Coach Lyon’s Class 3A preseason top-10 football poll…

In what has become a tradition at KPGFootball, we are going to make a preseason top-10 prognosis. These teams will be ranked according to whom we believe are the top 10 football teams in each classification. Some of these teams are (unfortunately) in the same district. That aside, this is who believe to be Class 3A’s best football teams as we head into the 2019 season.

Class 3A

  1. Belfry High School…They have the best interior offensive lineman in Kentucky’s 2020 class in Ethan Wolford, already committed to play college football on a full-ride. They have the best LB in the 2020-class in Grayson Cook, who has committed to play collegiately for the Air Force Academy. They have one of the most dynamic athletes and play-makers on both sides of the football in the Class of 2021 in Isaac Dixon and one of 2021’s best LBs in Seth Mounts. We really don’t know what Belfry lacks, aside from a legitimate passing attack and they have addressed that in securing a QB transfer from West Virginia. Belfry will run the clock this year during every single district game and won’t face a legitimate challenge until the Semis.
  2. Christian Academy-Louisville…Head Coach Stefan LeFors moved on to other (not necessarily greener) pastures and Milton Wright exhausted his eligibility in 2018. The Christian Academy-Louisville won two of the previous three 2A State Football Championships, but they are stepping up a class and losing a player like Wright and a coach like LeFors has to affect a team, at least a little. Still, the Centurions have consensus All-Stater and UK commitment, John Young, and KPGFootball All-Stater, Matthew Mauzy, returning up front, with the Babins back in the backfield. Brandt Babin is considered one of Kentucky’s top RBs, especially in the 2021 class, and his brother Braeden, a FB/LB/NG, maybe the better of the two as a football player. Both Babins are two-time KPGFootball All-Staters. At the very least, with everything Braeden Babin can do for a team from lead blocking to LB to being a gapping, lightening quick, and un-block-able NG, we might pick Braeden (were we picking teams) before even his twin brother, Brandt. CAL was 15-0 last season and dominated Mayfield in the State Championship game way worse than the 8-point margin reflected. Still, the Centurions road to Lexington is much harder than what Belfry will face, at least in the regular season.
  3. Bell County…Is there a better football coach in Kentucky than Dudley Hilton? Not too many. Dudley Hilton’s Cats are tough, tough, tough. Their only two losses last year were both to Corbin. There is no crime in not being able to overcome Corbin. If there is, there are lots of teams across Kentucky guilty of it. Bell County should win their district and region without too much drama and advance (at least) as far as the Semis.
  4. Elizabethtown High…Elizabethtown has almost always won its district. Matter of fact, E-Town has historically had its way with the classification on its end of Kentucky. The Panthers have one of Kentucky’s best passing tandems in Clay Games to Camden Williams. Now E-Town is in the same district with a LaRue team which beat them last season in round three. In addition to Games to Williams, the Panthers have Joseph Becherer returning in the backfield. As a junior, Becherer gained 1,332 yards in 128 carries with 14 rushing TDs in his 13 games of action. E-Town was 8-5 in 2018 and that is considered a tough year for that program. We believe mighty E-Town is back.
  5. Trigg County…Speaking of being back, this might be the best Trigg County team since Al Baker was in the backfield. At least, the team is loaded with skills. If the line play is any count at all, the Wildcats are very dangerous. Foremost, we like the Wildcats because they added a rugged veteran O-coordinator to the staff in Rusty Goble and a super-star defensive coach and strength and conditioning guy in Adam Dowland. Secondly, Trigg has the premier dual-threat QB in Kentucky’s Class of 2020 in Navy commitment Cam Jordan. Trigg also sports D-I caliber talent in rising sophomore LB Kendric Adams. When you throw Adams in with LB Cade Bleidt and toss 2020 NG Ty Meacham into the mix, you have a defense which will be greatly improved over the 2018 edition. Getting back a multi-purpose threat from his one-year stint at Class 4A Hoptown, Tayshaun Barker, shouldn’t hurt either the offense or the special teams. We’re going out on a limb here because Trigg has to overcome both Paducah Tilghman and Union County just to win the District.
  6. Ashland Blazer…Ashland Blazer joins Class 3A, down from 4A, where they finished 11-2 in 2018 and spent almost the entire season in the top 10 of the classification’s AP-rankings. Blake Hester, along with his back-field mates from a year ago, Braxton Ratliff and Aroq Colburn, accounted for over 80% of the Tomcats total ground production with their combined 2,525 yards. Hester, who was just a sophomore, gained 773 of the yards in 120 carries and scored 6 TDs carrying the football. Hester averaged, a year ago, 6.44 yards a carry. Blake also caught 14 passes for 150 yards for another 2 TDs and tallied his 9th touchdown of the year on special teams. Ashland Blazer will be tough again in 2019 especially in the 3A classification.
  7. Powell County…Coach Joshua Kincaid’s Pirates were 9-3 a year ago and put out of the KHSAA playoffs rather rudely by, you guessed it, Corbin, and in round two. Both Nathan Skidmore (RB) and Austin Trent (RB) have exhausted their eligibilities which is going to make for a tough situation considering the Pirates don’t throw the ball either often or effectively. One would have to think the main challenge for supremacy would be posed by either Fleming or Lewis Counties. While Powell County has lost quite a bit, they haven’t lost enough to not win the Sixth District.
  8. Taylor County…Taylor County was 4A a year ago and was 12-2 and a 4A Semi-finalist. Taylor County has been reclassified down to 3A from a year ago. One would have to think the district champions would be either Taylor County or Glasgow. Logan Parker from Taylor County has the ability to take over a game as a DE and is more than passable at FB when on offense.
  9. Saint Francis DeSales…DeSales has some of the best talent in the commonwealth of Kentucky. They also have the decided misfortune of having been put in the same district with the Christian Academy-Louisville.
  10. Paducah Tilghman…Paducah Tilghman was 9-3 a year ago and have traditionally been one of Kentucky’s very elite programs. The Blue Tornado also boasts Kentucky’s very best track program with elite speed available for the football program’s plucking, so to speak. We were really high on Tilghman last year until Caldwell spanked them. They won’t be truly back until they can win games like that.

There it is folks, the KPGFootball, preseason top-10 football teams in the 3A classification. Join us tomorrow as we publish our top-10 preseason teams in Class 4A.

This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!

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About Henry Lyon 1210 Articles
Have coached at the high school and middle school level. Have worked in athletic administration. Conceal my identity to enable my candor on articles published by this magazine. Only members of the editorial board are aware of my true identity.

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