Who’s is the best coach in the state to NOT win a state Championship? I expect some interesting answers. Have they not won one due to talent cycles? Just plain luck? Doesn’t mean that they won’t win one. It’s just super hard to win one. 

Grab The Rosary Beads, It's Catholic Week In 'Title Town'

Records: LexCath (2-3) | Boyle County (5-0)

BGP Rankings: LexCath (#2 in 3A) | Boyle County (#1 in 4A)

Week 5 Results: LexCath lost to LCA | Boyle County beat Taylor County 

Series History: Boyle County leads 22-14 all-time 

Burning Question: Can the Knights find Boyle's Achilles heel? Better question: Does it even exist? The Rebels have bordered on invincible for most of the season, with more playmakers than the opposition can account for. Case in point, Avery Bodner and Montavin Quisenberry accounted for over 400 yards from scrimmage in Boyle's playoff win over the Knights last year while Demauriah Brown was still an Admiral.

For LexCath to pull this off, Jackson Wasik needs the game of his life, because a shootout may be their only path to victory. In two games against the Rebels last season, he completed 74% of his throws for 565 yards and six touchdowns, so the precedent for him playing well is there.

Boyle County is 42-3 since 2020. Wasik helped deal the Rebels one of those three losses. If there's a quarterback with the moxy to escape Danville with a win, Wasik may be it. 

Saint Xavier (3-1) is coming off a 31-21 loss to  Elder (OH). Trinity (2-3) is coming off a 37-20 loss to Male. The game will be at L&N Stadium home of University of Louisville on Friday at 8:00 pm. Trinity leads the all time series 48-40-2 while St. X has won two in a row.

Last year, St. X won 13-8.

Common opponent:

St. X 20 Male 10
Male 37 Trinity 20

I think this game comes down to can Trinity keep the St. X passing attack in check and can St. X keep the Trinity rushing attack in check after giving up 305 yds rushing to Elder. In a rivalry game anything can happen because both teams will be extra motivated to win this despite what win/loss records are. 

Does St. X make it three in a row or does Trinity get win 49 in the series?

Top 20:

Corbin 85.3
Frederick Douglass 84.39
Covington Catholic 82.29
Male 82.23
Trinity 81.66
St. Xavier 81.56
Highlands 80.68
Boyle County 78.07
Manual 76.57
Christian Academy 75.14
Lexington Christian 75.12
Mayfield 73.66
South Warren 73.28
Paducah Tilghman 73.09
Bowling Green 71.73
Beechwood 71.24
Owensboro Catholic 69.94
Lexington Catholic 67.7
Bryan Station 65.36
Ryle 64.99

Players Featured This Week

Brady Hensley (RB/DB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 146 carries for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns | 128 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns

Daniel Thomas (RB/LB, Bell County)
Season to date: 125 carries for 1,278 yards and 21 touchdowns | 22 tackles | 1 scoop and score

Tyleeq "TyTy" Williams (ATH, Bardstown)
Season to date: 49 carries for 562 yards and 7 touchdowns | 221 yards and 2 touchdowns | 1 scoop and score | 1 sack | 2 kick return touchdowns - statistics incomplete

Steve Partin (RB/QB/LB, Knox Central)
Season to date: 68 carries for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns | 22 tackles | 7 TFL | 3 sacks

Cutter Boley (QB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 87/144 for 1,196 yards with 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions

Jackson Wasik (QB, Lexington Catholic)
Season to date: 81/125 for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns with 1 interception

Cole Hodge (QB, Christian Academy of Louisville)
Season to date: 84/121 for 1,349 yards and 19 touchdowns with 3 interceptions | 223 rushing yards and 1 touchdown

Avery Bodner (RB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 53 carries for 520 yards and 11 touchdowns | 191 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns | 38 tackles | 3.5 TFL | 1 sack | 1 interception

Sage Dawson (QB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 54/75 for 1,036 yards and 8 touchdowns with 1 interception | 1 rushing touchdown

Class 1A
1. Raceland
2. Pikeville
3. Campbellsville

Class 2A
1. Lexington Christian Academy
2. Beechwood
3. Owensboro Catholic
4. Mayfield

Class 3A
1. Christian Academy-Louisville
2. Lexington Catholic
3. Central

Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Corbin
3. Covington Catholic
4. Paducah Tilghman
5. Ashland

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green
2. Highlands
3. South Warren
4. Scott County

Class 6A
1. Saint Xavier
2. Male
3. Frederick Douglass
4. Trinity
5. Manual
6. Bryan Station

Players Featured This Week

Cole Hodge (QB, Christian Academy of Louisville)
Season to date: 84/121 for 1,147 yards and 17 touchdowns with 2 interception | 152 rushing yards and 1 touchdown

Cutter Boley (QB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 59/98 for 908 yards and 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions

Brady Hensley (RB/DB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 107 carries for 877 yards and 11 touchdowns | 123 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns

Avery Bodner (RB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 30 carries for 381 yards and 6 touchdowns | 6 receptions for 177 yards and 1 touchdown | 33 tackles | 3.5 TFL | 1 interception

Sage Dawson (QB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 42/58 for 837 yards and 7 touchdowns with 1 interception

Evan Pitzer (QB, Covington Catholic)
Season to date: 49/68 for 725 yards and 7 touchdowns with 0 interceptions | 149 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns

Willie Rodriguez (TE/LB, Covington Catholic)
Season to date: 11 receptions for 235 yards and 5 touchdowns | 18 tackles | 3 TFL | 1 fumble forced and 1 recovered

Brody Benke (QB, Highlands)
Season to date: 49/63 for 693 yards and 8 touchdowns with 3 interceptions | 394 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns | 92 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns

JT Haskins Jr. (ATH, Bryan Station)
Season to date: 17 receptions for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns | 13 tackles | 2 interceptions

Daniel Thomas (RB/LB, Bell County)
Season to date: 95 carries for 921 yards and 16 touchdowns | 22 tackles | 1 scoop and score

Formula: Strength of schedule played plus average margin of victory/loss with max margin 36 points. Out of state opponents don't count in ratings.

Frederick Douglass 93.18
Trinity 89.34
Manual 80.76
St. Xavier 79.31
Male 73.81

Highlands 74.64
South Warren 70.63
Scott County 63.44
Bowling Green 63.36
Dixie Heights 61.04
Owensboro 59.63

Corbin 86.16
Covington Catholic 80.89
Boyle County 78.82
Paducah Tilghman 74.28

Christian Academy of Lousiville 75.11
Lexington Catholic 68.64
Central 61.78
Bell County 55.38
Union County 55.12

Lexington Christian 73.86
Mayfield 73.81
Owensboro Catholic 67.14
Beechwood 64.8

Raceland 58.46
Pikeville 58.35
KY Country Day 44.19
Campbellsville 42.73
Paris 39.89
Newport Cent. Cath 37.11

Class 1A
1. Raceland
2. Pikeville 
3. Campbellsville

Class 2A
1. Beechwood 
2. Lexington Christian Academy
3. Owensboro Catholic
4. Mayfield 

Class 3A
1. Christian Academy-Louisville
2. Lexington Catholic
3. Central
4. Bell County
5. Lloyd Memorial
6. Belfry 

Class 4A
1. Boyle County
2. Corbin
3. Covington Catholic
4. Paducah Tilghman
5. Ashland 

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green
2. Highlands
3. South Warren 
4. Scott County
5. Woodford County 

Class 6A
1. Saint Xavier
2. Frederick Douglass
3. Male
4. Trinity
5. Manual
6. Bryan Station

Corbin 87.81
Frederick Douglass 84.48
Trinity 81.95
Manual 81.09
St. Xavier 80.05
Covington Catholic 78.97
Boyle County 74.91
Christian Academy - Lou. 74.12
Male 73.2
Paducah Tilghman 72.32
Lexington Christian 72.01
Highlands 71.37
Ryle 69.86
Scott County 69.41
Mayfield 69.33
Central Hardin 68.63
Bowling Green 66.5
Beechwood 66.32
Owensboro Catholic 66.1
Ashland Blazer 65.93

A few short weeks ago, Brady Hensley was viewed as the Robin to Cutter Boley's Batman.

Each week since has witnessed Robin recalibrate the Mr. Football narrative more and more in his favor. Boley may still end up walking away with it at season's end, but his running back has been the state's 'player of the year' so far.

His breakaway speed grabbed headlines against Bowling Green. Last week, Pikeville got a look at the power and physicality in his repertoire.

Hensley was a brute at the goal line, disregarding arm tackles and leaving bodies in piles on his way to a four touchdown night and 191 yards all together.

Pikeville safety Deonte Stevens instinctively lowered his shoulder as Hensley was crossing the goal line for the second of his four scores. Hensley responded like a bull charging a matador waving a red cape, "goring" Stevens and leaving him doubled over.

Players Featured This Week

Brady Hensley (RB/DB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Cutter Boley (Lexington Christian Academy)
Cole Hodge (QB, Christian Academy of Louisville)
Evan Pitzer (QB, Covington Catholic)
Brody Benke (QB, Highlands)
Trevor Havill (QB, Saint Xavier)
Willie Rodriguez (TE/LB, Covington Catholic)
Avery Bodner (RB/DB, Boyle County)
Sage Dawson (QB/DB, Boyle County)
Daniel Thomas (RB/LB, Bell County)

After reading this post by @Shaquille_Oatmeal in the Boyle County/Scott County thread it got me thinking, here is the post:

After watching Boyle’s first two games this season, I’ll be really surprised if this team doesn’t go 15-0 and win the class 4A state championship. 

=================

Here are the toughest games left on the schedule for Boyle in the regular season:

Scott County

Lexington Catholic

Frederick Douglass

Then of course five playoff games.  So I will ask again, will Boyle County go undefeated this year?

Class 1A
1. Pikeville
2. Raceland
3. Campbellsville 

Class 2A
1. Beechwood 
2. Lexington Christian Academy 
3. Owensboro Catholic 
4. Mayfield 

Class 3A
1. Christian Academy-Louisville
2. Lexington Catholic 
3. Central 

Class 4A
1. Boyle County 
2. Corbin 
3. Covington Catholic 
4. Paducah Tilghman 
5. Franklin County 

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green 
2. Scott County  
3. Highlands 
4. South Warren 
5. Owensboro  
6. Cooper 

Class 6A
1. Saint Xavier
2. Frederick Douglass
3. Male 
4. Trinity 
5. Manual 

'Title Town' Tussle Meets The Hype

The chance they wouldn't deliver was slim. The talent, too abundant. The nerves, too steady. The stage beckoned and they heeded the call. They, of course, referring to the headline makers at Boyle County and Lexington Christian Academy.

No one inspires more captions or pulls a crowd this year like Cutter Boley. The future Wildcat's heights are hard to reach, both literally and figuratively. He stands a minimum 6'5" and delivers spirals no other quarterback in the state can equal. But if there's a chink in the armor, it's his nagging propensity to turn the ball over.

We saw the highs and lows of his arm talent early on with his first two pass attempts. His first was a forty yard rope, placed where only his receiver could catch it. The combination of accuracy and velocity that emphasizes why he's such a coveted prospect. The second pass killed a promising opening drive as he sailed a throw that was tipped and picked.

In the five losses Boley has suffered at LCA, he's thrown nearly as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (11).

When he was on target, real estate was coming in bunches. He finished with 406 yards, his fourth career game of 400+, but it was a 50/50 split on touchdowns and interceptions (3 apiece).

Going through the threads from the Highlands/CovCath rivalry it reads to me like there are a lot of Highlands folks who are unhappy with the coaching and culture of the Highlands football team. At least a lot of the Highands folks on here seem to feel that way, anyway. Comments about player attitudes and behavior, a mess of personal fouls on Friday including one that was apparently called on Sphire himself, player discipline on the field.

I've always heard it takes a new coach 3 years to get his system in place. This is year 3 for Bob Sphire at Highlands. Is his system in place?

Obviously the natives are restless after losing to Cov. But is this year do or die for Sphire with the Bluebirds? What is the bare minimum for Highlands fans to feel like he's done "enough" to make them happy come the end of this season? Is his seat hot right now? With a former player as his AD, can his seat really even get all that hot?

Class 1A
1. Pikeville 
2. Raceland 
3. Campbellsville 

Class 2A
1. Beechwood 
2. Lexington Christian Academy 
3. Mayfield 
4. Owensboro Catholic 

Class 3A
1. Christian Academy-Louisville 
2. Lexington Catholic 
3. Central 
4. Bell County 
5. Lloyd Memorial 

Class 4A
1. Boyle County 
2. Corbin 
3. Covington Catholic 
4. Ashland 
5. Franklin County 
6. Paducah Tilghman 

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green 
2. Scott County  
3. Cooper 
4. Highlands 

Class 6A
1. Male 
2. Saint Xavier 
3. Frederick Douglass
4. Trinity 

Cardinals make the trip to McWright Field to renew the second oldest rivalry in the state. Mayfield has won 17 in a row over the Big Blue Tornado, and the desperation at PT to end this streak is nearly palpable. What do you say? Will the streak finally come to an end this year? 

Can these two deliver a game worthy of the names on the front of the jerseys? The previous six meetings have been lesser than the sum of their parts. The winning margins in the series have been 31, 28, 43, 22, 17, and last year's 39 point Pikeville romp. For as great as both programs are, the games haven't exactly been time capsule material, but there's a good chance that changes this year. LCA has gone toe to toe with the top ranked teams in 4A and 5A, proving they can punch well above their weight class. Pikeville just wrestled a grizzly bear and not only lived to tell about it, but they have the head mounted on their wall. The Eagles got blown out in Pikeville last year with Blake Birchfield running wild. Cutter Boley threw for over 400 yards and three scores, but was picked off three times in defeat, closely mirroring his numbers from the loss to Boyle County. 

Bowling Green (0-1) at Owensboro (0-1)

Well it certainly was an eventful opening week to the season for both these teams.  But unfortunately for both, they both come into this game with 0-1 records.  I felt both played very well vs what may be the 2A and 3A state champions.  Onward!

This will be the 83rd meeting between these 2 old rivals.  For BG, Owensboro is its most played opponent all time with BG leading the razor thin all time series 41-39-2.  Interesting of note is the rivalry dates back to the 1932 season according to BGHS records compiled by my friends the late, great PurpleHaze and @DragonFire.  In that 1932 game, BG pulled out a 14-13 win typical of the closeness of the series.  However, according to the historical Owensboro records there is a listing on October 16, 1915 where Owensboro defeated “Bowling Green” 55-0; then defeated “Bowling Green College” in 1916 6-0.  So depending on which side of the aisle you sit, you have a way to say you won the first game of this series!

They played every season from 2007 to 2018 (12 straight years); 1985 to 2000 (16 straight years); and 1932 to 1973 (42 straight years).  Most remember BGs long streak of wins (14 straight) from 2009 to 2018 (includes playoff games), but most don’t remember Owensboro’s streak of 15 straight wins from 1956 to 1971 (includes bypassing a few ties in that time).  The game BG broke that Owensboro 15 game win streak in 1972 – a 14-13 win for the Purples. 

With due respect to one of the state's premier rivalries happening up north, I see this as the game of the week for Week 2 for the rest of the Commonwealth.

The #1 team in 4A, pursuing a fourth consecutive state championship versus a top 2A contender - and in the opinion of some, the true #1 of that class - that just toppled the #1 team in 5A.

The star power on the field may be unmatched the rest of the season.

Players Featured This Week

Brady Hensley (RB/DB, Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 30 carries for 402 yards and 5 touchdowns | 87 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns

Cutter Boley (Lexington Christian Academy)
Season to date: 22/35 for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns and 1 interception

Avery Bodner (RB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 10 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown | 5 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown | 5 tackles 

Sage Dawson (QB/DB, Boyle County)
Season to date: 14/23 for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns 

Brody Benke (QB, Highlands)
Season to date: 12/17 for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception | 111 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns | 42 receiving yards and a touchdown 

Jackson Wasik (QB, Lexington Catholic)
Season to date: 26/40 for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception 

Cole Hodge (QB, Christian Academy of Louisville)
Season to date: 25/35 for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception | 37 rushing yards and 1 touchdown

Shaun Boykins (WR, North Hardin)
Season to date: 14 receptions for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns | 1 kick return touchdown

1. Pikeville 
2. Raceland 
3. Campbellsville 
4. Kentucky Country Day 
5. Middlesboro 

1. Beechwood 
2. Lexington Christian Academy 
3. Mayfield 
4. Owensboro Catholic 
5. Shelby Valley 

1. Christian Academy-Louisville 
2. Lexington Catholic 
3. Central 
4. Belfry 
5. Bell County 

1. Boyle County 
2. Corbin 
3. Covington Catholic 
4. Johnson Central 
5. Ashland 

1. Bowling Green 
2. Scott County 
3. Highlands  
4. Cooper 
5. Owensboro 

1. Trinity 
2. Male 
3. Saint Xavier 
4. Frederick Douglass 
5. Bullitt East 

Covington Catholic travels to The Fort. Who wins? What matchups are looking forward to seeing?

Class 1A
1. Pikeville 
2. Raceland 
3. Campbellsville 

Class 2A
1. Beechwood 
2. Mayfield 
3. Lexington Christian Academy 

Class 3A
1. Christian Academy-Louisville 
2. Central 
3. Lexington Catholic 

Class 4A
1. Boyle County 
2. Corbin 
3. Covington Catholic 

Class 5A
1. Bowling Green 
2. Scott County 
3. Woodford 

Class 6A
1. Frederick Douglass 
2. Male
3. Bryan Station 

Everyone has their own criteria for a "must see" game, and the biggest rivalries - T vs. X and CovCath vs. Highlands, to name a couple - are woven into the fabric of football season around these parts. This will focus more on the matchups we either don't see often, have never seen before, or eagerly await the sequel to from last year.

Over the course of a season, most games only matter to the locals, but some of the picks here will transcend regional borders..