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Lincoln County opens the season against Woodford County at the WPBK Death Valley Bowl in Stanford, Ky. Lincoln comes off its first winning season in years and has looked very balanced in their two opening scrimmages. Game time is 6:00 pm.

Rockcastle County secured their first district title in five years when they knocked off Knox Central 14-0 last week, extending their win streak to five games and securing homefield for the first three rounds of the playoffs. They have already won eight games this season, their most since that same 2011 season. It's a resurgent season for the Rockets that should continue when they step up in class to visit Lincoln County in the final game of the regular season. The Patriots have very much had the opposite type of season, gaining only a single win over North Laurel in between two four game losing streaks. They have hung tough with some good teams this season, with close losses to ranked or fringe teams like Madison Southern, East Jessamine, and Garrard County, but those games are long ago. A season ago, Rockcastle County had their way in a 34-0 result. More of the same this year?

The 2012-13 12th Region Champion, Wayne County, ended their season with an 81-56 pasting given by the eventual state champion, Madison Central, in the opening game of the 2013 Sweet Sixteen tournament. The good news is that they return four starters from a team that posted a 17-3 record against 12th Region opponents last season. The bad news is that their dominance last season didn't go unnoticed and the offseason has brought new hope to many teams in the 12th Region trying to win the regional tournament in order to advance to Rupp Arena. Team Rankings 1. Wayne County - Wayne County returns four starters from last season's 12th Region championship team. Senior Jason Perkins, junior Peyton Woods and sophomores Corey Stearns and Trey Blevins. These four accounted for 52 points off of last season's team that averaged 69 points a game so scoring should not be an issue for the Cardinals this season. All four players are capable shooters who can handle the ball as well. Their lack of size is a concern but they hope that the experience that they gained last season will have some carryover to this season. The loss of their senior leader, Dagan Shelton, from last season's team may be felt early in the season but as the season progresses new leaders and new players in new roles should have Wayne County in a perfect position to defend their 12th Region title. Led by head coach Rodney Woods who is now starting his 28th year at Wayne County compiling a 562-305 record while at Wayne County(37 years,770-375 overall) the Cardinals are indeed the team to beat this season. 2. West Jessamine - West Jessamine ended last season with a heart breaking 67-66 loss to Wayne County in the 12th Region tournament semifinals. The defending 46th District champions, West Jessmine, return two of the best players in the region this season in seniors Will Henderson and Daulton Peters. While the Colts lost one of the top players in the region in Chase Fain they also return Rashawn Jackson, Siah Holifield, Landon Atkins and Dalton Crouse. Brooks Ely has transferred to West Jessamine and he looks to be in the rotation as well. Led by head coach, Damon Kelley, West Jessamine looks to remain as one of the top teams in the region as they have been while under Kelley's leadership. As usual, West Jessamine has a challenging schedule this season and if health is on their side they expect to be in the regional championship mix come March. 3. Boyle County - The Boyle County Rebels are the two-time defending 45th District champions and they fully expect to defend their title and make it three in a row. For the second consecutive year Coach Steve Adams will have to replace four starters from a district championship team. This year the Rebels may be more prepared to defend their title than last season. Led by returning leading scorer, junior Hagen Tyler, the Rebels look to be in the mix for the 12th Region title thanks to the emergence of post player, 6-6 sophomore Colton Elkins. Senior guard Clayton Ray has transferred from Garrard County and joined the Rebel team this season as well. The Rebels boast a strong junior class that includes returning 6th man and projected starter, Chapman Bean along with Keagan Hinkle, Zack Leigh and Tristin Bell. Bell is another who has had a strong offseason and looks to provide the Rebels with more depth at the guard spot. Sophomore Josiah Robbins was also a major contributor to last season's team and he returns with more experience in the system as well. With only one senior on the team this season the Rebels look to make a strong case for success this season and the future looks to be good as well. 4. Lincoln County - For the last two seasons Lincoln County has been the runner-up in the district tournament and this season they look to change their fortune. Like West Jessamine, Lincoln County returns two of the best players in the region in juniors Timmy Taylor and Jacob Conway. Taylor is regarded by some as the best point guard in the region and has had a very strong offseason on the AAU circuit. Lincoln County loses the inside presence of Luke Hill but Coach Jeff Jackson has done a fantastic job of maintaining consistency in his program and while the loss of Hill will hurt the Patriots expect to find a formidable replacement. Lincoln expects to finish as the district champs this season as playing second fiddle to Boyle County is not something that Lincoln County expects or plans to do this season. 5. Mercer County - Mercer County made it to the 12th Region tourney semifinals last season and Coach Brian Britt plans to have the Titans improve upon that this season. They return their top two leading scorers in sophomore Will Hager(13.6 point/game) and senior Russell Sims(13.1 points/game). The Titans hope that their depth will allow them to play at a fast pace to complement their ability to shoot from outside. They return a lot of experience from last year's team and they fully expect to be in the mix with an opportunity to play at Rupp Arena this season. The Titans leave for a trip to the Bahamas shortly after Thanksgiving and they hope that it is a great life experience for them as well as a team bonding experience. Much like Boyle County, the Titans have a lot of experienced youth on the team and while they expect to end their season in Rupp Arena they are also laying the groundwork for the future. 8th grader, Trevon Faulkner, is expected to contribute at the varsity level this season and some even expect to see him in the starting lineup at some point this season. With rumors of sophomore Drew Davis not expecting to play this season the addition of Faulkner should pay off for the present and the future of the Titans. 6. Southwestern - Southwestern went into the offseason stewing from an upset loss to Mercer County in the opening round of the 12th Region tournament. Southwestern went into last season as one of the top 2 teams in the region as was the favorite to advance to Rupp Arena last season with the nucleus of junior David Kapinga, junior Justin Edwards, sophomore Isaiah Collier and senior Justin Schultz. It is safe to say that the 22-9 season last year was a disappointing season for Southwestern and many 12th Region followers expected that the nucleus of seniors Kapinga and Edwards along with junior Isaiah Collier that Southwestern would be looking to redeem themselves this season. Ironically, Kapinga transferred out to St. Louis Christian and Isaiah Collier transferred to Jackson County leaving Justin Edwards as the lone experienced returnee for Southwestern. Edwards is regarded as the top player in the region but everyone else for Southwestern is an unknown. Adam Isaacs and Dylan Gaskin look to make some noise this season for Southwestern and we will find out soon just how good Southwestern will be this season. 7. Somerset - The 12th Region tourney runner-up, Somerset Briar Jumpers, returns two starters from that team in seniors Cam Cheuvront and Ryan Dishman. Somerset will unveil a brand new front court after the losses of Tyson Williams and Ryan Weddle. The Briar Jumpers boast a strong junior class and that should allow Somerset to be more athletic and give them a chance to increase the tempo and push the pace. Coach Jeff Cothron expects Somerset to be a strong contender for the 47th District title and they plan to be able to compete with all of the top teams by February. 8. East Jessamine - Coach Chris O'Bryan returns two juniors who had significant playing time last season in Ronnie Carson and Hayden Smith. Smith is regarded as one of the best pure jump shooters to ever don an East Jessamine uniform. Players expected to contribute to the Jaguars this season include senior guard Kahnan Leslie, sophomore post player TJ Ross, Mason County transfer Camryn Jones who is a sophomore guard and sophomores Shalah Nobles and TJ Downey will also be scoring options. East Jessamine has a lot of raw talent and chemistry could be an issue at the beginning of the season but they do expect to have themselves where they need to be by season's end to compete for the district title. East Jessamine is yet another team that has a ton of youth that will be gaining some valuable experience for on down the road. 9. Rockcastle County - Coach Benny Blanton fully expects his Rockcastle team to have taken what they learned from last season and apply it to this season. While Coach Blanton still considers Rockcastle to be a young team they will field four seniors on the roster this season to go along with three juniors. Their tallest player on the team is freshman Lucas Gentry and he is going to be relied upon to man the post for Rockcastle County. They return three starters in junior point guard Sam Pensol, senior forward Josh Mason and senior forward Corey McPhetridge. Rockcastle County and Coach Blanton have their sights set on being competitive in their district and strive to get better in practice everyday with hopes of making it to the region tournament. 10. Garrard County - Garrard County looks to erase the memory of last season, their first under head coach Dennis Pardue. They will led by six seniors this season including Austin Sebatian who is regarded by some as one of the top 10 players in the region. Garrard County will also have four sophomores dressing varsity that have experience from last season and all are at least 6-0 tall as well. Now that the team has had one year under Coach Pardue they look to improve from last season and aim to finish in the top 3 of the 45th District regular season standings with their sights set on the regional tournament. 11. Casey County - Casey County and first year coach Maze Stallworth look to surprise their district and region this season. Casey County has some talented freshmen joing the team along with Baylen Hill who some regard as one of the top players in the region. The opportunity for Casey County to catch people off guard and compete with the top teams in the region is expected by those who are loyal to Coach Stallworth and they feel that he will duplicate his coaching success in AAU(Team Manimal) at Casey County. 12. Danville - Danville has a new coach in Ed McKinney and this is his second go around at Danville. Coach McKinney's Danville team returns one senior in Jawan Grey and junior Cody Woolridge and sophomore Jakobi Turner are expected to lead the way for Danville. 13. Pulaski County - Replacing the threesome of Kody Johnson, Tyler Goins and Taylor Gover looks to be a tall task for Pulaski County and Coach Al Gover. Who replaces them and how quickly Pulaski County can recover remains to be seen. 14. Burgin - Burgin will return four starters in Tommy Lopresto, Mason Myers, John Price and Nick Beckerson. Coach Bryan Kirk expects the experience from these four returners to get them over the edge in close games and that it will translate into wins as the season goes on. 15. McCreary Central - Coach Robert Jones and McCreary Central look to improve from last season's 10 win season. 16. Kentucky School for the Deaf - KSD Coach Mike Yance returns a total of 10 players from a young team that ended last season on an 11 game losing streak. They have one senior on this year's team and KSD will be stronger and faster than last season's team as they look to put an end to that 11 game skind in their first game at Walden. Scoring and protecting the ball are issues the coaching staff look to resolve in this upcoming season as they continue to work hard in search of constant improvement. Player Rankings 1. Justin Edwards - Southwestern - senior- Justin is the near unanimous choice for top player in the region. A capable scorer with a knack for getting to the free throw line is facing his toughest challenge as the leader of this suddenly brand new looking Southwestern team. 2. Peyton Woods - Wayne County - junior - Peyton brings his 17 points/game average back to the Cardinals as they look to defend their region title. Like Edwards, Woods gets a ton of points from the free throw line and Woods also shot 83% from the line. 3. Daulton Peters - West Jessamine - senior - Daulton has rightfully ascended to leader of the West Jessamine Colts and this guard has been giving 12th Region coaches fits for years. He will be counted on to carry West Jessamine to where they want to be in March. 4. Ronnie Carson - East Jessamine - junior - Ronnie is arguably the most talented player in the region and his ability to score by penetrating or by shooting combined with his athleticism is hard to contain. If he gets on a roll then everyone should just sit back and enjoy his game. 5. Corey Stearns - Wayne County - sophomore - Corey brings his 16 points/game and 7 rebounds/game back to Wayne County for another run at the 12th Region title. 6. Hagen Tyler- Boyle County - junior - Hagen has proven to be an electric scorer since his freshman season at Boyle County. His deadeye jumpshot and his ability to knock down free throws at a high percentage makes him as dangerous as Edwards and Woods. 7. Will Hager - Mercer County - sophomore - Will caught the attention of opposing coaches during his freshman campaign as he adapted to varsity play quickly and by the end of the season was Mercer County's leading scorer. If he continues to grow physically and mentally he will likely end up as one of the greatest to ever play for Mercer County. 8. Timmy Taylor - Lincoln County - junior - Timmy is regarded as the best point guard in the region by some people. His ball handling ability, his basketball IQ and his ability to score and set teammates up along with his defensive skills help support that argument. 9. Jacob Conway - Lincoln County - junior - Jacob is going to be counted on to get buckets for Lincoln County any way he can. His inside/outside ability for his size makes him a capable and dangerous scorer. 10. Trey Blevins - Wayne County - sophomore - The third member of the new Big 3, Blevins brings his 13 points/game and 5 assists/game back to the table for the Wayne County Cardinals to being their march to March. 11. Will Henderson - West Jessamine - senior - Will made a name for himself early in his varsity career with his defense. One of the best defenders in the region, Henderson will now be counted on to provide some weight to the 1-2 punch of Peters and Henderson. 12. Austin Sebastian - Garrard County - senior - After a disappointing junior season, Austin looks to redeem himself and his name. A proven scorer, Austin will be looking to lead the Lions of Garrard County into the regional tournament. Honorable Mention Colton Elkins - Boyle County Baylen Hill - Casey County Russell Sims - Mercer County Sam Pensol - Rockcastle County Dylan Gaskin - Southwestern Adam Isaacs- Southwestern Camryn Jones - East Jessamine Jason Perkins - Wayne County Ryan Dishman-Somerset Cam Cheuvront-Somerset

Team Rankings: 1. Wayne County: Wayne County remains at the top of the 12th Region to begin the new year. They sit at 12-0 overall and are 3-0 against 12th Region opponents. They have 12th Region victories over Lincoln County, Southwestern and Casey County. While their out of region schedule may not be the most competitive schedule so far, there hasn't been any reason to not rank Wayne County as the best team in the 12th Region so far. Until someone in the 12th Region can prove otherwise, Wayne County will remain at the top of the 12th Region. Scoreboard 2. Lincoln County: Over the past two weeks there hasn't been a team more impressive in the 12th Region than Lincoln County. That includes Wayne County. Lincoln County sits at 8-5 overall and 3-1 against 12th Region opponents. However, in the past two weeks Lincoln County has defeated West Jessamine at West Jessamine, Bullitt East(#1 seed in the LIT, Doss (#6 seed in the LIT, currently ranked #20 in the BluegrassPreps Top 20), lost by 2 points to Lexington Catholic (Republic Bank Champion and current #13 team in the BluegrassPreps Top 20), 11th Region teams Dunbar and Madison Central and lost by 2 points to Montgomery County(current #9 team in the BluegrassPreps Top 20). This is one heck of a run by Lincoln County and they look to be getting stronger each game. From all accounts the difference is the play of point guard Timmy Taylor. As long as Taylor continues to play this way each game you can continue to expect these kind of results from Lincoln County. Scoreboard 3. West Jessamine: West Jessamine is currently 8-3 overall and is 4-1 against 12th Region opponents. In the past couple of weeks they dropepd a game at home to Lincoln County but they have also beaten Owensboro, Doss and Southwestern in the Lake Cumberland Holiday Classic so they are still proving that they are one of the top teams in the region. The three point shooting heroics of Will Henderson in the waning seconds of the Southwestern game turned a 55-52 Southwestern lead into a 58-55 West Jessamine win. West Jessamine has also defeated 12th Region teams Danville, McCreary Central and Somerset and they begin district play this Friday with a game at Mercer County. Scoreboard 4. Southwestern: Southwestern is 10-2 overall and 4-2 against 12th Region opponents. Southwestern has defeated 12th Region teams Danville twice, Casey County and Garrard County. Their losses have come against Wayne County and West Jessamine but the contributions of Adam Isaacs and Dylan Gaskin giving Justin Edwards the necessary help needed to make Southwestern a strong team. At the beginning of the season there were question marks surrounding how Southwestern would overcome the losses of David Kapinga and Isaiah Collier but it is now evident that Southwestern should be just fine. For now, Southwestern is firmly in the top 5 of the 12th Region. Scoreboard 5. Boyle County: The Boyle County Rebels are currently 8-4 overall and 2-0 against 12th Region opponents. They have defeated Burgin and East Jessamine in the 12th Region and they have out of region victories over Bell County, Dunbar and Butler and close losses to Lexington Catholic and Bullitt East. A stronger than normal out of region schedule has provided an opportunity for Boyle County to be a stronger team heading into district play beginning in January. This team has been led by the scoring exploits of Hagen Tyler and Chapman Bean has emerged as a standout defender. The Rebels are hoping for their point guard play to become more sound and that will determine just how good they can be this season. Scoreboard 6. Pulaski County: Pulaski County has been the surprise of the 12th Region so far and they sit at 7-3 overall and 4-0 against 12th Region opponents. Their three losses have come at the hands of teams of Louisville area teams. St. Xavier, Doss and Collins have all handed Pulaski County an L this season. Outside of the Louisville area teams Pulaski County is undefeated including against the 12th Region teams they have face which are: East Jessamine, McCreary Central, Casey County and Somerset. Their victory over Somerset came in a holiday tournament so district play begins for Pulaski County begins on the 3rd of January against Somerset at home. We'll find out a lot about Pulaski County in the next month as 8 of their 10 games in January will be against 12th Region teams. Scoreboard 7. East Jessamine: East Jessamine got off to a horrible start at 2-6. Since then they have gone 4-1 and won the Campbellsville Holiday Classic with victories over Washington County, Warren East and Holy Cross(Louisville). They are still being led by Ronnie Carson who is the early front runner for Player of the Year in the 12th Region. East Jessamine is 2-3 against 12th Region opponents but they are 1-0 in their district with a 15 point victory against district foe, Mercer County. Their season seemed to make a turn after that Mercer County victory and we will see if they can maintain their momentum gained over the holidays as the district play ramps up in January. Scoreboard 8. Somerset: Somerset is currently 7-6 overall and 3-3 against 12th Region opponents. Somerset underwent an unexpected change when Cam Cheuvront decided not to return to the team so he could focus on playing football at the next level. While most expected Somerset to take a step back with the loss of Cheuvront they did the exact opposite. They had a good showing in the Berea Invitational and have enjoyed wins over Franklin County and GRC as well. Things are looking up for Somerset despite the loss of Cheuvront and that is largely due to the play of Ryan Dishman. Dishman is currently averaging 21 points a game and his 31 points against GRC led the Briar Jumpers to that victory. Scoreboard 9. Mercer County: Mercer County is 6-4 overall and 0-1 against 12th Region opponents. Mercer County got off to a strong start but the 15 point loss to East Jessamine raised many questions. Still being led by Will Hager's averages of 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and by Russell Sims' senior leadership this Titan team is already in danger of being stuck in the 3 seed of their district as their only loss against 12th Region teams is also a loss to district opponent East Jessamine. Much like Pulaski County we will learn about Mercer County soon as they only have 4 games remaining against teams that are not in the 12th Region. Scoreboard 10. Rockcastle County: Rockcastle County is 7-8 overall and 1-2 against 12th Region opponents. Their lone win over a 12th Region team is a district win against Somerset and their two losses are from Lincoln County and they lost to Somerset in a holiday tournament at Berea. 8 of their next 9 games are against 12th Region opponents and district play will continue against Casey County on Friday at home. Casey County is an improved team and this game will be very pivotal for both teams continuing this season. For now, Rockcastle appears to be the better team and they look to prove that immediately. Scoreboard Player of the Week: Daulton Peters is the Player of the Week following his 46 point effort in a win against Owensboro. In that game he had 46 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals according to REH5 here on BluegrassPreps. Peters began the season as one of the top 5 players in the region and a performance like this proves it. In this game Peters was also 21-26 from the field and only shot 1 free throw in the game. Just an amazing perfomance by an amazing player. http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/west-jessamine-86-a-268529.html

Team Rankings: 1. Wayne County Wayne County remains atop the 12th Region rankings and they also remain undefeated on the season. They have enjoyed victories over Clinton (TN) and Clay County to push their record to 14-0. They are 3-0 against 12th Region opponents. Wayne County is currently ranked #14 in the most recent Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20 rankings. Next up: Garrard County(1/13), McCreary Central(1/14), East Jessamine(1/17), Bryan Station(1/18) 2. Lincoln County Lincoln County stays in the #2 spot as they had victories over Danville, Taylor County and Bryan Station. Lincoln County is currently 11-5 and have gone 9-2 after a 2-3 start. Their 2 losses after the 2-3 start are by a combined 4 points to Montgomery County and Lexington Catholic who are ranked #9 and #13 in the most recent Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20 Rankings. Lincoln County is currently #17 in those rankings. Lincoln County is 4-1 against 12th Region opponents with their only loss from a 12th Region opponent being Wayne County early in the season. Next up: Pulaski County(1/14) and Boyle County(1/17) 3. Southwestern Southwestern moves up a spot in the rankings from #4 to #3 despite a loss to Doss. Southwestern sits at 12-3 overall and 6-2 against 12th Region opponents. Southwestern defeated McCreary Central and Somerset after losing to Doss. Next up: Pulaski County (1/17) 4. Boyle County Boyle County is sitting at 9-4 and have only played one game in 2014 so far due to weather cancellations. Boyle County is also 3-0 against 12th Region opponents with their lone game in 2014 being a win over Garrard County. This week brings two more huge district games with their biggest rivals. Next up: Danville (1/14), Lincoln County (1/17) 5. Pulaski County Pulaski County is now 10-3 overall and 6-0 against 12th Region opponents. Victories over Somerset, Rockcastle County and Scott have pushed Pulaski County to the #5 spot in the 12th Region. Their opportunity to prove just how good they are begins on Tuesday against Lincoln County. Next up: Lincoln County (1/14), Southwestern (1/17) 6. East Jessamine East Jessamine put themselves in a good spot to get the beloved #1 seed in their district with their victory over West Jessamine. They are now 9-7 overall, 4-3 against 12th Region opponents but most importantly, 3-0 in their district. The #1 seed is this district is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the 12th Region tournament and East Jessamine controls their own destiny at this point after a rocky start to the season. Next up: Rockcastle County (1/13), Wayne County (1/17), McCreary Central (1/18) 7. West Jessamine West Jessamine drops 4 spots from #3 to #7 after an upset loss from the hands of district and crosstown rival, East Jessamine. While rivalry games can always go either way it was still surprising to see West Jessamine lose this game. West Jessamine will end this upcoming week with a huge test against Montgomery County. Next up: Lexington Christian (1/14), Burgin (1/16), Montgomery County (1/18) 8. Somerset Somerset is 8-9 overall and 4-6 against 12th Region opponents. They have had a rocky start to the new year but in their defense they have lost to teams believed to be better than them: Pulaski County, East Jessamine and Southwestern. They did get a victory over Casey County and appear to be headed to a #2 seed or #3 seed in their district. Next up: North Laurel (1/14), Cumberland County (1/17) 9. Danville Making their debut into the 12th Region Top 10 Rankings is the Danville Admirals. The Ad's victory over Mercer County propelled them into the rankings this week. They have had losses to Lincoln County and Montgomery County but they also have victories over Mercer County and Casey County. Danville is 6-7 overall and 4-4 against 12th Region opponents. Next up: Boyle County (1/14), Garrard County (1/17) and Frankfort (1/18) 10. Mercer County Mercer County barely makes into the rankings this week at #10. Losses to West Jessamine and Danville have hurt the Titans and they seem to be going backwards after high expectations for this season. While all is not lost it would be nice to see the Titans play they way they are capable of. If not, then they may disappear from the rankings soon. They are better than their 7-6 overall record says and they are better than 1-3 against 12th Region oppoenents. Next up: Estill County (1/14), Anderson County (1/18) Player of the Week: Ronnie Carson from East Jessamine. Carson led East Jessamine to victories over West Jessamine and Somerset and has been a huge part of East Jessamine's recent success. Arguably the top player in the region, Ronnie Carson has been delivering points and victories to East Jessamine at a rapid pace. He has averaged 27 points a game in the last two East Jessamine victories which is almost equal to his 28 points per game average. East Jessamine emerges victorious in battle with veteran-laden West Jessamine - The Jessamine Journal: East Jess HS East Jessamine fails to get jumped by Somerset's late rally - The Jessamine Journal: East Jess HS Games of the Week: West Jessamine/Lexington Christian (1/14) Boyle County/Danville (1/14) Lincoln County/Pulaski County (1/14) Wayne County/East Jessamine (1/17) Boyle County/Lincoln County (1/17) Pulaski County/Southwestern (1/17) Rockcastle County/Casey County(1/17) Danville/Garrard County (1/17) West Jessamine/Montgomery County (1/18) Wayne County/Bryan Station (1/18)

Team Rankings 1. Wayne County Wayne County is now currently 22-0 and has enjoyed recent wins over Pulaski County, Rockcastle County, Southwestern and Clinton County. They are also 9-0 against the 12th Region and 3-0 in their district. Beginning Feb. 7 Wayne County will go through the rough part of their schedule as they face Knott County Central, Montgomery County, Somerset, West Jessamine, Boyle County and then end the regular season against Lexington Catholic. We'll find out a lot about Wayne County over the next two weeks. 2. Lincoln County Lincoln County is now currently 18-5 and has enjoyed recent wins over Madison Central, McCreary Central, Boyle County and Garrard County. They are 9-1 against the 12th Region and 4-0 in their district. Lincoln will wrap up the 1 seed in their district with their next district win. 3. Southwestern Southwestern is now 17-4 and has enjoyed recent wins over McCreary Central, Bell County, West Jessamine and Casey County. They lost to Wayne County and that makes them 10-3 against 12th Region opponents and 2-2 in their district. Southwestern has a chance to earn some quality wins with upcoming games against Perry County Central, Henry Clay and Boyle County. 4. Boyle County Boyle County is now currently 12-6 and has enjoyed recent wins over Garrard County and Mercer County. They lost to Lincoln County for the second time this season last Friday. That makes Boyle County 6-2 against 12th Region opponents and 3-2 in their district. Much like Wayne County, Boyle County will face some tough opponents over the next two weeks as they begin with Danville and will face Casey County, Southwestern, South Oldham, West Jessamine, Wayne County and Lafayette. 5. East Jessamine East Jessamine is now currently 12-10 and has enjoyed recent wins over Madison Southern, Bourbon County and a loss to district rival Mercer County. East Jessamine sits at 5-5 against 12th Region opponents and 3-1 in their district. They face West Jessamine on Friday with a chance to lock up the 1 seed. Should they lose then there could end up being a three-way tie for first place in the 46th District. 6. West Jessamine West Jessamine is now currently 14-8. They have enjoyed a recent win against Madison Southern and had setbacks against Madison Central, Mercer County and Southwestern. They are now 7-4 against 12th Region opponents and 3-2 in their district. A victory against East Jessamine will help West Jessamine get back on track with a chance for that coveted 1 seed in their 46th District. 7. Somerset Somerset is now currently 11-10 and has recently enjoyed wins over Rockcastle County and Danville. Somerset won the 12th Region All 'A' title and they lost to Jackson County in the first round. They are 6-6 against 12th Region opponents and 4-3 in their district. 8. Pulaski County Pulaski County is now currently 13-9 and has recently enjoyed wins over Garrard County, Rockcastle County and Mercer County. They suffered setbacks at the hands of Wayne County, Russell County, Hazard and Casey County. They are 9-4 against 12th Region opponents and 5-1 in their district. 9. Mercer County Mercer County is now currently 9-9 and has enjoyed two huge wins against East Jessamine and West Jessamine. They also suffered a blowout loss from the hands of Boyle County and a disappointing loss against a shorthanded Pulaski County team last night. Mercer County is suffering from the two-steps-forward-two-steps-back syndrome. They are 3-5 against 12th Region opponents and 3-2 in their district and are in desperate need of some help from West Jessamine to have an opportunity for that 1 seed in the 46th District. 10. Danville Danville is now currently 10-10 and has enjoyed recent wins over Burgin, Madison Southern and Campbellsville. They lost to Somerset in the 12th Region All 'A' final. They are 6-6 against 12th Region opponents and 1-2 in their district. Games of the Week 2/7-East Jessamine/West Jessamine 2/7-Pulaski County/Somerset 2/7-Boyle County/Danville 2/8-Wayne County/Knott County Central 2/8-Southwestern/Perry County Central 2/9-Wayne County/Montgomery County 2/9-Southwestern/Henry Clay Player of the Week Timmy Taylor-Lincoln County Timmy had 10 points, 16 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 1 block and a just 2 turnovers against Boyle County. He had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers against McCreary Central. He also had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists against Madison Central. He averaged a little over 13 assists in these 3 games and that was enough to earn him Player of the Week honors in this issue of the BGP 12th Region Notebook.

Team Rankings: 1. Wayne County: Wayne County remains atop the 12th Region rankings and they also remain undefeated at 18-0 on the season. They went 4-0 on the week with victories over East Jessamine, McCreary Central, Garrard County and an 89-60 beatdown of Bryan Station. Led against by Peyton Woods, Corey Stearns and Trey Blevins the Wayne County Cardinals are still the class of the 12th Region. As was told to me by a 12th Region insider after the Wayne County/East Jessamine game....."The regions runs through Wayne County. I had that confrimed to me tonight." Wayne County is currently ranked #11 in the Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20. Wayne County is 18-0 overall, 6-0 against 12th Region opponents and 2-0 in their district. Next up: Rockcastle County (1/21), Pulaski County (1/24) and Montgomery County (1/25) 2. Lincoln County: Like Wayne County, Lincoln County went undefeated on the week also with victories over Pulaski County, Fleming County and Boyle County. Led by Timmy Taylor and Jacob Conway Lincoln is still rolling along and picking up victories along the way. Lincoln County is currently ranked #15 in the Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20. Lincoln County is 14-5 overall, 6-1 against 12th Region opponents and 2-0 in their district. Next up: Garrard County (1/21) and Madison Central (1/24) 3. Southwestern: Southwestern remains at #3 this week after victories over Somerset and Pulaski County. Southwestern moves to 13-3 overall, 7-2 against 12th Region opponents and 1-1 in their district. Next up: Russell County (1/21), McCreary Central (1/23) and Perry County Central (1/25) 4. Boyle County: Boyle County remains at #4 despite going 1-1 on the week. The Rebels defeated crosstown rival Danville on Tuesday and lost an intense game to district rival Lincoln County. The Rebels are now 10-5 overall, 4-1 against 12th Region opponents and 2-1 in their district. Next up: Dunbar (1/21), Garrard County (1/24) and Casey County (1/25) 5. West Jessamine: West Jessamine went 2-1 for the week and was only 11 seconds away from defeating the #9 team in the Bluegrasspreps.com Top 20, Montgomery County. West Jessamine enjoyed victories over a red hot Lexington Christian team and Burgin. The loss to Montgomery County was a heartbreaker but it showed that West Jessamine is capable of competing with some of the best this state has to offer. West Jessamine is 13-5 overall, 7-2 against 12th Region opponents and 3-1 in their district. Next up: Madison Central (1/21) and Mercer County (1/24) 6. East Jessamine: East Jessamine remains at #6 this week after losses to Wayne County and Dunbar. East has been enjoying a scoring outburst from Camryn Jones to complement Ronnie Carson but the Jaguars were unable to pull out a win this week. East Jessamine is 10-9 overall, 5-4 against 12th Region opponents and 3-0 in their district. Next up: Madison Southern (1/20) and Henry Clay (1/23) 7. Pulaski County: Pulaski County drops from #5 to #7 after losses to Lincoln County and Southwestern. Pulaski County is now 10-5 overall, 6-2 against 12th Region opponents and 4-0 in their district. Next up: Casey County (1/21) and Wayne County (1/24) 8. Somerset: Somerset only had one game last week and the Briar Jumpers defeated North Laurel. The win moved the Briar Jumpers to 9-9 overall. They are 4-6 against 12th Region opponents and 3-3 in their district. Next up: Rockcastle County (1/20) and 12th Region All 'A' Classic Final (1/24) 9. Danville: Danville went 1-2 on the week with losses to crosstown rival Boyle County and Frankfort but they also picked up a nice district win against Garrard County. Danville is now 7-9 on the season with a 5-5 record against 12th Region opponents and a 1-2 record in their district. Next up: Burgin (1/21-All 'A' Classic) and Madison Southern (1/23) 10. Mercer County: Mercer County only played one game last week as Anderson County canceled their matchup on 1/18. In that game a shorthanded Mercer County lost to Estill County. That loss drops Mercer County to 7-7 overall, 1-3 against 12th Region opponents and 1-2 in their district. Next up: South Oldham (1/21) and West Jessamine (1/24) Games of the Week: Somerset/Rockcastle County (1/20) West Jessamine/Madison Central (1/21) Boyle County/Dunbar (1/21) Southwestern/Russell County (1/21) Mercer County/South Oldham (1/21) Danville/Burgin (1/21)- 12th Region All 'A" Classic East Jessamine/Henry Clay (1/23) Danville/Madison Southern (1/23) Wayne County/Pulaski County (1/24) Lincoln County/Madison Central (1/24) West Jessamine/Mercer County (1/24) Somerset/TBA (1/24) 12th Region All 'A' Classic Final Southwestern/Perry County Central (1/25) Wayne County/Montgomery County (1/25) Player of the Week: Peyton Woods. Peyton averaged 29 points a game, was 33-59 (56%) from the floor, 17-34 (50%) from 3 point land, 33-41 (80%) from the free throw line and pulled down 19 rebounds(4.75/game) while leading Wayne County to a 4-0 record last week.