It’s almost playoff time in the Bluegrass and 2A has been very competitive this year and in years prior. In my eye there is 5 state championship caliber teams this year and those teams are Owensboro Catholic, Beechwood, LCA, Mayfield, and Belfry with RPI rankings coming to a close soon it’s looking like OCath at 1 LCA likely at 2 and Mayfield likely at 3 and Beechwood/Belfry in a toss up for 4 and 5 seed. The best part about having 5 likely state competitors is we will see a big matchup in round 3 which will give us a taste to what could be a very entertaining semi finals and state championship. The defending 2A State Champions the Beechwood Tigers graduated a bunch of starters but were able to reload with a brand new QB (Emmett Queen) and some help in the trenches along with returning production from last year including star WR/DB Tyler Fryman. Right now it’s looking like we will get a rematch from the state championship last year in the semi final round of Beechwood traveling to Owensboro to take on the 2A runner ups from last season the Aces. These are the best 2 teams in 2A this year in my opinion and having them meet in the semi finals and not the State Championship should be a crime. The big thing to watch in this game should be which of these Junior QB’s are able to out dual the other. Carothers from OCath has power 4 interest and has a UK offer. Queen also is receiving power 4 attention from Arizona State who recently just offered him. The X factor I would look out for in this matchup and whoever faces Beechwood in general is WR Tyler Fryman. Currently he is ranked as a 4 star prospect and has a Notre Dame offer. When you watch him play it looks like he’s levitating the way he gets out of his cuts and how he makes his moves when the ball is in his hands. His speed is also deadly and I will be very excited to see how Head Coach Jason Morris gets his secondary ready for this dude and the Beechwood Passing attack. We know Offensive Coordinator Greg Hergott will have that offense ready to light up the scoreboard and Jay Volker will have Beechwood’s defense ready to knock someone out. LCA and OCath seem like they just can’t get over the hump and win a state championship OCath just recently but LCA for awhile now. The Eagles lost 2 straight State Championships in dramatic fashion in 2020 and 2021 against the Beechwood Tigers. And have had disappointing semi finals losses the past couple of years when now Kentucky QB Cutter Boley threw 5 picks against Mayfield in the Semi’s and when they traveled to Beechwood last year and they got steamrolled. Long time Head Coach Doug Charles retired after last season and they promoted their OC Oakley Watkins to Head Coach so we will see if he’s the guy who can finally get LCA over the hump and back into the State Championship. Mayfield on the other hand had an amazing 2023 where they beat Beechwood on a last second field goal in the semi’s and outlasted OCath in a shootout in the State Championship. They haven’t been back since so we will see what happens this postseason. Belfry will also keep it competitive with their first season in 2A where they were a dominating power for the most part in 3A. The ultimate question will be whether Beechwood can win 2 in a row? OCath or LCA can finally get over the hump? Mayfield can make some magic happen just like in 2023? or newcomer Belfry can make a statement in their first year? That question will be answered in the Beginning days of December. 

I’ll go with Belfry, sleepy pick, they’ll be able to avoid Beechwood in the 3rd round. Then if it works out the way RPI has it as of this afternoon a long trip to Mayfield or LCA seems to be the trip they’ll have to make in the Semis, which again avoiding the Tigers until a trip to Kroger field would definitely be a route you’d want to have. I like their defense, and their lone loss was to a 10-0 Johnson Central team who looks like they have a State Championship on their mind in 4A.

6 minutes ago, TheBallCoach said:

I’ll go with Belfry, sleepy pick, they’ll be able to avoid Beechwood in the 3rd round. Then if it works out the way RPI has it as of this afternoon a long trip to Mayfield or LCA seems to be the trip they’ll have to make in the Semis, which again avoiding the Tigers until a trip to Kroger field would definitely be a route you’d want to have. I like their defense, and their lone loss was to a 10-0 Johnson Central team who looks like they have a State Championship on their mind in 4A.

Trip to LCA best distance for either Belfry or Beechwood whichever is #4 RPI; but it will take a LCA home win over Mayfield in 3rd round.  If Mayfield beats LCA one will go to Mayfield, the other to OC.

2 hours ago, TheBallCoach said:

I’ll go with Belfry, sleepy pick, they’ll be able to avoid Beechwood in the 3rd round. Then if it works out the way RPI has it as of this afternoon a long trip to Mayfield or LCA seems to be the trip they’ll have to make in the Semis, which again avoiding the Tigers until a trip to Kroger field would definitely be a route you’d want to have. I like their defense, and their lone loss was to a 10-0 Johnson Central team who looks like they have a State Championship on their mind in 4A.

Not a bad pick at all but do you think the Belfry defense could match Beechwood’s speed in the state title game?

I will say this. Mayfield has one of the best QB's in 2A, they have the best running back in 2A and they have the best receiving core in 2A. Mayfield has speed everywhere. We will see about our defense and line. Now they have to perform or it's going home time. 

1 hour ago, Thespade said:

Not a bad pick at all but do you think the Belfry defense could match Beechwood’s speed in the state title game?

Honestly I’m not sure anybody in 2A can hang around with Beechwood, but I’ll take my chances with the Pirates. This is the year to win one for the legendary Coach Haywood who passed this January, and what better tribute than a State Championship. Coach Varney is a long time Pirate himself, he played and coached under Haywood. Adding another layer to it all is that he has a son who is a SR on this football team. As far as on the field Varney is a defensive mind. I think they’ll be in position to make plays but it’ll be a matter or not if they execute defensively.

I look at last year they were bounced out of the 3A Semis due to Jarren Johnson of Union County having a night, 250 on the ground with 4 TD’s. Is the JR QB Queen elite enough to find the holes in the defense and pick them apart and give the sort of performance needed to beat Belfry? I have to admit it sure does seem like it after a stellar regular season from the Tigers QB.

I’ll stick with the long shot and destiny of the Pirates though. I’m a sucker for a feel good story and it has all the makings of a classic.

1 hour ago, TheBallCoach said:

Honestly I’m not sure anybody in 2A can hang around with Beechwood, but I’ll take my chances with the Pirates. This is the year to win one for the legendary Coach Haywood who passed this January, and what better tribute than a State Championship. Coach Varney is a long time Pirate himself, he played and coached under Haywood. Adding another layer to it all is that he has a son who is a SR on this football team. As far as on the field Varney is a defensive mind. I think they’ll be in position to make plays but it’ll be a matter or not if they execute defensively.

I look at last year they were bounced out of the 3A Semis due to Jarren Johnson of Union County having a night, 250 on the ground with 4 TD’s. Is the JR QB Queen elite enough to find the holes in the defense and pick them apart and give the sort of performance needed to beat Belfry? I have to admit it sure does seem like it after a stellar regular season from the Tigers QB.

I’ll stick with the long shot and destiny of the Pirates though. I’m a sucker for a feel good story and it has all the makings of a classic.

It does seem like a full circle type of season for the pirates. They definitely have a shot, it would probably have to include keeping beechwood’s offense off the field, focusing on winning the trenches, apply some pressure to Queen and be dominant in the run game. But even if this is executed defensively by the pirates the tigers definitely have the Wideouts who will be able to bail out Queen in the passing game if he’s getting pressure in his face so even then it’s a toss up for me. Also one of the big questions I have offensively for Belfry is if they can contain McDaniel he’s a senior DE for the tigers who is very speedy off the edge and can beat those Big Guys up front in pass pro

1 hour ago, snakesnot_2000 said:

I will say this. Mayfield has one of the best QB's in 2A, they have the best running back in 2A and they have the best receiving core in 2A. Mayfield has speed everywhere. We will see about our defense and line. Now they have to perform or it's going home time. 

If they can make it past Belfry/LCA

Beechwood.

12 minutes ago, Thespade said:

If they can make it past Belfry/LCA

Could be the other way around. 

Mayfield has only been to the State Championship game  11 out of the last 14 seasons. 

2 minutes ago, snakesnot_2000 said:

Mayfield has only been to the State Championship game  11 out of the last 14 seasons. 

Good thing they compete yearly. I like Mayfield and OC too. Regions 1-4 far surpass the 5-8 side in terms of competitiveness. 

I think it’s Beechwood’s to lose. LCA and Mayfield are probably my next two on the list and then OC, Belfry, and Somerset in no particular order after that. 

This is going to be Ocath’s year. 

B'wood will have to travel to LCA or Mayfield in the semi's, which will be a tough win, either way and if they are fortunate enough to get through that one, a very good OC or Belfry in the finals. Again, another great challenge. They may well win it all, but, it'll be far from smooth sailing. It'll be a great challenge w/o a doubt.