[EKUAlum05]

This is Week 2 of the inaugural Bluegrass Rivals Regional Power Rankings!

We will rank the Top 5 in each region of the stat, based on a "pound for pound" basis. We will take into account Strength of Schedule, margin of victory/defeat, magnitude of games, and come to a conclusion.

Rankings are meant for discussion, and your feedback is what we want to hear whether you agree or not. Make your case for your team!

1. Ashland- The Tomcats get the jump on Bell County this week in the wake of Bell County's "impressive, while also not being impressive at all" closer than comfort win against Wayne County.

2. Bell County- Bell County defeats a previously undefeated Wayne County team by 2 TD's and fall. This is more of a product of how they won, converting costly 1st Quarter turnovers and being out gained, more so then who they defeated.

3. Knox Central- After conquering TN, Knox returns to the Bluegrass State and take down Harlan County to show their legitimacy.

4. Belfry- Pirates roll a household name program for the 3rd consecutive week, but I think all can agree their wins over Pburg, Pikeville, and Sheldon Clark don't have the luster as years past. Pirates biggest test looms a couple weeks out.

5. Harlan County- Bears get the narrow decision over Breathitt despite losing thanks in part to level of competition. A toss-up loss to Knox Central makes the bears vulnerable though for the other EKY teams

Teams on the Rise:
- Morgan County: How bout them Cougars?!!?!? One of the great stories of the year finds MCHS rebounding from the tragedy of the tornado to be undefeated They will be a heavy underdog against Breathitt County, but a 9-1 record and a 2 home field playoff game are very real possibilities.

- Breathitt County: The good news for Bobcats fans: they have navigated the tough part of their schedule and 10-0 seems imminent. The bad news is the tough part isn't really all that tough, and the bobcats didn't exactly play as convincingly as most expected.

Teams Falling:
- Rockcastle County- The Rockets were a truly elite program less than a decade ago, now 4-6 seems like a best case scenario.
- Pikeville- The Panthers haven't been afraid to challenge themselves, but a "1" is not what they wanted to see in the win column this late in the season.

Game to Watch:
Lawrence County @ Sheldon Clark- Are these two heavy weights duking it out? No. Will this game be the pinnacle of execution and athleticism? No. What this game has is the potential for entertainment value as two rivals who know how to give up big point totals go toe to toe with a 2 seed in the district o the line.

[Cat Daddy]

Breathitt not being a top 5 team is absolutely a joke. I will admit their overall schedule hasn't been as strong as others but to go on the road two weeks in a row and beat two mountain top 10 teams should carry some weight.

[RunItUpTheGut]

List looks about right to me.

[bear claw]

Bell should be first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tomcatfan722000]

Bell should be first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man wouldn't Bell and Ashland be a game though? someone
Make this happen. I agree however based on strength of schedule bell deserves the nod until they are beaten

[PaytoPlay]

Bell/Ashland would be a LONG travel.

I haven't seen Breathitt play, but get the feeling they could beat any of the teams in the top 5. Or, lose to them all. I think all of those teams are pretty evenly matched, but you just never know until you see them strap it up versus one another.

[WideRight05]

:biglmao::biglmao::biglmao:

[bear claw]

I think Whitely should be a strong canidate for the top 5....they had a chance to beat BELL....who I think should be #1.

[Altro Cat]

So the Belfry fan keeps leaving Breathitt out of the top 5?

Seems legit.

[RunItUpTheGut]

I think Whitely should be a strong canidate for the top 5....they had a chance to beat BELL....who I think should be #1.

Whitley is in the Southern KY rankings, not these.

Maybe me and EKUALUM can get a map made up for these rankings or some type of list so that it will be a little clearer for fans.

[EKUAlum05]

So the Belfry fan keeps leaving Breathitt out of the top 5?

Seems legit.

The same Belfry fan who ranks them ahead of Belfry in the 3A rankings every week?

These are power rankings which takes SOS and margin of victory strongly into consideration. Breathitt's SOS is less than desirable, and an 8 point win over a 1A Hazard team that has taken a step back from last year is far from the margin most anticipated an elite 3A team to win by. Hazard and Somerset have a chance to help Breathitt's case this week if Hazard can dominate Pburg similar to the way Belfry did, and if Pburg can beat a solid Whitley County team. As it stands now Hazard is 1-3 with their lone win being a narrow victory over a 1A Virginia school at home, the same VA school they defeated handily last year on the road.