6A Playoffs – Round 4 – State Semi-Finals

Ryle (10-3) at South Warren (12-0)

This 6A State Semi-Final features the #1 RPI team in South Warren hosting the #6 RPI team in the Ryle Raiders.  Ryle went to last season's 6A Championship Game and fought hard before falling to eventual Champion Trinity (an exact repeat of the 2006 season).  But they have come back in 2025 and looking for another path back to Kroger Field with a win down in Bowling Green vs a stout South Warren team.  South Warren won the 2015 4A State Championship and the 2018 and 2021 5A State Championships.  So, these teams have experience playing deep into the playoffs! 

Ryle has played a very tough schedule, and I feel they have kinda been written off after the close Highlands loss (28-24) back in mid-September.  But IMO their schedule has gotten them here.  Not many teams win at The Farm (at Frederick Douglass) and that’s just what these Raiders did last night.  Gutsy win!  Congrats!  The highlights of the Raiders season wins include at a very tough CovCath team, Ballard and at Frederick Douglass.  They fell to Cooper, Christian Academy of Louisville and Highlands, but those are all three stout teams.  And now they will face another stout team.  But there is not Free Lunch at the Semi-Final Round!    

South Warren, on the other hand, has not played a terribly challenging schedule, but the Spartans did defeat DuPont Manual, Bowling Green and Pulaski County.  The Spartans ran over an over-matched Henderson County team this week by a 49-21 score and has them hosting in the Semi-Finals round for the second year in a row! 

They have not played any common opponents, but both teams have strong defenses.  And both teams have fairly balanced offensive attacks based on their seasonal statistics.  Sets up for a very interesting game! 

These schools have never faced each other before.  So, this first meeting is an especially Big One! 

Ryle Raiders Information – (TP94 Ranking: 76.65)

Larry A. Ryle High School opened its doors in 1992.  Mr. Ryle was a former superintendent, administrator, and teacher.  Coach Mike Engler, in his 12^th season taking over for Coach Bryson Warner in 2014, has done a super job off Highway 42 in Union, KY.  He became the winningest head coach in Ryle football history in September 2024 and hasn’t looked back yet.  This year’s version of the Raiders is playing well and looking to go back to Lexington for another chance at a title!              

Offensively, the Broncos are led by seasoned SR QB Nathan Verax who has passed for over 1,400 yards on the year with 16 TDs vs 6 INTs.  Verax also has over 400 yards rushing on the season with another 7 TDs.  But the rushing might of the Raiders is forged in SR Jacob Savage who has over 1,200 yards rushing with 24 TDs on the year.  Outstanding!  But word is the talented SR was injured in the Douglass game, and his availability is a pretty big deal.   Verax’s top pass catcher is SR Dylan Lee with 27 catches for roughly 400 yards and 6 TDs.  I honestly don’t know much of the Ryle Oline so if others could share that would be great!  Defensively, the Raiders are led by you guessed it SR Jacob Savage with 107 tackles and 15 tackles for loss.  In the Raider secondary, JR Evan Kincaid has 7 INTs on the year and 1 pick 6!  Outstanding!      

South Warren Spartan Information – (TP94 Ranking: 89.64)

The Spartans have been on cruise controls for a while now.  I honestly think the last time they really dialed in to focus on a team was back for the Pulaski County game on September 26^th.  But South Warren is blessed with a very strong group of coaches led by Coach Brandon Smith, now in his 12^th season off Nashville Road.  And you may have heard of another guy, who is kinda a good coach - his father Chuck Smith coaches the defense and that’s pretty bad news for any offensive coordinator.  South Warren has had a habit this season of playing down to a few of the earlier teams on their schedule, but then they were locked in for the 3 tougher games and defeated Manual, Bowling Green and Pulaski County handily.  And I look for them to be ready to play for this game. 

The Spartans are led by JR QB Camden Page (1,874 yards passing with 20 TDs vs 5 INTs).  He has good size and makes smart decisions.  4 of his 5 INTs on the season were thrown before September 6^th 2025 (some time ago).  SR RB Kayden York has played really well this year at RB and S.  To me, he is the heart and soul of this team.  He has 684 yards rushing and 237 yards receiving on the season with 20 combined TDs.  SR WR Jake Carter is a fine player and he leads the Spartan WRs with 59 catches for 802 yards and 7 TDs on the year.

Defensively, South Warren has always been a sound defensive unit.  This year they are blessed with a very good Dline with JR Jaquise Smith (who is a LOAD down there!) and SR Malik Butler who form a strong tandem.  The South LBs are very active and led by JRs Dakyon Darden and Ryley Oller who combine for roughly 110 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 4 sacks on the year.  In the secondary, Kayden York has had a good year with 3 INTs and JR Isiah Bridges has had a great year with 5 INTs for South.     

Game Preview

BIG State Semi-Final Game down in Bowling Green will be played at South Warren High School on their new turf field.  It’s a really nice field.  Not a huge fan of the away bleachers though.  Game time is currently scheduled for 7:00 pm (I'm not sure if that is Eastern or Central Time).

The Sporting Times will stream this game for free here:   Home | Sporting Times

For Ryle, the Raider were playing this time last year, so I don’t expect this moment to be too big for them.  They will have a 3.5-hour bus trip down though.  Coach Engler isn’t a newbie, and this distance should be able to be managed on the non-school Black Friday Holiday.  What will be harder to manage is the South Warren defense and the potential availability of Mr. Savage for Ryle.  Top 4 key items for Ryle:

1.       Be focused on getting your QB integrated with your game plan from Play #1.  What do I mean?  Throw some easy passes first.  Don’t have a seam route that will take extreme finesse and guidance to succeed.  Help your QB get in the game! 

2.       You need to match South’s physicality.  They are going to come after you and you need to match that! 

3.       Pro-Tip:  Pass to set up the run!  South Warren has one of the best run defenses in the state.  They will not let you get comfortable and they are coming after you.  Be as prepared for this as you can!  Pass first, but don’t abandon the run as you will need it, but you can’t expect to establish the run like the old Knute Rockne playbook tells you too!  

4.       Be prepared to pull out of your bag of tricks for this game.  Don’t expect to just run up and down the field on South.  But there will be instances in this game, where trick plays could be the difference in the game.  Set the tone Raiders!

For South Warren, they have had a great undefeated season, blasted their rival (Yes, that hurt to type!), and they have a good team.  No doubt about it.  This is another time in the season where the Spartans need to rise to the occasion and get laser focused and come out and execute what I’m sure will be a great game plan.  Top 4 Key Items for South Warren:

1.       Start Fast – South is on another level when they are focused offensively early like they were against Bowling Green earlier in the season.  Get Kayden York the ball!

2.       Get QB Camden Page comfortable early.  He hasn’t thrown a pick in a long time.  If he gets in a good rhythm, good things will happen for South.

3.       Be the best Dline in this game!  Shut down the Raiders run and dangerous Jacob Savage and make Ryle one-dimensional!  This is a big deal!

4.       South may be the best 4^th down team in the state.  When they get into your territory, they are likely going to keep going unless you stop them.  And they might just have a few tricks in their bag for the Raiders!!!

State Semi-Finals – It’s the BEST Week of the Season (No Work & Football!)!  Do you need anything else to get excited about this game?  I sure wouldn’t hope so. 

It’s time to play ball!  Who wins this game and why?

Ryle shocks the world!

NKY proud

NKY’s last hope is Beechwood.

Ryle 22-21.

18 minutes ago, SLINK said:

Ryle 22-21.

Don’t sleep on Ryle they have a better team than last year when not injured. It’s going to be a tough game but the raiders pull through 28-21

I think the question for Ryle is if Savage plays or not since he was injured in FD game. If he plays, I like Ryles chances. If he doesn't, I like SW.

Despite Savage’s offensive stats, if he is limited I would give him a go on defense.  He is vital at LB. 

17 hours ago, FrankNicodemus said:

Ryle shocks the world!

NKY proud

I don’t see it being a shock at all if Ryle wins this one. As I believe Ryle is right there with two of the 3 semi final teams. The only team that would be considered a shock if they were to win, would be if Ryle beats Trinity in the state title game. As Trinity I believe is a notch above the rest. 

3 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

Despite Savage’s offensive stats, if he is limited I would give him a go on defense.  He is vital at LB. 

I agree, if he is not 100 percent but is able to play. I only play him on defense the majority of the game. As they have a very good running back that can carry the load without having to use Savage on offense much at all. 

Going to pull for Ryle, regardless who they play.  Being A NKY team there’s really no respect we get being from the north part of the State by everyone else.  Year over year it seems that way and I.M.O. as long as Ryle is healthy they’ll win.  

Edited November 23, 2025Nov 23 by The_Bull44

Raiders 24-21 if #21 can go!

Have to root for Coach Smith and Coach Smith but I think this game is an absolute coin toss.  Ryle, the '24 state runner up for 6A is in the mix every year.  I also think they are similar teams.  Both teams are always physical and bring the aggression.  I think Ryle needs Savage to stay in it.  We shall see.  Rooting for SW but should be a dandy.

55 minutes ago, BEChargers said:

Have to root for Coach Smith and Coach Smith but I think this game is an absolute coin toss.  Ryle, the '24 state runner up for 6A is in the mix every year.  I also think they are similar teams.  Both teams are always physical and bring the aggression.  I think Ryle needs Savage to stay in it.  We shall see.  Rooting for SW but should be a dandy.

These last two years are really the only two years Ryle has truly be in the mix in a long time, so I wouldn’t say they are always in the mix. With that said, I agree with everything else and I think these two teams are very similar. I think Ryle wins in another close one that comes down to the end. 

I’ll assume this game is off the table for picks on The coaches podcast? 
 

what an awesome opportunity for coach smith to work with his son like this. I get emotional when my son holds the flashlight for a few minutes working on the car.

The playing status of 3 key players for Ryle will be huge in this game: Jacob Savage, Kai Workman, and Evan Kincaid. Kincaid leads the state in picks, Kai Workman is an excellent linebacker, and Savage is one of the top players in KY. If all 3 can play, I see a coin toss type of game. If they are out or limited, it's going to be tough to beat an excellent SW team at their place.