D Wolf

BigBlue92 gave some very good options. Here are 3 more: -El Torito - very near stadium but lots of PT fans go here so may be crowded. -Michael’s Pizzeria - I think one of the best pizza places in P-Town. It’s Brooklyn-Style. -Over/Under - it’s downtown and might take a little longer. It’s a sports bar. Like an upscale BW3s There are some very good fine dining places downtown but I assume that’s not what you’re looking for. Doe’s has outstanding steaks and I think Max’s is always solid.

Should be a very interesting year in Region 1. Several of the top teams in the region did not lose much from last season, and I expect that they will be competitive throughout the state. Here are my rankings: 1. Calloway Co. (17-11) Key Losses: None Key Returners: Eli Finley - Sr. (24 ppg, 4 rpg, 35% 3 Pt shooting) can really score the basketball. Jonah Butler - Sr. (18 ppg, 10 rpg, 37% 3 Pt Shooting) committed to Stony Brook and could be Region 1 PoY. Conner Lockhart - Sr. (14 ppg, makes 3 3s per game), Luke Armstrong - Soph. (10 ppg, 5 rpg) The senior trio of Finley, Butler and Lockhart has to be one of the top trios in the state. However, they have missed the Regional Tourney two years in a row in the stacked 4th district. I look for them to break that streak this year. The only question mark that I have for this team is do the Lakers have quality depth? 2. Marshall Co. (25-8) Key Losses: Logan Parker (8 ppg, 7 rpg), Orrin Phelps (4 ppg, 4 rpg) Key Returners: Alex Staples - Sr. (15 ppg) can really get to the rim. Matthew Langhi - Soph (13 ppg, 5 rpg) the Marshals run the offense through him. Tommy Robertson - Sr. (9 ppg, 3 rpg) good athlete and solid defender. I badly under-ranked the Marshals each of the last two years, and now I have the defending 1st Region champs ranked second after only losing a couple guys. Logan Parker is a bigger loss than his stats show - he was a good defender and also really just a winner. I still think the margin between the Lakers and Marshals is very, very close and it is quite possible that we could see these two 4th district teams meet in the regional finals. 3. McCracken Co. (26-8) Key Losses: Connor Miller (17 ppg, 5 rpg), Grayson Parrish (5 ppg, 3 rpg) Key Returners: Jackson Klope - Jr. (16 ppg, 10 rpg) expected to be out this season with injury. Dylan Jackson - Sr. (8 ppg) excellent shooter, Jay Martin - So. (4 ppg) solid point guard. Caden Fulcher (5 ppg) I must admit that some of this ranking is due to how dominant the Mustangs have been in past years - they have won 5 of the last 11 regional titles. I expect that Klope will be out for the season, and this is a very big loss since I think he would have been a Top 5 player in the region this year. I still expect that he will be very dominant next season for his senior year. Still, this Mustangs team has plenty of depth, and also has one of the top coaching staffs in this area. I expect they will be a factor this year for sure. 4. Paducah Tilghman (15-16) Key Losses: Omari Williams (9 ppg, 6 rpg), Jamie Harris (5 ppg) Key Returners & Transfer: Miles Woodfork - Jr. (20 ppg) can score the basketball in many different ways. Owen Mikel - Sr. (transfer from St. Mary 20 ppg, 5 rpg) shooter. Ahmad Wilkins (16 ppg, 4 rpg) another shooter, Josh Campbell (12 ppg, 5 rpg) scores around the rim. Avery Thompson (4 ppg, 4 rpg) his role picked up as the year went on. A solid defender. I count 1 win and 20 losses in the last 21 games against the Mustangs - can the Tornado get a win or two over their rival this year? The Tornado will not be without scoring - Woodfork is a pure scorer and Mikel (transfer) and Wilkins can really shoot it from 3. My worries for this team are defensively and also size - they have several guards between 6-0 and 6-3, but I think they will struggle to defend some of the Region 1 bigs. 5. St. Mary (20-11) Key Losses: Owen Mikel (20 ppg, 5 rpg) transfer to PT, Aidan Hahn (12 ppg), Landon Durbin (5 ppg, 3 rpg) Key Returners & Transfer: Luke Sims - Sr. (20 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.5 3s per game) one of the top players in the region. Brett Haas - Sr. (7 ppg, 6 rpg) good size. Griffin Mayes - 8th (transfer from McCracken Co.) not your typical 8th grader. The loss of Mikel to transfer hurts, but Sims and Haas still make up a very strong duo in this region. I'm assuming that Mayes will be one of the best 8th graders in the state and I think he could potentially be the 2nd-leading scorer on this team behind Sims. There are some other transfers too that will round out this roster (some of the transfers due to the Vikings strong baseball program). Could this team pull and upset and make it to Murray State for the postseason? The thing is - this year it won't be that big of an upset. 6. Graves Co. (20-11) Key Losses: Lukas Pigg (13 ppg), Briley VeuCasovic (11 ppg, 4 rpg), Carson Carrico (5 ppg, 3 ppg) Key Returners: Braden Waller (10 ppg, 7 ppg) good size at 6-5 for this forward Waller will be the focal point of this team but there are a lot of young Eagles that will look to step up this year. Some names to remember are Ty Cavette, Raygon Mathis and Bodie Veucasovic. The Eagles have had a very strong elementary and middle school program over the last many years, and I look for that to begin paying off beginning this season. 7. Mayfield (19-9) Key Losses: Braydon Pate (13 ppg, 2.8 3's made per game), Braden Morris (11 ppg, 5 rpg), Collin Gibson (8 ppg, 5 rpg) Key Returners: Owen Webb (10 ppg), Owen Byrd (7 ppg) speedy guard that had a bigger role as the year went on. The Cardinals have graduated quite a few seniors over the past couple years, but this is a school that is never short on athletes. You may have heard this one before - this team will start slow as I expect their football team will make another postseason run. The margin between the Cardinals and Eagles for the 3rd District title is pretty thin. 8. Murray (24-10) Key Losses: Lincoln English (13 ppg, 6 rpg), Z Carman (12 ppg, 8 rpg), Collin Wilson (10 ppg), Drew May (8 ppg, 3 rpg) Key Returners: Jeremiah Jones (10 ppg, 3 rpg) outstanding athlete who will play at the next level for football The Jimmie Holder era in Murray begins as former coach Dior Curtis left for the Christian County job. Unfortunately, Holder inherits a team that lost four key seniors. However, I think this is a program that has the ability to reload, and there are several young Tigers who have the potential to step up in a big way. 9. Carlisle Co. (21-11) Key Losses: Carter Burnett (15 ppg, 4 rpg), Zack Grogan (11 ppg, 3 rpg), Kenton Arnold (9 ppg, 3 rpg) Key Returners: Wyatt Rickard - So. (8 ppg, 5 rpg) he's 6-9 and he can shoot. Several key losses for the Comets, but their Sophomore class is very talented. Rickard is starting to get the attention of college coaches, and he will be hard to defend this year. Coach ONeil is one of the best coaches in this region, and I expect they will have no problem winning the 1st District this year. 10. Ballard Co. (8-23) Key Losses: Keaton Overstreet (6 ppg, 6 rpg) Key Returners: JACE BIRNEY - Sr. (26 ppg, 9 rpg) the all-time leading scorer for the Bombers Look for Birney to once again put up monster numbers for the Bombers. We'll see what his supporting cast looks like this year. Could they spring a 3rd District upset this year. Very possible! 11. Community Chirstian Acad (8-23) 12. Christian Fellowship (9-22) 13. Hickman Co. (5-17) 14. Fulton Co. (6-23) 15. Fulton City (6-23) Let me know what you would change in these preseason rankings. P.S. I plan on posting here any of the other rankings that I come accross for the 1st Region. It is interesting to contrast and compare.

I wonder if PT’s LB Mooney will be available on Friday. He’s one of their best tacklers. But the backup, Sanderson, has done a pretty darn good job in his absence.

I would think they would play North Oldham at home in the 3rd round. Then they’ll have to travel to Franklin Co in the semis since PT’s RPI was 3rd and Franklin 2nd.

Owen Mikel transferred from St. Mary to PT but I think he is probably 6’2”. I have heard rumors of a 6’7” player transferring to a Region 1 school from the Northeast, but I don’t have any details.

I saw in the Sun where LB Mooney is out for this one. I heard it’s an ankle injury. Hopefully he’ll be able to return in the next couple weeks because he’s pretty key to this PT defense!

Just like last year PT went into the final day #1 in RPI and took a pretty big drop on final night. Russellville actually had a decent year this season but both Boyle and Franklin had 6A bumps in their wins. It’s obviously good that they won’t have to face Boyle in the semis, but it would have been nice to host a semifinal game.

Does anyone know if this game at Russellville is streamed???

The conch - if one of those teams lose then it will be very close but CovCath will still need some help If neither Ashland or Corbin lose - no chance.

More data in case anyone wants it. If you simply add in the 10th game to the formula - here’s what I get: 1. Boyle - .7665 2. Franklin - .7550 3. PT - .7512 I have a hard time finding scenarios where Boyle is not #1 although I think it is mathematically possible. PT vs Franklin for 2/3 will be very tight but I think PT needs some help This of course assumes that all 3 win tonight.

I crunched some numbers and I feel pretty good about Boyle ending up in the number 1 spot. The numbers that Douglass adds to theirs are very beneficial. The 2 vs 3 will be very tight, but I give a slight edge to Franklin. The 6A win bump helps out quite a bit. This is all just hypotheticals. Each of these teams needs for the teams they’ve played to win Friday night (thanks Captain Obvious!)

The QB behind him is pretty decent too. Some of y’all may remember his grandad - Jack Haskins. I guess Billy Jack is his uncle. The Jr QB that I’m speaking of is Stone Crowe. But obviously he’s not on James’ level right now.

Fulton Co has had a ton of injuries per the WPSD sports guy. I think they are down to 17 players or less.

It’s my understanding that the Senior Night festivities will begin at 6:00. Big class! Really solid class too!!!

If you hold everything else constant (scary, I know) - PT’s WP goes to 1.0884, OWP .5941, and OOWP .5573. That would make PT’s RPI .7561 Remember that there are a LOT of moving parts here. But my best guess is that PT will end up 3rd in 4A. I think it will be really tight between Franklin & Boyle for 1/2. Really just my hunch though

Has anyone heard anything about the status of Klope at McCracken? I assume he’s out for a while but I’m not sure if he’ll miss the entire season. A great player!

Unfortunately I heard that A Thompson is out with a broken foot. WR - coach’s son. Possible return late in the playoffs

Do you think it’s possible that Boyle leapfrogs Franklin Co? I think it may come down to the strength of that last game for those 2.

They not doing the livestream this week??? That stinks.

Does anyone know if ACS streams any of their games?

Dragon Fire - I 100% agree with you and I said it wrong. Very sorry. I think this sums it up. For the Boyle vs St. Edwards example - the KHSAA would have to track roughly 100 Ohio scores throughout the season. That would be St. Edwards’ other 9 games. And then about 9 scores for each of St. Edwards’ opponents. And I think you’re correct that it would be great if they had a system that could simply automatically pull these scores each week. Now whether the KHSAA will ever try and do this. I honestly have my doubts unfortunately.

Does anyone know if any of the Franklin Co games moving forward are tough ones for them. I believe they have N Oldham, Henry Co and I think a 6A team to finish? I’ve heard people say they expect them to win out but will any of those be close?

Ok, but what I’d like to point out is that under the KHSAA RPI - then you have to get all the winning percentages of Washington too. And all of the winning percentages of all the teams that St. Edwards plays. Remember that the formula is 35% WP, 35% OWP and 30% OOWP (Opponents’ Opponents Winning Percentage). Please don’t mistake this for me agreeing with how the RPI treats out of state games. Not meaning that at all!

I’m pretty sure that Jumper Dad had it correct. There are a ton of scores that you need to calculate a team’s RPI. You obviously need the Opponents winning percentage. But then you also have to get the Opponent’s Opponents winning percent. You would need at least 100 scores to calculate RPI the same way KHSAA does.

Debbie Downer needs to add - how are Hoptown and Christian County so bad this year??? There are so many good athletes in that area. I will go ahead and chalk it up to pre-merger issues. I guarantee that merged school will be a force to be reckoned with! Right??? Hope I’m not being too ugly in this post. This just baffles me.