article Louisville Preseason Power Rankings

Prior year regular season records in parentheses.

1. Trinity (10-0) – I normally don't automatically assign the preseason #1 ranking to the prior year #1 but so far Trinity has earned that right. Trinity's match up against mighty Carmel, IN High School should be a great match up but at the same time will be difficult to determine how strong Trinity really is.

2. St. Xavier (7-4) – The Tiger's prior year season may not have looked ideal with four losses but those four losses all came from eventual state champions (Trinity reg season, Bowling Green, Cincy St. X and Trinity playoffs). X starts the year by welcoming Indy Cathedral to Poplar Level Road. Another case where win or lose it will be difficult to determine how strong St. X is after the game.

3. Male (8-2) – Male will round out the Big 3. Last year their only losses came from Trinity and X so they will occupy the 3 spot for now. Male opens the season with Floyd County (IN) High School which should be competitive but Male should pull out the victor.

4. Christian Academy of Louisville (9-1) – Reigning 2A state champs CAL begins the year at #4 but starts the year off tough with South Oldham who had a fine season in 2016.

5. Dupont Manual (8-2) – As much as Manual tries, the Crimsons cannot seem to break into the Louisville 6A top 3. This season there is a chance with Manual having two fine opening opponents in Central in Week 1 and Fern Creek in Week 2. Can Manual get some luck with one of the big three taking an early loss and convincingly beating Central and Fern Creek to crack the Big 3? We shall see.

6. St. Francis DeSales (8-2) – The Colts are not enjoying being the #2 Louisville 2A school and certainly have CAL on their radar but for now, DeSales needs to worry about always competitive Ballard.

7. Fern Creek (8-2) – It took mighty Bowling Green last year to stop the Creekers from taking state, can the Tigers have similar success this year? They open with struggling Seneca which will not tell us much but then follow up with Manual which will really tell us what Fern Creek is made of.

8. Central (5-5) – Something must have happened to Central after the 39 point loss to PRP because after a lack luster regular season, the Yellow Jackets surged through the playoffs stopping short of another state championship due to Mighty Belfry.

9. South Oldham (9-1) – A close loss to Shelby Co. ruined S. Oldham's perfect regular season. South isn't holding back this year starting the season with CAL in week 1.

10. Pleasure Ridge Park (6-4) – PRP has the same issue as St. X, fine team, BRUTAL schedule. Their opening game against Valley should be pretty lopsided but then the arguably #2 team state wide over all classes visits PRP. If the panthers can keep the game respectable, that would say loads about their progam. A win is probably out of the question.

Honorable Mention -

Ballard (7-3) – Ballard is a good Louisville school that just can't take Manual's place as #4 6A in Louisville, granted last year and this year preseason they are #5 behind PRP also. A win over DeSales to start the season would say they are under rated here. But then have to defend that argument the following week against Male.

Bardstown (9-1) – Bardstown was a single score away from a perfect regular season last year. They will open the season against a fine program in Spencer Co..

Doss (5-5) - Doss has great speed and talent this year. Can that translate into a strong season? We will keep an eye on the Dragons to find out.

Teams on the Rise – n/a obviously in the preseason

Teams on the Decline – n/a obviously in the preseason

Featured Game of the Week – There will be two this week. When it comes to defending the pride of Kentucky Football (a KY team playing an out of stater), KY Defending 6A State Champ Trinity versus Indiana power house and also defending state champ, Carmel, IN would have to fit the bill. In terms of two Louisville area teams, CAL versus S. Oldham should be fun.

@Jason Frakes and @Jim Schue, would love the two of you to give your input into this throughout the season as Sports Writers in the Louisville Region.

South Oldham vs Cal is game of the week.

Keep an eye on Collins, could be a very interesting year. @ Ballard @ Oldham vs Boyle weeks 3-5

Keep an eye on Doss as well. They will have a Great Year! Only Fern Creek could stop them from going deep in the playoffs this year! Same can be said for FC too!

I can agree with that

Based on preseason expectations, PRP is WAAAAAAY too low. But those are just preseason expectations. We shall see.

The No. 4 spot for a 2A team in Louisville is bold, but CAL has been really good lately. After South Oldham, they play at least two other 5A/6A teams in the area. Should be pretty well tested come playoff time.

Based on preseason expectations, PRP is WAAAAAAY too low. But those are just preseason expectations. We shall see.

Jason,

Where would you put PRP? 4-6?

I would put PRP 5th. I also think Male and Manual will be down this year. I could be wrong, just my opinion though.

Based on preseason expectations, PRP is WAAAAAAY too low. But those are just preseason expectations. We shall see.

I have a habit of ranking teams with new coaches too low, I guess it is the uncertainty of how quickly a coach can implement his system.