rerun

I can't see Russell losing this one. Paintsville is confident, heading in the right direction, and playing at home so it's a close for a while but in the end the Devils pull away and win 20-7.

Ashland is susceptible to ground and pound. Play ball control and this one is close, get cute and and then it gets ugly. The Bulldogs milked every second of the play clock every time it was running, this frustrated Ashland. I would do the same if I were a young underdog team. Also, if you can't kick it to the endzone, then kick it out of bounds and give them the 35. Do all this and you still lose, but it's respectable and your young team can gain some confidence.

Ashland may be in the unfamiliar role of sneaking up on some teams early in the season. The Rams are in the unfamiliar role of being the favorite this time around. Although the starting teams are close in talent and athletic ability the Tomcats are deeper with athletes on the bench which allows them to pull away down the stretch. These two teams are definitely close enough that a turnover or a special teams play could allow either team to win and maybe convincingly.

Friend told me Blazer beat Spring Valley in the first game today 90-something to 40-something. There were games at Blazer and at the middle school. Not sure who was playing but when I was driving home from work the middle school parking lot was packed.

Coach Conley is on my Top Ten list of human beings that I have met in my lifetime. I was blessed to know him and got to work with him for seven years. He expected a lot, but he gave a lot. Legendary just doesn't do him justice. He was my boss, my hero, my mentor, and my friend...but above all he was my brother in Christ. Miss you coach.

There was no one more rooted in Greenup County than Nathan Sutton. Yet he was one and done. The facilities are great and the history is there. But...other than a season here or there they have been a non-factor since the Randy Ward days. I would love nothing more than to see the Musketeers back in the mix. It's a great place to watch a ball game and we need another strong eastern Kentucky program. I don't know the inner-workings and I don't pretend to have a solution but something has been amiss....for decades.

Russell played well and the things that needed to happen happened to pull off the upset. I haven’t seen any game stats but Ashland’s overall shooting percentage had to be one of their poorest performances to date, especially through the third quarter. The high zone played by Russell was effective and the Kittens did little to expose the inherent weaknesses of extending the zone that high. Both teams have a bright future and moral victories mean little the morning after but the Russell girls truly left it all on the floor and should be proud. Best of luck to the Kittens moving forward.

Admittedly I don’t watch a lot of girls basketball but this was one of the best high school games I’ve watched in a long time, boys or girls. Congrats to the Kittens for a win over a current state champion and top program within their division in Ohio.

Ashland hasn’t had much luck with 15th Region teams this year so I didn’t expect this. Tough to get off the bus and win in Inez. Congrats!

Ashland and Boyd still leading the pack. East Carter has silently "snuck up" on me. Nice to see the Raiders making some noise but I still have Russell as the three by virtue of their early season blowout of the Raiders. But the Raiders are definitely off and running after their rough start. It will be interesting to see the Russell/EC rematch right before district play.

Great man and a great family. One of the best to ever put on the stripes. Prayers for the family. Here is a link to a nice story by Mark Maynard. https://markmywords2.com/2026/01/31/legend-perfectly-describes-bob-kouns/

Teams at the top get a lot of attention as well they should and the responsible parties ranking them seem to do their homework....but the middle to the end of the Top 25 is a crap shoot with little thought going into what they're throwing out there. Case in point, in my area Ashland has beaten Boyd County twice and is ranked behind them in all but one of these. Don't get me wrong, Boyd is deserving and could very well beat the Tomcats on down the road but they haven't yet and they've had two chances. Russell fresh off a January 23rd loss to Lewis County is ranked ahead of Ashland on the KHSAA rankings. I have been a huge fan of coach Cooksey at Russell and I mean no disrespect, but Ashland or Boyd would be a 20 point favorite on any given night versus the Red Devils. Ashland has laid an egg or two but a couple of their losses came with two starters out and they quickly avenged (convincingly) one of those a few weeks later when everyone was healthy. I've said many times on here rankings mean nothing and I'm sure coach Bonner appreciates the disrespect for locker room motivation, but if you're going to print it do your homework.

The Tomcats have played a lot of zone so far this season and it looked like a large percentage of Boyd County’s prep time was spent on zone. Ashland’s man to man this game was next level. They did lose some concentration down the stretch but for the most part looked mid season form. Boyd, on the other hand looked confused and frustrated and a lot like a team that hadn’t practiced together much at all. Maybe they listened to all the chatter just a little too much? A reality check was in order and they got one. I got a feeling tonight will serve to focus them. Ashland battled foul trouble and missed a lot of gimme shots but made up for it with rebounding and intensity and hitting some three’s.

I feel this will be a totally different game with the lead going back and forth between the two. Should be a classic. I'm going with the Rams at home.

Opening weekend. Completely inclusive, every single program is excited. The previous year's work is coming to fruition and everyone is happy. At that moment "Life is Good" for everyone. It's either uphill or downhill from there depending on how good your team is. But week one is good for all of us. The post season is great...for some of us.