[Ramcat77]

It's almost a given that Mayfield or Beechwood will advance from the West, but I'm not sure about the East.

Fairview had an impressive run last year, but they graduated a lot of talent that played a big part on both sides of the ball. One thing is for sure, Nate McPeek has proven to be one of the top coaches in the area.

I think Pikeville's biggest issue last year was lack of experience, they had a good run in the playoffs, I expect them to make some noise.

I don't really know enough of about Hazard or Williamsburg to comment on them, but I expect both teams to have similar seasons to last year.

That brings me to Raceland, they return virtually everyone from last year's team and they should throttle the teams they are supposed to beat, but can they win the close games that could go either way? Obviously Fairview is a huge monkey on their back, will the win? If they don't, how will it affect the remainder of the season?

I've read posts on both of the high school sites that are ready to proclaim this the best team in Raceland history, I think that is putting the cart before the horse. This team has a lot of talent and experience, but I don't know if they have the toughness to get it done and toughness is what comes to mind when talking about great Raceland teams, the '08 team is the first to come to mind.

One of the biggest factors for this team will be the coaching staff. Like I said earlier, they have proven that they are capable of winning the games they are supposed to win, but I have yet to witness them win that close game.

Just calling it the way I see it.