Somerset's 2025 season ended in a playoff loss at Owensboro Catholic for the 3rd season in a row. The only difference was it came in the 3rd round instead of the semifinals due to redistricting.

The Jumpers spent most of the season ranked just behind the "Big 5" of LCA, Beechwood, Owensboro Catholic, Belfry and Mayfield.  In spite of being viewed in the 2nd tier of teams, they actually led Owensboro Catholic in the 4th quarter before ultimately falling 27-19 to finish with an 11-2 record.

Somerset lost their starting quarterback to an ACL injury in the opening game loss to South Laurel, but installed starting running back Kris Hughes at quarterback. Hughes had played quarterback as a freshman and sophomore, but had not taken a snap their for 2 seasons. Once he was settled on as the quarterback the team took off and won 11 straight with Hughes rushing for 2081 yards and 37 touchdowns while throwing for 1092 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished his stellar career as the Briar Jumpers all-time leading rusher and broke the record for career touchdowns as well.  He will graduate in May, and the quarterback that he replaced, Shannon Lofton has transferred to Boyle County. So finding a quarterback will be key for the Jumpers in 2026.  Rising Sophomores Xavier Wooldridge and Alex Decker both have played quarterback in the past, but both played key roles at wide receiver, and in Wooldridge's case running back for the Jumpers last season.  If one of those two moves into the quarterback role it will create a hole at a different position.

In addition to Hughes, Somerset loses: Jakob Bartely, who led the team with 13.5 sacks; Andrew Lawson, their 2nd leading tackler; Tenner Smith, their interception leader; as well as 7 other seniors that contributed to a 30-11 record over Coach Clay Clevenger's 3 seasons as head coach.

The cupboard is not bare for the Jumpers however. As mentioned they return Xavier Wooldridge, who is an exceptional athlete and will be a key part of the offense no matter where he is used. In 2025 he rushed 21 times for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns, caught 27 passes for 418 yards and 3 touchdowns, recorded 32 tackles on defense and returned a fumble for a touchdown even though he missed 2 games due to injury. Corban Cimala will return for his senior season. He was the Briar Jumpers 2nd leading rusher in 2025 when he finished with 708 yards and 9  touchdowns on only 94 carries. He added 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks on defense. Sophomore Alex Decker, who was the team's second leading receiver with 25 catches for 376 yards and 4 touchdowns will return, as will Jon Reynolds, who led the team in tackles with 130 as a junior. Austin Lawless, who recorded 71 tackles and 4 sacks will return at linebacker for his senior season as well.  In addition, rising Junior Julian Carroll, who made first team all-state as a punter, and went 58/58 on PATs and 3/4 on field goals will give the Jumpers a huge weapon in the kicking game. Somerset will also return several players who contributed or started on the offensive line and on defense in 2025.

The Jumpers had a really nice group of freshmen last season that figure to get a bump in playing time as they move into their sophomore season. In addition, their 8th grade team completed an undefeated, state championship season last fall.  They will bring in a talented group, several of which should contribute right away. One of those players is Carter Lawless, the younger brother of Austin Lawless. Carter received an offer from LSU after playing in the Under Armour All-American game last month. The Briar Jumpers have some big shoes to fill, but they have some exciting young players to fill them with. As I said before, getting a handle on the quarterback position will be key. I would expect Somerset to slot in somewhere around 5th or 6th in the preseason polls.

Ironton will presumably be replacing Paris on the schedule for Somerset in Week 4. Here's a look at their schedule from last year

2025 Schedule
Aug 23 vs. South Laurel (Alton Blakely Bowl) - LOSS - 33-22
Aug 29 vs. East Ridge (at Kinetic South Laurel Bowl) - WIN - 35-16
Sep 5 vs. Southwestern - WIN - 35-7
Sep 12 at Paris - WIN - 42-7
Sep 19 at Green County (District) - WIN - 35-6
Sep 26 vs. Metcalfe County (District) - WIN - 42-6
Oct 3 at Clinton County (District) - WIN - 49-6
Oct 17 vs. Monroe County (District) - WIN - 35-14
Oct 24 vs. McCreary Central - WIN - 52-14
Oct 31 at Hazard - WIN - 45-26
Nov 6 vs. Washington County (2A Playoffs) - WIN - 49-21
Nov 14 vs. Danville (2A Playoffs) - WIN - 26-29
Nov 21 vs. Owensboro Catholic (2A Playoffs) - LOSS 19-27

Love them adding Ironton, OH to their schedule! 

Here's the 2026 campaign:

Did Paris back out of their contract with them?

Getting that Ironton game will be good for Somerset. Outside of that game, the schedule is a little less than desirable. 

1 hour ago, DearToday said:

Getting that Ironton game will be good for Somerset. Outside of that game, the schedule is a little less than desirable. 

I can't blame them. It's all about RPI and the RPI factors win percentage more then the quality of opponent. So I think it's a great move. Just my thoughts on the scheduling process. 

1 hour ago, TimeWillTell said:

I can't blame them. It's all about RPI and the RPI factors win percentage more then the quality of opponent. So I think it's a great move. Just my thoughts on the scheduling process. 

Their RPI put them on the road third round of playoffs. It factors opponents win percentage the same as their own win percentage. 

BGP is not a clearinghouse for talk of possible/anticipated student transfers.

BGP is not allowing the terms "portal" or "transfer portal" in the high school forums to describe student-athletes moving schools for whatever reason.

If you have credible information regarding a transfer you are welcome to share it, but it must include the following qualifying information:  the athlete's name, their position played, and the schools they are transferring to/from.

4. No recruiting comments or allegations of KHSAA rules violations by any school, coach, player or booster are allowed. No comments about where any player lives, has lived, or where they are from in a recruiting context. This is not the place to report KHSAA violations. Feel free to contact Kentucky High School Athletic Association | KHSAA – Student-athletes of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow to report such violations, but do not discuss violations here.

6. No putting incorrect or false information on the site.

Darius Ridener, a running back/linebacker, has enrolled at Somerset.  Last season as a freshman at McCreary Central he rushed for 437 yards on 72 carries and 5 touchdowns.  He also caught 20 passes for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns, and returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns.  On defense he shows to have had 22 tackles and an interception.  He did pretty well against the better teams on the Raiders schedule.  Against Bell County he recorded 7 catches for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns and had 54 yards rushing and a touchdown against Somerset.  

Guy Turner, a quarterback/free safety, who played for Paris last season has enrolled at Somerset. Turner threw for 1246 yards with 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 12 games as a junior last season.  He ran for 342 yards and 12 touchdowns.  On defense he had 2 interceptions.  Turner played at Boyle County his first 2 seasons.  

Also, Chase Crawford, returned to Somerset.  He had been with the Jumpers until 8th grade when he moved to Corbin, then played for Pulaski County last season.  He is also a quarterback and will be a sophomore this fall.  He mainly played JV last season. 

Turner will be a nice addition for the Briar Jumpers.  He's a good athlete with a nice arm and has decent wheels as well.  This is his fourth stop in four years.  Hopefully this will be a great fit for him. 

On 3/10/2026 at 2:09 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Here's the 2026 campaign:

Evidently Somerset is not longer playing McCreary County on October 23 and will be traveling to Hopkinsville instead to take on the new Christian County Tigers squad.