[RunItUpTheGut]

In 1A I think Louisville Holy Cross will be a top 3 or 4 team based on who they return. Being a Mayfield die hard I watch the 1A west bracket closely. Murray in 2A lost everyone including the towel boy. For them to be in the top 10 early would be really suprising.

Great job, thanks for putting in the effort

Thanks for the info.
The west is definitely where i had the most trouble seeing as to how i know very little about the western teams. I had to rely a lot on past years performance and the scheduling of this year. This is where i could really use a west fan such as you to help me out when it comes to the western part of the state.
BTW i dont know why its showing i gave a thumbs down. I didnt put it there lol.

[lion #1]

Great rankings,runitupthegut. It's about time somebody did it right. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have put the Harlan Green Dragons somewhere in above Williamsburg. They came on strong at the end of the season by beating a good undefeated Pineville team (who beat Williamsburg by 4) by I think 24 and played Hazard tough going into the 4th quarter 28-20.They did all that with sophomores (14) only losing 3 seniors I think. Williamsburg Lost 13 from a team of 33 and most of their skilled guys and several good linemen. From what I hear from down that way,the Dragons are looking strong this year and hope to challenge Hazard for the region. Like I said,other than that your rankings are a homerun with BGR. I look forward to it again next year.

[FBfan4]

Class 3A
1. Central
2. Bell County
3. Belfry
4. Paducah Tilghman
5. Fort Campbell
6. Mason County
7. Sheldon Clark
8. Breathitt Co.
9. Corbin
10. Lawrence Co.

What are these two based on exactly? Just wondering.

[The Contrarian]

What are these two based on exactly? Just wondering.

I'm sure that there's been some careful thought and analysis regarding Sheldon Clark and Lawrence County's place in the top 10 3A rankings.

As the 2011 season moves forward, we'll see how things work-out. I am not familiar with the Lawrence County situation, but I am somewhat aware of Sheldon Clark's, and I believe that they will surprise a few people this coming season. We shall see!

[RunItUpTheGut]

Great rankings,runitupthegut. It's about time somebody did it right. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have put the Harlan Green Dragons somewhere in above Williamsburg. They came on strong at the end of the season by beating a good undefeated Pineville team (who beat Williamsburg by 4) by I think 24 and played Hazard tough going into the 4th quarter 28-20.They did all that with sophomores (14) only losing 3 seniors I think. Williamsburg Lost 13 from a team of 33 and most of their skilled guys and several good linemen. From what I hear from down that way,the Dragons are looking strong this year and hope to challenge Hazard for the region. Like I said,other than that your rankings are a homerun with BGR. I look forward to it again next year.

Thanks for the kind comments.:Thumbs:
I actually thought about moving in Wburg at 9 and putting Harlan at 10, hence moving russellville out.
However I didnt want to shaft Russellville because looking at there schedule they will face Fort Campbell, Franklin Simpson and Mayfield. Thats a ballsy schedule. With there performance of last year of a 9-4 record, it was hard not to slide them in although i have been told they lost quite a bit.
Now as for Wburg. It was just kind of a judgement call. I actually live 15 minutes from Wburg high school and grew up in the Wburg area as i am an alumni of Whitley and i know tons of people associated with Wburg football. This team has a great QB in Logan Hamblin (81 of 165 for 1373 yards and only four picks and 331 yards rushing in 2010) coming back with a young fast core of recievers.
I suspect Harlan to make some noise especially inside that region this year. IMO its going to come down to Wburg/Harlan for the district, so i guess we will have to see if i predicted right. BTW for those wondering Harlan and Wburg will meet on Aug 26th in the second game of they year at Harlan. Great early season match up for 1A football.

[RunItUpTheGut]

What are these two based on exactly? Just wondering.

Honestly, the personal opinion of me and a couple of close friends. As i said i dont want anybody to take theses personally as Ive tried my best to bring in an unbiased reasonable preseason ranking system.

When it came to 3A, teams like SC and Breathitt made ranking 5-10 extremely diffucult.
It seems like years these teams are suppose to be good, something bad happens and years there not suppose to be that great they end up racking up district and regional titles.
LC had somewhat of a comback year last year with a great record of 9-3. I see where youre coming from. Keep in mind though that SC only lost to LC by 6 lst year and IMHO, SC is a much better, improved tem this year, more improved than LC team that lost 14 seniors off of last years squad(they do return 14 seniors this year i believe) and so theres not a LOT of difference but i had a call to make and i chose SC at 7. That maybe the closest 6-10 ever though and it will all pan out as SC gets LC on Sept 30th.

[T1up]

Thanks for the kind comments.:Thumbs:
I actually thought about moving in Wburg at 9 and putting Harlan at 10, hence moving russellville out.
However I didnt want to shaft Russellville because looking at there schedule they will face Fort Campbell, Franklin Simpson and Mayfield. Thats a ballsy schedule. With there performance of last year of a 9-4 record, it was hard not to slide them in although i have been told they lost quite a bit.
Now as for Wburg. It was just kind of a judgement call. I actually live 15 minutes from Wburg high school and grew up in the Wburg area as i am an alumni of Whitley and i know tons of people associated with Wburg football. This team has a great QB in Logan Hamblin (81 of 165 for 1373 yards and only four picks and 331 yards rushing in 2010) coming back with a young fast core of recievers.
I suspect Harlan to make some noise especially inside that region this year. IMO its going to come down to Wburg/Harlan for the district, so i guess we will have to see if i predicted right. BTW for those wondering Harlan and Wburg will meet on Aug 26th in the second game of they year at Harlan. Great early season match up for 1A football.

Williamsburg and Harlan is not in the same district this year:eyeroll:
Williamsburg, Lynn Camp,Campbellsville, and Berea

[The Contrarian]

Honestly, the personal opinion of me and a couple of close friends. As i said i dont want anybody to take theses personally as Ive tried my best to bring in an unbiased reasonable preseason ranking system.

When it came to 3A, teams like SC and Breathitt made ranking 5-10 extremely diffucult.
It seems like years these teams are suppose to be good, something bad happens and years there not suppose to be that great they end up racking up district and regional titles.
LC had somewhat of a comback year last year with a great record of 9-3. I see where youre coming from. Keep in mind though that SC only lost to LC by 6 lst year and IMHO, SC is a much better, improved tem this year, more improved than LC team that lost 14 seniors off of last years squad(they do return 14 seniors this year i believe) and so theres not a LOT of difference but i had a call to make and i chose SC at 7. That maybe the closest 6-10 ever though and it will all pan out as SC gets LC on Sept 30th.

I see your rationale and also you are so right about SC, for last year's team was supposed to be very good, but they were very inconsistent. They beat an extremely talented Lawrence County team by 6. (In quote above, it states that Lawrence won by 6) They (SC) played a terrific game against a formidable Johnson Central team, dropping that one by 2. I stand to be corrected if in error, but I believe that they held JJ to his lowest production for the entire season. SC outplayed JC in most categories, but the one that counts, the score.

On the other hand, they played very badly against Prestonsburg, their poorest game of the season. They, I don't think, could have looked any worse than they did versus Prestonsburg. And, they blew a good 2 TD lead in the fourth quarter against Breathitt. In the fourth quarter they looked befuddled. Of course, however, let's give Breathitt credit for capitalizing on SC mistakes and unenthusiastic play.

I believe that there is a positive attitude prevailing at Inez this year. But where it really counts is starting August 20 when they meet a strong Rockcastle County team.

Thanks for your efforts on putting together your rankings; I know it's been a lot of hard work. Great job!

[lion #1]

Thanks for the kind comments.:Thumbs:
I actually thought about moving in Wburg at 9 and putting Harlan at 10, hence moving russellville out.
However I didnt want to shaft Russellville because looking at there schedule they will face Fort Campbell, Franklin Simpson and Mayfield. Thats a ballsy schedule. With there performance of last year of a 9-4 record, it was hard not to slide them in although i have been told they lost quite a bit.
Now as for Wburg. It was just kind of a judgement call. I actually live 15 minutes from Wburg high school and grew up in the Wburg area as i am an alumni of Whitley and i know tons of people associated with Wburg football. This team has a great QB in Logan Hamblin (81 of 165 for 1373 yards and only four picks and 331 yards rushing in 2010) coming back with a young fast core of recievers.
I suspect Harlan to make some noise especially inside that region this year. IMO its going to come down to Wburg/Harlan for the district, so i guess we will have to see if i predicted right. BTW for those wondering Harlan and Wburg will meet on Aug 26th in the second game of they year at Harlan. Great early season match up for 1A football.

You could be right runitupthegut. Harlan will have to prove they deserve to be there. From what I am hearing they have a new defensive coach and they have gotten really aggressive. I've heard they will be hard to score on. This comes from a very reliable scource close to the team. Their prediction for the game was Harlan 35 Williamsburg 7 if they can score at all. Personally, I'm not sure about that but i am sure it will be a great game. I'll predict H-28 W-14. Another great game will be the Harlan/Pikeville game in week-0. The Dragons will find out just how tough they are in that game. Anyway,thanks for the great rankings and good luck with it this season.

[Dragonsdad]

Williamsburg and Harlan is not in the same district this year:eyeroll:
Williamsburg, Lynn Camp,Campbellsville, and Berea

Williamsburg is in district 5 and Harlan district 6. These districts do play each other in the playoffs. Williamsburg will probably be the 1 seed in their district and Harlan will probably be the 2 seed in theirs behind Hazard. On a different note,has anyone heard that Lynn Camp is having a hard time coming up with enough players to field a team? It's a rumor I have heard.

[Football1]

For 4A it still takes some getting used to for us to see Knox on all these lists. There is some value to being the team everyone expects to be medicore. After 3 years of beating good teams we are now expected to win. That feels good.

At a scrimmage last night, I overheard one of our young guys at a middle school game telling one of his buddies about how many in a row they had won on the home field. It has taken years to build a sense of pride and confidence in our teams. But it is there now and that is why Knox has gone from the bottom to a respected team.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is a great source of conversation and a great start toward what should be an annual tradition here.

[LeeCoUKFan]

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green
2. Harlan County
3. Anderson Co.
4. John Hardin
5. Christian Co.
6. Conner
7. Warren Central
8. East Jessamine
9. Whitley Co.
10.Pulaski Co.

This is the only ranking that I don't agree with because, Southwestern is better than Pulaski Co. Pulaski Co lost 18 seniors on last years team that accounted for roughly 80% of the Maroons offense. Southwestern only had 5 Seniors on last years team and they will bring back almost everyone. The only two major offensive contributors that won't be returning are Cody Mote and Zack Fowler.

So to begin the season I would leave the Maroons out of the Top and then put Southwestern at 9 IMO.

[Norm Peterson]

This is the only ranking that I don't agree with because, Southwestern is better than Pulaski Co. Pulaski Co lost 18 seniors on last years team that accounted for roughly 80% of the Maroons offense. Southwestern only had 5 Seniors on last years team and they will bring back almost everyone. The only two major offensive contributors that won't be returning are Cody Mote and Zack Fowler.

So to begin the season I would leave the Maroons out of the Top and then put Southwestern at 9 IMO.

Agreed.

[#1 Blackcat Fan]

I see your rationale and also you are so right about SC, for last year's team was supposed to be very good, but they were very inconsistent. They beat an extremely talented Lawrence County team by 6. (In quote above, it states that Lawrence won by 6) They (SC) played a terrific game against a formidable Johnson Central team, dropping that one by 2. I stand to be corrected if in error, but I believe that they held JJ to his lowest production for the entire season. SC outplayed JC in most categories, but the one that counts, the score.

On the other hand, they played very badly against Prestonsburg, their poorest game of the season. They, I don't think, could have looked any worse than they did versus Prestonsburg. And, they blew a good 2 TD lead in the fourth quarter against Breathitt. In the fourth quarter they looked befuddled. Of course, however, let's give Breathitt credit for capitalizing on SC mistakes and unenthusiastic play.

I believe that there is a positive attitude prevailing at Inez this year. But where it really counts is starting August 20 when they meet a strong Rockcastle County team.

Thanks for your efforts on putting together your rankings; I know it's been a lot of hard work. Great job!

I think the Blackcats had something to do with that.:redboxer:

[RunItUpTheGut]

Williamsburg and Harlan is not in the same district this year:eyeroll:
Williamsburg, Lynn Camp,Campbellsville, and Berea

I meant region

[wildcats fan]

3A is going to be very compeditive

[RunItUpTheGut]

I see your rationale and also you are so right about SC, for last year's team was supposed to be very good, but they were very inconsistent. They beat an extremely talented Lawrence County team by 6. (In quote above, it states that Lawrence won by 6) They (SC) played a terrific game against a formidable Johnson Central team, dropping that one by 2. I stand to be corrected if in error, but I believe that they held JJ to his lowest production for the entire season. SC outplayed JC in most categories, but the one that counts, the score.

On the other hand, they played very badly against Prestonsburg, their poorest game of the season. They, I don't think, could have looked any worse than they did versus Prestonsburg. And, they blew a good 2 TD lead in the fourth quarter against Breathitt. In the fourth quarter they looked befuddled. Of course, however, let's give Breathitt credit for capitalizing on SC mistakes and unenthusiastic play.

I believe that there is a positive attitude prevailing at Inez this year. But where it really counts is starting August 20 when they meet a strong Rockcastle County team.

Thanks for your efforts on putting together your rankings; I know it's been a lot of hard work. Great job!

Thanks, i completely agree.:Thumbs:

[RunItUpTheGut]

You could be right runitupthegut. Harlan will have to prove they deserve to be there. From what I am hearing they have a new defensive coach and they have gotten really aggressive. I've heard they will be hard to score on. This comes from a very reliable scource close to the team. Their prediction for the game was Harlan 35 Williamsburg 7 if they can score at all. Personally, I'm not sure about that but i am sure it will be a great game. I'll predict H-28 W-14. Another great game will be the Harlan/Pikeville game in week-0. The Dragons will find out just how tough they are in that game. Anyway,thanks for the great rankings and good luck with it this season.

If Harlan takes down Pikeville i might have to change a few thing lol.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Williamsburg is in district 5 and Harlan district 6. These districts do play each other in the playoffs. Williamsburg will probably be the 1 seed in their district and Harlan will probably be the 2 seed in theirs behind Hazard. On a different note,has anyone heard that Lynn Camp is having a hard time coming up with enough players to field a team? It's a rumor I have heard.

Yea, this what i meant by putting in district, i just worded it wrong.
BTW, they ran an article in the Corbin Times Tribune a couple of weeks ago about Lynn Camp and Coach Mitchell said he had over 30 kids and there depth was the best its been since 2005 when they had Chaffin, etc.
So unless something big time had hasppened, i dont think theyve had any problems.

[RunItUpTheGut]

For 4A it still takes some getting used to for us to see Knox on all these lists. There is some value to being the team everyone expects to be medicore. After 3 years of beating good teams we are now expected to win. That feels good.

At a scrimmage last night, I overheard one of our young guys at a middle school game telling one of his buddies about how many in a row they had won on the home field. It has taken years to build a sense of pride and confidence in our teams. But it is there now and that is why Knox has gone from the bottom to a respected team.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is a great source of conversation and a great start toward what should be an annual tradition here.

No prob, that was the whole reason for doing it, to spark interest amongst everyone to where by this time next year we have one for the entire site.
KC is a very respectable program now with good facilities. Ive grown up in the tri county area and live here now and KC is heads and shoulders above where it use to be. I would have liked to seen KC and Whitley play this year, but with both already having tough schedules, i dont blame em.

[RunItUpTheGut]

This is the only ranking that I don't agree with because, Southwestern is better than Pulaski Co. Pulaski Co lost 18 seniors on last years team that accounted for roughly 80% of the Maroons offense. Southwestern only had 5 Seniors on last years team and they will bring back almost everyone. The only two major offensive contributors that won't be returning are Cody Mote and Zack Fowler.

So to begin the season I would leave the Maroons out of the Top and then put Southwestern at 9 IMO.

Your right on that one.
I agree and i kind of overlooked SW after there debacle against Whitley at the end of last year, but I had forgotten about PC losing virtually everyone they have.

[The Contrarian]

I think the Blackcats had something to do with that.:redboxer:

Yes, I have to agree, obviously, since Prestonsburg dominated SC that Friday night. But did not SC, for the most part, look uninspired in that game?

I was not discrediting Prestonsburg in any manner; I root for PBurg, unless they are playing SC, for they are great representatives for Eastern KY football.

[Dragonsdad]

If Harlan takes down Pikeville i might have to change a few thing lol.

Runitupthegut,I think you're gonna be surprised with the Dragons. Last season they had 14 so.s,4 jr.s and 3 sr.s that pretty much started and played for the Dragons. Pikeville out scored us 28 to 7 in the 1st quarter and we couldn't catch up. Although we played them pretty even after that. Sophomore mistakes cost us big in that playoff game. With the way our team and all those so.s have matured and the aggressiveness they've come to have,Pikeville will not be able to afford that luxury this season. Nor should any other team we play except for maybe Corbin at the end of the season. Alot of teams will overlook Harlan this season and that will be a mistake. But the Dragons are willing to work for their rankings. We have something to prove this year. We play a tougher schedule than Williamsburg with the likes of Middlesboro,Leslie,Hazard and Corbin that will prepare us for the playoffs.

[Panther Thunder]

Pikeville has no business in any top 10 right now. Prove something first.

[Dragonsdad]

Yea, this what i meant by putting in district, i just worded it wrong.
BTW, they ran an article in the Corbin Times Tribune a couple of weeks ago about Lynn Camp and Coach Mitchell said he had over 30 kids and there depth was the best its been since 2005 when they had Chaffin, etc.
So unless something big time had hasppened, i dont think theyve had any problems.

Now I have found out that it was Lynn Camp middle school that can't field a team. They have dropped out of the gridorama they were scheduled to participate in this weekend. Sad news for the Lynn Camp feeder.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Runitupthegut,I think you're gonna be surprised with the Dragons. Last season they had 14 so.s,4 jr.s and 3 sr.s that pretty much started and played for the Dragons. Pikeville out scored us 28 to 7 in the 1st quarter and we couldn't catch up. Although we played them pretty even after that. Sophomore mistakes cost us big in that playoff game. With the way our team and all those so.s have matured and the aggressiveness they've come to have,Pikeville will not be able to afford that luxury this season. Nor should any other team we play except for maybe Corbin at the end of the season. Alot of teams will overlook Harlan this season and that will be a mistake. But the Dragons are willing to work for their rankings. We have something to prove this year. We play a tougher schedule than Williamsburg with the likes of Middlesboro,Leslie,Hazard and Corbin that will prepare us for the playoffs.

I honestly hope your right. Id like to see Harlan do well.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Now I have found out that it was Lynn Camp middle school that can't field a team. They have dropped out of the gridorama they were scheduled to participate in this weekend. Sad news for the Lynn Camp feeder.

Ive always said LC players should just play with the Knox Central football team every year.
Both schools are part of the Knox County school district and Barbourville students that want to play football can play with KC. I know LC has had some decent teams here and there but they just cant compete with the better 1A schools or even Wburg or there region most years and numbers seem to be a problem every other year. By ending the football program at LC and letting them play with Knox, KC could pretty much contend district and maybe region every single year.
This is strictly hypothetical BTW, but if Bville does it i dont see why LC couldnt do it if they wanted to.

[#1 Blackcat Fan]

Yes, I have to agree, obviously, since Prestonsburg dominated SC that Friday night. But did not SC, for the most part, look uninspired in that game?

I was not discrediting Prestonsburg in any manner; I root for PBurg, unless they are playing SC, for they are great representatives for Eastern KY football.

No disrespect intended, but i think the goal line stand the Blackcats had made them uninspired. I also root for all local teams when there not playing P'burg. Good luck on the season. IMO SC will be a better team this year than last. We will have a battle at the Rock August 26.
Since its at your home field this year maybe you can hook me up with some nacho's.

[cuppett777]

you may have to move SC up in 3a now with the addition of Smith,he will help them out alot..

[Proud Ram Fan 1168]

Raceland is another team i had not heard much on, but after talking with a couple of guys we decided to put them because we honestly didnt think that the teams below them could beat them.
Hard thing is when you have a team like raceland and then 2 or 3 mountain teams, they wont play each other or any common opponents till atleast playoff time, so its a hard thing to judge, thanks for the input.

Raceland plays a mountain team this year. Pikeville. A very good football program.