article 5A Notebook (10/19) District Champions

This week many football fans across the state will finally be able to take in a long awaited game as the the Spartans of South Warren make the short trek into town to take on the Bowling Green Purples, the first installment in what will likely be a long term rivalry. Not only is this a long awaited game among the fan bases, it also has huge playoff implications, as well as the right to earn the number two ranking in the class. The Purples hold that spot at the moment, with South Warren rising to the number three position this week. Bowling Green enters this game with a five game winning streak and a 6-2 record overall. The Purples two losses are to St. Xavier and Pleasure Ridge Park, both of which are ranked in the top five in class 6A. South Warren is sitting at 7-1 on the season with their sole loss to Ravenwood, a top 30 team in Tennessee, regardless of class. If you are in the Bowling Green area and have the opportunity to attend this one, just do it! It very well could be the best game of the season in class 5A, in terms of competitiveness as well as the atmosphere.

Covington Catholic has been the most impressive team in the class this season, which is why they secured the number one ranking early on and haven’t skipped a beat since earning the top spot. It’s really hard to put how good the Colonels are this season into perspective, so let’s look at some numbers and facts. The Colonels are 8-0 and recently completed the trifecta versus some really solid out of state teams, yet the Colonels outscored those teams 100-28. A very good 6A Ryle scored 17 on the Colonels in the season opener, Beechwood is the only other Kentucky team to reach the endzone versus the Colonels defense albeit in a 45-9 loss. The Colonels 52-0 win over Highlands last Friday was the largest margin of victory ever for the Colonels in that series, it was also Highlands first shutout in over a decade. This week, Covington Catholic travels to Dixie Heights to take on the Colonels in red.

Christian County was leapfrogged by South Warren in the the rankings after an overtime scare from Graves County. Christian County is still sitting at 8-0 on the season however and shouldn’t be overlooked. These Colonels, led by quarterback Kolbe Langhi have not put up the impressive numbers that they did last season, however they always seem to rise to the occasion and pull out the win. They have another tough test coming this week as they face off against a solid 4A North Hopkins team. If the Colonels continue to play the the level of their competition this game could be closer than expected.

South Oldham rounds out the top five with a single loss coming to Christian Acadamy of Louisville in the Dragon’s season opener. After that early season loss South Oldham has made short work of their opponents, including a 33-14 win over the number eight Doss Dragons. This week South oldham gets North Bullitt in what should be an easy win before closing out the regular season with 4A Shelby County.

Outside of the top five, this class becomes a little more difficult to figure out. Madison Southern has been a bit of a surprise, but is seemingly the easiest team to figure out, which is why they are sitting firmly at number six. The Eagles have wins over Southwestern and Pulaski County, two teams that have been highly regarded all season. They also recently won a close game at Montgomery County, a team that may be a bit underrated. This week Madison Southern finishes up their home schedule versus a solid Anderson County team, while the following week they travel to 4A number two, Wayne County.

Outside of the top six teams in the class you could more less flip a coin and decide the rest of the top 15 or so, with maybe the exception of Southwestern who sits at the number seven spot at the moment. The Warriors face rival Pulaski County this week however, which is always interesting, regardless of how good either team may be. Honestly this is a must win for Southwestern with the district championship on the line, while Pulaski County gets to play the underdog role this time. The rest of the top ten, Doss, Apollo and Fern Creek, should all cruise this week. Teams just outside of the top ten have some interesting matchups as Owensboro plays a Graves County team that just took Christian County to the wire, Highlands is looking for a bounce back win over Greenwood, then of course Pulaski County is attempting to steal the district championship from Southwestern. Montgomery County gets Woodford County.