Who are the Contenders and Sleepers in 6-A?

Predict the order of finish in each district

Class 6A
1- Christian County, Daviess County, Henderson County, McCracken County
2- Barren County, Central Hardin, North Hardin, Warren Central
3- DuPont Manual, Meade County, Pleasure Ridge Park, St. Xavier
4- Bullitt East, Fern Creek, Male, Southern
5- Ballard, Eastern, Oldham County, Trinity (Louisville)
6- Campbell County, Great Crossing, Ryle, Simon Kenton
7- Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Tates Creek
8- Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, George Rogers Clark, Madison Central
For 2023, Districts 4 and 6 will be cross-bracketed for playoffs
For 2023, Districts 3 and 5 will be cross-bracketed for playoffs
For 2024, Districts 3 and 6 will be cross-bracketed for playoffs
For 2024, Districts 4 and 5 will be cross-bracketed for playoffs

This will be as in most years and not the exception as last season was. It will be Trinity, St. X, and Male. The question I think will be if 5A power Frederick Douglass will be able to contend and also, I think Bryan Station could be a dark horse as well.

Central Hardin returns senior QB Zachary Spurrier, RBs Walker Meredith, RB Mason Gardner, RB Brandeon Lee, RB Noah Payton, QB/DB Caden Elmore, OL/DL Tucker Walters. North needs to find a QB that can get the ball to Shaun Boykins IOT challenge Central Hardin for the District title. Barren County and Warren Central will need to rebuild to compete for the district title. 

My predicted order of finish:

1. Central Hardin 

2. North Hardin 

3. Warren Central

4. Barren County

Trinity and Douglass in the west, St. X and Male in the east. Just an educated guess.

My preseason top 5

1. St. X

2. Male

3. Trinity 

4. Frederick Douglass

5. Ballard / Bullitt East

If McCracken County could go 2 and 2 it would be considered a vast improvement in 6A District 1.

 

16 hours ago, Cheese said:

My preseason top 5

1. St. X

2. Male

3. Trinity 

4. Frederick Douglass

5. Ballard / Bullitt East

Very kind of you, but I don't think BE would be preseason top 5 at this point.  There is a lot to replace on offense and it will take time.  I would throw Bryan Station and Manual ahead at this point for sure.

I believe that Manual will be in the top 3. They've got returning QB and RB and play very tough defense. I think they will have a heck of a year. 

1 hour ago, BlueRaider said:

I believe that Manual will be in the top 3. They've got returning QB and RB and play very tough defense. I think they will have a heck of a year. 

I agree 100% with this.  I think 6A district 3, top to bottom, will be the toughest district in 6A this year.

I think Trinity will be #1 this year based on should have best defense in 6A and have a strong senior class. I think Male and St. X will be contenders. I think Manual, Frederick Douglass, Bryan Station, and Ballard are going to be good again. I'm sure Bulitt East will be reloading and will be a good team. I'll be interested in seeing how good Ryle is along with Simon Kenton. Central Hardin is another team to watch. 6A looks pretty loaded this coming season.

Not disagreeing but why will Trinity be better next year than they were this year?  Just more experience?  Were many starters underclassmen?

I'll really be interested to see what Male looks like. They return weapons on offense like Gainey and Harris, but lose Swinney. I believe there is a pretty talented Freshman running back that is coming up. I also know their offensive line struggled in spots but the anchor of their line (the Sowells kid) is an absolute stud and he will be returning. I'm interested to see what they will do. They will undoubtedly be a top 5 team, but how high in that top 5 is a be ? for me. 

13 hours ago, BEChargers said:

Not disagreeing but why will Trinity be better next year than they were this year?  Just more experience?  Were many starters underclassmen?

I have no idea of where Trinity will fall into the fold. Last year the Rocks were decimated by injuries I do believe. Arguably the best player on the team only played the first half of the first game. No excuses though. Cobb will have to come up with more than 1 offensive play this year.. Yes the vast majority of starters were underclassmen.

Will be interesting to see what FD will do as they return to 6A. 

I think Trinity will get the nod of being preseason #1 because they will have the best defense returning. I think similar to last year, they're success will be determined by how their offense performs. What changes will they make, and can they improve in the red zone will be key points to look for early on. 

Male and Manual will be teams to watch. Male struggled without Swinney last season so it will be something to watch who can replace him and can their QB be effective in the passing game. 

For the Tigers, they will have to lean on their offense early on has they replace a bunch of starters on the defensive side of the ball. I know the players and coaching staff had a very sour taste in their mouths after the season ended prematurely for them. I would be willing to be their off-season is very intense to ensure they find a way to get back to playing at Kroger Field. While their defense will have to replace a number of starters, Coach Bruner and his staff do a great job of playing a lot of kids so there will be some experience returning, just not starters. The WR position and QB position is where the Tigers struggled the most last year. Had good players at the WR position just didn't have the big play guy to stretch the defenses vertically. I'd look for Marlon Harbin to be that guy this year after starting as a freshman last season. It all starts upfront and the Tigers are returning 2 OL from last years team, so they'll have to break in another group to get the job done in the trenches. 

15 hours ago, BEChargers said:

Not disagreeing but why will Trinity be better next year than they were this year?  Just more experience?  Were many starters underclassmen?

They had very good defense and return most of the starters on that unit. They have some good offensive players as well. We'll have to see but they are looking better on paper.