturday night. If the seedings hold then the Vikings will play Ballard Memorial on Friday night. 7. Mayfield (12-2) - W 60-49 vs Ballard Mem., L 41-43 at Graves Co. I may be sounding like a broken record, but there is not much separation between my rankings 3 through 7 here. I followed the Battle of the Birds from some Twitter posts, and it seems that the game was very close throughout and the Cardinals only lost by a bucket. These Cardinals have an impressive 12-2 record, but most of their wins were against smaller schools outside of the 1st Region. If seedings hold true then the Cardinals will play Carlisle on Friday night with an opportunity to get to the All A Finals. 8. Carlisle Co. (7-7) - W 73-60 at Fulton Co., L 51-53 Vienna, Il Sophomore Wyatt Rickard continues to put up big numbers - he scored 23 and pulled down 12 boards in the Comets' win at Fulton County. 9. Ballard Mem. (7-6) - L 49-60 at Mayfield Jace Birney is averaging 26 ppg and 10 rpg for the Bombers. He is going to set the Ballard scoring record that nobody will touch for a long, long time. 10. Muray (5-11) - L 46-79 at Graves Co., L 59-80 at Tilghman It is my understanding that Jeremiah Jones has left the Tigers' program, and I don't really blame him since he is headed to Nebraska on a football scholarship. I have never had a chance to see him play football but I hear he is pretty special. Still some talent left on this Tigers team - mainly Moore, Mitchell and Stricklin. Depth is somewhat of a problem. 11. Christian Fellowship School (5-9) - L 56-89 vs Marshall Co Elijah Grigg scored 25 in their loss to the Marshals. 12. Hickman Co. (5-7) - W 64-53 Century, Il Sophomore Ny Irons scored 18 in their recent win. 13. Fulton Co. (3-7) - L 52-56 S. Fulton, TN, L 60-73 vs Ballard Mem. Junior Caden Kindle is scoring 16 ppg for the Pilots. 14. Community Christian Acad. (6-6) - L 32-67 at St. Mary Do the Warriors have a shot at Mayfield in the All A Quarterfinals? Ahmed Dee will have to be special for them to have a chance. 15. Fulton City (1-13) - L 37-65 at Gleason, TN Freshman Kayburn Burton is making three 3's per game!

This could be a stretch but would anyone from the Kentucky Wesleyan staff have any interest in this job?

The 2A semis got moved to Wednesday and I think the finals are on Thursday (snow is expected on Friday) 2 interesting games the the 1st Region tonight: *#4 St. Mary at #6 McCracken. The Vikings have never won on the road against the Mustangs. This one should be a close one. Be sure to check out McCracken’s YouTube channel if you want to watch. #10 Ballard Bombers at #7 Mayfield. Probably more interesting if it were at Ballard but I still think could be close. I’m still trying to figure out if the 11-1 Cardinals are for real this season. If they are then they most likely will win this home game comfortably. We’ll see.

Rising Soph Issac James is a name to watch (no relation to QB Jack James I don’t believe). I could see James playing LB and it’s possible that he could get some carries at RB too. It will be interesting to see who steps up at WR along side of Avery Thompson. The Tornado lost their top 5 WRs in terms of receiving yards. There’s definitely some young talent there.

Happy New Year from an icy Paducah! Everyone stay safe! Some of you may wonder why I have the Lakers over the Marshals in my rankings. First, the margin is not much, and I've been tempted to use a 1A/1B ranking because both of these teams are very strong. I think the duo of Finley/Butler is the best in this region and I think probably one of the best duos in Kentucky. But Marshall's duo of Langhi and Staples is not far behind at all. Which team has better depth? That's an easy one - the Marshalls have a pretty deep bench with lots of solid ball handlers. I could easily see a split between these two teams in their home and home 4th District matchups. I had to go once again with co-games of the week because I couldn't make my mind up. Key games this week: Mon. - Murray at Graves Tues - St. Mary at McCracken (D Wolf's co-game of the week), Calloway vs Hopkins Co. Central (2A Section 1 Semifinals at Tilghman), Murray at Tilghman (2A Semifinals), Ballard Mem. at Mayfield Fri. - Mayfield at Graves (D Wolf's co-game of the week), 2A Section 1 Finals, Carlisle at Fulton Co. Sat. - Marshall vs Wayne Co. (game at Lincoln Co.) Here are this week's rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (13-1) - W 71-53 at CFS, W 75-69 vs Greenwood You've got to think that the Lakers are the favorites for this week's Section 1 2A tournament. A solid win over Greenwood where Jonah Butler scored 32 and Eli Finley had 25 points and 9 boards. You're going to need two outstanding defenders to slow down these guys. 2. Marshall Co. (14-0) - W 77-67 at Tilghman Very nice road win for the Marshals on Friday night. Alex Staples was on fire and seemingly could score however he wanted with his 30 points. This guy gets to the rim with ease and can finish it when he gets there. Not many weaknesses in this Marshals team. 3. Paducah Tilghman (6-4) - L 67-77 vs Marshall Co. The Tornado kept is pretty close through halftime but the majority of the 4th quarter they were down by 10-15 points versus the Marshals. The thing that has surprised me so far is that the Tornado is not shooting the 3s very well at 31% as a team. Owen Mikel was very impressive shooting for the Vikings last year and Miles Woodfork is also a pretty decent shooter. Perhaps once they get the shots to fall they will start winning some key games. 4. St. Mary (10-2) I looked through Riherds and the last time the Vikings beat the Mustangs was nearly 10 years ago in 2015. This will still be a tall task as they travel on the road to Strawberry Hills Arena on Tuesday night. The Mustangs definitely have an edge with their depth, but I look for Luke Sims to be the best player on the floor. I think this game could go either way and it's quite an opportunity for the Vikings. 5. Graves Co. (8-4) - W 60-47 vs McCracken Co. We have stats! Thank you to the Eagles coaching staff. What a nice win for the Eagles over the Mustangs and it sounds like they were in control of the game for most of the 2nd half. Braden Waller is scoring 16 ppg and pulling down 8 boards per game for the Eagles. Sophomore Ty Cavette is the 2nd leading scorer for Graves. 6. McCracken Co. (6-7) - L 47-60 at Graves Co., W 61-54 Central Hardin Tough loss at the Eagles but a nice bounce back against Central Hardin. Dylan Jackson scored 22 in that game, and he can really shoot the ball. Can the Mustangs protect their homecourt on Tuesday against the Vikings? 7. Mayfield (11-1) - W 61-25 at Crittenden Co., W 58-55 vs Trigg Co. Yes, the 11-1 record is very nice, but the Cardinals don't really have a signature win yet this season. They will have a big opportunity on Friday night when they travel to the Eagles' Nest to take on Graves. This is a tall task for this young Cardinals team, but they will definitely move up these rankings if they can pull out that 3rd District win. 8. Carlisle Co. (6-6) - W 63-52 vs Livingston Central Super Sophomore Wyatt Rickard had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Comets in their win over Livingston. I'll be interested to see if any of the 1st District teams can challenge them this season. I don't think so, but we'll see. 9. Murray (5-9) - L 36-85 Fairdale After the Tigers' crazy schedule - they get a chance to possibly advance with a win over the Tornado on Tuesday night. I think these Tigers are better than their 5-9 record indicates. 10. Ballard Memorial (7-5) - L 61-71 vs Logan Co., W 83-40 Todd Co. Central The Bombers really play an exciting brand of basketball, and that is evident in the 38 points that Jace Birney scored in their win over Todd Co. Central. They really like to get up and down the court and it's fun to watch. 11. Community Christian Acad. (5-5) - W 77-75 vs Trigg Co., L 41-64 vs Carlisle Co. Solid win for the Warriors over Trigg. Ahmed Dee continues to lead the way with averages of 13 ppg and 10 rpg. 12. Fulton Co. (3-5) The Pilots get an opportunity this week when they host Carlisle. 13. Christian Fellowship School (5-8) - L 53-71 vs Calloway Co., L 57-71 vs Dawson Springs Elijah Grigg is scoring 21 points per game. 14. Hickman Co. (4-7) - W 66-30 vs Greenfield, TN Ny Irons scored 23 points in their win over Greenfield 15. Fulton City This is a very young team with a bright future if they stay together.

We’ll never get to 26 if we don’t start debating more stuff Give me some outside the box hires for the Red Devils. I’ll start - Joker Phillips. (Sorry I’ve had a few drinks)

The Marshals defeated Sayre 55-44 in the FNB Bank Classic that they host. The Marshals are undefeated. How many others???

Whether right or wrong, I didn't make many changes to my rankings since last week. It is difficult to evaluate the opponents who are out of this area, and sometimes out-of-state. As I've said before, I think the margin between Calloway and Marshall is very small. Similarly, I am not sure that there is very much separating teams 3 through 6. Mayfield is a very big question mark for me as they are 9-1 but really haven't played a difficult strength of schedule yet this season. I've got co-games of the week this week as we have two very interesting ones. #5 McCracken travels to #6 Graves in a game that I would call a toss-up. #2 Marshall also travels to Otis Dinning this week to take on #3 Tilghman. Key games this week: Friday - Marshall at Tilghman (D Wolf co-game of the week), McCracken at Graves (the other game of the week) Saturday - Calloway vs Greenwood, Murray vs Fairdale 1. Calloway Co. (10-1) - W 57-56 Trinity, L 50-56 LaRue Co. The Lakers competed well in the competitive WGM Classic, and it's important to note that they are currently without one of their top scorers in Conner Lockhart. Lockhart was their 3rd-leading scorer with 14 ppg last season and he stretched the floor by making 3 threes per game. I am not sure as to when he is expected to return. I think this team's top four players are as good as any in Kentucky, but they don't seem to have a whole lot of quality depth. 2. Marshall Co. (12-0) - W 66-39 Tipton Rosemark (TN), W 84-75 vs Louisville Ballard Matthew Langhi scored 28 and Alex Staples scored 22 in their win over Louisville Ballard. Those two are very tough to defend and the Marshals remain undefeated so far this season with some solid wins. They will play in the finals of the FNB Classic on Monday and their opponent is not yet determined at this time. 3. Paducah Tilghman (6-3) - L 46-80 Jeffersontown Not much of a showing for the Tornado against Jeffersontown and by looking over their stats - they couldn't throw the ball in the ocean (I'm sure J-town's defense had a lot to do with that). The Tornado was 0-12 from downtown, and was only 4-12 on FTs, and this is a pretty good shooting team with Wilkens, Mikel and Woodfork. A pretty good opportunity for PT on Friday when the currently undefeated Marshals come to Otis Dinning. It will be a tough game as the Marshals have some very good ball handlers and it seems the Tornado really thrives when they can get bunches of turnovers. 4. St. Mary (9-2) - L 55-62 Montgomery Co., W 52-48 Lincoln Co. It's time to seriously be talking about Luke Sims as the Region 1 Player of the Year. No, you probably won't see him on many lists as top-recruited players in Western Kentucky, but he can really score the basketball and he is an excellent defender too. Sims is scoring 23 ppg and is shooting 43% from three-point land. 5. McCracken Co., (5-6) - One win and two losses against out-of-state teams. As I've said before, this Mustangs team is much better than their 5-6 record indicates, and they seem to have a different player step up each game. Also, I think they will get better and better as the season goes along as their talented Sophomore class gains some experience. Tough to tell who will have the upper hand when the Mustangs visit the Eagles on Friday night. 6. Graves Co. (7-3) - L 63-65 North Oldham, W 81-52 Shelby Co. Pretty good results for the Eagles this past week. I think I will need to start attending their games in order to get any stats. 7. Mayfield (9-1) - W 64-54 Ohio Co., W 48-38 Apollo, W 59-44 Allen Co. Scottsville How about nine threes for Owen Webb in the win over Ohio County!!! He made 9 of 13 3's and it is my understanding that this is a Cardinals record! Nicely done! I've already got on my calendar for January 10th the clash between Mayfield and Graves. That should be an interesting one. 8. Carlisle Co. (4-6) - L 50-65 Owensboro, L 70-73 Breckenridge Co. Sophomore Wyatt Rickard is averaging 14 ppg and 8 rpg so far this season for the Comets. Can we go ahead and just give them the 1st District trophy? 9. Murray (5-8) - L 50-80 Caverna, L 45-89 Henderson Co. There's no way that Jimmie Holder made this schedule for his first season with the Tigers. It's possible that this is one of the toughest schedules in Kentucky so far. I think this week they play the Harlem Globetrotters in New York. 10. Ballard Mem. (6-4) - W 70-55 John Hardin, W 52-41 Allen Co. Scottsville, W 42-33 Apollo Ike Miller is coming on strong for the Bombers to provide some support to Jace Birney. He is scoring 11 ppg and pulling down 10 boards per game. 11. Christian Fellowship School (5-6) - W 80-71 vs Fulton City How about Elijah Grigg scoring 39 against Fulton City. That's crazy! 12. Community Christian Acad. (4-4) Ahmed Dee is the Warriors top player - he is scoring 13 ppg along with 10 rpg. 13. Fulton Co. (3-5) Tristan Kinney is averaging 14 & 10 for the Pilots. 14. Fulton City (1-12) L 71-80 at CFS Fulton City will get a chance at turning the tables when they host CFS on January 10.

I guess some mixed results for 1st Region so far this week: Calloway narrowly defeated Trinity 57-56. They take on a tough LaRue Co team this evening. The Lakers have been missing Conner Lockhart for several games and I’m not sure when he’s expected to be back. Marshall begins play in the FNB today. There are 8 teams including Louisville Ballard and Sayre and then 5 out of state teams. I expected PT to have a really tough one with Jeffersontown, but I was surprised how bad they were beat. I think I saw they lost by 35.

Trying to help with the 26. The coach at Union County has done an awesome job there! To win like that at Union County is pretty impressive! Too inexperienced??? At some point you’re gonna have to hire somebody

Merry Christmas to everyone! Let's go ahead and mark our calendars for January 14 and February 7. Those are the two dates when the Lakers and Marshals battle it out. It is looking more and more like these two are headed for regional title game for quite possibly their fourth matchup of the season. Here D Wolf's update tiers: Tier 1 (The Favorites) - Calloway and Marshall. Tier 2 (The Contenders) - Tilghman, St. Mary, McCracken, Graves. These teams are in the mix, but the only problem is they'll most likely have to knock off both the Lakers and Marshals to claim the 1st Region title. Tier 3 (Sleeper Teams) - Mayfield, Carlisle, Murray, Ballard Mem. I think these teams have some talent and could definitely upset one of the above teams. But not quite sure they could win three in a row at the 1st Region tourney. Here are my rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (9-0) - W 81-60 at Union Co. (2A Section 1 quarterfinals), W 70-55 at Murray, W 69-54 Peoria (IL) This week - WGM Holiday Tournament Butler/Finley and Company just keep on rolling. I think we will find out this week what the Lakers are made of as I've seen the teams in the WGM Holiday Tournament - it looks like a stacked field! Conner Lockhart has been out as of late, and hopefully he can return to the lineup sometime soon. 2. Marshall Co. (10-0) - W 73-47 vs Murray, W 71-66 S. Oldham, W 48-45 Owensboro Catholic, W 70-62 at S. Warren This week - FNB Holiday Classic Congrats to the Marshals as they won the BCBS Holiday Classic. This team has four guys in double figures. Matthew Langhi is 6-5 and is a great scorer - particularly solid in mid-range. Alex Staples is not a prolific shooter, but good luck keeping this guy out of the lane. Kyzer Phillips is a knockdown shooter. Tommy Robertson might be the best athlete of the bunch and shoots it well too. All of these guys are solid defenders too! 3. Paducah Tilghman (5-2) - W 67-59 vs St. Mary, W 82-59 vs Ballard Mem., L 66-80 Chicago Dyett This week - BSN Borderline Classic Is this Tornado team on the level of Calloway and Marshall? I'm not quite sure. Last year they were slightly behind those two, and neither of those teams lost much to graduation. I guess time will tell as it looks like the Tornado might play both the Lakers and Marshals twice this year (if they end up playing the Lakers in the 2A Section 1 finals). This is a talented team - they have 8+ athletic guards that can swarm around on defense, and a few of those can score (most notably Miles Woodfork). 4. St. Mary (7-1) - L 59-67 at Tilghman, W 69-47 vs S. Fulton (TN), W 69-50 vs Hopkins Co Central This week - Richmond Holiday Classic The Vikings were on the verge of getting blown out at Tilghman, but then in the 2nd half they made a huge run and at one point cut the Tornado lead to one. The game when PT goes to the Holy Hardwood should be very interesting! The Vikings will host Carlisle on Monday for their holiday championship and I look for the Vikings to take care of business. This team has four guys who can score, and two of them are in 8th and 9th grade, but they are playing like upper-classmen already. 5. McCracken Co. (3-4) - W 49-36 at Mayfield, W 52-41 Evangel Christian, L 40-62 Dupont Manual. This week - Poplar Bluff (Mo.) tournament This is a very good team for 3-4 as there four losses were Butler Co., Montgomery Bell Acad. (TN), Marshall Co., and Manual. How about Owen Grogan stepping up with 14 points to be the co-leading scorer against Evangel Christian. This team needs some guys to step up and help Martin and Jackson with the scoring load. But I will say one thing - the Mustangs have a ton of depth and there are about eight or so guys who are capable to be the leading scorer on any given night. 6. Graves Co. (5-2) - W 41-40 Franklin Co., W 50-45 Greenwood This week - Henry Co. Invitational Tournament Who on the Eagles staff is responsible for getting stats into Riherds? Maybe they've been out sick. I have heard it is more difficult this season. Please put in the rebounds each game too. Can Brian York do something about this? I haven't seen the Eagles yet this year, but I've heard they're very good, and I think they may end up higher than this ranking by season's end. 7. Mayfield (6-1) - L 36-49 vs McCracken, W 65-36 Montgomery Central (TN), W 65-29 Todd Co. Central, W 55-52 Union Co. This week - Rafferty's Cleveland Classic Congrats on the championship of the Battle on the Border. Also, congrats to Coach Croft on his 100th victory of his career. I think he is one of the more underrated coaches of this region. The Cardinals' schedule has started out sort of light, but it will pick up very soon. 8. Carlisle Co. (4-3) - W 81-46 at Fulton City, W 73-40 Heritage Christian, W 64-60 Caldwell Co. This week - Southwire Holiday Classic After starting out 0-3 the Comets have reeled off four straight. They get a second chance at St. Mary and an opportunity to win the St. Mary Holiday Tourney. Wyatt Rickard is the real deal, and one of the players that I hear most often when talking about highly recruited players from the 1st Region. The Sophomore is 6-9 and he can really shoot the three - pretty decent combination. 9. Muray (5-6) - L 47-73 at Marshall Co., L 55-70 at Calloway Co., L 52-83 West Creek (TN) This week - Colonel Basketball Classic The Tigers easily win the prize for most brutal schedule so far this season. This week they had the Marshals, Lakers and a tough Tennessee team. Harris Moore continues to lead the way for the Tigers. 10. Ballard Memorial (3-4) - W 77-54 vs Hickman Co., L 59-82 at Tilghman, L 62-79 Spencer Co. This week - Rafferty's Cleveland Classic This is a talented team, and I think the Bombers will win a bunch of games this season. My question is - how close is this team to their 3rd District competitors. Could the Bombers win a game or two over the Eagles and Cardinals this year? One thing is for sure - Jace Birney is tough to guard! 11. Christian Fellowship School (3-6) - L 61-68 CCA, W 53-42 Hickman Co., W 46-36 Dresden (TN) I'm having a very difficult time ranking the teams 11 through 14. They all just keep beating up on each other. CFS has four players in double figures - Elijah Grigg, Daxton Kite, Samuel Grigg and Jakin Burnett. 12. Fulton Co. (3-5) - L 66-69 Halls (TN), W 49-46 Milan (TN), Tristan Kinney is scoring 14 points per game for the Pilots. 13. Hickman Co. (3-7) - 54-79 at Ballard Mem., L 36-63 Dresden (TN), L 42-53 CFS, W 65-62 at CCA Nice win over CCA late this week! 14. Community Christian Acad. (4-4) - L 42-75 at Tilghman, W 68-61 vs CFS, W 78-61 vs Fulton City, L 62-65 vs Hickman Co. The Warriors have two Freshman in double figures - Anderson is scoring 11 ppg, and DeJarnett is scoring 10 ppg. 15. Fulton City (1-11) - L 46-81 vs Carlisle Co., L 52-71 Gleason (TN), L 61-78 at CCA, L 60-76 Dresden (TN) This team has a very young roster. Freshman Kaybrun Burton is scoring 16 ppg.

I must admit that I feel pretty good about the two teams that I have ranked 1/2, but for teams 3 through 7 - I might as well have drawn them out of a hat. The season is very young, and until these teams begin to play each other I don't have a good sense as to where I should rank these teams. How about the hot start for the St. Mary Vikings! We knew about Sims and Haas, but the additions of Mayes and Puckett have really benefitted this team. The situation in the PT / Christian County game was unfortunate. It started out with some pushing and shoving, and then it escalated very quickly. The KHSAA handed out some suspensions and they were deserved. I hope that both teams learn from this going forward - there's no place for that in athletics. Both teams have stand-up coaching staffs, and I think the teams will be fine. Key games this week: Tues - St. Mary at Tilghman (D Wolf's Region 1 Game of the Week), Murray at Marshall, Calloway at Union Co. (2A quarterfinals for Section 1), McCracken at Mayfield, Hickman at Ballard Mem. Thurs - Ballard Mem. at Tilghman Fri - Calloway at Murray, St. Mary Christmas Classic begins (8 teams including St. Mary and Carlisle) Sat - Marshall vs S. Oldham Here are my rankings for this week: 1. Calloway Co. (6-0) - W 54-48 at Graves Co., W 64-59 Father Ryan (TN), W 70-57 Evangel Christian (TN) This Lakers team is undefeated, and I look for them to continue to take care of business this week. Jonah Butler is averaging 22 ppg and 10 rpg. Eli Finley is scoring 15 ppg, and I look for that to increase as the season goes along. Graves County gave them a bit of a scare, but the Eagles Nest is a very tough place to play. 2. Marshall Co. (6-0) - W 63-47 at Carlisle Co., W 70-49 at McCracken Co., W 68-52 Owensboro Catholic We knew about Langhi, Staples and Robertson, but how about Kyzer Phillips. He has added the dimension of knockdown three-point shooter to the Marshals. Phillips is right now the leading scorer at over 14 ppg and is currently shooting 46% from three. I thought that the Marshals had a good shot of winning at McCracken, but I didn't expect the dominant second half that I saw. This team is very solid on the defensive end! 3. St. Mary (5-0) - W 57-38 vs Ballard Mem., W 51-48 vs Graves Co. Luke Sims has started out the season on fire! He is scoring over 23 ppg and is shooting 59% (wow!) from three. The game on Tuesday at Otis Dinning Gym is very interesting. The 5-0 start is very impressive, but remember that only one of those games was away from the Holy Hardwood, and that was at #11 Hickman County. I know one thing - if Sims lights it up on Tuesday then I think the Vikings have a good chance of pulling that one out. 4. Paducah Tilghman (2-1) - L 56-75 at Henderson Co., W 67-60 Christian Co., W 65-56 Camden Central (TN) The first game at Henderson County was quite an opening game! I think the Colonels have a decent shot at winning the 2nd Region and heading to Rupp later this year. As expected, Miles Woodfork has begun the year scoring the ball on a decent tear as he is averaging over 20 ppg. Add in Wilkins and Mikel, and this Tornado team will be able to put up a lot of points. I worry about this team on the defensive end and also on the boards. Can they protect their homecourt on Tuesday night? 5. McCracken Co. (1-3) - L 49-70 vs Marshall, L 39-40 vs Montgomery Bell Acad. It's obvious that this team really misses junior Jackson Klope, who is out with injury. I wasn't surprised by the home loss to the Marshals, but I was surprised by the ending margin. It somewhat seems that the Mustangs don't yet have someone who can step up and get them a bucket when they need it. It's early in the season and this is a surprisingly young team. Still, Dylan Jackson is an outstanding shooter, and Jay Martin is one of the best point guards in the region. I look for this team to improve as the season goes. 6. Graves Co. (3-2) - L 48-54 vs Calloway Co., L 48-51 at St. Mary I'm wondering if I have this team one or two spots too low. They hung with #1 Calloway for the entire game, and the Holy Hardwood is a unique gym that is a nice homecourt advantage for St. Mary. I think it's quite possible if that game was played at the Eagles Nest then Graves would have pulled out the win. There's still plenty of time to move up these rankings! Braden Waller is leading the Eagles with 15 ppg, and there are several sophomores that I've heard a lot about. 7. Mayfield (3-0) - W 51-45 vs Dawson Springs, W 70-39 vs Cairo (IL) Which Owen is your favorite? Owen Byrd is a super-athletic slasher with lots of speed. Owen Webb is a pure shooter. They're both impressive players! I think the Cardinals have a chance against the Mustangs on Tuesday night since it is a home game. That one should definitely be a good one. 8. Murray (5-3) - W 46-40 at Webster Co. (2A Section 1 quarterfinal), W 73-51 vs UHA, W 72-45 at Fulton Co., W 77-52 Rossview (TN) A pretty nice week for the Tigers with four solid wins! It is my understanding that University Heights was without a couple of their top players in that game, but that is still a very good win for Murray. The Tigers have three players in double figures in Moore (16 ppg), Mitchell (14 ppg) and Jones (11 ppg). Many of you know that Jones is also a very talented football player who recently signed with the Nebraska Huskers. 9. Carlisle Co. (1-3) - L 47-63 vs Marshall Co., W 62-49 vs Hickman Co. Wyatt Rickard is averaging 10 ppg and 7 rpg for the Comets, and they remain my pick to win the 1st District. As I've said before - I have heard a lot of good things about their sophomore class so I think this team will continue to get better over the next couple of years. 10. Ballard Mem. (2-2) - L 38-57 at St. Mary, W 57-49 at CFS As expected, this is the Jace Birney show! He is averaging 26 ppg, and the next highest scorer is averaging 6 ppg. I am not sure if this team has the ability to knock off either Graves or Mayfield in the 3rd District this year. I assume it's possible. 11. Hickman Co. (2-4) - W 67-26 vs Dongola (IL), W 79-71 vs CFS, L 49-62 at Carlisle Co. Nice win over CFS! Brendan Rosas scored 27 in that game! 12. Fulton Co. (2-4) - L 45-72 vs Murray, W 62-49 vs CCA Good win for the Pilots over a talented CCA team. Both Caden Kimble and Tristan Kinney scored 15 in that game. 13. Community Christian Acad. (2-2) - W 55-44 at Pope Co. (IL), L 49-62 at Fulton Co. This team has a good young core! If they stay together then their program will be on the rise. CCA has an upcoming Christmas Tourney. 14. Christian Fellowship School (2-5) - L 71-79 at Hickman Co., L 49-57 at Ballard Mem. Two tight games this week. Elijah and Samuel Grigg lead the way for the Eagles. 15. Fulton City (1-5) - L 33-63 Halls (TN), L 33-55 at Dresden (TN), W 66-60 at Egyptian (IL) The Bulldogs got a win this week! Egyptian (IL) never saw it coming!

I was simply listening on 94.3 but there was a fight towards the end of the PT and Christian County game. The game has been stopped and will not be resumed. PT was up by 7 with just over 2 minutes to go. Th PT broadcaster said a Colonels player pushed a PT player and then there was retaliation. He even said parents and spectators went onto the floor. It sounds like the right move to stop it. No place for this. I assume there will be some suspensions and really surprised that some from the crowd came onto the floor. This game was played at Hoptown’s gym I believe.

The Region One podcast guy ranked today like this: 1-Calloway, 2-Marshall, 3-McCracken, 4-Graves, 5-St. Mary His podcasts are excellent if you enjoy 1st Region sports. You can find them on Twitter.

PT is having a celebration this Friday (12/13) at Otis Dinning gym. I believe everyone is welcome!

I agree with you 100%. Both are very small schools - they play in the All A Classic. I assume they have their reasons but it would seem they could compete much better as one. However, I know not everything is about athletics. I wish them both well!!!

Right now I think that I have three tiers. Here they are: The Favorites - Calloway & Marshall The Contenders - McCracken, Tilghman, St. Mary, Graves, Mayfield Sleeper Teams - Murray, Carlisle, Ballard Mem. I definitely reserve the right to move teams up and down these tiers throughout this young season. We have some very interesting 1st Region matchups this week. Here are the key games of the week by day: Tues - Calloway at Graves, PT at Henderson Co., Marshall at Carlisle, UHA at Murray, Ballard Mem. at St. Mary, Dawson Springs at Mayfield Thurs - Marshall at McCracken (D Wolf's Game of the Week), PT at Christian Co. Fri - Graves Co. at St. Mary, Hickman Co. at Carlisle Co. Sat - Marshall at O Cath, Teams playing in the Ken Tenn Classic - Calloway, McCracken, PT, Graves, Murray (these teams play a team from Tennessee. No change yet to my rankings. Here they are: 1. Calloway Co. (3-0) - W 84-54 vs Haywood, TN, W 71-48 Clarksville Acad., W 69-68 Pope John Paul, TN How about a nice buzzer beater to take down Pope John Paul. The Lakers intentionally missed the free-throw and then kicked it out to Conner Lockhart for the game winner. Eli Finley has now moved into 4th place in scoring all time for the Lakers. This team is the favorite for me - simply the combination of Finley and Butler is so difficult to stop. They have other very good pieces too! 2. Marshall Co. (3-0) - W 65-30 at Christian Co., W 56-21 vs Massac Co., IL, W 71-58 vs Battle Ground Acad., TN How about Kyzer Phllips emerging as another scoring threat for the Marshals. This team is very deep, and is not far behind the Lakers in my book. They have an interesting matchup at #3 McCracken on Thursday - that's one you're going to want to see and I assume it may be on YouTube (McCracken broadcast). 3. McCracken Co. (1-1) - W 83-29 vs CCA, L 63-70 Butler Co. No shame in a neutral court loss to Butler County - I believe that team is in the Top 20 in Kentucky in most polls. Something has caught my eye so far - the Mustangs only have one senior significant contributor (D. Jackson) and one junior contributor (Grogan). But not to worry - their Sophmore class is very deep and many of those guys played some significant minutes as Freshman. Another player to keep an eye on is Freshman Aaron Adams - he has good size and should contribute a bunch this year. 4. Paducah Tilghman (0-0) Game versus Carlisle Friday night was cancelled. Big-time congrats to the Tornado football team for their 4th state title!!! There are at least three football players who will now move over to the hardwood (Campbell, Thompson, Purdiman). I assume it will take a bit of time to get them on track. This Tornado basketball team has some good quality depth and lots of Juniors and Seniors to lead this team. Tough first game - they travel to Henderson. 5. St. Mary (2-0) - W 64-35 vs Trigg Co., W 62-47 vs Carlisle Co., W 73-36 at Hickman Co. Three impressive wins to begin the season for the Vikings. I listened to Coach Denson on the Region 1 podcast (Brian York does an excellent job!) and Coach has me sold on the quality of this team. They have four very talented players, and Mayes and Puckett are not your average underclassmen. In fact - I would say that Griffin Mayes is one of the top 8th graders in Kentucky! Furthermore, I think that Luke Sims should be in the Region PoY conversation. The gap between the Vikings and the Mustangs/Tornado is not as big as it usually is. I wouldn't be surprised if they knocked off one or both of those teams this year - especially at home. 6. Graves Co. (1-0) - W 71-23 vs Hickman Co. This Eagles team is one that I don't know a lot about, but has been getting lots of buzz in the 1st Region. A very good opportunity for the Eagles to go to the Vikings on Friday and move up these rankings. The only thing that I don't like about this team is that I have to keep spelling VeuCasovic for a few more years (I didn't know there was a brother). 7. Mayfield (1-0) W 75-46 at Fulton Co. Owen Byrd really emerged for this team late last season, and the junior kept things going in the first game by putting up 29 against Fulton County. This team has graduated a ton of seniors the last couple years, but their youth program is very good and I think the Cardinals will be in the mix by the end of the season. Coach Croft does an excellent job! 8. Murray (1-3) L 57-66 vs Caldwell Co., L 62-80 vs Lyon Co., W 75-62 at Ballard Mem., L 53-61 Madisonville Credit to new Coach Holder for this ringer of a schedule for week one. A player to watch for the Tigers is John Harris Moore, and he is averaging 15 ppg. I believe it's his dad who was quite a player for Tilghman in the mid-90s. This is a young team and I look for them to make strides throughout the season. 9. Carlisle Co. (0-2) L 47-62 at St. Mary, L 30-50 Lawrenceville, IL The talent is primarily in the Sophomore class for the Comets and Wyatt Rickard is a player that is one of the most highly recruited in this Region - he's a 6-9 Super Soph. I strongly believe that the Comets are the favorite to win the 1st District and I don't think I see that changing any time soon. 10. Ballard Mem. (1-1) W 73-53 vs Fulton County, L 62-75 vs Murray The Jace Birney watch is once again on, and he is only averaging 34 ppg right now. 34 ppg!!! He is going to set a record at Ballard that is extremely tough to beat. 11. Community Christian Acad. (1-1) L 29-83 at McCracken, W 66-63 vs CFS A pretty impressive Freshman class for CCA. I think this team will get some wins this year, but unfortunately I don't really see them competing much in the 2nd DIstrict. 12. Christian Fellowship School (0-2) L 67-80 at Dawson Springs, L 63-66 at CCA A pretty impressive showing in a narrow loss at Dawson Springs. I also this CFS will have some wins this year! 13. Hickman Co. (0-3) L 58-60 S. Fulton, TN, L 23-71 at Graves Co., L 36-73 vs St. Mary I think this is my pick to finish second in the 1st District and play at the CFSB Center in regionals. But I'm not 100% sure. 14. Fulton Co. (0-2) L 53-73 at Ballard Mem., L 46-75 vs Mayfield One of my favorite color schemes and mascots in this area - the Pilots! 15. Fulton City (0-3) - L 39-45 vs Dresden, TN, L57-69 at Greenfield, TN, L 44-91 vs Ft. Campbell I'm simply curious - I wonder if Fulton County and Fulton City has ever explored merging their school systems. Really just wondering.

I think on Page 15 the Rushing leaders and Receiving Leaders are the same. Wonder if it’s too late to change it??? At first I was like - wow that Pittman guy from John Hardin has that many catches too???!!! But this is really awesome that the KHSAA shares this with us.

C4 was pretty awesome tonight but I can’t say enough about V8 (Vanzale Hinton). Vandy is getting a very good one! He does not go down very easily and he lined up across from #2 on every down on D.

Corbin fans - if you want 2nd dinner the Carfish sandwich that they do at the Away concession stand is pretty solid. Can anyone back me up on that one?

Here are the other lists that I've seen so far: Edward Marlowe from Cats Pause has 1-Calloway, 2-Marshall, 3-Tilghman, 4-Graves, 5-McCracken, 6-St. Mary, 7-Carlisle, 8-Mayfield, 9-Murray, 10-Ballard Mem. He is high on Graves County, and I know they have some young guys who are supposed to be very good. The Region One guy (Brian York) has 1-Marshall, 2-Calloway, 3-Tilghman, 4-McCracken, 5-Graves, 6-Carlisle, 7-St. Mary, 8-Ballard Mem., 9-Mayfield, 10-Murray. Mr. York says that he expects Jackson Klope to return at some point this year for the Mustangs. If so - that would be HUGE for them. He is a beast!!! I think that the Sun will have a coaches' poll again this year, and I will add that when I see it.