PBK Top 25

1. Trinity Shamrocks ☘️ (3-1)
2. Lyon County Lyons 🦁 (3-1)
3. Sayre Spartans ⚔️ (5-0)
4. Saint Xavier Tigers 🐯 (3-1)
5. Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers 🐈‍⬛ (5-0)
6. Ballard Bruins 🐻 (2-0)
7. Somerset Briar Jumpers 🐇 (2-1)
8. Lexington Catholic Knights 🛡 (4-1)
9. Taylor County Cardinals 🇾🇪 (4-0)
10. South Warren Spartans ⚔️ (4-0)
11. McCracken County Mustangs 🐎 (4-1)
12. Greenwood Gators 🐊 (4-0)
13. Owensboro Catholic Aces ♠️ (2-1)
14. Corbin Redhounds 🇵🇪 (2-1)
15. University Heights Blazers 🇬🇫 (3-1)
16. Covington Catholic Colonels 🇫🇮 (3-0)
17. Whitley County Colonels 🇾🇪 (3-0)
18. Bowling Green Purples 👾 (2-1)
19. Great Crossing Warhawks 🇸🇱 (3-0)
20. LaRue County Hawks 🇸🇻 (3-1)
21. Ryle Raiders 🏴‍☠️ (1-2)
22. Pikeville Panthers 🐾 (0-3)
23. Bullitt East Chargers 🐴 (2-0)
24. Madison Central Indians 🏹 (3-2)
25. Spencer County Bears 🐻 (3-1)

Final Congrats to the Lady Valkyries on the 5th state championship. Also, congratulations to the Lady Cards on another great season. Sacred Heart has only lost 3 games to instate opponents since the 2022 season. That is an impressive run.

Sacred Heart earned its fifth consecutive state championship and ninth overall title in school history.

Clark County had a 3 point lead and the ball with about 1:20 left in the game but too many turnovers such as 10 second calls and errant passes allowed Sacred Heart to defeat them in the end.

Zakiyah Johnson made a huge 3 and a driving shot in the lane to help them regain the lead in the closing seconds.

1. Trinity Shamrocks ☘️
2024: 38-5 | State Semifinalist | 7th Region Champions | 27th District Champions

2. Lyon County Lyons 🦁
2024: 22-7 | Lost in the 2nd Region first round | 5th District Champions

3. Sayre Spartans ⚔️
2024: 17-16 | 42nd District Runner-up

4. Saint Xavier Tigers 🐯
2024: 24-16 | 7th Region Runner-up | 26th District Champions

5. Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers 🐈‍⬛
2024: 40-3 | State Champions | 6th Region Champions | 21st District Champions

6. Ballard Bruins 🐻
2024: 28-6 | 7th Region Semifinalist | 28th District Champions

7. Somerset Briar Jumpers 🐇
2024: 23-12 | Lost in 12th Region first round | 47th District Champions

8. University Heights Blazers 🇬🇫
2024: 25-12 | 2nd Region Runner-up | 8th District Champions

9. Lexington Catholic Knights 🛡
2024: 27-12 | 11th Region Champions | 43rd District Champions | State Tournament Quarterfinalist

10. Corbin Redhounds 🇵🇪
2024: 30-11 | 13th Region Champions | 50th District Champions | Lost in the state tournament first round 30th District first round 

🐅 | Professor Massey's final regular season ratings are in. The Tigers of St. Xavier sport their largest margin over a second ranked team and the other region leaders have been locked in for the last few weeks. But anything can happen in the "second season." It's tourney time in the Bluegrass!

🆕 Bracketology ~ The Sweet 16® draw has taken place. We'll see Region Power 5 ranked teams side by side for potential Round 1 matchups in a subsequent post.

💪 ➕ Power Plus Regional Rankings ~ 

This week Regions 7 and 11 were in a dead heat, tied at 73 points. Neither placed at the top when we went ten deep this week. Stay tuned. 

This last full Region ranking is separated by Power (Best 5) and Plus (Next 5) for a different look, then combined for final scoring. 

For the rest of the year, only teams still in the hunt will rep their Regions.

2️⃣5️⃣ Top 25 statewide rankings ~

1. St. Xavier, 2. Great Crossing, 3. Frederick Douglass, 4. Covington Catholic, 5. duPont Manual 

6. Marshall County, 7. George Rogers Clark, 8. South Oldham, 9. Cooper, 10. Bryan Station 

11. Bowling Green, 12. Warren Central, 13. Lloyd Memorial, 14. North Oldham, 15. Ashland Blazer

16. Butler, 17. Calloway County, 18. Male, 19. Simon Kenton, 20. Ballard

21. Adair County, 22. Pleasure Ridge Park, 23. Jeffersontown, 24. Danville Christian Academy, 25. South Laurel

We have reached the District Tournaments -- felt like this season flew by.  I appreciate those of you that have been frequent readers, contributors, and supporters of NKY Girls' High School Basketball this season.  The only reason we do this is to help provide some attention on these hard-working young ladies that deserve all of the posts / threads / and game attendees that they can get!  

The only real "wow" win for NKY this week was Dixie knocking off KY #5 (and likely 11th Region finalist), Franklin County.  Sounds like a crazy last 7:46 as the Colonels finished the game on a 16-1 run!  What a win for our 9th Region Coach of the year, Joel Steczynski and his team!  Way to represent the area!

You'll see the district match-ups below, and in some cases I presume a winner to show match-ups down the road, please know that I mean no offense to those teams that I assume won't win their semi-final.  Just want to give people a view of what is likely to happen so everyone can plan on which games to attend around the area later this week!  Thanks again for a great season, and good luck to everyone this week in their District Tournaments, and for our finalists, onto their respective Regions starting as early as this next Sunday at NKU for the 9th.

Special mention this week to Simon Kenton who had the WIN OF THE YEAR ending Sacred Heart's 92 in-state winning streak by knocking off the Valkyries in Independence.  What a massive win for SKLP!  They'll remember that one forever.

1.  Cooper 19-4 (2-0 last week):  at Frederick Douglass and at Assumption

2.  Simon Kenton 21-4 (3-0):  at #7 Highlands and vs #6 Campbell County

3.  Notre Dame 19-5 (1-1):  vs Assumption and at Sacred Heart

4.  Dixie 16-8 (1-1):  vs Scott and vs Franklin County

5.  Holy Cross 23-6 (1-2):  vs Scott

6.  Campbell County 16-8 (1-0):  vs St. Henry, at #2 Simon Kenton, and vs South Laurel

7.  Highlands 18-7 (2-0):   vs #2 Simon Kenton and vs Beechwood

8.  Bishop Brossart 21-6 (2-0):  at #9 Walton-Verona and at Ryle (feels interesting)

9.  Walton-Verona 19-8 (3-0):  vs #8 Brossart and at #10 NewCath

10. NewCath 15-13 (1-1):  vs Grant County (also feels interesting) at #9 Walton-Verona

*Still no ranks from Bluegrass Scoreboard. Guess they didn't get the engagement they wanted, and dropped it.

*St. X still consensus #1 in all polls with all first place votes. Two road games next week at Jeffersontown and North Oldham may present some challenge, but it looks like St. X is going to remain in this position through the end, and may not lose to a Kentucky team this year.

*Great Crossing was back to a consensus #2 and Frederick Douglass a consensus #3 as KSR flip flopped them back. No other team was conensus top 5.

*Danville Christian and Hazard join the above three as consensus top 10 teams. Bryan Station was rated in the top 6 of three polls, but my personal "favorite" Kentucky High School Sports Zone dropped them all the way to 10th. Green County was also denied by KYHSZ, who had them 17th while the other three had them top 10.

*Kentucky High School Sports Zone continues to be the only one to rank Boyd County - though they did drop them to 10th despite no losses, which was... odd.

*There are eight unicorns this week (a team that was rated by only a single outlet). Boyd County continues to be the weirdest of those. As with last week, KSR continues to be the only one to believe in PRP (#14). Additionally, we have South Oldham (NE 19), Trinity (KYHSZ 20), Simon Kenton (NE 21), Henderson County (KSR 21), South Laurel (KYHSZ 24), and Lexington Catholic (KYHSZ 25).

*Nations Elite seemed unusually harsh and overreactive to some results. That Marshall County loss induced them to drop the Marshals from 5th to 14th, the only outlet to have the Marshals out of the top 10. Warren Central was dumped 12 spots from 11th to 23rd after losing to Butler County, and likely would have fallen out altogether if they'd lost to Bowling Green.

*KYHSZ had Adair County up to 4th this week. I'm curious to see how far they drop after losing to Warren Central on Tuesday. No other outlet had Adair above 10th.

*17 teams were consensus rated this week (down from 20 last week)

Was a terrific week in NKY, with a slew of great games, and a lot of clarity on who and what as we end the season.  For the 9th, at least for me, it looks like two contenders, three "could win it with a bounce or two", and then likely 3 "happy to make it to NKU" (although NewCath is playing much better, and after yesterday, I guess you never know).  SKLP would be #1 if not for that OT home loss to Cooper, but they look like they are the clear favorites in the 8th Region.  

Notre Dame settled the debate in the 35th, at least for now, and if Sophia stays healthy they look like the best threat to Cooper to win the 9th.  She is such a difference-maker this year!  Holy Cross comes off the narrow road win at NewCath yesterday with three BRUTAL games this week, so if nothing else, they'll be "battled tested" as they enter the post-season.  Dixie dropped two games to Ohio teams before picking up a win yesterday.  Brossart and NewCath appear to be coming together, Scott appears to be sliding back a little, and Campbell County is impossible to predict from one day to the next (as is often the case with a team is so perimeter-oriented).  In Ryle's case below, I'm factoring in the sad news that they have lost Jaelyn Jones for a few games.

This week has some interesting games, beyond Holy Cross' gauntlet, with Cooper playing Dixie, SK getting Sacred Heart in Independence, Notre Dame getting state #2 GRC, and Campbell County and Dixie tangling in Edgewood.  Should make for a great week!

⚔️ 😺 | #1 Sacred Heart capped off the week with a resounding 26 point win over #2 George Rogers Clark in the LIT title game. The Valkyries have risen to #37 nationally.

Ashland's Kittens (#19) clawed their way into the Top 25, outscoring three 16th Region opponents 244-116. They're the only team to take over a Region #1 this week, passing Russell.

🆕 A weekly feature for upcoming games between ranked teams. Dixie Heights and Ashland will be carrying the Bluegrass Banner (🟦) to face top flight out of state competition.

💪➕ Power Plus Regional Rankings "Elite Eight" edition shows the NKY's 9th again as the cream of the Commonwealth.

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~ 

1. Sacred Heart, 2. George Rogers Clark, 3. North Laurel, 4. Cooper, 5. Franklin County.

6. Madison Central, 7. Assumption, 8. Franklin-Simpson, 9. Frederick Douglass, 10. Covington Holy Cross.

11. Simon Kenton, 12. Notre Dame, 13. Henderson County, 14. Owensboro Catholic, 15. Bethlehem. 

16. Dixie Heights, 17. Knox Central, 18. Barren County, 19. Ashland, 20. Graves County. 

21. South Laurel, 22. Breckenridge County, 23. Highlands, 24. Anderson County, 25. Central. 

🛡️ 🐈 😺 | Fresh faces appear this week in Professor Massey's Top 25, as Danville Christian - All 'A' Classic champions, Pleasure Ridge Park, and Newport make their season debuts.

🆕 A weekly schedule for games between ranked teams.

💪➕  Power Plus Regional Rankings - "Elite Eight" edition is headed by the 9th Region - four teams in the Top 25 (Cov Cath, Cooper, Lloyd, Newport) and another four (Conner, Dixie, Holy Cross, Ryle) in the Top 50. 

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~ 

1. St. Xavier, 2. Frederick Douglass, 3. Great Crossing, 4. Covington Catholic, 5. Marshall County.

6. Bryan Station, 7. Warren Central, 8. Bowling Green, 9. Manual, 10. Cooper.

11. George Rogers Clark, 12. North Oldham, 13. Ballard, 14. South Oldham, 15. Male. 

16. Lloyd Memorial, 17. Butler, 18. Calloway County, 19. Ashland, 20. Pleasure Ridge Park.

21. Adair County, 22. Danville Christian, 23. Jeffersontown, 24. Madison Central, 25. Newport.

*As usual, St. X is a consensus #1 across the board. Great Crossing and Frederick Douglass continue as consensus #2 & #3. Bryan Station moved back up to 4th in a majority of polls, in contrast with last week where they were #4 by average but rated as such in only one poll. They are a consensus top 5 team.

*14 teams were consensus rated (down from 18 last week):

St. Xavier
Great Crossing
Frederick Douglass
Bryan Station
Marshall County
Warren Central
Hazard
Manual
Covington Catholic
Danville Christian
Green County
Ashland
George Rogers Clark
Calloway County

*For the first time this year, the unicorn love is really spread around. Usually, it's KYHSZ that has the majority, as their rankings are frequently inexplicable. We have four unicorns this week (a team that was rated by only a single outlet). Cooper graduates from this status as they are up to four oulets, as does Newport which were rated by Nations Elite in addition to KYHSZ this time. Boyd County (KYHSZ 18) continues to be a team that is only loved by KYHSZ. The others are North Oldham (NE 22), Jeffersontown (KSR 23), and North Bullitt (Media 24), with North Bullitt remaining a unicorn from last week by the same source. Clay County falls out of the ranks entirely this week.

⚔️ 🇺🇸 | Sacred Heart, rated best of the Bluegrass for the last month, picked up a great win over Missouri's five-time defending Class 6 champ Incarnate Word. The victory places the Valkyries back in the nation's Top 50. 

💪➕ The 9th Region extends its lead and season long streak at the head of the "Power Plus Regional Rankings"~ five teams in the Top 20 (Cooper, Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Dixie, Highlands), and four more in the Top 100 (Ryle, New Cath, Conner, St. Henry).

⛹️ Good news for GRC fans, Ciara Byars is back from injury for the #3 Lady Cardinals.

✔️ Mark your calendar for big games this week ~ 

• Wednesday: #13 Notre Dame vs. #24 West Jessamine.

• Thursday: #4 Cooper at #11 Simon Kenton. #8 Holy Cross at #17 Dixie.

• Saturday: #1 Sacred Heart vs. #18 Highlands at Campbell Co. #4 Cooper vs. #13 Notre Dame.

2️⃣5️⃣ Massey's Statewide Rankings ~

1. Sacred Heart, 2. North Laurel, 3. George Rogers Clark, 4. Cooper, 5. Franklin County.

6. Madison Central, 7. Bethlehem, 8. Covington Holy Cross, 9. Assumption, 10. Franklin-Simpson.

11. Simon Kenton, 12. Frederick Douglass, 13. Notre Dame, 14. Henderson County, 15. Owensboro Catholic.

16. Breckenridge County, 17. Dixie Heights, 18. Highlands, 19. Knox Central, 20. Anderson County.

21. Barren County, 22. Graves County, 23. South Laurel, 24. West Jessamine, 25. Russell.

🐆 ☘️ ⚔️ | Overtime wins for Cooper and Trinity over Covington Catholic helped vault the Jaguars and Shamrocks into the Top 10 and Top 25 respectively.

🏆 | "All 'A' Classic" champions Danville Christian rise to a season high at No. 29. Losses at the Classic drop Hazard and Green Co. from the rankings. 

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~

1. St. Xavier, 2. Great Crossing, 3. Frederick Douglass, 4. Covington Catholic, 5. Bryan Station.

6. Marshall Co., 7. Warren Central, 8. Manual, 9. George Rogers Clark, 10. Cooper. 

11. South Oldham, 12. Ballard, 13. Bowling Green, 14. Ashland, 15. North Oldham. 

16. Male, 17. Calloway Co., 18. Lloyd Memorial, 19. Butler, 20. Simon Kenton. 

21. Woodford Co., 22. Madison Central, 23. Trinity, 24. Adair Co., 25. Henry Clay. 

1. Holy Cross 18-1 (3-0 this week): vs Bethlehem at the All A Classic in Owensboro, and perhaps another 3 games down there.

2. Cooper 9-3 (3-0): at Conner, at #4 Campbell County, at Boone, and vs Franklin County at Mercy.

3. Simon Kenton 12-3 (0-1): vs Meade County at Mercy.

4. Campbell County 10-3 (2-0): vs #2 Cooper, at #6 Notre Dame, at Fleming County.

5. Dixie 8-4 (2-0): vs NewCath, at Sacred Heart, vs Ursuline (OH), and at Ludlow.

6. Notre Dame 9-3 (1-0): vs Grant County, vs #4 Campbell County, and vs Wayne (WV) at Ashland.

7. Bishop Brossart 12-4 (4-0): vs Louisville Holy Cross at the All A Classic in Owensboro, and perhaps another 3 games.

8. Highlands 13-4 (1-1): at Ryle

9. Walton-Verona 12-5 (3-0): vs Danville Christian at the All A Classic in Owensboro, and perhaps another 3 games.

10. Scott 9-6 (1-1): at Beechwood, vs Augusta, and MAYBE vs Walton-Verona on Friday night per Wednesday's result for WV.

🏀 🐯 | Massey joins the media consensus and places St. Xavier back at No. 1 in this week's ratings.

🆕 Kentucky All 'A' Classic tourney rankings.

🔼 Notable moves: Hazard makes its season debut in the Top 25. Harlan Co. is best of the 13th for the first time this season. Adair Co. reclaims the lead in the 5th by the narrowest of margins.

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~ 

1. St. Xavier, 2. Covington Catholic, 3. Great Crossing, 4. Frederick Douglass, 5. Warren Central.

6. Bryan Station, 7. Marshall Co., 8. Ballard, 9. Manual, 10. Male.

11. George Rogers Clark, 12. Bowling Green, 13. South Oldham, 14. Butler, 15. Calloway Co. 

16. Ashland, 17. Henry Clay, 18. Cooper, 19. Woodford Co., 20. North Oldham. 

21. Lloyd Memorial, 22. Madison Central, 23. Hazard, 24. Adair Co , 25. Green Co. 

❄️ 🐴 | Mother Nature wreaked havoc on Bluegrass basketball last week. Not a lot of movement from Massey & Co. as a result, so we'll mix it up with a "Dark Horse Edition" in the Power+ Regional Rankings - going eight deep. 

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~

1. Covington Catholic, 2. St. Xavier, 3. Great Crossing, 4. Frederick Douglass, 5. Bryan Station. 

6. Warren Central, 7. Marshall Co., 8. Manual, 9. Male, 10. George Rogers Clark. 

11. Bowling Green, 12. Ballard, 13. Calloway Co., 14. Lloyd Memorial, 15. Henry Clay. 

16. Woodford Co., 17. South Oldham, 18. Butler, 19. Ashland, 20. Jeffersontown. 

21. North Oldham, Green Co., 23. Cooper, 24. Madison Central, 25. South Laurel.

🏀🥣 | Massey & Co. have stirred the pot with their first ratings of 2025.

🔵 Six Regions have new No. 1s (R2 - Henderson Co., R5 - Green Co., R6 - Butler, R8 - South Oldham, R11 - Frederick Douglass, R13 - South Laurel) and the Bluegrass has a new statewide leader - Covington Catholic. 

Full ratings based on reported scores through *Saturday, January 4* can be found at the link below.

2️⃣5️⃣ Statewide Ratings ~

1. Covington Catholic, 2. St. Xavier, 3. Frederick Douglass, 4. Great Crossing, 5. Bryan Station

6. Warren Central, 7. Marshall Co., 8. Manual, 9. Male, 10. George Rogers Clark.

1. Sacred Heart (US 117), 2. Cooper (192), 3. North Laurel (211), 4. Franklin-Simpson (243), 5. George Rogers Clark (252).

6. Assumption (US 295), 7. Covington Holy Cross (298), 8. Madison Central (316), 9. Notre Dame (353), 10. Frederick Douglass (374).

11. Franklin Co. (US 421), 12. Henderson Co. (486), 13. Bethlehem (487), 14. Simon Kenton (520), 15. Owensboro Catholic (558).

16. Anderson Co. (US 594), 17. Knox Central (699), 18. Corbin (835), 19. Central (882), 20. Breckenridge Co. (898).

21. Manual (US 936), 22. Lafayette (938), 23. West Jessamine (1,002) 24. Dixie Heights (1,011), 25. Highlands (1046).

⬆️ Entering the Top 25 this week ~ 22. Lafayette (+5), 23. West Jessamine (+3), and Dixie Heights (+4).

⬇️ Dropping from the list ~ 26. Johnson Central (-8), 37. South Laurel (-20), and 30. Russell (-6).

🔃 Returning to BGP this week are the "Power Plus" Regional Rankings. The 9th Region, with five teams in the Top 25 and five more in the Top 100, lead the way into the New Year.

🏀 🐅 St. Xavier repeats as the class of the Commonwealth in Professor Massey's Ratings.

🆕 feature for BGP this week ~ 🇺🇸 National rankings for the Top 25. 

🔃 Returning soon to BGP ~ 💪➕ WOPR's "Power Plus" Regional rankings.

Full Ratings based on reported scores through *Saturday, December 28* can be found at the link below. 

🔗 masseyratings.com/KY_Boys 

1. St. Xavier (US 92), 2. Great Crossing (184), 3. Bryan Station (192), 4. Covington Catholic (241), 5. Manual (252). 

6. Frederick Douglass (US 257), 7. Warren Central (327), 8. George Rogers Clark (362), 9. Marshall Co. (388), 10. Male (409).

11. Henry Clay (US 446), 12. Ballard (495), 13. Bowling Green (503), 14. Calloway Co. (588), 15. Lloyd Memorial (642). 

16. North Laurel (US 686), 17. Lexington Catholic (697), 18. Madison Central (700), 19. Jeffersontown (706), 20. North Oldham (730). 

21. South Oldham (US 841), 22. Butler (862), 23. Adair Co. (881), 24. Woodford Co. (908), 25. South Laurel (928).

Happy New Year to all of our Girls' Basketball players, families, coaches, administrators, and fans, I hope you have a safe ending to 2024 and a safe and prosperous 2025.  Been a great year for several of our local teams, and I hope 2025 brings just as much joy, hardware, and laughs along the way.  Thanks for all you do to develop our young ladies and provide so much enjoyment to gyms' full of fans and families rooting like crazy.  

Things are a little muddy at the top as we try and slice and dice the results that have happened, and forecast who can do what moving forward.  Holy Cross had a big week winning the Berea Holiday Classic, as well as their OT win vs Brossart at Thomas More.  Cooper started off this week with a MONSTER win versus Franklin-Simpson and defending their Queen of the Commonwealth Cup title, the biggest invitational in the state each year.  I'm not sure if Brossart losing twice to Holy Cross so closely (once in OT) says more about Holy Cross, or Brossart, to be honest.  Cooper's win over F-S is the best win of the year for the area, but they have the 12 point loss to Holy Cross (which I'm not sure could be replicated, but we won't find out until NKU at the earliest).  Cooper also gets credit for playing a massive schedule, like QCC, and then playing Purcell Marian over the weekend, and then getting Sacred Heart this week (I believe SK and HC also play the Valkyries this year).  Simon Kenton looks like that team knocking on the door to the top of the ranking as they continue to get better and better.  Going to be a fun rest of the year!

🏀 X marks the spot. Professor Massey's latest Ratings place the Tigers of St. Xavier as the best of the Bluegrass this week. 

Ratings for reported scores through *Thursday, December 19* can be found at the link below - so mostly before holiday tourneys from this weekend.

🔗 masseyratings.com/KY_Boys 

1. St. Xavier, 2. Covington Catholic, 3. Great Crossing, 4. Male, 5. Bryan Station. 

6. Frederick Douglass, 7. George Rogers Clark, 8. Lexington Catholic, 9. Manual, 10. South Laurel. 

11. Marshall Co. 12. Ballard, 13. North Oldham, 14. Callaway Co., 15. Bowling Green. 

16. Warren Central, 17. Lyon Co., 18. Highlands, 19. Trinity, 20. North Laurel. 

21. Ashland, 22. Woodford Co., 23. Jeffersontown, 24. Lloyd Memorial, 25. Madison Central.

🏀 1️⃣ George Rogers Clark is at the head of the class in the Professor's rankings of Kentucky's girls teams this week.

Full Ratings for reported scores through Saturday 12/14 can be found at the link below. 

🔗 masseyratings.com/hsgb/ky/ratings 

1. G.R. Clark 2. Sacred Heart 3. Cooper 4. Cov. Holy Cross 5. Assumption 

6. Manual 7. Notre Dame 8. Franklin Co. 9. North Laurel 10. Franklin-Simpson 

11. Bethlehem 12. Madison Central 13. Knox Central 14. Anderson Co. 15. Ashland 

16. Henderson Co. 17. S. Kenton 18. F. Douglass 19. Owensboro Cath. 20. South Laurel 

21. Russell 22. Pulaski Co. 23. Meade Co. 24. Corbin 25. Marshall Co.

State Final Headlines
• Hodge completes unique legacy
• Coffman takes the ram by the horns 
• Atwell reaches milestone, but fails again to grab brass ring 


First Team All-Watchlist
Connor Hodge (Christian Academy of Louisville, ATH)

Good things come in threes, so they say. I'm sure Hodge would agree after doubling up Union County on the scoreboard to seal CAL's third consecutive state championship. 

He masterfully mixed passing and running to the tune of 362 total yards (225 passing/137 rushing) and all six Centurion touchdowns. 

For a brief career retrospective, he's started both ways for three consecutive state championship teams and excelled at three different positions. Hodge aggressively grew into his role at quarterback in his first year on the job after being all-state at defensive back and all-state worthy at receiver as a junior. He simultaneously led the state in receptions and interceptions in 2023 before sliding to quarterback and leading the state in total offense.

The depth and reach of that career arc is unmatched by anyone else running this race. There are certain names that evoke demi-god like reverence within this state. Michael Bush is one of those. Purely from a high school perspective, Hodge to Bush is a worthy comparison. 

2024: 244/353 for 3,659 yards and 40 TDs with 9 INTs | 984 rushing yards and 19 TDs | 5 INTs as a DB

Cooper received the opening kick.  The Jags were stopped on downs and punted.  Cooper's Ryker Campbell intercepted a Deuce Baily pass and returned it to the Bowling Green 12 yard line.  On the next play Cam OHara hit Isaiah Johnson for a 12 yard touchdown pass.  The extra point was no good and the Jags lead the Purples 6 to 0 with 828 left in the 1st quarter.  The Purples took the kickoff and marched down the field liked they own it and Deuce Bailey walked into the end zone from two yards out to make it 7-6 Purples with 414 left in the first quarter.  Jaxen Smith recovered a Jag fumble at the Cooper 48 which led to a 41 yard FG to put Bowling Green up 10-6 with 927 left in the half. 

Jaiden Combs made one-handed touchdown catch to put Cooper up 12-10 with 844 left in the half.  It was a 32 yard td pass for Cam OHara and the extra point was no good.  Bowling Green answered with a 31 yard Braden Widener FG to make it 13-12 Bowling Green with 342 left in the half. 

Bowling Green started the third quarter on their own 39 yard line.  A few players later Deuce Bailey hit Trevy Barber on a 41 yard pass to the Cooper 14.  On the next play, Bailey ran it in to make the score Bowling Green 20 Cooper 12, with 951 left in the 3rd. OHara ran around trying to avoid sack and lost the ball giving BG ball on the Cooper 27.  The Bowling Green offense turned that into a 3 yard Jaxen Smith touchdown run to put BG up 27-13 with 501 left in the 3rd. 

With 840 left in the game, Deuce Bailey ran it in from 6 yards out to make the score 34-12 Bowling Green.  Cooper answered with a 22 yard TD pass from Cam OHara to Austin Alexander.  The two also hooked up on the two point conversion to make it 34-20 Bowling Green with 729 left in the game.  Another Braden Widener FG made it 37-20 Purples with 334 left in the game. The Bowling Green Purples are your 2024 Class 5A State Champions!

Congrats Bowling Green!  Congrats Coach Spader!

The Ryle Raiders received the opening kickoff and got one first down before punting to Trinity.  After a partially blocked punt Trinity started on the Ryle 47 but went three and out.  Ryle marched 80 yards and scored the games first points with a 26 yard TD pass from Nathan Verax to Landon Lorms to make it 7-0 Ryle with 449 left in the first quarter.  After a quick three and out for Trinity, Verax hit Lorms for a long touchdown pass to put Ryle up 14-0 with 145 left in the 1st quarter. 

Ryle faked a punt and Jaden Galicia motored down to the Trinity 27 yard line to give the Raiders a chance to go up by three scores.  The Trinity defense stepped up and the Rocks took over on offense.  Trinity started on their own 32 and the drive culminated in a Jamaurion Berry 4 yard TD run to make it 14-7 Raiders with 508 left in the half.  Trinity stopped Ryle again and scored on a 30 yard TD pass from Zane Johnson to Mason Scherer with 149 left in the half to make it 14 all. 

Trinity received the second half kickoff and moved down the field until they fumbled the ball to Ryle on the Ryle 34.  The Raiders went 3 and out and punted right back to T.  Ryle scored next on a Gavin Moses 39 yard field goal to make it 17-14 Ryle with 417 left in the 3rd quarter.  Trinity answered with a Zane Johnson to Jason Hagan td pass to make it 21-14 Trinity with 135 left in the 3rd quarter. 

With 735 left in the game Trinity's Caleb Ricks intercepted Nathan Verax and took it to the house for a 28-17 Trinity lead. Jamaurion Berry scored on an 11 yard TD run with 326 left in the game to give the Shamrocks a 35 to 17 lead.  Bailey Vance added another pick six for Trinity bringing the score to 42-17 Rocks with 315 left in the game.  A long Dylan Lee run after catch set the Raiders up for a late touchdown.  Verax hit Lorms from three yards out to make it 42 to 23 Ryle with 103 left in the game.  The two point attempt was no good.   The Trinity Shamrocks are your 2024 Class 6A State Champions. 

Congrats Trinity!  Congrats Coach Cobb!