article 1A Game of the Week: 1A #2 Kentucky Country Day at 1A #7 Louisville Holy Cross

We have finally made it to District play. Now it's time to set yourself up for a good playoff run by getting the 1 seed and ensuring a couple of home playoff games. It has been a very exciting and wild season so far, to say the least. A few surprise teams have made big strides from last season and come out of the wood work to climb into the BGP Class 1A Top 10. The 1A Game of the Week features two teams who SHOULD be battling it out for the top seed in District 3. The winner could potentially lock up home field advantage during the playoffs through the semi-finals as long as they keep winning. Those two teams are Kentucky Country Day and Louisville Holy Cross.

In 2016, Kentucky Country Day won this matchup 34-0 at home. This year, the game is at Holy Cross and the Cougars will look to upset the #2 ranked team in the BGP polls in 1A. The question many may ask who are not familiar with these teams is, "Does Holy Cross have enough firepower to match Kentucky Country Day?"

This Kentucky Country Day team is 5-1 on the season with its lone loss coming to 2A power Lexington Christian. The KCD offense is led by Quarterback Jackson Diaz, who has thrown for over 1100 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jackson's two favorite targets are Josh Lifson and Gianni Minor. These two have accounted for over 600 yards and 8 touchdowns of the 1100 yards that Jackson has thrown for in 6 games. The Bearcats also possess a strong running game as well. Ashton Robinson and Blake Caldwell are anchoring the rushing attack, accounting for over 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. The defense has been pretty good all season with the exception of the Lexington Christian game. Chris Scott and Jordan West continue to be leaders on a defense that has several interceptions and fumble recoveries on the year, with a couple being taken back for touchdowns. Brandon Leonard is another name to keep an eye out for on that side of the ball.

Louisville Holy Cross is 3-3 on the season and are led by senior running back Mario Convenuto. He has rushed for close to 600 yards and 7 touchdowns. He has also caught 10 passes on the season for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Jarren McDonald is 2nd on the team in rushing with 149 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown for over 500 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season so far. McDonald's favorite target besides Convenuto has been Gavin Foushee, who has racked up 167 yards and a touchdown on the year. The defense for Holy Cross has been pretty solid except for the game against 2A #2 DeSales, where the Colts put up 47 points and and blanked the Cougars. If you take that away, then the most points scored on Holy Cross was last week against Providence (IN), where the Cougars lost 17-14. Taking a look at the stats they've reported, the defense has given up over 1000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving. So, that tells me that they have some work to do if they're going to defeat a KCD team averaging almost 44 ppg.

What are your thoughts on who wins the Class 1A Game of the Week? Will Kentucky Country Day rip through Holy Cross like it did in 2016, or will the Cougars show that they have closed the gap since last year and challenge the Bearcats in this game?

KCD comes into this rivalry game healthy....that's so critical when your roster isn't exactly overflowing with bodies. The Bearcats bring all the weapons to this game.

And it's a finally a rivalry. After years of Holy Cross supremacy, last fall KCD brought the Mack Truck, kitchen sink, whole enchilada and any other metaphors you wanna choose in a lopsided contest off of Springdale Road. To have back to back wins over a program with as much history and success as Holy Cross would truly be a memorable accomplishment for the Bearcat seniors.

Last year Holy Cross's Convenuto ran for 107 yards on 24 carries and he'll no doubt be the workhorse again this coming Friday. I believe that Holy Cross will need to pound the ball, get the clock moving to limit KCD's balanced and explosive offense from getting a lot of series with which to do damage.

This game is at Holy Cross, where a lot a KCD dreams have gone to die. That includes a playoff, final play interception in the endzone to end the season for the Bearcats at Holy Cross two years ago. The current group of KCD seniors were sophomores that year against the likes of talented running back Evan Perry. They've not forgotten that night--it continues to be a sore point. KCD will be plenty motivated, despite the way they've rolled through most of the competition this year.

Holy Cross shoots off a cannon when the Cougars score...it's pointed at the visitor bench and grandstand and it is super, super loud. They've dominated this series over the years...so a lot of cannon fire has hit the Bearcats so to speak. Given how KCD scored on a powerhouse like Lexington Christian, I think KCD will score plenty if given the chance. The key to the game for HC is keeping the cannon firing slowly, meticulously, grinding up yards and clock.

A shootout? That's playing into KCDs power alley. They have a lot of weapons and everyone is healthy.

So the weather looks perfect, the rivalry is legit and the cannon is loaded. Meaningful games that set the table for the playoffs...we're at that wonderful point in the season. Enjoy!

KCD to much for HC.

42-14

KCD rolls in this one

Ttt

KCD- 35

Holy Cross(Lou)- 21

KCD is healthy and if they stay that way, they are better than everyone else in this district!!!

Just watched the tape of Holy Cross' last game versus Providence, Indiana. Some observations:

1)Sound defensively....linebackers and DE especially. Providence did not get the edge very often with its' run game. This is the strong suit of HC and where it has its best chance to compete against KCD.

2)Grind it out offense with a few home runs. Exactly what you would expect with a big strong back like Convenuto carrying the ball. Providence did a pretty good job of neutralizing the HC run game,though.

3)QB Jaren Mcdonald is improving with each year. Providence picked him off twice, but he also showed good movement and downfield vision as he pulled off a couple of escape acts and longer completions that kept HC in the game.

Cal Preps rated the game versus Providence as HC's worst performance of the year, so it clearly was an off night for the Cougars. No doubt with the open week and this kind of developing district rivalry, the place will be rocking off of Dixie Highway come Friday. You would expect HC to play with big time emotion at home.

That said, I think KCD has too many weapons. If the team that led Lexington Christian into the 3rd quarter shows up, that's a pretty good team. And on paper, the Bearcats are the second best team to face HC this year behind DeSales.

The best scenario for the Cougars....score first and get into a trench warfare game if possible. Otherwise, KCD might cue the flying circus act.

I've watched some video and I like KCD by a couple scores. KCD 34 Holy Cross 15

I watched some additional video last night, HC v DeSales, HC v Paris. It reinforced some earlier analysis.

DeSales is a run heavy team with an excellent line that looks to pop big plays with its myriad of nifty runners. I know the final score was 47-0, but the first quarter and a little more demonstrated the kind of defense HC is capable of. DeSales punted on its first possession. It was just 14-0 after the first quarter. And just 21-0 with 3 minutes left in the first half. HC made DeSales work for it for much of the first half....a pretty darn good defensive effort against a team averaging 35 points a game.

And against a Paris team that has put up some big numbers on offense on a number of occasions, HC kept the Greyhounds out of the end zone the entire first half.

There's some Defense being played over on Dixie Highway.