Class 6A

Trinity cemented the top spot with impressive win over Male and now turns their sights on rival St. Xavier on the road. Male remains number two as few teams could score 14 points on Trinity. Male will now travel to fellow traditional school Butler. North Hardin put in an impressive defensive performance shutting out rival John Hardin. North Hardin travels to take on Bullitt East. Manual was competitive with Ohio power La Salle and now travels to 5A #9 North Bullitt. St. Xavier is coming off a week of rest and welcomes rival Trinity to campus for the first time in decades as the game will not be played at Cardinal Stadium.

Class 5A

We appear to be in the midst of a game of hot potato with the top ranking in 5A. For the third week in a row, we have a new #1, following another too-close-for-comfort win by Covington Catholic. Beechwood made the Colonels and their fans uncomfortable right up until Caleb Jacob picked up a victory sealing first down on a keeper. A rose by any other name is still a rose, but the scent from this win wasn't pleasant enough for the Colonels to hang on at the top for another week. As of right now, CovCath isn't anywhere near their level of the previous three years.

Class 4A

Through two weeks, the top four teams in 4A remain unchanged, even though the order of the top two flipped after the first week.  Johnson Central and Boyle County have not lost a step, with Boyle County putting a 35 point beating on 3A #3 Christian Academy - Louisville this week.  Franklin County is humming along as well, and Central - well, let's see if they can get a game in finally next week.  

Class 3A

Another week of exciting football unfortunately left more questions than answers in Class 3A. Top-ranked Belfry fell to county rival Pikeville, the #1 team in Class 1A, 20-14. The loss was enough to push the Pirates from the top perch as they are replaced by DeSales. Quarterback Jayden Scroggins passed for one touchdown and ran for three as the Colts romped over Cooper, 42-14. Third place Christian Academy of Louisville stayed put despite taking a thumping from 4A power Boyle County. CAL was competitive for much of the first three quarters before succumbing late.

Class 2A

In small school prep football, a kicker is a dangerous weapon. Lexington Christian Academy has benefited from the booming leg of their kicker for a pair of statement wins to start the year, the latest a walk off field goal to claim private school bragging rights in Fayette County over Lexington Catholic. LCA now travels to Williamsburg, a team Somerset rolled over on Friday. Beechwood came up short in their battle for respect, but by taking defending 5A champion Covington Catholic to the wire they substantiated that they are a team to be reckoned with.

Class 1A

Pikeville made it very clear they are the team to beat once again in 1A with a strong win over 3A #1 Belfry. The top challengers at this point are the Paintsville Tigers. Their long road trip to play #6 Crittenden County fell victim to virus concerns, giving both teams an unwanted week off. The team to keep an eye is Louisville Holy Cross. They have impressed in their opening two games. Class 1A stalwarts Raceland and Hazard took it on the chin and have cast doubts on how strong this years version of each is.

This week, we say hello to three players making their watchlist debuts: a multi-faceted running back from a 5A sleeper, a quarterback trying to fill some very big shoes at a perennial power, and a player who dishes out punishment both as a running back and as a pass rusher.

Class 3A
For a pair of Class 3A contenders, the season's opening week was not friendly, even on their home turf. DeSales could not overcome a first half deficit to Lexington Christian Academy, and Bell County was simply out-manned against defending 4A champ Johnson Central. Both look to rally against unranked 5A foes. Belfry took care of business at home against Pulaski County and will seek revenge against rival Pikeville. Christian Academy - Louisville  will certainly remember what Boyle County did to them in 2019 as they look to make a major statement at home. Elizabethtown perhaps was the most impressive victor. The Panthers handled 6A Central Hardin in Ross Brown's debut.

Class 5A
As one falls, another ascends. Frederick Douglass could not take down North Hardin in the state's premier game, but Bowling Green turned heads around the Commonwealth by stunning St. Xavier. Covington Catholic will need aftershave after Dixie Heights gave them a game too close for comfort, they will need to correct their miscues against a Beechwood team willing to stun Northern Kentucky.  Speaking of close shaves, Scott County counted themselves fortunate to escape Bryan Station and now must hold court within their own county lines. Owensboro and South Warren rolled to victories, the Spartans take a major step up in competition against Central. Southwestern won a shootout over Wayne County and their Mr. Football candidate at RB, the Warriors hope to repeat the script against Azariah Israel and GRC.

Class 2A
Lexington Christian Academy and Beechwood wasted little time making statements that they are prepared to challenge for the 2A title. LCA went to DeSales and earned a hard fought victory while Beechwood also went on the road to Corbin and stunned the Redhounds at Campbell Field. Both teams look to keep the momentum going with equally huge games this week, once again on the road. Somerset made short work of Whitley County and will eye a win over a ranked Williamsburg team as well. Mayfield was on the wrong end of a beating at the hands of McCracken County and will have no walk in the park against rival Graves County. 

Class 6A
Trinity left little doubt if they were for real by blowing out tradition rich Moeller (OH). The Shamrocks now look to eliminate any doubts of people who only know teams from inside the Bluegrass State as they host Male in a monster tilt. North Hardin made a massive statement of their own by heading into Lexington and knocking off the pre-season #1 team in Class 5A. The Trojans begin their quest for Hardin County domination this week. Depending on how much stock you put into scrimmages, veteran laden Manual may have sent a message. The Crimsons could make an undeniable statement if they can knock off La Salle (OH). Ballard and Fern Creek are two teams with high expectations in Jefferson County. Those two will open their respective seasons in a massive clash. Also of note: Simon Kenton looked good by continuing the questions around the Highlands program as did McCracken County by punishing rival small-school powerhouse Mayfield. Expect both to move to 2-0 this week against lighter competition.

Pikeville's title defense took a little longer than expected to get off to a successful start with their 15th consecutive win, but after all the weather delays the Panthers took care of Raceland for an early season statement win within the class. Pikeville has a chance to make a statewide statement this week against defending 3A champion Belfry. Williamsburg will also take a similar challenge as they travel to the reigning 2A king Somerset. Paintsville will cross the Commonwealth for a huge intra-class battle against Crittenden County. The Rockets laid an egg in week one against Caldwell County and will try to get back on the winning track in a big way.

A couple of names, such as Jaylin Bross and Jantzen Dunn are absent this week because they have yet to play a game. Others, like Jager Burton and Dekel Crowdus will have to work their way back on because of how events unfolded last Friday. There will probably be more movement to this list from week to week than in previous years.

Class 4A
Johnson Central and Boyle County wasted little time serving notice that neither team are ready to give up their seat at the head of the table. The Golden Eagles cruised past 3A runner-up Bell County and the Rebels put a running clock on a quality Mercer County squad. Franklin County made sure not to be outdone by laying waste to Anderson County. Central took a week off with the rest of Jefferson County Public Schools, but the Yellowjackets will make the wait worthwhile with a monster showdown with 5A South Warren. Hopkinsville looked impressive in their opener and will look to plant their stake as the team to beat in the west if they can fend off Christian County. Corbin and Wayne County both took heartbreaking losses in their debuts and will each need to get into the win column against quality foes.

1.      Belfry (11-3; Class 3A state champions) – All of the pieces are there for yet another state championship run. Belfry loses two of their top three running backs from last season, but the Pirates return Isaac Dixon, who rushed for 1,191 yards and thirteen scores in 2019. In what looks to be a down year in Class 3A, Philip Haywood’s Pirates could be setting sail to an eighth state title.

1. Frederick Douglass (14-1, 5A Runner-up) - The Broncos got a taste of the bright lights of Kroger Field last year, but ultimately fell just shy of claiming the young program's first state football title. As talented as Douglass was last season, they're perhaps even more loaded in 2020. Future UK Wildcats Jager Burton (OL/DL) and Dekel Crowdus (WR) will be joined by Dane Key (4-star WR with too many P5 offers to list here), Darius Neal (RB), Ty Bryant (WR/DB), and Romarion Warner (DL) to give first year head coach Nathan McPeek the most athletically gifted nucleus of talent in 5A to build around. Additionally, the Broncos added 6'7" QB Samuel Corbett over the summer. He comes to Lexington from Skyline High School, a powerhouse program from Washington state and has drawn some interest from Power-5 schools. The pieces are in place, it's just a matter of seeing it through to the finish line.

1. Boyle County (2019: 14-1, State Runners-Up) - Last year, the Rebels rolled up the competition by no less than 17 point margins all the way to the title game, but a missed PAT proved to be their undoing in a 21-20 loss to Johnson Central. 19 seniors departed from that stacked squad, but the cupboard is never bare at Boyle County.  Leading rusher Will McDaniel returns, averaging over 7 yards per carry while amassing 887 yards and 17 TDs a season ago.  Jagger Gillis has transferred in to fill Reed Lanter’s big shoes at quarterback. Speaking of big shoes to fill, Justin Haddix enters his first season as HC, replacing the legendary Chuck Smith, coming over from the highly successful Corbin program.  The Rebels open up with Mercer County, who they defeated 43-7 a season ago.

Trinity enters the season as a heavy favorite with national accolades. The biggest question is who will also make it to the championship as St.X, Male, Manual, and North Hardin are the best contenders. With the potential of Covid-19 to throw a wrench in things, we don't know how this season will end, but it is a win to get the season started.

Class 6A Preseason Top 10...

We made it! Baring any last minute twists, football starts this Friday. YES!! It is a different world and a different season. Football articles and coverage on BGP are going to look different also. To get the good talk going, here is a preview and pre-season ranking for 1A.

Football on all levels has become a passing game and class 1A is no different. This could easily be called the year of the quarterback in 1A. There are some really good returning experienced quarterbacks and you will quickly see the trend as you read through the rankings and team summary. Enjoy!

(I am posting this for @ATLCat Credit to him for the excellent work in this article.)

1. Somerset Briar Jumpers (14-1, 2A State Champions) - It took many years and a walk-off touchdown pass for Somerset to get over the hump and win the first State Title in school history. Now that the seal has been broken, don't be surprised for the Jumpers to make a push toward making lightning strike a second time. Somerset returns standout QB Kaiya Sheron and superstar WR Kade Grundy, and with those two alone will be a tough test. Add in several additional key cogs from last year's team and some new faces on the roster expected to contribute and you have the ingredients for a potential repeat.

Welcome to the first installment of the 2020 BluegrassPreps Mr. Football Watchlist. As has been the case in previous years, the names on the watchlist will be fluid from week to week. Players will come and go in accordance with their level of play and, partially, team performance.

Without further ado (in alphabetical order)…

Ok, since I've angered most of my Alma-mater I might as well let the rest of the high school football world tell me how wrong I am.  Boyle county high school opened in 1963.  It has been told by the school that the nickname for the new school was down to the Brigadiers and the Rebels and the Sr. class voted and chose the Rebels.  I do not know if there was an official rendering of said Rebel or any kind of official mascot.  What I do know is that sometime in the late 70's early 80's a confederate soldier became the official mascot of the Rebels.   One season even had a confederate flag on the sides of the team helmet.  This lasted until the mid 90's when the confederate soldier was abandoned and replaced with a silhouetted man on a horse with a raised sword.  I'll be honest, I'm glad that was done and thought that with the expelling of the confederate soldier that things were fixed.  I have since changed my mind.  Whether or not the confederate soldier was the initial intention or not, (I've heard that is was and I've heard that it wasn't by people who were around at the time), at some point it was officially for several years.  Because of that I think it needs to be changed.  I love Boyle county high school and I love Boyle county football.  I don't think anyone in a while has even thought of the whole confederate connection and that makes this much harder.  Was dropping the soldier mascot to a generic guy enough?  I don't think so, but it's obviously just my opinion and I can promise you my opinion carries very little weight with anyone.  Am I wrong? 

     Before anyone tells me I'm trying to erase history, I'm not.  I'm just trying not to honor a group I don't think needs honoring. 

     Now blast away, it won't hurt my feelings.  Most of the county now hates me but I think it's the right thing to do. 

MaxPreps has Trinity ranked no. 22 in the nation in their preseason rankings. The Shamrocks are the only team from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee to be ranked in the top 25. I hope Trinity can live up to the preseason billing.
 
Reference: go to "maxpreps.com."

It is going to be a learning curve for all of us. 

The second full decade of Kentucky high school basketball saw increasing numbers of participants and teams. 410 teams entered the postseason in 1930; by the end of the decade that number would increase to 550. Nine different schools would win the state championship, with Ashland's back-to-back titles in 1933 and 1934 marking the only team with two trophies.