[Squid]

I see Fairview and East Carter as the two top teams.

Barnhill is a LOAD, and not many teams have an answer for him. The talent around him is pretty solid, and Baker will have them ready.

Fairview was already returning a very solid top five or six, and with the addition of Terry, they will have plenty of scoring options. The real question for them will be to see how well Terry meshes with the rest of the team. Fairview needs to win it this year, because they will lose quite a bit of talent. They will need to use some of their big leads to develop a couple of the younger players for the future.

Ashland will be second in the 64th, and third in the region. They have the ability to beat either of the top two teams, but they will have to be playing well on that night to do so. Still, they are capable of winning the region, if the stars line up right.

After those three, there will be a group of five or six teams that can be ranked any way you want. Greenup will be better, Raceland is always a tough out in district play, Russell will be improved (Kidwell is doing a solid job), Lewis is no pushover, and Elliott will be riding Knipp as far as they can.

I hope that Boyd improves, for the sake of the program. Rose Hill will feel the effects of the exodus, but they still have some good kids that won't simply throw in the towel. It will be interesting to see who matures quickly enough to fill some of the production they lost. By the end of the season, they may be stronger than most would expect.

It will be a good year to watch a lot of matchups throughout the region.