Bluegrasspreps' Football Rankings (8/29)

The Top 6 teams in 1A all came away victorious in Week 1, and all six did so in an impressive manner. Pikeville, Russellville, Beechwood, and Raceland all stepped up in class for big wins, meanwhile Hazard and Paintsville each knocked off fellow 1A Top 10 teams. The headliner this week is clearly the 2016 installment of Paintsville versus Pikeville in the Battle of The Country Music Highway. This matchup has become “can’t miss” excitement in recent years. Russellville will be tested against Rex Henderson and the Butler County Bears.

Class 1A

1. Pikeville vs. #5 Paintsville

2. Russellville vs. 2A #9 Butler County

3. Beechwood vs. 2A Somerset

4. Raceland vs. 4A East Carter (9/3)

5. Paintsville at #1 Pikeville

6. Hazard at 5A Letcher County Central

7. Nicholas County at Eminence

8. Fairview vs. 3A Lawrence County

9. Holy Cross (Louisville) vs. Providence (IN)

10. Frankfort at 3A Estill County

It was Class 2A against the World this past weekend with a loaded Non-District slate. All of the Top 5 teams took on schools from Class 5A and Higher with only Newport Central Catholic losing against a Top 15 6A Cooper squad. The most impressive win of the week was #4 Danville as they took out a ranked 5A Southwestern in their bowl matchup. This week the Top 5 are back at it as they will pick a fight with 3A as Mayfield, CAL, and Danville all challenge ranked teams. Not to be left out, fellow Top 10 2A Teams Owensboro Catholic and Butler County draw Top Teams from higher classes.

Class 2A

1. Mayfield vs. 3A Paducah Tilghman

2. Christian Academy- Louisville vs. 3A #4 Central

3. DeSales at 6A Ballard

4. Danville at 3A #5 Boyle County

5. Newport Central Catholic vs. 6A Campbell County

6. Owensboro Catholic vs. 5A #2 Owensboro

7. Covington Holy Cross -- OPEN

8. Lexington Christian Academy at Green County

9. Butler County at 1A #2 Russellville

10. Glasgow vs. 5A Barren County

It was not a banner weekend for Class 3A with seven different Top 10 teams suffering losses to solid competition. With that said, 3A East made a nice statement with Belfry, Corbin, Russell, and Fleming County all securing big wins. The storyline for Week 2 will once again center around matchups of ranked teams from other classes as Lexington Catholic, Central, Boyle County, and Paducah Tilghman all pick fights with Top 5 teams. Fleming County makes their Top 10 debut and will immediately be tested against a 4A Greenup team still smarting from a heartbreaking loss to Russell.

Class 3A

1. Belfry vs. 5A Harlan County

2. Corbin at 4A Clay County

3. Lexington Catholic at 4A #2 Johnson Central

4. Central at 2A #2 Christian Academy-Louisville

5. Boyle County vs. 2A #4 Danville

6. Caldwell County at 6A North Hardin

7. Garrard County vs. 5A Lincoln County

8. Russell vs. Ironton (OH)

9. Waggener -- OPEN

10. Fleming County at 4A Greenup County

Class 4A continues to show signs of being one of the most balanced and competitive classes as the Top 10 teams managed to go a combined 9-1 despite numerous stiff tests. Statement wins were numerous as Johnson Central, Wayne County, Franklin-Simpson, and Knox Central all had impressive showing against ranked teams. The lone loss came from John Hardin against 6A County Rival North Hardin, the Trojans have looked good thus far so that loss may not sting as much as previous years. Week 2 features a lighter slate of games with the Top 10 only facing three ranked foes. Johnson Central will look to avoid a letdown against 3A Lexington Catholic, who still has a bitter taste after blowing a 28 point lead. Top dawg South Warren looks to defend their own city limits against Greenwood. The most anticipated match-up though will most likely be Knox Central squaring off with 5A Southwestern for Southern KY superiority.

Class 4A

1. South Warren at 5A #10 Greenwood

2. Johnson Central vs. 3A #3 Lexington Catholic

3. Wayne County at 5A Perry County Central

4. Franklin-Simpson vs. 2A Metcalfe County

5. Hopkinsville vs. 3A Fort Campbell at Trigg County

6. Knox Central vs. 5A #9 Southwestern at Clay County

7. John Hardin at Warren Central

8. Shelby County vs. 5A Oldham County

9. Collins at 6A Eastern

10. Mercer County vs. 5A Anderson County

The most difficult class to make sense of thus far has been without a doubt Class 5A. The class has been littered with upsets to lesser teams and blowout losses when stepping up the competition level. The one constant remains the mighty Bowling Green Purples who withstood a challenge for their throne by Christian County with a convincing 20-point victory. South Oldham withstood a strong challenge from a very talented Doss team in another 5A class of teams. The eyes of this class will begin at the top once more as Bowling Green looks to avenge their only loss of 2015 against St. Xavier. The most telling pair of matchups will come in Northern Kentucky as Highlands and CovCath each will face stiff tests as they look to avoid starting with a 1-2 record.

Class 5A

1. Bowling Green vs. 6A #6 St. Xavier

2. Owensboro at 2A #6 Owensboro Catholic

3. Christian County vs. 6A Henderson County

4. Fern Creek vs. 3A Moore

5. Covington Catholic vs. Sycamore (OH)

6. Highlands vs. 6A #5 Scott County

7. South Oldham -- OPEN

8. Pulaski County at 4A Russell County

9. Southwestern vs. 4A #6 Knox Central at Clay County

10. Greenwood vs. 4A #1 South Warren

The storyline for Week 1 in Class 6A was perfection. The Top 10 went 10-0 and every team in the Top 15 won with the exception of the two teams tasked with playing fellow ranked 6A foes. Louisville Trinity did nothing to hurt their resume by beating Brentwood Academy, TN. With so many wins it is hard to differentiate who looked the best, but Lafayette and Simon Kenton probably turned in two of the most impressive performances with highlight filled offensive explosions. This week the dial immediately gets cranked up to the maximum with potentially a preview of the State Finals as #1 Trinity battles #3 Lafayette. Following a close call with 3A Lexington Catholic, St. Xavier challenges 5A’s Top Team Bowling Green in a measuring stick game.

Class 6A

1. Trinity at #3 Lafayette

2. Male at 5A Fairdale

3. Lafayette vs. #1 Trinity

4. Simon Kenton vs. Conner

5. Scott County at 4A Ft. Thomas Highlands

6. St. Xavier at 5A #1 Bowling Green

7. Ryle at Boone County (9/1)

8. DuPont Manual vs. Seneca

9. McCracken County vs. 4A Madisonville- North Hopkins

10. Central Hardin at 5A Bullitt East