Teams of interest to most of us here in the Bluegrass. ?

12. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Last year's MaxPreps National Player of the Year is back in five-star running back David Gabriel Georges as Baylor looks to repeat as Division II Class AAA state champs. 

14. Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.)
After an 11-1 season and Division II Class AAA state runner-up finish the Eagles should be even better this season with Kesean Bowman, Braylen Bedford, Kenneth Simon II, Larry Sanders II, Crews Jenkins and Li'Marcus Jones leading the way.

24. Brownsburg (Ind.)
Back-to-back Class 6A state champs have gone 27-1 over last two years. 

42. Battle Ground Academy (Franklin, Tenn.)
Bobby Bentley is a proven coach, leading the Wildcats to first state title in 22 years last season. 

47. Massillon (Ohio)
Four-star athlete Brayton Feister will be a huge addition after making the freshman, sophomore and junior All-America teams over the last three years at Archbishop Hoban (Akron). 

55. Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Raptors have gone 29-2 over last two years and look to make it back to state championship game for third year in a row. 

60. Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Kevin Creasy has led Patriots to 150-11 record during his 11-year tenure with six state titles (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025). 

63. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Three-time defending Class 6A state champs will be tested early with four out-of-state matchups against Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Mo.), Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) and No. 12 Baylor. 

70. McCallie (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Expect a big year from junior quarterback Louis Fortier as the Blue Tornado look to build on their run of five state titles since 2019. 

74. St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
Eagles have reached the semifinal round in each of the last five years and won it all in 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

80. Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Doug Ramsey has 235 career wins as he gets ready for his 30th season as head coach. 

84. Bishop Watterson (Columbus, Ohio)
Eagles bring in a 30-game win streak after posting back-to-back undefeated seasons. 

98. Boyle County (Danville, Ky.)
Seneca Driver headlines the talent as Rebels go for sixth state title since 2020.

2026 MaxPreps Preseason Top 100 high school football teams

Cov Cath's program record against teams from this year's Top 100 could definitely be better, lol. Looking at our all-time record, we're 17-1 against teams currently ranked in the 2026 MaxPreps Pre-Season Top 100. But honestly speaking, I'm still decently proud of the fact that even in years when our program definitely wasn't at its strongest, we still didn't back down from playing the big boys.
 

2 hours ago, theguru said:

14. Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.)
After an 11-1 season and Division II Class AAA state runner-up finish the Eagles should be even better this season with Kesean Bowman, Braylen Bedford, Kenneth Simon II, Larry Sanders II, Crews Jenkins and Li'Marcus Jones leading the way.

2001 Brentwood Academy (TN) 14 Covington Catholic 13

Cov Cath had a VERY solid offense, with 5 returning starters on the offensive line, as well as senior QB Timmy Grogan and senior wideout T.R. Rose, but the defense only returned 3 starters. They took on Brentwood Academy at Ryle in the short-lived "Ryle Kick-Off Classic" bowl on August 25, 2001. Cov Cath scored first on a 10-yard pass from Grogan to junior TE Joe Kordenbrock following a systematic opening drive down the field by the Colonels offense. Neal Kreke kicked the extra point and Cov Cath went up 7-0. Brentwood Academy answered in the second quarter with a 41-yard breakaway touchdown pass from Jefferson Adcock to Tyler Griffin, followed by a John Vaughn extra point, and then Cov Cath drove down the field and settled for a 22-yard Neal Kreke field goal to make it 10-7 Colonels at the half. The only score of the 3rd quarter was another Kreke field goal, this time a 31-yarder to put Cov Cath up 13-7 heading into the 4th quarter. Late in the 4th Brentwood Academy had another breakaway touchdown against Cov Cath's inexperienced defense; Theo Townshend ripped out a 66-yard touchdown run, and John Vaughn's extra point sealed the deal for a 14-13 win by the Eagles.

Head Coch Tom Moore led the Eagles to a 10-3 season record and a runner-up finish in the Tennessee D-II Class AAA state finals, their second-straight runner-up finish.
 

2 hours ago, theguru said:

47. Massillon (Ohio)
Four-star athlete Brayton Feister will be a huge addition after making the freshman, sophomore and junior All-America teams over the last three years at Archbishop Hoban (Akron).

1990 Massillon Washington (OH) 39 Covington Catholic 14

Cov Cath was in the midst of trying to rebuild all of the talent they had graduated from their two-year romp in the 1987 & 1988 state finals, and had a total of 7 two-way starters on the team in 1990. They had signed on to face-off against the Massillon Tigers in the 1990 edition of the Buddy LaRosa Classic at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

The game started on a very high note for the Colonels, with linebacker Nate Roedig jumping a pass attempt from QB Barry Shertzer and returning it 35 yards for a Cov Cath touchdown. Steve Schulte's extra point put the Colonels up 7-0 only 63 seconds into the game. The following series they had the Tigers pinned back at 4th and 5 on their own 25 yard line, but a fake-punt that turned into an option play ended in a 20 yard gain and a first down. Following the first down, Massillon's offense strung together another 11 plays (including a second conversion on 4th down) to drive the remaining 55 yards of the field, scoring on a 3-yard run by James McCullough. The extra-point kick failed, and Cov Cath retained a 7-6 lead. The Colonels started a short three-and-out drive that ended the 1st quarter, and Massillon made their way down the field in another maintained drive that included three more conversions in 4th-and-1 situations, and ended the drive with another 3-yard touchdown run, this time by QB Shertzer. They attempted a 2-point conversion pass, but the pass failed and it was 12-7 Tigers with about 6 minutes remaining in the first half. Cov Cath's next drive was ended quickly when sophomore QB Adam McCormack was intercepted by Dan Hackenbracht, but the Colonels forced a Massillon punt 7 plays later. In an unfortunate case of deja vu, Hackenbracht intercepted McCormack to end a second consecutive offensive drive for Cov Cath. Hackenbracht returned the ball about 40 yards to the 8 yard line, and RB Travis McGuire caught a pass out of the backfield, and ran it in the remaining 8 yards for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass by Shertzer was batted down at the line, and the half ended soon after with Massillon leading 18-7.

Covington Catholic cut the gap to 18‑14 midway through the 3rd quarter with a 43 yard touchdown pass from QB McCormack to RB Chad Cogswell, and the score held through the end of the 3rd. Cov Cath, who was relying heavily on two-way starters, ran out of gas about halfway through the 4th quarter while Massillon, whose reserves were stacked 4-deep on their sideline, smelled blood. It started with a fumbled handoff exchange in Cov Cath's offensive backfield. Massillon recovered and scored shortly after on a 15-yard bootleg run by QB Barry Shertzer. Ryan John's PAT was good and Massillon was up 25-14 with 3-1/2 minutes left in the game. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Massillon's aggressive kick coverage forced a Cov Cath fumble with the Tigers recovering. RB Falando Ashcraft ran the ball 35 yards on Massillon's next play from scrimmage for another Tigers TD. Ryan John nailed another PAT. 32-14 Tigers with 3 minutes left to play.

On their final drive, Cov Cath's offense was running on fumes and quickly went three-and-out. Massillon's return specialist Scott Karrenbauer wove his way through the Colonels' punt team, and returned the ball 77 yards for a touchdown. Ryan John kicked his third consecutive PAT in 104 seconds, and the game was over seconds later.

Massillon head coach Lee Owens gave an interview to the Cincinnati Enquirer following the game where it was adamant in having it mentioned that despite the final score, the game WAS a close game, and that "we haven't played power football like that since 1985."
 

2 hours ago, theguru said:

63. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Three-time defending Class 6A state champs will be tested early with four out-of-state matchups against Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Mo.), Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) and No. 12 Baylor. 

1970 Trinity 21 Covington Catholic 13

Trinity and Cov Cath traded off 3-and-outs, and when Cov Cath's punter fumbled the long snap at his own 20 yard line, the Rocks recovered deep in the redzone and scored on a 11-yard TD pass from QB Joe Pierce to Jim Sherrill one play later. Trinity forced Cov Cath 3-and-out on a second straight series. Two plays later Cov Cath's Bill Holocher intercepted Pierce's pass attempt, but following a holding penalty on Cov Cath following the interception, the officials opted to give the ball back to Trinity and let the Rocks re-play the down. Cov Cath head coach Rudy Tassini contested, saying the Cov Cath should maintain possession since the infraction took place following the interception, but the ball was given back to Trinity, nonetheless. QB Pierce hit WR Steve Raible on the ensuing play for a 63-yard TD pass to put Trinity up 14-0 only halfway through the 1st quarter.

In the second quarter the two teams were back and forth with one another on offense, and Cov Cath was able to finish off a 58-yard offensive drive in the 2nd quarter with a 9-yard TD pass from Tom Thoss to Jon Votel. Nick Fritz nailed the PAT to make it 14-7 Trinity and the score held through halftime.

Cov Cath received the opening kickoff of the second half, and on the 4th play of the half, QB Toss hit split-end Bill Topmiller with a 73-yard touchdown pass. Topmiller out-jumped two defenders, deep, and waltzed the remaining 17-yards into the endzone after both defenders fell to the ground. Nick Fritz nailed the ensuing extra point, but a penalty flag was thrown on the play and the Colonels were penalized for the long-snapper having his mouthpiece hanging partly out of his mouth. Cov Cath's coach Rudy Tassini contested since his player did have the mouthpiece in his mouth, but the officials said since it was not properly seated completely in his mouth, the penalty stood. The officials penalized Cov Cath 15 yards for the mouthpiece infraction, and when the Colonels ran the extra point kick a second time from 15 yards deeper, the kick failed and Trinity maintained a 14-13 lead. Then the offenses both traded short drives ending in punts, and then the Shamrocks put together a 67-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard dive by FB Rich Hancock for a Trinity touchdown with 1:45 left in the 3Q. The extra point by Charles Johnson made it 21-13 Trinity.

Cov Cath held Trinity's offense to fewer than 100-yards in the second half, and with 8 minutes remaining in the game the Colonels began a 74-yard offensive drive featuring a second penalty call for a mouthpiece infraction. This time the officials stated that they saw a player in the pile at the line of scrimmage with a mouthpiece hanging partially out of their mouth; Cov Cath's Coach Tassini was greatly bewildered when he asked the officials to identify which player it was but the officials were unable to do so (the newspaper writers for both the Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Post were intentional to note in the articles covering the game that they had never before seen any mouthpiece infractions called in a football game, much less two in the same game). Cov Cath threatened after driving down to Trinity's 7-yard line for a first down. In two plays they ran the ball down to the 2-yard line, but the Colonels turned over on downs after failed pass attempts on both 3rd and 4th down. With 5 minutes left on the clock, the teams traded 3-and-out offensive series for the remainder of the game.

1971 Trinity 14 Covington Catholic 2

Trinity and Cov Cath faced off in their 1971 season openers, playing at Ludlow's James Rigney Stadium on Sunday, Sept 5th after rain and muddy field conditions postponed the game from its originally scheduled time on Saturday, Sept 4th. Cov Cath had graduated 22 seniors in May and was unsure of what to expect out of the season (they finished 2-8 in 1971), but their defense was fairly impressive in the '71 lid lifter, holding Trinity to 218 total yards and forcing a safety early in the 4th quarter for the Colonels' only points in the game. Both teams were scoreless in the 1st quarter, and the Shamrocks scored their first touchdown with a 9-play, 50-yard offensive drive, aided by a 15-yard Cov Cath facemask penalty called on a punt play, giving Trinity's drive a second wind. QB Tony Bisig capped off the drive with a 2-yard TD run, and Bill Oldiges nailed the extra point. The Rocks scored again in the 3rd quarter with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Tony Bisig to Steve Raible, and Oldiges capped off Trinity's offensive effort with a second extra point. Cov Cath's defense pinned Trinity's offense back at its own 2-yard line early in the 4th quarter and sacked QB Bisig in the endzone for a safety, and the game ended 7 minutes later with a 14-2 Trinity victory.

1972 Trinity 19 Covington Catholic 0

This game was all Trinity. In Cov Cath's 5th year with a football program, the Colonels' 1972 roster had shrunken to only 41 players after their four year of football wrapped with a 2-8 record. Cov Cath netted 35 yards of offense in the game with 0 completed passes, and Trinity finished with 241 yards of offense in the game. Touchdowns were scored by Chuck Servino (1-yard run, 5-yard run), and Keith Calvin (10 yard pass from Jim Sherrill). Bill Oldiges handled kicking duties on the PAT attempts.

 

4 hours ago, theguru said:

80. Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Doug Ramsey has 235 career wins as he gets ready for his 30th season as head coach. 

2003 Elder (OH) 49 Covington Catholic 21

Elder absolutely smothered Cov Cath in this one, played at The Pit, tallying 42 points and nearly 275 offensive yards in the first half to Cov Cath's 0 points and 40 offensive yards in the half. Bradley Glatthaar (who went on to start at UC and spent 1/2 of a season in the NFL on the Bengals' roster) rolled up 5 touchdowns and nearly all of the Panthers' offensive yards in the first half. All three of Cov Cath's touchdowns came in the 4th quarter of the game against Elder's backups.

2004 Elder (OH) 9 Covington Catholic 10

It was a defensive battle in the first quarter at The Pit. Neither team scored, but the biggest repercussion of the game was senior PK Michael Awadalla's exit from the game after being injured on the opening kickoff. Awadalla ended up going to Northwestern University the next fall as a kicker for the Wildcats. Elder scored first on a 5-yard touchdown run by Nick Zeiser early in the 2nd quarter, capping off a 65-yard offensive drive by the Panthers. Cov Cath answered minutes later with a 33-yard field goal kicked by junior backup kicker Tony Roch. It was 7-3 Elder at the start of the 3rd quarter. Elder held the Colonels scoreless during the period, while Cov Cath limited the Panthers to a 22-yard field goal by DJ Hueneman, and the 3rd quarter ended with a 10-3 lead in Elder's favor. Cov Cath's defense held strong, forcing a punt on Elder's first drive of the final quarter. Cov Cath took over the ball near their own 30 yard line and quickly drove down to Elder's 24-yard line. QB Drew Ellison connected with Kyle Callahan for a 24-yard TD pass, setting up a PAT with a little more than 8 minutes remaining in the game. On the PAT kick, a botched snap forced a late kick by backup Roch, and Elder defender Jared Sommerkamp was able to get a hand on the ball, blocking the kick. With the score at 10-9 Elder, the Panthers were able to run out most of the remaining time on the clock and held on to win.

2006 Elder (OH) 13 Covington Catholic 3

In the finale of the 2006 Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, Cov Cath took on Elder at UC's Nippert Stadium. In a defensive battle, Cov Cath's only points in the game came on a 19-yard field goal by PK Shane Popham in the 1st quarter. Elder had fumbled the opening kickoff and Cov Cath recovered at the Elder 33 yard line, and kicked their field goal 4 plays later. Each of the next 6 possessions for both teams ended with punts. The Panthers threatened to score late in the 2nd quarter but their drive was ended with an interception by Cov Cath's Will Geisen, and the Colonels led 3-0 at the half. The Panthers didn't earn their first points of the game until they finally put together a successful drive capped by a pass from QB Derrick Ventre to future Notre Dame/Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph for a 9-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, and Elder let 6-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, Cov Cath's offense sputtered and forced their defense to stay on the field for too long, and the Panthers finished the offensive work for the game with a 2-yard TD run by Patrick Williams, capping off a 12-play drive for Elder. Ben Van Oflen's PAT made it 13-3 Pathers - final score.

2007 Elder (OH) 35 Covington Catholic 6

Elder hosted the Colonels again at The Pit, and the game was a defensive show by the Panthers, who held the Colonels scoreless through 3 quarters, limited them to 176 offensive yards in the game, and also knocked Cov Cath quarterback Zach Isler out of the game early in the 3rd quarter. Elder scored on a 6-yard TD run in the 1st quarter, and then scored again in the 2nd quarter on a 30-yard pass from QB Johnny Groene to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Their third and final touchdown of the half came on a 68-yard punt return by Eric Linneman. The Panthers led 21-0 at the half. DeQuone Wright scored on a 16-yard pass from Groene early in the 3rd quarter, and then Nicholas Gramke scored Elder's final touchdown later in the 3rd, running the ball 30 yards into the endzone. Tony Miliano was 5-5 kicking PAT's. Cov Cath's lone score of the game came halfway through the 4th quarter on a 1-yard run by Tyler Lutz - the Colonel's PAT failed.

2008 Elder (OH) 56 Covington Catholic 7

In what is definitely the ugliest outcome from the Cov Cath vs. Elder series, the Panthers hosted for a fourth time at The Pit. Elder running back Adam Brown tied the program record with 5 rushing touchdowns, tallying 177 yards rushing on 10 carries - all in the first half. Brown rushed for 3 TDs in the 1st quarter and 2 in the 2nd quarter, Tim O'Connor had a 11-yard TD reception from QB Mark Miller in the 1st quarter, and the remaining 2 touchdowns for Elder came on runs by backup RB Ben Coffaro in the 3rd quarter. Tony Miliano handled the first 5 PATs for the Panthers and backup PK Selby Chidemo had the two PATs in the 3rd quarter. Elder rolled up 605 total yards offense (including 440 yards rushing), and although Cov Cath managed 211 total yards of offense, they 86 of those came on their 4th quarter scoring drive against the Panthers' backups, which was capped off with a 1-yard TD run by Will Deters followed by a Brent Bessler PAT.

2021 Elder (OH) 28 Covington Catholic 6

2022 Elder (OH) 42 Covington Catholic 21

2025 Elder (OH) 28 Covington Catholic 20
 

6 hours ago, theguru said:

84. Bishop Watterson (Columbus, Ohio)
Eagles bring in a 30-game win streak after posting back-to-back undefeated seasons. 

2005 Bishop Watterson (OH) 40 Covington Catholic 3

Cov Cath's scored the only points of the first quarter on a 50-yard field goal by kicker Tony Roch - and those turned out to be the Colonels' only points of the game. Watterson routed Cov Cath by continuing to come up with big play after big play. 3 of their 5 touchdowns were scored on 40+ yard plays, with a 59-yard TD run by Jonathan Thomas and a 61-yard TD run by Mike Kundla, both in the 1st quarter, and then a 44-yard TD pass from QB Billy Griffin to Jason McCurdy in the 3rd quarter. Kundla also ran for a 4-yard TD in the 2nd quarter and Daryl Dotter ran for a 2-yard TD in the 3rd quarter. Kicker Brian DeLucia was 5-5 on PAT's and also had a 34-yard FG in the 1st quarter. The final two points of the game came on a 4th quarter safety by the Eagles.

2006 Bishop Watterson (OH) 38 Covington Catholic 13
 

6 hours ago, theguru said:

98. Boyle County (Danville, Ky.)
Seneca Driver headlines the talent as Rebels go for sixth state title since 2020.

2023 Boyle County 41 Covington Catholic 0 (4A State Championship)

2024 Covington Catholic 31 Boyle County 28

2025 Boyle County 49 Covington Catholic 14

St. X plays three of them: Trinity, Boyle County, and Elder (OH). 

Bump.

From MaxPreps:

St. John Bosco (CA) starts 2026 at No. 1 in a high school football preseason composite, combining seven national media rankings. 🏈