Event Preview: 859 vs 502 Challenge

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first ever 859 vs 502 Challenge takes place at Frederick Douglass on Saturday afternoon. Some of the top schools in Louisville travel to Lexington to take on some of the top teams in the city. Here's a look at the matchups and some players to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lexington Catholic vs Butler (12:00):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The day tips off with a matchup of top guards as Bellarmine commit [player_tooltip player_id='1148609' first='Tyler' last='Doyle'] leads Catholic to take on [player_tooltip player_id='1497251' first='Dayton' last='Williams'] and Butler. Catholic has a Senior driven roster that will have to replace Reece Potter's low post production but has a lot of good pieces like [player_tooltip player_id='1216424' first='John' last='Reinhart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1652313' first='Miller' last='Williams'] who are ready to step up. I'm hopeful this is the year that Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1558735' first='Max' last='Meagher'] starts to take off. Williams is the do-it-all leader for the Bears but has a couple of nice players in the supporting cast with Dontre Russell leading the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Henry Clay vs Central (2:00):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of rebuilding teams go head to head in the second game of the day. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1513539' first='Kayson' last='Brown'] is expected to be a breakout player for the Blue Devils while Devin Henderson is the lone returning star for Central after averaging 14 points per game last season. This is the first year Central hasn't been led by Doug Bibby for as long as I can remember.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sayre vs CAL (4:00):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sayre has a nice core group returning this year and will have a chance to surprise some folks in the 11th region. [player_tooltip player_id='1089523' first='Ian' last='Reesor'] and Brock Coffman were both double figure scorers last year. Junior Sayvion Staley is primed for a potential breakout season. CAL is led by Florida Gulf Coast commit [player_tooltip player_id='1257900' first='Jackson' last='Washington'] and do it all Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1598053' first='Nolan' last='Wahl']. A sleeper team in Louisville, the Centurions will be interesting to watch this early in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LCA vs Ballard (6:00):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The main event of the evening features perennial state title contenders Ballard taking on 11th region hopefuls LCA. The Eagles have a veteran group led by [player_tooltip player_id='1130312' first='Andersen' last='Green'], [player_tooltip player_id='1240891' first='Saxton' last='Howard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1342689' first='Hagan' last='Preston']. Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='1543588' first='Sam' last='Spillman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1543596' first='Simon' last='King'] figure to have big roles this season and Senior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1980466' first='Payton' last='Mayhorn'] is a potential game changer for LCA. Ballard led the state in transfers this summer and have a brand new roster this season. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1864640' first='Sam' last='Frazier'] is maybe the biggest sleeper in the city. Transfers [player_tooltip player_id='1565984' first='Keriawn' last='Berry'], [player_tooltip player_id='1702598' first='Bryonn' last='Faulkner'], [player_tooltip player_id='2024684' first='Javeon' last='Fairman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1485712' first='Cayon' last='Gaines'] should all help Ballard eventually. This early in the season it will be interesting to see how the rotations work with returners like [player_tooltip player_id='1558746' first='Jordan' last='Bender'], [player_tooltip player_id='1292862' first='Nate' last='Richardson'] and freshmen [player_tooltip player_id='2124542' first='Darian' last='Shy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2278688' first='Precious' last='Sam'] all in the mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->