The Johnson Central Golden Eagles have been the surprise team in the D&D Coverage area this season. It started in the second game of the season when the Lady Eagles pulled, what at that time we thought, an upset when they defeated one of the preseason 15th Region favorites in Lawrence County. We later found out this years Lady Eagle squad would be much different than last years team.
The primary difference in this years squad under new Head Coach Jim Hicks is defense. Through the first 10 games of the season Johnson Central is holding their opponents to only 29.9 points per game. The team defense average ranks them 3rd in the state.
For example, Johnson Central has squared off against 3 of the top 27 scoring teams in the state. In the early season victory, the Lady Eagles held Lawrence County to 18 points less than their current average of 64 points per game. In the next game, Floyd Central was held to 19 points less than their season average of 59 points and finally in their last game Morgan County were held to 12 points less than their 62 points per game average.
With defense such as this, it is no reason Johnson Central is currently 8-2 with only losses to Floyd Central in overtime and a 4 point loss to Morgan County. The recent release of the current 15th Region Girls RPI rankings has Johnson Central ranks 5th in the Region.
It is no doubt as the Lady Eagles continue to develop offensively, the rest of the 15th Region needs to be on notice.
