2nd and Goal

With the arrival of KeShawn Moore at Christian County, I think the Tiger's immediately move into position 1A with Henderson County 1B. Hopkins County Central, Lyon County, and Webster County are the standout top 5. The dark horse in the region is Caldwell County. First year coach Kortez Ivory has the Tiger's leading scorer back. With Pax Aikens deciding to stay at Caldwell, and the addition of Ivory's son, the Tigers could surprise some folks.

I don't know that Apollo wins their District, much less the region. With the addition of a previously homeschooled player who is a tremendous athlete and rebounder to go along with Michael Acton and some good young talent, I'd say that Daviess will be right back in the thick of it this year. No knock on Apollo; they are certainly the district favorite and have all the pieces to make a run at a region title, but I think this region will be more interesting than some may think.

I've heard that both Christian County and Henderson County from the 2nd Region will be participating.

Great Crossing defeated Henderson County by 6 to win the WKU team camp championship. Some of the best teams and talent in the state were there this weekend. Christian county showed well for Region 2 defeating CAL and Jtown. They had Grayson County down 6 with a minute to go but lost in OT. Henderson County defeated Apollo, Seneca, and Grayson County to make the championship game.

Anthony Hickey was not committed when he won Mr. Basketball in 2011. He committed to LSU after he won the award. However, that was when voting occurred after the state tournament. His 4-game performance at Rupp earned him the award, and rightfully so.

Colin Doss did a great job at Murray this season and would be a great hire for any program. Kyle Eades led Muhlenberg County to two regional championships during his time there and would be an absolute homerun hire for Muhlenberg.

The 2nd Region off-season started with a bang as former Christian County coach Kerry Stovall was announced last Friday as head coach for the new mega-school combining Christian County and Hopkinsville. Coach Stovall will lead the Christian County Tigers in 2026/2027 after spending the last 8 years as the Athletic Director for the Christian County school district. The hiring of a state championship coach should immediately inject excitement and life into two programs that have struggled over the last couple of seasons. Combining Rahsean Stevenson, Jayon Bass, and Jonovan Leavell gives next year's squad immediate scoring threats, and there will be plenty of role players for coach Stovall to choose from. In addition to the Tigers, the Lyon County Lions return Nolan Coffman and Jett Reddick to form the nucleus of next year's team. If rumors are true about Coach Ryan Perry stepping away next season, that would likely shake things up down in Eddyville. The Henderson County Colonels and the Hopkins Central Storm round out the list of top contenders in the 2nd Region next year. The Colonels will return their 3 leading scorers from a team that went 26-5 this season. All-Region guards Xavion Johnson and Amare Stewart return for Henderson County in addition to All-District forwards Zayden Martin and MaLaikye Taylor. The Storm took the Colonels to the wire in the region semifinal. With 4 of their 5 leading scorers returning, there is little doubt that Hopkins Central will contend next season as well. The Storm returns Devante Jagoe, Semare Pettus, Blaze Sumner, and Channing Stone. This nucleus can compete with the best in the region.

Coach Perry has a younger son that is in the 5th or 6th grade I believe. He is not Travis in terms of his basketball skills but that’s a big ask of any kid at that age. As far as his interest in the Christian County job, my guess is there is none. He was able to capitalize on Lyon County’s once in a generation wave of talent (Perry, Reddick, Shoulders, Kirk) by attracting a move in like Nolan Coffman who undoubtedly put them over the top in the region this year. It’s likely Perry will look to continue this trend at Lyon. He will look to build another group around his younger son, similar to what he did with Travis. With Jon Newton being a Webster County alum, and the baseball coach on teams where his son is a freshmen, I doubt he will have interest though he would be a great candidate. Same for Tyler Smithhart at Henderson County. He has a great group of players coming back and has developed one of the best feeder programs on this side of the state. My guess is, unless Tim Haworth wants to move back to Hopkinsville after their rocky departure or unless they can pluck someone from the college ranks with ties to the area, Dior Curtis will be their guy.

I was right...instant classic. That was easily one of the best high school basketball games I've seen. Both teams left their heart on the floor. It was a shame someone had to lose. Congratulations to Lyon County on a great season. Bray Kirk made big plays for the Lions, and the role players came up big, knocking down timely shots. Nolan Coffman is a next-level player who put the Lions on his back down the stretch when Kirk fouled out. Coach Perry has done a great job at Lyon County, employing a unique, aggressive playing style that has yielded some impressive results. 4 out of 5 region championships, an All-A State Title, and a KHSAA State Title is one heck of an impressive resume. The Lions are playing some of their best basketball right now and are not the same team they were in December. Though they got a tough draw, I expect them to play North Oldham to the wire and have a chance to win next week at Rupp. Henderson County put together an impressive season in its own right. I picked them pre-season #5 because they lost 80 percent of their scoring and 4 starters from last season's regional championship team. They proved me wrong as they ended their season with a 26-5 record, cracked most top-25 polls, and showed lots of fight in their postseason run. Coach Smithhart's squad returns 4 starters, including All-Region guards Xavion Johnson and Amare Stewart, and a host of underclassmen who provided some impressive performances off the bench last night. I look for the Colonels to be right back in the mix for a region title next season and potentially be one of the better teams in Kentucky.

Per Your Sports Edge Lyon County dominated the game from start to finish tonight. They have won 22 of their last 23. Henderson County has won 15 in a row. Should be an instant classic tomorrow in the finals at Madisonville North Hopkins.

Per Your Sports Edge the Colonels come from behind scoring the last 5 points in regulation to defeat the Storm.

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The 2nd Region Tournament starts Wednesday, March 4th, at Madisonville North Hopkins High School. Opening round games will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, March 4th and 5th. The semifinal round will be held on Monday, March 9th, and the championship on Tuesday, March 10th. Round 1 Matchups: 3/4 at 6 pm: Henderson County (District 6 winner) vs. Christian County (District 8 Runner-up) In the regular season, the Henderson County Colonels won this matchup 71-26. This was the first of a 13-game winning streak the Northern Colonels put together to finish their season. Since then, Christian County has gone 7-6 with solid wins over Muhlenberg County and Owensboro. Henderson County's defensive pressure and its ability to force turnovers bothered Christian County in the first matchup. For Christian County to pull the upset, they will have to limit their turnovers and find some outside scoring and balance to prevent the Colonels from putting extra pressure on star forward Rahsean Stevenson. Depth and the dynamic backcourt of Xavion Johnson and Amare Stewart give the Henderson County Colonels the advantage in this matchup. 3/4 at 7:30 pm: Hopkins County Central (District 7 winner) vs. Livingston Central (District 5 Runner-up) These teams didn't play in the regular season. The Storm of Hopkins Central finished their season winning 5 of their last 6, with their lone loss to a very good Marshall County team on the road. Conversely, the Cardinals have lost 5 of their last 6 games, with their lone win coming in the 5th District opener against Trigg County. However, in that stretch, they did play Lyon County twice, Mayfield, and Carlisle County. Coach Hargrove put together a schedule that would have his guys toughened up for tournament time. The balanced scoring attack of Hopkins Central is quite impressive and makes scouting for a team like them particularly difficult. Led by Semari Pettus at nearly 15 points per game, all 5 Storm starters average double figures. For the Cardinals, 70% of their scoring comes from the duo of Logan Wring (25.4ppg) and Bryson Walker (19.2 ppg). The athleticism and balanced attack of the storm should prevail here. 3/5 at 6:00 pm: Lyon County (5th District Winner) vs. Union County (6th District Runner-Up) These teams played on January 2nd, with Lyon County posting an impressive 80-53 home victory over the visiting Braves. The Lions have won 8 games in a row heading into the tournament, with impressive wins over Grayson County and Marshall County in that stretch. Their only loss in 2026 was a 53-51 home loss to Henderson County, a day after winning the All-A State Championship. Union County struggled over the last couple of weeks in region play but won the 6th District opener against Webster County to earn a trip to the tournament. Lyon County's interior defense makes it tough for teams that don't have much size to score. Although Union County's slashers, Daishawn Curry and Gavin Black, are tough finishers going to the rim, the Braves will need to light it up from 3-point range to have a shot in this one. Lyon County's ability rebound and score on the break, coupled with the 1-2 punch of Region Player of the Year Bray Kirk and All-Region forward Nolan Coffman, provides the Lions with just too much firepower for the Braves in the end. 3/5 at 7:30pm: Hopkinsville (8th District Winner) vs. Madisonville (7th District Runner-Up) Hopkinsville beat Madisonville on January 10th this season at home, 85-56. The Tigers seem to have righted the ship after some late-season struggles, having won their last 3 games in a row. The Tigers handled Fort Campbell easily in the 8th District Tournament and beat Christian County for the 3rd time this season to capture the last 8th District Championship between the two schools. Madisonville, which struggled mightily through its worst regular season in recent memory, is playing its best basketball as of late. The Maroons dismantled Caldwell County in the 7th District opener to move forward in postseason play. However, Madisonville's struggles continued in the championship game as the Hopkins Central Storm defeated them 82-40. Though Madisonville did well to put itself into the tournament, it just doesn't have enough scoring punch to pull the upset on the Tigers. Hopkinsville's James Bradley is a one-man wrecking crew, and with the help of guard Jonovan Leavell and wing Jayon Bass, Hopkinsville just has too many weapons for the Maroons to overcome.