article NKY Power Rankings 09-28-15 Sponsored by Orange Leaf Crescent Springs

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THE RANKINGS:

10) Lloyd Memorial (2A / 4-1) – The Juggernauts hosted 3A Garrard County this Friday, and sent the Golden Lions back to Lancaster with a 54-26 loss. That’s another solid performance out of Lloyd, who will be looking to un-seat district rival Newport Catholic once the playoffs roll around. The Juggs offense put up a solid 450 total yards, but the defense still showed a need to improve up front, allowing the Golden Lions 337 yards rushing. Lloyd hosts the 6A Conner Cougars on Friday.

9) Newport Central Catholic (2A / 2-4) – Losing to a 6A team isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a 2A team, but when you lose to them while still besting their offensive yardage by over 130 yards of your own, it’s got to sting. The Breds were handed a 21-17 loss on Friday by the 6A Conner Cougars, and they drop one spot in the NKY rankings this week. New Cath is entering their bye week, and will return on October 9th when they take on the 2A Holy Cross Indians in their first district matuchup.

8) Scott (4A / 5-1) – Scott thumped the 4A Mason County Royals on the road this past Friday, winning 43-7 in Maysville without gaining a single yard in the air. With five different ball carriers running the ball in on Friday, the Eagles are showing they still have diversity on O, albeit without much passing game to speak of. That puts Scott at 1-0 in district play, and their next district matchup will take place on Friday when they host the 4A Harrison County Thorobreds.

7) Conner (6A / 4-1) – Even though the 2A New Cath Thoroughbreds beat Conner in offensive yardage stats, the Cougars still came away from Newport with a win, beating the Breds 21-17. Looking at their record, Conner is sitting pretty at 4-1, but things may change once district play begins for the Cougars. They have very solid 6A Ryle and 6A Cooper teams to play, and will have to best both them both order to advance in 6A once the playoffs roll around. Conner takes on 2A Lloyd Memorial at Lloyd on Friday.

6) Beechwood (1A / 4-1) – Beechwood’s offense decided to make a statement on Friday…and 619 total yards and 55 points stated very clearly that the Tigers offense is pushing towards Bowling Green. Still, halfway through their season, Beechwood has a few wrinkles to iron out on defense. But with an offensive performance like they had this past Friday against 2A Holy Cross (Cov), things are continuing to look up for the Tigers as they continue in the hunt for their 12th state title.

5) Highlands (5A / 1-5) – There’s no doubting that Highlands has reached a certain level of frustration at this point in the season, and last Friday was no different. The Birds had a rough night in Independence, losing 42-3 to the 6A Simon Kenton Pioneers. In spite of 240 yards on offense, Highlands only mustered a single field goal kicked in the first half of the game. The Bluebirds are undoubtedly welcoming this week off before entering district play against 5A Dixie Heights on October 9th.

4) Covington Catholic (5A / 1-5) – Cov Cath was handed their fifth loss of the season on Saturday by the DeSales (OH) Stallions. Fortunately for the Colonels, they managed to show some signs of improvement, even through the loss. Cov Cath actually bested DeSales 276 to 148 when it came to total yards on offense. However, with all 3 of the Stallions’ first half touchdowns coming on Colonels turnovers, there is a lot for Cov Cath to work on as they enter their bye week and prepare for district play. Cov Cath’s next game is on October 10th against the 5A Grant County Braves.

3) Cooper (6A / 4-2) – Without a Ryle game to compare performances this week, it’s really tough to say that Cooper is ‘behind’ the Raiders in the rankings, but at very least, the margin between #2 and #3 is razor thin. This comes after the Jags shut out the 3A Lexington Catholic Knights this past week 28-0…almost exactly one month after Ryle beat Lex Cath 31-24. A lot can change in a month, so the two teams are keeping their same rankings from last week, but any questions about which team is better should be answered when Cooper and Ryle play on October 9th. Cooper plays 5A Dixie Heights Rebels this Friday.

2) Ryle (6A / 5-0) – The Raiders had the week off this past week, and will be traveling to Winchester to take on the winless 6A George Rogers Clark Cardinals.

1) Simon Kenton (6A / 6-0) – Simon Kenton’s dominance over their competition continued this past week, as the Pioneers beat 5A Highlands 42-3, really pulling away from the Birds in the second half. Surprisingly enough, even with 42 points on the scoreboard and 400 yards of offense in the stats ledger, this was, in fact, a “below average” game for the ‘Neers, who have been averaging 49 points and 445 yards per game thus far in the regular season. It’s bye week for Simon Kenton, and they’ll return to action on October 9th when they play 6A Boone County on the road.

Co-Players Of The Week:

Kyle Fieger (Beechwood)

Fieger went 13-15 passing for 283 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Brett Slusher (Beechwood)

Slusher had 8 catches for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus another 52 yards on the ground.

Ethan Stringer (Beechwood)

Stringer averaged 8.5 yards per carry, rushing for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Game Of The Week:

Bishop Brossart (1A) vs. Ludlow (1A)

1A Ludlow may have lost to 1A Williamsburg on Friday, but their team is certainly on the upswing this season. I will be a big game for the Panthers this week as they take on the undefeated 1A Bishop Brossart Mustangs in Ludlow.

Trending Up:

1A Bishop Brossart – After their football team almost closed up shop last year, the Mustangs are undefeated in the first half of their season, beating Nicholas County this past Friday. Brossart will take on the 1A Ludlow Panthers on Friday in the biggest test for the Mustangs yet this season.

4A Scott – The Eagles are 5-1, and have a real shot of running the table on their district this year in what looks to be the best Scott football season on record. After beating district competitor Mason County on Friday, they Eagles will be taking on Harrison County in their second district matchup this Friday.

Trending Down:

2A Newport – Things are looking really rough for the Newport Wildcats right now. Adding another loss to their record on Friday wasn’t much of a help. Newport heads into a very tough road game against the 1A Beechwood Tigers on Friday.

6A Boone County – The Rebels are struggling in a real way right now. At 0-6, Boone County won’t have anyone letting up on them this season as they prepare for 6A district play before wrapping up their regular season against the 5A Highlands Bluebirds. The Rebels have the undefeated 6A Simon Kenton Pioneers this week.

Highlands (5A) vs. Simon Kenton (6A)

The Pioneers did what they do...roll into the game with their high powered offense and score points. It's tough beating any team that can put up 400 yards and 42 points on offense. Dillon Powell had another 200+ yard game rushing the ball, and Cameron Racke put up over 130 yards passing as well. The Pioneers' defense came up with an impressive 6 interceptions as well.

@Colonels_Wear_Blue Brossart is 1A now. :thumb:

Wow! Beechwood must have been on fire on offense this week!

@Colonels_Wear_Blue Brossart is 1A now. :thumb:

I knew that...not sure where my head was at there. Thanks for calling it to my attention.

Scott still hanging in the top 10 !! Always a good thing !!

Switch NCC and Scott and I'm right there with you.

Highlands (5A) vs. Simon Kenton (6A)

 

The Pioneers did what they do...roll into the game with their high powered offense and score points. It's tough beating any team that can put up 400 yards and 42 points on offense. Dillon Powell had another 200+ yard game rushing the ball, and Cameron Racke put up over 130 yards passing as well. The Pioneers' defense came up with an impressive 6 interceptions as well.

Good to hear Powell is living up to the hype. Being a senior, this is the way to go out for sure! Keep grinding Mr. Powell, you're having a stellar year!

Did SK pull further away from Ryle in your eyes with the win over FTH, stay the same or did the gap narrow?

I don't want to start world war 3 here, but how are Cov Cath and Highlands still rated that high? Once again not saying they should not be there, I haven't seen either play. Just want to know how they are top 5 with the records they currently have.

Did SK pull further away from Ryle in your eyes with the win over FTH, stay the same or did the gap narrow?

Good question...I'd have to say that the gap between Simon Kenton and Ryle stayed the same, more or less. SK outperformed Ryle against Highlands on defense, and Ryle outperformed SK against Highlands on offense. The Pioneers and the Raiders are both offensive machines moreso than defense (not that they're necessarily slouches on D), but I think the outcomes of those two games were more or less the way I would have seen them.

October 23rd is going to be a shootout anyway you cut it, and the game is going to come down, primarily, to how their defenses perform. SK's opponents have averaged 12.66 points per game thus far this season, and Ryle's opponents have averaged 18. Highlands is their only mutual opponent, but the way I see it, the Pioneers have the more dominant defense.

Like I said though, I don't see Simon Kenton has having pulled any further away from Ryle, in particular, but I think the Pioneers have maintained as the better team of the two.

Rules coming into their own with an offense avg of 44 point avg and a defense only giving up 18 point average. Will be good games with Cooper and Simon Kenton coming up.

I don't want to start world war 3 here, but how are Cov Cath and Highlands still rated that high? Once again not saying they should not be there, I haven't seen either play. Just want to know how they are top 5 with the records they currently have.

Which teams ranked lower than them would beat them if they played?

Did SK pull further away from Ryle in your eyes with the win over FTH, stay the same or did the gap narrow?

I'm not sure how any team

Can pull further ahead from some other team based on beating Highlands this year.

Which teams ranked lower than them would beat them if they played?