Ordell

Lots of solid public schools in the region Trinity could schedule. Cincinnati Anderson, Cincinnati Princeton, Alcoa,TN, Springfield,OH, Olentangy,OH, Murfreesboro Oakland, East St. Louis, etc.

I mainly kept up with 5A in 2025 so I’d say the winner in 2026 comes from the group of Owensboro, Atherton, Woodford Co., Pulaski Co., & Scott Co. I base that on what those teams bring back. I know Cooper loses their D1 QB. Not sure the makeup of the rest of their roster though. BG loses a D1 talent in Barber at WR. Not sure of the makeup of the rest of their roster either.

I’ve seen a few folks mention BG in 5A. Can someone tell us what they return or have coming in? I didn’t really keep up with them this season since we didn’t play them.

One of the most impressive things for me this season was how physical the Red Devils were. Undersized but very fast and PHYSICAL took them to the pinnacle of 5A.

Way to go Red Devils!! Congratulations!! Good game to the kids & coaches at Pulaski County.

Good luck Red Devils! Bring that trophy back!!

I would add Russellville to the honorable mention list for their run in the 80’s and early 90’s under coach Ken Barrett. The Panthers won it all in 1A in 1980, 1983, & 1990. Runner up in 1987.

I heard a shoulder injury.

I feel like you do. Owensboro should return about 4-5 starters on D. With, as you mentioned, the major piece being Ashley at Linebacker. (I’d also add Pullom at Defensive End too.) The Red Devils will also return several kids that started games due to injury, or waiting on kids to get eligible, like Hinton and Shemwell. Also there are other kids that played a lot while being rotated in like Kindall and Burk. On offense they should have Ganaway Jr, Dillard, and the rest of the Wide Receiver core. The Offensive Line will be a concern again but it’ll be more about being young/inexperienced than talented IMO. RB will be in good hands with Green, and crew, back there. Could we see Dillard get carries from the back field next year?!?! I doubt it but he was like a mini Barry Sanders lining up in the back field in middle school. The top teams in 5A this year have lots of underclassmen so Woodford Co., Scott Co., Atherton, & Pulaski Co. should all be good next year too. With all that said I could see OHS making a run to the semi’s next year. Owensboro Catholic will be good in 2026 but maybe not what they have been the last 3 years. Carothers is the truth though so that’ll be big for them. I’m hoping no one leaves Frederica Street to go play WR over on Parrish Avenue this go round though.(Ha!) I was impressed with the way the James kid played in the title game filling in at Linebacker. The Simms kid too. They’re both good building blocks for the Aces on D.

Doesn’t Carothers have a few D1 offers? I could have sworn UK offered. Then maybe like WKU or Missouri State??

Oooweeeee!! Go Devils!!

Young man is a really skilled guard! I couldn’t believe he wasn’t on the Kentucky Junior All Star team when they played Indiana this summer.

I think this one is going to be a battle.

Munford,TN had a defensive front similar to the Red Devils IMO. They had more speed, and quickness, then size.

Can Owensboro stop the run?!?! Greenwood had some success at times pounding the ball a couple weeks back. I suspect Woodford comes out running straight at the Red Devils. Nothing fancy just getting down hill. I think this running back is the best one the Red Devils have faced all year too. OHS will have to figure out how to clog running lanes. On the flip side the Yellow Jackets have given up points to all the better teams on their schedule. I don’t expect that to change this week. Also based off the KHSAA scoreboard Woodford Co. has played a ton of home games. Maybe being on the road will have them off their square. I’ll say 38-28 Red Devils….

Devils! Devils!

Princeton folded at the end. I’m not sure how the Vikings let them complete a slant pass and it go 70+ yards with 1:00 left in the game. I would think some sort of prevent defense would have been called.

I believe these two are the favorites in 5A.

I’m still not sure I want to call Owensboro the favorite in 5A but they are really really good! Fellow Red Devil fans I can’t fault y’all for going all in on this team. Greenwood has a solid squad but the Red Devils made them look like some of the non playoff teams on their schedule. Next week the transfer DL kid should be playing and Morris should be back from injury at WR. Looking forward to the Fairdale game!

I agree. I love my fellow Red Devil fans, and everyone has a right to their opinion, but I’m just not sure where some of these takes come from. I believe OHS has improved. But the back half of the schedule, and by back half I mean from CAL on, has been so weak it’s hard for me to gauge how much improvement has occurred. (And yes if it isn’t obvious I think Owensboro Catholic is overrated this year.) Yes we have put up big numbers but we’ve also played our starters until late in those games. I guess I just have a more wait and see view on things. For years I’ve felt Red Devil nation has been way too happy beating the city teams, the Madisonville’s, Henderson’s, etc. And I feel like some of our fans are having those happy feelings again right now. And I’m not just talking about on this sight either. I’ve seen fans on social media with wild takes. We’ve thoroughly beaten the usual suspects and everyone is riding high. But truthfully this side of the state is pretty pedestrian this year. (Losing South Warren was a huge hit!) As many have said I think you can take the top 4-5 teams in 5A and all are capable of winning the title this year. If Owensboro was to win it all this year I would put this team up there with the ‘86 3A champs. That team started off like 1-3 that year if my memory is correct.

Apollo plays quite a few kids both ways.

I agree things have gotten better with the way Ganaway Jr is used at QB. But I don’t think MNH, OC, or Henderson are as good, or as big, upfront as Scott Co., Cooper, or Woodford Co. is. Hopefully we get to see how the Red Devil’s match up with some of these teams in another 2-3 weeks.

Folks claiming OHS is the best in 5A may want to watch some tape of Cooper, Scott Co., Woodford Co., etc….Lack of size along the lines for Owensboro is a major concern IMO.

Scott Co.

This was my first time seeing Franklin Co. play. I was thoroughly impressed! Good looking athletes with some decent size in the trenches. The 4A playoffs should be very entertaining.