Region 1

 

Last year everyone expected Caldwell County to come out of region 1. They had rolled through the regular season undefeated and beat their toughest competitor Murray 42-13. But football can take some interesting turns and Murray shocked Caldwell Co. in the playoffs 27-14. This year Caldwell County was once again rolling along undefeated but they stubbed their toe in a big way in the season finale verus Mayfield. They are not nearly the favorite they were last year. Murray played within a touchdown of Caldwell Co. in their regular season game and Owensboro Catholic is riding their own high powered offense to a 9-1 record. Those three teams look to be your top picks to win region 1.

 

Other schools in the region have winning records but they have struggled when facing top teams on their schedule. Caldwell County is expected to breeze into the regional championship where they should face the winner of a strong round 2 match up between Murray and Owensboro Catholic. Murray posted a convincing 37-20 win over Owensboro Catholic last year in the playoffs. This year we see Owensboro Catholic avenging that loss and turning the tables on Murray with a 41-30 win.

 

That puts Owensboro Catholic into the regional title game versus Caldwell County and what a shootout that should be. Both teams have scored points at high rate averaging 52 points a game. The scoreboard operator better have nimble fingers to keep up with this one. One common opponent doesn't help as both beat Union County in similar fashion. The only difference between these two is Caldwell County more success in the playoffs in recent years.

 

Region 1 Championship: Caldwell County 56 Owensboro Catholic 48

 

 

Region 2

 

Region 2 features the 2 leading state title contenders in 2A - DeSales and Christian Academy-Louisville. Making this bracket even tougher is #5 ranked Bardstown is in there also. DeSales will not face a serious challenge until the regional final where they will await the winner of the Christian Academy-Louisville / Bardstown rematch. In the regular season CAL came away with a 21-7 win. That was arguably Bardstown's best game of the year and they still came up short. CAL's defense has only allowed 76 points all season, and 28 of those came last week in their loss to Male, the #1 team in the state. It is hard to see Bardstown getting past CAL in the rematch.

 

That sets up another rematch for CAL against DeSales. Last year CAL beat DeSales in the regular season and then fell hard in the playoffs by a 34-0 score. DeSales is not showing the same power on offense but CAL does not score a lot of points either. In fact, the point totals on offense and defense are almost identical for these two. Several common opponents have very similar results. CAL has seemed to struggle a little in the playoffs compared to their regular season results. That tells us to expect an even tighter battle in the regional final.

 

Region 2 Championship: Christian Academy-Louisville 17 DeSales 14

 

 

Region 3

 

This region also features three top competitors. This region has been dominated by Newport Central Catholic. The Thoroughbreds come into the playoffs with a losing record but they have played the toughest schedule in all of 2A. The question is did that tough schedule get them ready to move past their 2A regional rivals despite the lack of success against those tough opponents. There is an 8-2 Lloyd team in NCC's half of this bracket but the Juggernauts are on the opposite side of the schedule discussion having played one of the weakest schedules in 2A. NCC had little trouble with Lloyd in the regular season and they should have little trouble repeating that result in the playoffs.

 

On the other side, Newport and Walton Verona are destined for their own rematch. Newport defeated Walton Verona in the regular season but Walton's leading running back missed the second half of that contest. The Wildcats also have been tested by a tougher schedule but Walton appears to have a slight edge to get a shot at New Cath.

 

That brings up a really interesting regional final. Walton's Wil Latimore versus NCC's Jacob Smith is a running back matchup worth the price of admission. Both teams have other runners to hand it to as well. NCC's sophomore QB Patrick Henschen is developing into a threat and that is an advantage for NCC. This will be a very good regional final.

 

Region 3 Championship: Newport Central Catholic 28 Walton Verona 24

 

 

Region 4

 

This region is one of the most evenly contested and toughest to predict in any class in the state. There is only one team in the entire region with a losing record on the season and that Somerset team is good enough to spring an upset in round 1 despite no wins on the season. Let's start there in this bracket. Somerset faces a surprise team in Shelby Valley, who sports an 8-2 record and several nice wins on their resume. Somerset has experienced some good playoff success in recent years and Shelby Valley hasn't won a playoff game since 2009. But it is tough to pick Somerset to get their first win here.

 

The other side of this 1st round bracket has 8-2 Leslie County facing a strong 5-5 Lexington Christian team. Leslie County has a win over highly ranked Prestonsburg and not much else on their resume. LCA has played a strong opponent almost every week but they haven't been able to post a win as good as Leslie County's Prestonsburg win. In a bit of an upset, LCA is projected to come out on top in this one. That pits LCA versus Shelby Valley to get to the regional final. LCA has played every opponent competitively but Shelby Valley has the look of a team on a roll and getting better. Give Shelby Valley the very slight edge to get to the final.

 

The other side of the regional bracket also features first round games with no weak opponents. However, the two strongest teams in the region play here. Danville should have no problem with Betsy Layne, despite their 6-4 record. Prestonsburg gets a good Middlesboro team in round one. Prestonsburg has lost to a lesser opponent than Middlesboro (Leslie County) and Middlesboro has defeated a stronger opponent than Prestonsburg (Bell County). An upset is not out of the question but not very likely.

 

Prestonsburg versus Danville will be one of the better round two contests in all the playoffs. This is the #6 vs. #7 ranked team in 2A. Danville's season ending loss to Frankfort puts some doubt in their chances in a tough matchup like this one. Prestonsburg on the other hand bounced back from their upset loss to Leslie County with a road win over a 7-3 3A Lawrence County team. Give a slight edge to Prestonsburg to get the win and head to the regional final. That regional final figures to be not quite as tough as their Danville game. The winner of this region will have to earn their way through it.

 

Region 4 Championship: Prestonsburg 35 Shelby Valley 20

 

 

Semi-Finals: Christian Academy-Louisville 38 Caldwell County 21

Semi-Finals: Prestonsburg 27 Newport Central Catholic 20

 

State Championship: Christian Academy-Louisville 35 Prestonsburg 14

 

*Preview complied by BGP Staff Members

I agree to the extent CAL wins it all.

Great read. Should have picked a 1st round upset. Maybe Somerset over Shelby Valley.

The Catholic/Murray game was 23-20 with 4 minutes to go. Murray blocked catholic FG that was ran back for TD, next drive Murray gets a pick 6. In the first play of game Murray gets a fumble for TD.

 

In this game, if Catholic doesn't turn the ball over then they will win. If they turn the ball over 5 times Murray advances and gets it's rematch vs Caldwell.

 

Should be a good game regardless. I thought Catholic last year was going to pull out the upset with sub par talent.

Great read. Should have picked a 1st round upset. Maybe Somerset over Shelby Valley.

 

I do think that could happen. I wonder if a zero win team has ever won a playoff game.

Danville will get Prestonsburg at home this time. Last week I think Danville's attitude against Franfort wasn't the greatest, but the Danville Coach decided the game wasn't that important in the big picture and I'm sure affected the players attitude. I'm not taking anything away from Frankfort they are tough, but I don't think Danville was in the best frame of mind. I hope that changes this week.:taz:

BGP is 6 of 8 in the regional final matchups in this class. Murray instead of Owensboro Catholic and Newport instead of Walton Verona are the misses.

Only 1 of 4 right in the 2A final four as BGP's other three picks all get "upset" in the regional final.

Only 1 of 4 right in the 2A final four as BGP's other three picks all get "upset" in the regional final.

 

...and that one team usually makes it this far year in and year out. :thumb: