PTown Dad

Brings up a solid question as to who will be the 3rd WR option for the Tornado. Thompson & McPike are an outstanding 1/2 punch. 3rd option - Tito Crumble? Possibly John Jones? Maybe someone we’re not familiar with.

Listened to Mr. Region One’s podcast today. It’s on Twitter if you ever want to catch it. We had a mild upset yesterday with Carlisle getting a close home win over Graves. Accordingly, here were Mr. York’s Power 5: 1-McCracken, 2-Marshall, 3-Carlisle, 4-Murray, 5-Graves. Tough to argue with that. And don’t forget we’ve got 3 vs 4 on Thursday night!

So is it a done deal? I'm hearing some saying that the Mustangs are pretty much a lock to make a trip to Rupp, but should everyone just hold their horses (pun intended!). Remember that the Marshals took the Mustangs to OT at Reed Conder and then were a buzzer beater away from going to OT at Strawberry Hills. And then the Mustangs needed a buzzer beater of their own to survive 55-54 at Graves this week. Have you all evaluated this new Tilghman team with their three new transfers? Don't get me wrong - if you asked me to choose a team right now, I would most definitely take the Mustangs. But back to my question - is it a done deal??? Key games this week: Tues - Calloway at McCracken, Graves at Carlisle, Tilghman at UHA Thurs - Graves at Marshall (PTown Dad's Game of the Week), Murray at Carlisle, St. Mary at Lyon Co., Tilghman at Ballard Mem. Fri - Marshall at Lyon Co. Here are my rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (24-3) - W 82-50 vs St. Mary, W 62-43 at Murray, W 55-54 at Graves Co., W 82-39 vs Hopkinsville Seems like a good time to talk about Owen Grogan. He made the buzzer beater layup to knock off Graves at the Eagles Nest. This team is just so, so deep! Grogan has good size and often takes the defensive assignment of guarding the best opposing player each night. Nice kid and comes from a good family. CCA has had a nice year, but this Mustangs team is in the Regional tournament. The draw for them is the next most interesting thing. 2. Marshall Co. (18-7) - W 51-47 (OT) at Mayfield, W 77-51 vs Hopkins Co. Central, L 59-64 at Mt. Vernon It's important to note that Matthew Langhi was resting a nagging injury in the Marshals narrow win at Mayfield. He shook it off and scored 32 points in the win over Hopkins Central. I feel like this team will win the 4th District even though the Tigers and Lakers have some pretty solid teams. One other note - the Marshals are challenging themselves by travelling to Lyon County on Friday. Interesting scheduling. 3. Graves Co. (14-10) - W 53-37 at Calloway Co., L 54-53 vs McCracken Co. I know I've talked about Ty Cavette some this year, but I'm gonna do it again. He scores 15 PPG for the Eagles this year as a 6-1 guard. Do you want to know how many 3s he's made this year? Zero. He's 0 for 7. But this dude is an athlete and good luck keeping him out of the lane. Someone please help me out - I think he has a relative that played for Graves many years ago. Can someone please give me a comment about that history. 4. Murray (18-5) - L 43-62 vs McCracken Not a great showing by the Tigers against the Mustangs, but I do know that Harris Moore was out for that game. He's such a key player for them. His father was a key player for the Tilghman 1996 team that went to State - John Moore. That was a really good Tilghman team! 5. Carlisle Co. (21-6) - W 72-53 at Fulton Co., W 81-35 at Fulton City, W 61-56 at Mayfield, W 81-55 vs Liv. Central Well, I guess we'll finally get to settle the 4/5 debate as Murray heads to Carlisle on Thursday night. This one's a toss-up in my eyes. This is a very good Comets team - their Junior class is legit. 6. Tilghman (8-16) - L 55-64 at Marion (IL), W 79-62 vs St. Mary, W 77-67 vs Calloway Co, L 83-41 at Cenralia (IL) The Tornado is still not at full strength, but they got 3 Illinois transfers eligible in time for this week's games. All three are solid players, but the one who stands out most to me is sharp-shooter Max Russell. Don't pay attention to this team's record because I promise you they are much better than that. However, to get to CFSB they have to beat the Vikings for a 3rd time - not an easy feat! 7. St. Mary (14-13) - L 50-82 at McCracken Co., L 62-79 at Tilghman, W 58-51 vs Ballard Mem., W 61-57 vs Vienna (IL) The win over Coach Burlin Brower has to feel good! How impressive is the youth on this Vikings team! I've already told you about Griffin Mayes who is most definitely one of the best Freshman in KY and is scoring 16 PPG. Sophomore JaCobi Nichols averages 11 & 7 and he's a beast. Lately, Freshman Jack Griffith has been lighting it up and is now averaging more than 11 PPG. I didn't even mention Sophomore Puckett or 8th Grade shooter Micah I. The future is quite bright for the Vikings, and now the question is can they surprise the Tornado and others this postseason. 8. Mayfield - (12-11) - L 47-51 vs Marshall Co., L 56-61 vs Carlisle Co. The talent is most definitely there. I feel like they will make it to the 1st Region tournament, but I'm just not totally sure. Stay tuned. 9. Christian Fellowship (17-9) - W 59-57 vs Ballard Mem., W 69-40 at Hickman Co., W 94-65 at Fulton City, L 59-62 at McClean Co. An outstanding record and what a great season for the CFS! But alas, it will end next week at Reed Conder. Can they petition the KHSAA to put them in the 3rd District for just this one year? That would be interesting! 10. Calloway Co. (8-17) - L 37-53 vs Graves Co., W 51-46 at Hickman Co., L 67-77 at Tilghman You can call me crazy if you want (I've been called much worse). But I think there's a good chance that the Lakers make it to the CFSB Center. The Tiger fans aren't going to like what I said here. The thing is - Luke Armstrong is really hard to stop. These losses that they have had lately have all been close losses. Watch out for this Laker team! 11. Ballard Memorial (7-20) - If this Bomber team would ever figure out how to close out a game, they would be pretty dangerous. 12. Community Christian Acad. (14-14) - Some really nice wins as of late! Can they knock off the Mustangs in district play??? No. 13. Hickman Co. (10-14) - one of these 13/14 teams will make the regional tourney. Who you got? 14. Fulton Co. (6-13) - Very fond of the Pilots' colors. Baby blue with some gold. 15. Fulton City (3-20) - Another rebuilding year comes to an end. Let me know your thoughts please. I really enjoy your input! I'll also give you Mr. York's Power Five on Wednesday.

Do either of y’all know if G. Miller is expected back soon? Great player - he can score a lot of different ways!

This was also the debut of three players who transferred in from Illinois (Meridian) for the Tornado. The best of those performances was Max Russell who had 4 3-pointers and 12 points.

Let's look at PTown Dad's tiers. I reserve the right to change these early and often: Tier 1 - McCracken Co. - yes, I know that Marshall came very close to beating them twice, but they remain undefeated in the 1st Region, and I think they're the team to beat. Tier 2 - Marshall, Graves and Murray - I think that with some luck any of these three teams could make a run at the CFSB Center and have a decent chance at knocking off the Mustangs. Tier 3 (in alphabetical order) - Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, CFS, Mayfield, St. Mary, Tilghman. The Comets are the cream of the crop here, but I think any of these teams could beat one another on any given night. I just don't see any of these heading to Rupp Arena. Tier 4 - Everyone else. Don't see these teams making any noise at the regional tourney. Key Games this week: Mon - St. Mary at McCracken, Ballard at CFS Tues - McCracken at Murray (PTown Dad's Game of the Week), Marshall at Mayfield, St. Mary at Tilghman, Calloway at Graves Fri - McCracken at Graves, Calloway at Tilghman, Carlisle at Mayfield, Ballard at St. Mary Sat - Hopkinsville at McCracken, Marshall at Mt. Vernon (IL) Here are my rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (20-3) - W 52-52 at Mt. Vernon (IL), W 78-42 vs Christian Co. The Mustangs just keep on rolling! I heard that Garrett Miller re-injured his wrist in the Christian County game, and I hope that it is not very serious. He is a guy who can score the ball in many different ways. But here's the thing - the Mustangs may still be the best team in the region without him. That's how deep this team is! 2. Marshall Co. (16-6) - L 52-55 vs Murray, W 80-54 at Calloway, W 73-47 at Pinckneyville (IL) The Marshals were rolling along in the Murray game with a 13-point lead at halftime until the wheels fell off in the 3rd quarter. No worries, they righted the ship when they traveled to Calloway and came out with a comfortable win - Matthew Langhi scored 27 points in that one. They get the #1 seed in the 4th District, and I believe that they will play Christian Fellowship. 3. Graves Co. (13-9) - W 61-49 at Ballard Mem., W 53-41 vs Mayfield, W 55-48 at Murray What a nice week for the Eagles! They clinched the #1 seed in the 3rd District and that means they are guaranteed a spot in the regional tournament. They also went to Murray and pulled out a very nice win. This team seems to be peaking at the right time, and Ty Cavette is leading the way. 4. Murray (18-4) - W 55-52 at Marshall Co., W 81-62 vs CFS, L 48-55 vs Graves Co. I had the Tigers penciled in at the #2 spot but then the surprising loss to Graves on Saturday. However, they showed they can play with the top of this region when they went to Marshall and pulled out the come-from-behind win. The game at Marshall was tied at 52 until Micah Wyatt nailed the winning three-pointer. I've given the Game of the Week to the McCracken game at Murray - the Tigers have shown they can slay a giant, and we will see if they can do it again. 5. Carlisle Co. (17-6) - W 60-53 vs Ballard Mem., W 59-53 at Calloway Co., W 42-37 at Ballard Mem. W 72-56 vs Livingston Central The Comets are also rolling along and 6-9 Forward Wyatt Rickard is averaging a double-double with 20 PPG and 10 RPG. I think they should breeze to the 1st District tournament championship. They're just on another level compared to the other 1st District teams. 6. St. Mary (12-11) - W 79-50 at Fulton Co., W 85-67 at Madisonville, W 80-51 at CCA, W 65-51 at Eldorado (IL) The Vikings have now rattled off six wins in a row. Freshman Griffin Mayes is scoring 16 ppg and pulling down 5 boards per game. Interested to see how they do on Monday and Tuesday on the road against their 2nd District foes of McCracken and Tilghman. 7. Paducah Tilghman (6-14) - W 59-56 vs Hopkinsville, W 73-40 at Meridian (IL) Quite possibly the most athletic team in the region and they had a very good home win against Hopkinsville on Tuesday. Carruthers missed the Meridian game and I hear that he needs to take care of some business in the classroom - he's a very key player for the Tornado. 8. Ballard Mem. (6-18) - L 53-60 at Carlisle Co., L 49-61 at Graves Co., W 58-45 vs Hickman Co., L 37-42 vs Carlisle Co. The Bombers have played such a tough schedule, and they seem to be in most of their games, but have some difficulty closing the deal. The 3rd District semifinal against Mayfield is really hard to predict. 9. Mayfield (12-9) - L 41-53 at Graves Co., W 63-54 vs UHA Nice bounce back win for the Cardinals against University Heights. This team has a lot of talent and if they can put it together I think they could make some postseason noise. 10. Christian Fellowship (14-8) - W 56-45 at Trigg Co., L 62-81 at Murray Elijah Griggs scored exactly half of their points - 28 - in their victory at Trigg. 11. Calloway (7-16) - I think that's now a seven-game skid for the Lakers. A couple of the losses surprised me. Luke Armstrong is still a beast. 12. Community Christian Acad. (12-13) - great victory this week over Hickman Co.! 13. Hickman Co. (10-11) - Freshman Logan Grimmett led the team in scoring this week in their win over Fulton City 14. Fulton Co. (6-10) - Zay Kinney scored 25 points in a recent win. 15. Fulton City (3-19) - I think there's a shot that the Bulldogs get their 4th win this week when they play S. Fulton.

Weirdly, I have a friend who is a local doctor in P-Town. I believe the QB’s dad may be a drug rep. I think the dad was caring for an elderly parent in BG but now the parent has unfortunately passed away. He told my friend that they no longer have a reason to live in the Warren Co area and have decided to move to P-Town. (It’s in his territory) But obviously I think the success that Tilghman has recently had is playing a role in where he is landing. And I guess nothing is final until the QB is actually enrolled. That’s all I know.

Let’s also not forget about PT’s leading scorer from last season is now in a McCracken uniform. These would be completely different games if that transfer had not occurred. Woodfork was very fond of Coach Overstreet and I know he was quite upset when Coach O was fired.

Not many games this week with the weather, but they were doozies: -On Thursday Calloway traveled to CFS and the Eagles got the narrow home upset with a 51-49 win. That's the first time that CFS has beaten one of the Top 10 teams, although they have been very close. -On Friday, the Bombers went to Mayfield and pulled out an unexpected 14-point road win. -Also on Friday, the Mustangs had a huge 38-point win over Tilghman. The previous game at Otis Dinning was a barn burner. Key games this week: Mon - Ballard Mem. at Carlisle Co, St. Mary vs Liv Central (Superman Classic) Tues - McCracken Co. at Mt. Vernon (IL), Murray at Marshall (Co-Game of the Week), Carlisle at Calloway, Graves at Ballard Mem., Hopkinsville at Tilghman Fri - Mayfield at Graves (Co-Game of the Week), Marshall at Calloway, Carlisle at Ballard Mem., CFS at Murray Sat - Graves at Murray Here are this week's rankings. Some shakeups: 1. McCracken Co. (18-3) - W 78-40 vs Tilghman I've said this before, but this team is very long. The starting lineup has 6-7, 6-6, 6-2, 6-2 and the runt of the litter is none other than Miles Woodfork at 6-1. As for Woodfork - it looks like his 3-point shooting has improved this year. He's shooting 42% from three and is making almost two per game. That's up from 36% last year with PT. This guy can really score! 2. Marshall Co. (14-5) - No games. It's way past time to give some love to PG Ryan Stokes. He's what I'd call a "Glue Guy." For him, the Riherds stats don't tell the whole story. He scores 9 PPG and pulls down 5 boards per game, but he also is probably the best perimeter defender for the Marshals and he's an outstanding passer too. 3. Murray (16-3) - W 59-54 vs Calloway Co. It looks like the Tigers have the #2 seed in the 4th District locked up and I think this is an interesting week for them. On Tuesday they travel to Marshall - can they keep that game tight? Then on Saturday they host #4 Graves County. Murray has an impressive record, but their strength of schedule hasn't been too impressive. Let's see how they do this week. 4. Graves Co. (10-9) - No games Who wants the number one seed in the 3rd District? It comes with a ticket punched to the CFSB Center for the regional tournament. The Eagles control their destiny, and they are at Ballard on Tuesday and then host the Cardinals on Friday. I'm predicting a 2-0 finish for the Eagles this week, but it won't be easy. 5. Carlisle Co. (13-6) - No games The coach's son, Brennan O'Neil is having an outstanding season scoring 11 points per game. I will be interested to see what Coach O'Neil does when his Junior son graduates. 6. Ballard Memorial (5-15) - W 58-44 at Mayfield If you look at the Bombers results, they have had so many close losses against quality teams and they finally got that quality win - on the road! How about Grayson Sparacio who scored 26 points and pulled down 10 boards for the Bombers at Mayfield. 7. Mayfield (11-8) - L 44-58 vs Ballard Mem., W 70-42 vs Hickman Co. Some nights the ball just doesn't go in the basket, and it sounds like that was the case for the Cardinals on Friday night. They had beaten the Bombers on a neutral court in the All A Classic just a couple of weeks ago by 18 points. The Cardinals can cause chaos in the 3rd District on Friday if they pull out a road win at Graves. 8. St. Mary (7-11) - No games The Vikings have a chance to win the Consolation Bracket in the Superman Classic when facing Livingston Central on Monday. 9. Christian Fellowship (13-7) - W 51-49 vs Calloway Congrats to the Fighting Elijah Griggs! What a win over Calloway! Elijah can really fill it up. 10. Calloway Co. (7-11) - L 49-51 at CFS, L 54-59 at Murray The Lakers started out the season very strong, but they are now on a four-game losing streak. Two interesting games for them this week as they host Carlisle on Tuesday and then Marshall on Friday. 11. Tilghman (4-14) - A very athletic team, but they're having some trouble shooting the ball right now. But the Tornado is still very dangerous! 12. Hickman Co. (9-9) - Ny Irons is scoring 14 PPG 13. Fulton Co. (5-9) - Zay Kinney is scoring 14 PPG for the Pilots 14. Community Christian Acad. (9-12) - they have two guys scoring over 20 PPG, and the good news is that they are both Sophomores. 15. Fulton City (3-15) - Can you get in trouble for not getting stats into Riherds? I don't know the rules.

I thought the Marshall, McCracken game was headed to another OT finish just like the game at Marshall in December. But what a full-court pass by Aaron Adams to Garrett Miller with an outstanding turnaround jumper to win the game at the buzzer. A not-so-bold prediction - these two teams will meet once again in the Regional tournament. It might be in the semis or it might be in the finals, but let's be honest - that game will be the true 1st Region Championship game no matter what round of the tourney. Key games this week (I left out the Tuesday games because I think most will be cancelled): Thurs - Marshall at St. Mary Fri - Graves at Marshall (PTown Dad's Game of the Week), Tilghman at McCracken, Calloway at Murray, Ballard Mem. at Mayfield Sat - McCracken at UHA Honestly, not much changed in these rankings this week. I feel like all the teams did what they were supposed to do: 1. McCracken Co. (17-3) - W 74-60 vs Carlisle Co., W 70-67 vs Marshall Co., W 75-58 at Calloway Co. Welcome back to Garrett Miller, and he returned with a bang! I had heard he would be on a bit of a minutes restriction, but he poured in 21 points against the Marshals, including a beautiful game winner. I tried to think of a weakness this team has, and I can't think of much. They're maybe not super athletic, but even that is somewhat of a stretch. The question now is will they run the table in the 1st Region this year. 2. Marshall Co. (14-5) - W 94-66 at CFS, L 67-70 at McCracken Co., W 63-52 at Tilghman You'd better not leave Neyland Jezik open from deep. He is making three 3's per game and is shooting better than 40% from downtown. It's tough because the gameplan is to slow down Langhi, but Jezik can burn you if you help off of him. 3. Murray (15-3) - W 93-59 vs Livingston Central, W 67-64 Union Co., The Tigers are in the finals of the Superman Classic - they take on Goreville, IL and I'm not completely sure when this game will be played. This team has some impressive depth! It was Sophomore Haden Parker who scored 20 points in their win over the Braves. The turnaround of this team versus last year is quite remarkable - Coach Doss has done an outstanding job. 4. Mayfield (10-7) - L 42-66 Lyon Co. (All A Classic) Tough draw for the Cardinals having to play the Lions in the first round of the All A. Do we think this team will land the #1 seed in the 3rd District? That would basically put them in the Regional tournament due to this 3-team district. 5. Graves Co. (10-9) - L 52-60 vs Muhlenberg Co., W 58-57 vs Christian Co., W 44-40 vs Ballard Mem. This week the Eagles have a barometer game when they travel to Marshall. I think they can keep it tight - this Junior class is very impressive. 6. Carlisle Co. (13-6) - L 60-74 at McCracken, W 61-29 vs Hickman Co. This Comets team is unsurprisingly head and shoulders above the rest of District 1. I feel like I say that every year. I'm pretty sure I do. 7. Calloway Co. (7-11) - L 34-49 at Marshall, L 58-75 vs McCracken Co. I may be the only one who feels this way, but I think it will be a tight game when the Lakers play the Crosstown Classic on Friday. They didn't show up in the first game at the Jeff, but then they took the Tigers down to the wire in the 2A semifinals. I look for Luke Armstong to show up in a big way this week. 8. Tilghman (4-13) L 52-63 vs Marshall Co. This is a dangerous team and I'm not saying that just because PTown Son provides outstanding Bench Energy. This week Avery Thompson returned from his ankle injury that he suffered in the St. Mary game. He looked a little rusty, but he's one of the Tornado's top players. Thompson's basketball scouting report - solid defender who can guard multiple positions, strong rebounder, decent shooter and has some mid-range game too. Football scouting report - very good route runner, catches everything and I mean everything, not really a speedster but he's fast enough. 9. St. Mary (7-11) - L 54-56 at Massac Co., W 70-40 Century (IL) JaCobi Nichols is big and athletic and has a bright future. He scored 24 points in the Vikings win over Century. 10. Ballard Mem. (4-15) - L 40-44 at Graves Co. Just like the Tornado this team is way better than their record indicates. They can knock off Mayfield if Ike Miller has a big game. 11. Christian Fellowship (11-7) - Elijah Grigg had 26 points in their loss to the Marshals. 12. Hickman Co. (9-8) - Impressive win over Fulton Co. - Brendan Rosas scored 22 points in that game. 13. Fulton Co. (5-9) - The Pilots have four players that average double figures. 14. Community Chirstian Acad. (9-12) - Big-time congrats to Soph Jonah Anderson who scored his 1,000th point this week. 15. Fulton City (3-15) - Only lost by five points at Fulton City! Let me know how I did! Always enjoy everyone's feedback.

Thank you, Sweet16! If you are bored when you’re snowed in go check it out on YouTube! A back and forth game all night. I thought the Marshals had it won up 4 with the ball and one minute left. Two costly turnovers made it a tie game. Not a very good shot by the Marshals with their last possession. Then I don’t want to give the ending away - check out the last 1.7 seconds on YT or Adam Wells (WPSD) Twitter. There were some extra-curricular activities after the game but emotions run high after something like that. Plus, the students rushed the court and that’s never fun for the opposing team.

There is a schedule change since Snowmageddon is coming to Western Ky. #2 Marshall at #1 Mustangs is tonight at Strawberry Hills. I think this one will go down to the wire. You can find this one on McCracken’s YouTube channel if you can’t get to the game. Lots of talk about who’s better - Matthew or Miles. I feel like First Region POY is most definitely down to these 2.

I recall there was a Western Ky team who had several suspensions and the KHSAA allowed them to spread them out over a few games so that they wouldn’t have too many gone at once.

I did see video of the fight they had in a game - I think it was Prestonburg game. And I would definitely assume there were suspensions from that incident.

I noticed a mistake in one of the games when I drilled down. Do I just email the person about the mistake? Do you find that they are very responsive? And thank you, Mr. Owl - I love stuff like this.

How about those Mayfield Cardinals! I thought they had a chance to take home the All A Region 1 title, but they did it in impressive fashion. An 18-point win over the Bombers and then a 12-point victory over Carlisle. Now I'm not sure this team is on the level of McCracken and Marshall, but they are most definitely in the mix right behind those two. Key games this week (Note - both Murray and St. Mary are playing in the Superman Classic at Massac County, IL): Mon - Muhlenberg Co. at Graves Co. Tues - Carlisle at McCracken, Marshall at CFS, Mayfield at Calloway, Hickman at Fulton County Thur - Mayfield vs Lyon Co. (All A State tournament) Fri - McCracken at Calloway, Marshall at Tilghman, Graves at Ballard Sat - Marshall at McCracken (PTown Dad's Game of the Week!), Ballard at Carlisle Here are my rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (14-3) - W 72-65 at Tilghman, W 91-60 vs UHA The Mustangs just keep on rolling! They were down double digits in the 2nd half at Tilghman but they kept their composure and pulled it out in the end. Miles Woodfork scored 28 points in that game and was an impressive 18 for 18 from the charity stripe. This is a BIG team and good luck outrebounding these guys. Klope is a beast, and then Adams, Diaz, Tanner and Grogan all provide solid size. And don't forget - the Mustangs will be even better when Garrett Miller returns from injury. 2. Marshall Co. (12-4) - W 49-34 vs Calloway Co., W 53-50 at Graves Co. The Marshals got down big early at the Eagles, and then on the shoulders of Matthew Langhi they pulled it out. Langhi had roughly half of their points in that game - he scored 26. I think we're in for another treat Saturday night when we have the #2 Marshals travel to the #1 Mustangs. This was a no-brainer PTown Dad Game of the Week. 3. Murray (13-3) - W 76-72 at Tilghman, L 26-56 CAL Man, Christian Academy of Louisville must be pretty darn good! The Tigers were down by 16 points at Tilghman and trailed by five points with less than two minutes to go and then their press really hurt the Tornado in the last couple minutes. It was steal, layup, steal, layup, steal, layup and all of a sudden the Tigers had the lead. I think the Tigers have a good shot and taking home the title at the Superman Classic this week. 4. Mayfield (10-6) - W 78-40 vs CCA, W 53-35 Ballard Memorial, W 55-43 Carlisle Co. All A Region 1 Champions! Owen Byrd leads the way, but this is a very balanced team - they have six players who score more than 8 ppg. The Cardinals also recently got Freshman Brycen Eubanks back from injury. This is a name you will hear a lot about over the next few years - he's tall! 5. Graves Co. (8-8) - W 59-43 at Tilghman, L 50-53 vs Marshall Co. I thought the Eagles were going to pull out the upset over the Marshals but they struggled from the free-throw line down the stretch. How about Trevor Frick's 27 points at Tilghman! 6. Carlisle Co. (12-5) - W 74-42 vs Hickman Co., W 60-52 St. Mary, L 43-55 Mayfield Wyatt Rickard scored 19 points and brought down 11 boards against St. Mary. Interested to see how the Comets hold up on Tuesday when they travel to McCracken. 7. Calloway Co. (7-10) - L 34-49 at Marshall Co. This is a big week for the Lakers - they host Mayfield on Tuesday and then host the Mustangs on Friday. Even winning one of those would be really big for their confidence. 8. Paducah Tilghman (4-12) - L 72-76 vs Murray, L 43-59 vs Graves Co., L 65-72 vs McCracken Co. The Tornado have led three games in the last two weeks by double digits in the 2nd half only to let each game slip away. Foul trouble to key players has definitely played a role in these losses. The Tornado's point guard Warren Carruthers is really fun to watch and to me he's a Top 10 player in this region. Do you remember Tyler Ullis who played at UK? That's the best player comp that I can give you. 9. St. Mary (6-10) - W 87-58 vs Fulton Co., L 52-60 Carlisle Co. Freshman Griffin Mayes is averaging 16 ppg for the Vikings. This week they also play in Metropolis at the Superman Classic. Legend has it this is where Superman was born. 10. Ballard Memorial (4-14) - W 60-58 vs CFS, L 35-53 Mayfield How about Greyson Sporacio scoring 23 points in their win over Christian Fellowship. The Bombers are at the Eagles Nest on Friday in a good barometer game for them. 11. Christian Fellowship (11-6) - They are 0-5 against the Top 10 teams, but they have been extremely close in several of these games. Can they get over the hump? 12. Fulton Co. (4-8) - This week we get our first preview of the Pilots' 1st District semifinal game against Hickman Co. 13. Hickman Co. (8-6) - Coach Cam Cartwright is doing a solid job in his first year at the helm of the Falcons. 14. Community Christian Acad. (8-12) - Jonah Anderson scored 30 points in their victory over Fulton City. 15. Fulton City (3-14) - Three wins on the season, but zero games with stats in Riherds for the Bulldogs. Ok - who would you put higher? Who would you slide down lower? Also - I am going to let everyone know Mr. Region One's Top 5 when it comes out on Wednesday. I enjoy his podcast!

I think they are ineligible as of right now. 2 juniors and a senior. There was a hearing for the Senior late last week but I haven’t heard if there has been a decision yet.

The All A Classic in the 1st Region is pretty wide open this year. I think Carlisle, Mayfield and St. Mary all have a realistic shot of winning it. The quarterfinals are Monday and then the Semis are Wednesday at Graves County. The championship game is Saturday evening. Key games this week: Mon - Murray at Tilghman, Hickman at Carlisle, Fulton Co. at St. Mary, CFS at Ballard Tues - Graves at Tilghman, Calloway at Marshall Fri - Marshall at Graves (PTown Dad's Game of the Week), McCracken at Tilghman, Murray vs CAL (2A Championship quarterfinals) Sat - UHA at McCracken Here are this week's rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (12-3) - W 68-32 at St. Mary, W 79-60 vs New Madrid (Mo.) The Mustangs keep rolling. I wonder what the reception for Miles Woodfork will be at Tilghman this Friday. Will it be warm or icy? The young man scored better than 20 ppg during both his Sophomore and Junior seasons for the Tornado. Woodfork is scoring 25 ppg this season and is shooting better than 36% from downtown. 2. Marshall Co. (10-4) - W 73-46 vs CFS, L 47-55 vs Chicago Curie Matthew Langhi scored 29 points in the Marshals' loss versus Chicago Curie. They travel to Graves on Friday and I think that one could be interesting - it's PTown Dad's Game of the Week. 3. Murray (12-2) - W 54-52 Calloway Co., W 60-53 Webster Co. (2A Section 1 finals), W 69-50 at CFS Congratulations to the Tigers as they won the 2A title for Section 1. This team is led by Mitchell and Moore but they are pretty balanced in their scoring. It seems like a new Tiger steps up each game. Good luck to the Tigers as they travel to Owensboro for the 2A state championship! 4. Carlisle Co. (10-4) - W 78-50 vs Fulton Co. Wyatt Rickard had 15 points and 10 boards in their win over Fulton County. It looks like these Comets will cruise to the 1st District title as expected. 5. Mayfield (7-6) - W 56-54 at Ballard Memorial, W 41-33 vs Graves Co. Great 3rd District win for the Cardinals on Friday night! Owen Byrd led the way by scoring 18 points, but how about Freshman Gabe Morris chipping in 10 points! 6. Graves Co. (7-7) - W 76-59 vs Fulton Co, L 33-41 at Mayfield, W 68-55 Henderson Co. It's clear that the Eagles are missing Raygon Mathis, but they pulled off a heck of a win against Henderson County on Saturday! It will be interesting to see who gets the #1 seed in the 3rd District. I'd hate to have to play Ballard Memorial with a trip to the 1st Region title on the line. 7. Calloway Co. (7-9) - L 52-54 Murray, W 71-49 Madisonville After taking a nasty loss to the Tigers by 34 - the 2A semifinal game was more of what I expected. I think the game went down to the wire, but Murray pulled it out in the end. Jackson Ames is shooting the ball very well right now. He makes two 3s per game and is shooting 35% from beyond the arc. 8. Tilghman (4-9) - L 75-77 vs Hopkins County Central, L 40-64 McCluer North (Mo.) The Tornado led by ten points with just a few minutes left but gave the game away late to Hopkins County Central. Avery Thompson is out with a foot injury and I think he will be out for a few weeks. That really hurts because Thompson may be their best shooter and is also very good defensively. The Tornado has a busy week this week but all three of the games are at home. They host Murray on Monday, Graves on Tuesday, and then McCracken on Friday. 9. St. Mary (5-9) - L 32-68 vs McCracken, W 88-52 vs CCA Jack Griffith poured in 26 points in the Vikings win at CCA. Don't count the Vikings out in the All A Classic. This is a young team with a very high ceiling. 10. Christian Fellowship (10-5) - L 46-73 at Marshall, L 60-69 vs Murray Congrats to Elijah Grigg, who is now the 1st Region's all time leading scorer. That's quite an accomplishment! I haven't had a chance to see him play, but I hear he's pretty special. 11. Ballard Memorial (3-13) - I think the Bombers took Mayfield to two overtimes at home. Ike Miller had 18 & 16 in that game. 12. Hickman Co. (8-5) - On Monday they travel to Carlisle. Can they make it a game? 13. Fulton Co. (4-7) - The Pilots take on St. Mary in the All A Quarterfinals. 14. Community Christian Acad. (5-9) - This team is basically the DeJarnett and Anderson show. The good thing is that they're both Sophomores. 15. Fulton City (2-12) - Who knows Fulton City's mascot without looking it up? Let me know if you do. Tell me what you think on these rankings. I always like to get other's input.

I think a strong possibility that Isaac James will be the lead RB for the Tornado. But not sure if he’ll continue to play LB too. Another option is Tito Crumble - he’s got a lot of speed.

Griffin Mayes from St. Mary is very good in Region 1. A combo guard with good size!

G Miller from McCracken is very good. They will miss him a lot but hopefully not out very long. I feel like this is the time of year where every team has one or two guys out. But Miller is a starter and one of their top scorers. Thanks for the update!

Let's briefly talk about the 1st Region Player of the Year. It's early, but I think it's mainly a two-horse race with a few others in the discussion (Rickard, Armstrong, Mayes, Grigg, etc.). My two front-runners are Matthew Langhi from Marshall and Miles Woodfork from McCracken. Both guys can really fill it up, and each are near 30 points per game right now. I think that Langhi may do a little more for the Marshals team as compared to Woodfork, but that margin is very slight. Key games this week: Monday - Calloway vs Murray (2A Section 1 semifinals) Tuesday - McCracken at St. Mary, Mayfield at Ballard Thursday - Chicago Curie (IL) at Marshall Friday - Graves at Mayfield (PTown Dad's Region 1 Game of the Week), Murray at CFS, Madisonville at Calloway, Fulton Co. at Carlisle Here at this week's rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (10-3) - W 71-62 Woodford Co., W 74-62 Graves Co., L 62-72 Daviess Co. It seems the flu bug has hit the Mustangs a bit. Friday night they were missing head coach Dustin Roberts and in their game against Daviess they were missing a key play in Garrett Miller. Let's talk a little about Aaron Adams. He's only a Sophomore, but he's 6-5 or so and very athletic. He dunks the ball with ease. He's scoring 11 PPG with 4 rebounds per game and shoots 43% from downtown. If you pay too much attention to Woodfork then he's one of the Mustangs who can make you pay. Nice kid too! 2. Marshall Co. (9-3) - L 66-69 Great Crossing The Marshals have a few shooters to surround Langhi with. The most prolific one is Neyland Jezik. He is making 2.9 three-pointers per game while shooting 41% from beyond the arc. He's one of those guys that you just can't help off of. The Marshals host a tough team out of Chicago on Thursday night, Curie. 3. Graves Co. (5-6) - L 62-74 at McCracken Co. I thought about moving them down but I hate to punish this Eagles team for losing an away game at the top team in the region. The injury bug has bitten this team a little and they seem to now be quite thin. They still have guys that can score - Cavette, Veucasovic and Frick will still win this team some games. 4. Murray (9-2) - W 77-57 at McClean Co., W 71-55 at Mayfield A nice win for the Tigers at Mayfield. It seems this team can score in bunches. What is the terminology? "Spurtability!" Who puts together the brackets for the 2A Sectionals? One semifinal is Calloway and Murray. The other semifinal is Webster Co. and Hopkins Co Central from the 2nd region. This will mean that these teams all now play each other for a 3rd time. Maybe I'm being overly critical. 5. Carlisle Co. (9-4) - No games this past week. According to these rankings this is the team most likely to win the first region All A Classic and head to Richmond. This is a veteran team and it seems they are getting better each week. 6. Calloway Co. (6-8) W 59-56 at Ballard Memorial, W 68-60 vs CFS It's maybe a little boring to talk about Free Throws, but Luke Armstong is 63 out 70 so far this season. You sometimes just have to foul this guy and he's shooting 90% from the stripe. I look for the Lakers to fare much better in the 2nd edition of the Crosstown Classic that is being played at (checks notes) Hopkins County Central. 7. Tilghman (4-7) - W 66-61 at St. Mary "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." -Mark Twain (I think). Nice win for the Tornado on the Holy Hardwood! That's a tough place to go in and get a win. The Tornado dominated the Vikings on the boards. I'm a big fan of Eli Dabney - he does most of his work around the rim. I'd give you some stats but it looks like they don't enter them into Riherds. A light week for the Tornado this week, but the week following this they host teams ranked #1, #3 and #4. 8. Mayfield (5-6) - W 68-26 at Crittenden Co., L 55-71 vs Murray The Cardinals had the lead versus the Tigers at halftime, but had a rough second half. They get another opportunity to prove themselves when they host Graves this Friday. I think you can throw out all the records when these two teams meet up. That's why it's PTown Dad's Game of the Week. 9. St. Mary (4-8) - L 61-81 Lawrence Co., L 61-66 vs Tilghman That's now five losses in a row for the Vikings, but it's against some very good competition. Don't forget that this team starts two freshmen, two sophomores and one senior. Then there's an 8th grader that comes off the bench and can fill it up. I'm going to call him Micah I. Can the Vikings keep the game close hosting the Mustangs on Tuesday night? 10. Ballard Memorial (3-12) - L 56-59 vs Calloway Co., L 50-56 at Logan Co. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is the best 3-12 team in Kentucky. The Bombers seem to get right there each game but can't get over the hump. Which two teams will come out of the 3rd District? It's typically Graves and Mayfield but we shall see if the Bombers have a say in that. 11. Christian Fellowship (10-3) - They host Murray on Friday. Can they keep it interesting? 12. Fulton Co. (3-5) - The Pilots go to Carlisle on Friday. I still think they could make the Regional tourney like last year. 13. Hickman Co. (6-5) - 16 PPG and 8 RPG for Ny Irons 14. Community Christian Acad. (4-7) - The Warriors have two super-sophs in DeJarnett and Anderson 15. Fulton City (1-10) - They got a win against Heritage Christian out of Hopkinsville. Congrats! I continue to struggle with how to order teams 3 through 9 on here. Let me know your thoughts!

I always try to finish this before my 2nd Sunday bourbon. Remember that I am on Central time. Here are my current tiers: Tier 1 - McCracken & Marshall - I think one of these teams will be cutting down the nets at the CFSB Center. Tier 2 - Teams ranked 3 through 9 below. Any of these teams could beat the others on any given night. Especially at home. Tier 3 - All the rest. I don't think any of these teams could get a win against the upper two tiers. Maybe Ike Miller and Ballard? Key Games this week: Tuesday - Murray at McClean Co. Friday - Graves at McCracken (PTown Dad's Game of the Week), Christian Fellowship at Calloway Saturday - Murray at Mayfield, Tilghman at St. Mary, McCracken vs Daviess Co. (this one should be really good too!) Here are this week's rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (8-2) - L 82-90 Boyd Co., W 71-61 Taylor County I think that was a really good Boyd County team that took down the Mustangs and shot the lights out in the process. I am going to try to talk about a standout McCracken player each week and this week it's Jackson Klope. His scoring production has been going up each week after he missed his Junior season with a knee injury. He's now averaging a double-double. 12 points per games and 10 boards. I think he could play at the next level, and probably at a small school. He's 6-6 or so and he can rebound with the best of them. He also handles the ball very well. 2. Marshall Co. (7-2) - L 56-59 North Laurel (OT), W 74-60 Paintsville It's worth pointing out that the Marshals' star, Matthew Langhi, missed the overtime loss to North Laurel due to an illness. Then he came back the next day against Paintsville and scored 33. I feel like this Marshals team is going to get better and better throughout the year. Outside of Langhi, Stokes and Jezik this really is a pretty young team. 3. Graves Co. (5-4) - W 60-52 Pinkneyville (IL), W 56-55 Christian Brothers (TN), L 53-63 South Warren This is one of only two teams who have not yet lost to 1st Region competition (McCracken's the other). I heard some injury news on Raygon Mathis, and I don't know how long he will be out, but it was a non-contact knee injury. This is not a deep team, and they will feel Mathis' absence pretty bad. This team still has an outstanding Junior class led by Ty Cavette. I assume the Friday game at McCracken will be on YouTube. We'll find out if the Eagles are for real that night - it's PTown Dad's Game of the Week. 4. Murray (7-2) - W 95-25 vs Crittenden Co. Six times! That's how many times the Tigers have scored more than 90 points. If you get a chance to see the Tigers in person, make sure you use the restroom before the game. Then go again at halftime. These guys are fun to watch! I think they will take care of business at Mayfield but I'm guessing they won't get to 90 that night. 5. Carlisle Co. (9-3) - W 53-51 at St. Mary, W 60-58 Owensboro, L 50-55 Barren Co. The Comets avenged an earlier loss to St. Mary this past week to win the Vikings Classic. They trailed the whole game but then made a late run to take the victory. Wyatt Rickard scored 27 points that night. I'm pretty sure if Riherds tracked blocks he would be leading the 1st Region. 6. Calloway Co. (4-6) - L 54-69 vs Christian Co. Honestly, I'm giving the Lakers some benefit of the doubt because I've been seeing a lot of DNPs for their players on social media. I know Stricklin has missed several games and I think that Luke Armstrong has missed a few too. This is not a team with a lot of depth and they're not going to win very many games without Armstrong. He's good! 7. St. Mary (4-6) - L 51-53 vs Carlisle Co., L 66-90 at Ashland, L 47-60 Cooper I know it was in a loss, but how about Jacobi Nichols' 29 points against Ashland! He has good size and can score in several different ways. The top of this roster is very, very good. The bench is quite young and inexperienced. 8. Mayfield (4-4) - W 73-38 Valley, W 71-42 Butler Co., L 49-51 Owensboro Catholic I feel like I need to move the Cardinals higher in the rankings, but they really just don't have any quality wins yet. Still, they have some very nice pieces and I think they can pull some upsets this season. I'm a big fan of point guard Owen Byrd. He's also the kicker for the Cardinals football team. 9. Tilghman (3-7) - W 43-41 Christian Brothers (TN), L 51-54 Ripley (TN), L 47-71 Jackson Northside (TN) This Tornado team is better than their record indicates. This is a deep team that can go eleven deep. Maybe that's the problem - the Tornado don't seem to have one or two guys that they can give the ball to and have them go get a bucket. Who should it be? Thompson? Carruthers? Purdiman? Forthman? I think they are still trying to figure things out on the offensive end. 10. Christian Fellowship (9-2) - W 79-41 Heritage Christian (Hopkinsville) Big time congratulations to Elijah Grigg, who became the Eagles' all-time leading scorer this week. He passed up Chris Johnson, who played in the mid-90s. Grigg can fill it up. 11. Ballard Memorial (3-9) - The Bombers have played quite a schedule this season so far. That may pay off later down the road in 3rd District play. 12. Hickman Co. (4-5) - I think this is an up-and-coming team. Their matchups against the Pilots will be very interesting. 13. Fulton Co. (3-5) - Senior Zayden Kinney makes more than 3 threes per game and is shooting 48% from downtown. 14. Community Christian Academy (4-7) - Bradon DeJarnett scored 38 in the Warriors' win over Fort Campbell! 15. Fulton City (0-8) - Potential win this week against Heritage Christian. No stats on Riherds. Nothing. Let me know what you think! I feel like most will agree with my one and two but interested to see what you think about the rest.

How about those Murray Tigers! I definitely thought that they could pull out the win at Calloway, but I never saw a 34-point blowout! I definitely underestimated this team for this season. I knew about Maddox Mitchell and Harris Moore, but they have much more than just those two. Key games this week: Monday - Carlisle at St. Mary (P-Town Dad's Game of the week), Calloway at Christian Co., Murray at Caldwell Co. Friday - Tilghman at Ripley (TN) Saturday - Marshall vs N. Laurel, McCracken vs Boyd Co., Graves vs S. Warren, Mayfield vs O. Catholic Here are my rankings: 1. McCracken Co. (5-1) - W 80-39 vs Mayfield, L 64-68 Archbishop Alter (OH), This team has scoring, shooting, size, depth, lockdown defenders. Just about everything! Not so sure about the coaches' hoodies from the Mayfield game though. The Mustangs will be tested this week when they head to Lexington. 2. Marshall Co. (8-1) - W 75-58 at Murray, W 52-47 vs Caverna Nice win over Caverna! Matthew Langhi is now 7th on the Marshals all-time scoring list, and he's just a Junior. I wonder where his dad is on that list. The Marshals have a tough test against North Laurel on Saturday. 3. Graves Co. (3-3) - L 44-65 Harding Academy (TN) Still no losses to Kentucky teams for the Eagles. I'm interested to see how these guys match up against the Top 2 later in the season. Their Junior class is pretty impressive - the top five scorers come from that class. 4. Murray (5-2) - L 58-75 vs Marshall, W 71-37 at Calloway This is a fun team to watch! Their relentless pressure gave the Lakers fits. It's past time for me to give some props to Maddox Mitchell. I think this guy could play at the next level. He is scoring 18 points per game, and he shoots 41% from three - he makes a ton of those. 5. Calloway Co. (4-4) - W 66-58 vs Tilghman, L 71-37 vs Murray What is the old saying? "Live by the three, die by the three." This team shoots a bunch of them! On Tuesday night they couldn't miss from downtown as they built a 20-point lead over the Tornado in the first half. I didn't see the Murray game, but I heard they only made one three in the game. The Lakers actually get two more shots at the Tigers - the next time is the 2A semifinal in early January. 6. St. Mary (4-3) - W 77-36 vs Crittenden Co., W 71-61 vs Livingston Central The Vikings got a nice draw in the St. Mary Classic! Now they face the Comets in the finals on Monday night at 6. Are you free Monday night? Head over to the Holy Hardwood for P-Town Dad's Game of the Week. 7. Carlisle Co. (7-2) - W 77-30 vs Fulton City, W 78-47 Trigg Co., W 74-69 Logan County A nice come-from-behind win over Logan County in the St. Mary Classic semifinals! The coach's son, Brennan ONeil scored 22 points in this game. The Comets are looking for revenge against the Vikings on Monday night. 8. Mayfield (2-2) - L 39-80 at McCracken The Cardinals led the entire 1st quarter and were only five points down at halftime against the Mustangs. Then the wheels came off. It seemed like the Mustangs' size overwhelmed Mayfield in the 2nd half. I noticed that Mayfield's freshman center, Brycen Eubanks, did not play in the McCracken game. I assume he is out due to injury but I do not have any details. 9. Paducah Tilghman (2-5) - L 58-66 at Calloway, W 81-76 Memphis East Good win for the Tornado against Memphis East! They needed that one. The 2-5 record is not ideal, but I think most of the 1st Region teams would have losses to Henderson, Carbondale, and Apollo. The Tornado's sophomore point guard, Warren Carruthers, is a player to watch down the road. He doesn't have much size but his passing and defensive pressure are impressive. 10. Ballard Mem. (2-6) - W 50-38 at Hickman Co., L 41-44 Russelville, L 39-58 Apollo Ike Miller leads the way for the Bombers in both scoring and rebounding. He is almost averaging a double-double - 13 ppg and 9 rpg. 11. Christian Fellowship (8-2) - I hear that Elijah Grigg is someone that I need to see play. He will be up there with the top scorers in the region this season. 12. Hickman Co. (4-4) - Nice win for the Cardinals over Fort Campbell! Ny Irons is balling out! 13. Fulton Co. (2-5) - Davarious Freeman is leading the way for Fulton County this season. They have some young talent! 14. Community Christian Acad. (3-7) - The Warriors have some guys who can score, but like a lot of schools this size their depth is unfortunately nonexistent. 15. Fulton City - (0-5) - I think this team will get their first win soon. Merry Christmas to everyone! As always - let me know what you think. I enjoy the feedback - how would you change these rankings?

Totally agree with what you’re saying here. They’re really fun to watch but teams with a good PG that know how to break a press can get some easy buckets.