article Class 2A Playoff Preview

Region I- District 1 vs. District 2 (Winner Will Host Semi's)

Perhaps the biggest compliment you could pay Mayfield during the 2017 season is they were essentially the same team we have been accustomed to seeing. For many teams this would be a death sentence toward their potential playoff hopes, but for the Cardinals it is more of a testament that they can be expected to be right in the thick of the Championship Race. The Cardinals will open their push for another ring with one of Kentucky’s most pleasant surprises, Todd County Central. The Rebels will lose to Mayfield, but still deserve credit for a winning record, something that they have not accomplished in decades. The Cardinals should also subsequently see little resistance in the 2nd Round, anything short of a Regional Final would be a massive surprise.

Owensboro Catholic enters the playoffs on a different kind of trajectory. The Aces battled early season injuries, inexperience from youth, and a brutal schedule. Owensboro Catholic struggled to start the season before turning it around against District competition not up to their level. Catholic should have little issue defeating Webster County in their opener before facing Murray. The Tigers are not at the talent level we are accustomed to from their proud program, so it would be a shock to not see yet another Regional Final between Mayfield and Catholic.

Owensboro Catholic has struggled against efficient Offenses and few programs in Class 2A run their Offense as smoothly as the Cardinals. The Aces might surprise some with their competitiveness early on, but they simply do not have the depth of talent on Defense, or the explosiveness on Offense, to hang with Mayfield.

REGION I CHAMPIONSHIP: Mayfield 36 Owensboro Catholic 13

Region II- District 4 vs. District 5

Cross-Bracketing makes a monumental shift in both Region II and Region III. District 4, also known as the Louisville District, gets some fresh faces for their playoff match-ups as a result. Walton-Verona has perhaps the best team in their young program’s history. The Bearcats enter 8-2 and barely broke a sweat during District play. Winning their First-Round pairing with Shawnee should be a simple task, but things get considerably more difficult when Defending Champion, Christian Academy Louisville, comes to Northern Kentucky for a Second-Round game. The Bearcats might be able to make this one interesting. The Centurions have struggled to score points, while Walton-Verona has been proficient in that aspect. In the end expect CAL to advance, thanks to a bit more talent at the skill positions and a bit more big game experience.

DeSales knows what will most likely be waiting for them once they easily navigate their first two games. It is the same team that has been waiting for them for what seems like the past decade in this same position. The Colts bested Christian Academy- Louisville in the regular season tilt 21-3, allowing a mere 129 total yards of Offense in a stellar Defensive performance. The mystery here will be whether CAL will have their QB Austin Carr or not. Carr has missed the last half of the season and it is unknown whether we will see him again this season or not. Since his departure the Centurions have lost two games and struggled to maintain consistency on Offense. Regardless of who plays or not, DeSales will be the consensus favorite to keep their undefeated record in tact and re-take the Regional Title.

REGION II CHAMPIONSHIP: DeSales 26 CAL 10

Region III- District 3 vs. District 6 (Winner Will Host Semi's)

A regular season upset to Lloyd Memorial cost Newport Central a lot more than just another trophy in their case. Having a road playoff game in the Second-Round is a foreign enough concept for the Thoroughbreds as they have become accustomed to hosting as the top-seed. Thanks to cross bracketing this road trip is going to take on a whole new meaning as the Breds load up the buses and drive over 3 hours to Glasgow.

The Scotties will first welcome the defending Regional Champions Covington Holy Cross, but don’t expect the Indians to be close to their form from last year. The Scotties will not only host the Round 2 tilt with Newport Central Catholic, but if they win they get to host both the Regional Final and potentially the State Semi-Final, thanks to cross-bracketing. The Scotties can make a run through the Region playing at home, but expect Newport Central Catholic to dig down and use their regular season shortcomings as inspiration to pull off a tight win. This won’t be the last you hear from Glasgow, expect them to be a major factor next season with a significant amount of talent set to return.

Lloyd Memorial will not exactly have a walk in the park of their own. The Juggernauts get one of the better 4-seeds in the Class when they open with Green County, even more so, Monroe County is a dangerous foe to host the following week. The Falcons have a sensational playmaker in Ty Mink and will push Lloyd Memorial, but Lloyd should have enough fuel in the tank and enough big plays to weather the storm and advance.

When Lloyd pummeled Newport Central Catholic 46-14, it took everyone by surprise, including the Thoroughbreds. Don’t expect another blowout, but the Juggs will serve notice that their first victory was no fluke. Lloyd will get a much more focused opposition, but Jordan Fann’s ability to create magic will propel Lloyd to their first Semi-Finals appearance since 2003.

REGION III CHAMPIONSHIP: Lloyd Memorial 30 Newport Central Catholic 22

Region IV- District 7 vs. District 8

Danville enters the playoff as the consensus top ranked team in Class 2A and the honor has been well deserved. The Admirals posted several impressive regular season wins, with the most significant being their come from behind victory over Lexington Christian Academy to keep their undefeated record alive and win the District Title. The only thing standing in Danville’s playoff path to the Regional Final will be familiar foe Somerset. The Briarjumpers may have to go on the road against Shelby Valley, but they should not have much issue winning and getting a second crack at the Admirals. Somerset is a scary opponent because their Defense always plays with great intensity, but it would be a monumental upset if we do not see Danville advancing to Round 3.

Though Lexington Christian Academy has the Second seed, their two opening rounds may be a bit easier collectively than Danville. Prestonsburg has over- achieved this year but simply does not have the firepower to hang with the ultra-efficient Eagle Offense. The Eagles still have legitimate Championship dreams and don’t expect to see those get de-railed in Prestonsburg, so go ahead and pencil in the Eagles to get another shot at Danville in one of the State’s hottest rivalries in recent years.

Last season these two teams split the meetings with Danville, getting the narrow win at the point it mattered more. Lexington Christian Academy is more than capable of repeating history and evening the score. They did have a significant lead the first time they met, and LCA most certainly has the playmakers to go toe to toe. With that said, this Admiral team is just “special”, and seems to have a chip on their shoulder with unfinished business to finish. Dmauriae VanCleave has been arguably the most valuable player in Class 2A, and you can expect him and Don Harris to come through in the clutch.

REGION IV CHAMPIONSHIP: Danville 35 Lexington Christian Academy 30

SEMI-FINALS

DeSales 20 Mayfield 14

Danville 38 Lloyd Memorial 20

FINALS PREDICTION

Danville 24 DeSales 14

Great preview

That's fair! Good preview and predictions.

Wow...well done. Extremely thorough analysis.

Great preview

That's fair! Good preview and predictions.

Wow...well done. Extremely thorough analysis.

The BluegrassPreps Ranking Staff does a great job and consistently puts out great articles.

Excellent write-up. I just hope your writing is better than your predicting.

Another great job Ram! No doubt Danville is the prohibited favorite. I would bet that any 2 of the top 5 making it to the finals, but then funnier things can happen

I’m not saying Danville won’t beat DeSales, but

Butler 6A scored 27

Ballard 6A scored 22

Lexington Catholic 3A scored 26 after DeSales shut it down and before they went to prevent I think the score was 31-14 and Lex Cath had 1 first down at the half.

They’ve only allowed 3 points to 2A schools and yes Carr wasn’t playing for Cal but Milton Wright is still the best player in 2A and he had one big play on a punt return that’s it. DeSales has speed and size on defense they don’t make a lot of mistakes on that side of the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles and swarm to the ball. If a team scores 24 on them they deserve to win State.

I’m not saying Danville won’t beat DeSales, but

Butler 6A scored 27

Ballard 6A scored 22

Lexington Catholic 3A scored 26 after DeSales shut it down and before they went to prevent I think the score was 31-14 and Lex Cath had 1 first down at the half.

They’ve only allowed 3 points to 2A schools and yes Carr wasn’t playing for Cal but Milton Wright is still the best player in 2A and he had one big play on a punt return that’s it. DeSales has speed and size on defense they don’t make a lot of mistakes on that side of the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles and swarm to the ball. If a team scores 24 on them they deserve to win State.

VanCleave is the best overall player in 2A and I'm not sure it's close.

I’m not saying Danville won’t beat DeSales, but

Butler 6A scored 27

Ballard 6A scored 22

Lexington Catholic 3A scored 26 after DeSales shut it down and before they went to prevent I think the score was 31-14 and Lex Cath had 1 first down at the half.

They’ve only allowed 3 points to 2A schools and yes Carr wasn’t playing for Cal but Milton Wright is still the best player in 2A and he had one big play on a punt return that’s it. DeSales has speed and size on defense they don’t make a lot of mistakes on that side of the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles and swarm to the ball. If a team scores 24 on them they deserve to win State.

Ballard 5-5

Butler 6-4

CAL 8-2

Lexington Catholic 5-5

Let's not get carried away.

I don't think Lloyd beats Newport Central Catholic a second time.

I don't think Lloyd beats Newport Central Catholic a second time.

32 points is a lot of points to make up. What has changed that makes you think that?

32 points is a lot of points to make up. What has changed that makes you think that?

Historical precedent. NCC always seems to be playing their best football come postseason and they've shown in their win over CAL they are at least capable of putting together a significant win. I think NCC has played tougher opponents than has Lloyd. I know the deficit was wide the last time but I think the two teams are closer than that score. How will Lloyd handle the difficult task of beating a team twice in one year?

Flip side to all of this - NCC has to go to Glasgow and win, which will be difficult, and if they can't do it, the entire previous paragraph is unnecessary!

Carr playing is not going to be a mystery. He's been back now for two weeks! This CAL team is a different animal than it was a few weeks ago. Wright can now move back to his natural position.

I’m not saying Danville won’t beat DeSales, but

Butler 6A scored 27

Ballard 6A scored 22

Lexington Catholic 3A scored 26 after DeSales shut it down and before they went to prevent I think the score was 31-14 and Lex Cath had 1 first down at the half.

They’ve only allowed 3 points to 2A schools and yes Carr wasn’t playing for Cal but Milton Wright is still the best player in 2A and he had one big play on a punt return that’s it. DeSales has speed and size on defense they don’t make a lot of mistakes on that side of the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles and swarm to the ball. If a team scores 24 on them they deserve to win State.

Boyle was even more impressive vs Lex Cath. Yet Danville held the Rebels to 7 points.