BluegrassPreps Football Rankings (10/5)

Class 1A

It is time for district play. That often brings us some lopsided matchups, but it also brings us some great head to head matchups within the class. We get a preview of that this week. 

Last Friday, the reigning king of 1A Pikeville tasted defeat for the first time this year at the hooves of the 6A Campbell County Camels. Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other. The week before, the Panthers scored 58 points and had 655 yards of offense in a win against 6A Henry Clay. Campbell County held Pikeville to 183 yards offense and eight points. Nevertheless, Pikeville remains #1 here as they enter district play at Phelps. 

Paintsville is an even stronger #2 after a second consecutive shutout win. Last week, the Tigers shut out Coach Mark Dixon's former team Hazard, and this week they shut out his current team 4A Perry County Central. The Tigers continue to impress. They also enter district play this week with a visit from Fairview.

Kentucky Country Day also suffered their first loss of the year to a 6A team, losing 28-21 to Bullitt East. The Bearcats will try to shake that off and get back on track when Berea visits them this week.

Louisville Holy Cross continues to impress. They defeated 6A Southern by an even wider margin than what Kentucky Country Day did to Southern the week before. That gets the Cougars to 4-0 and sets up the Game of the Week in 1A when the 4-0 Bethlehem Eagles visit. The Eagles got their fourth win by a 19-14 margin against 2A Washington County. This looks like an even matchup on paper. Last year these two split their matchups. Look for more info and discussion in the game thread.

Crittenden County stays at #6 with a 56-34 win over 3A Trigg County. The Rockets have rebounded from their opening loss with three wins in a row. Their district opener this week is Caverna.

Raceland took one on the chin against neighbor, 3A #7 Ashland. The even tougher thing for the Rams in this one is the 50-15 margin of defeat. The Rams have more work to do to get back to that level they have been accustomed to over the years. They will continue that work this week when they travel to Betsy Layne.

Our other top ten teams - #5 Newport Central Catholic, #9 Williamsburg and #10 Russellville all had last Friday off.

1. Pikeville at Phelps

2. Paintsville vs. Fairview

3. Kentucky Country Day vs. Berea

4. Louisville Holy Cross vs. #7 Bethlehem

5. Newport Central Catholic at Ludlow

6. Crittenden County at Caverna

7. Bethlehem at #4 Louisville Holy Cross

8. Raceland at Betsy Layne

9. Williamsburg vs. Harlan

10. Russellville at 2A Edmonson County

 

Class 2A

Owensboro Catholic fans will tell you 2019 was not expected. The Aces have emerged as a 2A fixture over the years, so a disappointing campaign ending with a 2nd Round loss to McLean County certainly left a sour taste in their mouths. The Aces avenged that loss in dominating fashion and are now one of the fastest risers in Class 2A, if they can somehow upset powerhouse rival Owensboro, they then become a team in the running for the title. Lexington Christian Academy also has a chance to make a move. The Eagles are setting themselves up for a monster RPI value, adding a win over 6A Dunbar most recently, and a last minute addition of Frederick Douglass gives them all the ammo to make the move to the top of the class. Beechwood knows how tough 6A teams can be as they need to rebound quickly after 6A Dixie Heights bested them. Somerset won convincingly over 1A Hazard but did not look sharp, they need to get their bearings together as Danville looks for the first statement in that grueling district. Breathitt County was pushed by Middlesboro but held on to take the catbird seat in their district. For an under the radar game to take note, Lloyd Memorial and Newport seem to be evenly matched and neither want to fall out of District contention.

1. Somerset at #5 Danville

2. Lexington Christian Academy at 5A #2 Frederick Douglass

3. Beechwood vs. Covington Holy Cross

4. Mayfield vs. 3A #9 Paducah Tilghman

5. Danville vs. #1 Somerset

6. West Carter vs. Prestonsburg

7. Breathitt County -- OPEN

8. Caldwell County at 3A Glasgow

9. Owensboro Catholic vs. 5A #5 Owensboro

10. Murray vs. Ballard Memorial

 

Class 3A

2. Belfry vs. 6A #2 North Hardin

3. Russell vs. Greenup County

4. Ashland vs. East Carter

5. Elizabethtown at 6A Meade County

6. Bardstown vs. 4A Marion County

7. Mercer County vs. 5A South Laurel

8. Christian Academy - Louisville at #1 DeSales

9. Paducah Tilghman at 2A #4 Mayfield

10. Rockcastle County at Jackson County

 

Class 4A

It was a COVID kind of week for 4A, with seven out of the Top Ten taking a week off.  Johnson Central and Central held it down for the top five, winning by a combined 93-6 against Clay County and Shelby County, respectively.  Johnson Central amassed 371 yards on the ground in their win, with Dylan Preston leading the way, scoring three times on only four carries for 112 yards. Central has yet to be scored upon in their two games, and were led by Justin Bush's 143 yards on 11 attempts with a score.  Logan County fell to 1-2 after falling 19-10 to a tough Glasgow team.  Corbin Rayno was 10/21 for 109 yards in his first action as starting QB following Baptiste's broken leg, and Anthony Woodard posted 103 yards on six catches.  This week hopefully promises more action, headlined by a pair of top ten matchups when Boyle County visits Lexington Catholic and Corbin hosts Knox Central.

1. Johnson Central vs. Perry County Central

2. Boyle County at #6 Lexington Catholic

3. Franklin County - OPEN

4. Central at Waggener

5. Corbin vs. #8 Knox Central

6. Lexington Catholic vs. #2 Boyle County

7. Wayne County vs. Lincoln County

8. Knox Central at #5 Corbin

9. Hopkinsville  - OPEN

10. Russell County - OPEN

 

Class 5A

In the eagerly awaited "Showdown at the El", South Warren and Bowling Green engaged in a minimalist war of attrition between top five teams. The Spartans emerged victorious in a game that told us little about either side, other than they enjoy getting after each other. Let the sabre rattling commence for the inevitable district championship rematch. With the Purples going down, Covington Catholic returns to the top spot, though the Colonels are still struggling to find the polish that's been a staple of theirs in the recent championship seasons. CovCath has a week off to do some fine tuning before hosting a Highlands team that turned back the clock about ten years and drubbed previously ranked Conner.

After what amounted to a KHSAA sanctioned bloodletting of Grant County in Week 4, Frederick Douglass must re-calibrate for a clash with LCA in a marquee game that will go a long way toward deciding the king of Lexington football this year.

It's gut check time for District 4 mystery team North Bullitt. The Eagles and perennial district kingpin South Oldham each smoked an overmatched foe from Jefferson County to set up one of the most under-the-radar big games in the class this season. One way or another, questions will be answered this week.  

1. Covington Catholic -- OPEN

2. Frederick Douglass vs. 2A #2 Lexington Christian Academy

3. South Warren -- OPEN 

4. Bowling Green vs. 6A #6 McCracken County 

5. Owensboro at 2A #9 Owensboro Catholic 

6. Scott County at Grant County 

7. South Oldham at #9 North Bullitt 

8. Southwestern at Whitley County

9. North Bullitt vs. #7 South Oldham 

10. Pulaski County vs. North Laurel

 

Class 6A

Trinity (3-0) remains as #1 as they continue to roll up opponents with running clocks, the latest a 48-10 defeat of #5 St. Xavier. They will host #7 Ballard in a key district game.

North Hardin (4-0) continues to win behind a stingy defense that hasn’t yielded a point in their last three games and defeated Meade County 37-0. They travel to 3A power Belfry which will be a tough opponent on the road.

Male (2-1) since losing to Trinity has been strong offensively averaging 56 points a game and handily defeated Pleasure Ridge Park 56-20. They start district play hosting Southern.

Manual (2-1) continues to be a strong defensive team and quickly put away Eastern 41-3. They travel to #5 St. Xavier to start district play.

St. Xavier (0-2) has struggled offensively against two of the best defenses in the state with the latest a 48-10 loss to #1 Trinity. It doesn’t get any easier hosting another strong defense with Manual to start district play.

McCracken County (4-0) continues to win with a strong offense, with the latest a 56-22 defeat of Daviess County. They will have a challenge with 5A #4 Bowling Green’s strong defense on the road.

Ballard (1-1) is coming off a open week and will travel to #1 Trinity in a key district matchup.

Bryan Station (3-1) continues to win with a 20-10 win over a improved Henry Clay team. Bryan Station will travel to George Rogers Clark who will be hungry for a win and also is a district game.

Dixie Heights (2-2) moves into the Top 10 after a impressive 28-20 win over 2A power Beechwood. They will host Simon Kenton who will be looking to get back in the top 10 in a key district game.

Oldham County (2-1) moves into the Top 10 after defeating formerly ranked Fern Creek 12-7 behind a strong defensive effort. Oldham County starts district play at Madison Central.

Both Fern Creek and Simon Kenton dropped out of the rankings after close losses.

1. Trinity vs. #7 Ballard

2. North Hardin at 3A #2 Belfry

3. Male vs. Southern (10/8)

4. Manual at #5 St. Xavier

5. St. Xavier vs. #4 Manual

6. McCracken County at 5A #4 Bowling Green

7. Ballard at #1 Trinity

8. Bryan Station at George Rogers Clark

9. Dixie Heights vs. Simon Kenton (10/8)

10. Oldham County at Madison Central