Dylan Morris is a guy tearing it up for Hancock County. Hancock County is 7-0 with a 72% chance of finishing 10-0 this regular season by our calculations. Morris had a 71% completion percentage against Webster County and threw for 417-yards and 6-TDs. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Kade Elam is a three-star, football prospect and is already committed to play Power 4, College baseball in the ACC with the Louisville Cardinals. Elam may be among the best athletes in the high school game as his play against Johnson Central demonstrated. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch
LCA came out the gate slowly this season. Of course the 2A powerhouse opened with the best high school team in Kentucky (any classification), Boyle County, then followed that up with a six-point loss to an always tough Franklin County (4A). The Eagles are 5-0 since to include wins over the defending 1A champion (Pikeville) and the defending 3A champion (Christian Academy-Louisville). As we come down the regular season homestretch, the Eagles are looking every bit the container we expected to see.
Friday Night Fletch.
The Centre Colonels haven’t beaten Trinity’s Tigers since 2018. The Centre Colonels haven’t made the NCAA football playoffs since 2018. Are you seeing a pattern? We are.
Friday Night Fletch
We don’t even know what to say about the Storm after its impressive “beat down” of Webster County, 29-0. Manning made some changes to the deployment of personnel both on offense and defense to put kids in better positions to succeed and succeed they did. Tonight, the Storm will travel to Dixon, KY to take on an always tough, McLean County team. How do the Storm finish the final four of the regular season? Seems like we have been here before.
Friday Night Fletch.
Unfortunately for players in both programs, what you do when St. Xavier and Trinity play is for what you will be primarily remembered. Marlon Harbin, III, came up big, last Saturday, when (some would contend) it mattered the most. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
We are welcoming a new corporate sponsor to the family in Big Ass Fans out of Lexington, Kentucky. We imagine this article will become a regularly appearing Friday serial similar to some of the sponsored content we have before published here. Bit Ass Fans has committed itself to quality more than the mere size of its industrial sized fans. The product is backed by commitment to performance, reliability, and innovation which has been a driving force behind the company in the twenty or so years it has existed. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch
Bryan Jones is among the hottest young coaches in the industry Kentucky-wide. He has his Cougars playing football at an incredibly high level and looking every bit like 5A threats coming down the season’s home stretch. Enjoy this look at another one of those coaches sure to get plenty of air time this offseason as programs will jockey for coaches.
Friday Night Fletch
“Cherry” is a term with which we are familiar particularly in discussing vintage automobiles. Cherry is beginning to define excellent down lineman play for the Centurion defense, or that is what it meant this past Thursday night in the big road win at Manual High. Look out for these Centurions, 3A, they are getting their playoff legs ready for the running. Can’t wait to see what they do against Central in a few weeks.
Friday Night Fletch.
Bo Wolford, from Belfry High, is the best interior OL in all of Kentucky regardless of classification or graduating class. We have been steadfast in this belief and believe it still. D-1 college staffs are beginning to agree with us. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
The Storm get ready to welcome Webster County to Morton’s Gap. With district heavyweights Hancock and McLean on the horizon, and a loss to Union County last week, the games with Trigg and Webster are key to making the playoffs. Central is battling for that fourth chair in this musical chairs game we know as first district ball. The Storm can win this game. The Storm must win this game.
Friday Night Fletch
Jack James has set all kinds of “All Time” quarterbacking records during his time at Tilghman High in Paducah, Kentucky. This past Friday night, James was on fire. James completed 22 of his 35-passing attempts, for 309-yards passing, and 4-TDs through the air with one coming on the ground. What kind of night was it? It was a Jerky-worthy performance. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Solomon Stonebreaker is among the best WRs in 3A football. He plays for one of its better teams, for one of its better coaches, and is also one of its. better athletes and defensive backs. This guy is all-stud. When you digest the numbers and the statistics you are left with one inescapable conclusion…Solomon is the cornerstone of a well constructed program.
Friday Night Fletch.
It is year three (3) of the Crutchfield regime in Garard County and the team is looking like the best of his brief tenure. Garard stands at 3-2 with a few more winnable games upcoming. Enjoy this look at an up and coming program in the KHSAA.
Friday Night Fletch
Morganfield, KY is a tough place to play. The Storm will be invading Union County with the Braves off to a poor start (2-2) by their standards. However, as the Fort Campbell Falcons showed the KHSAA last week, either team could emerge victorious from this encounter. Let’s hope it is we!
Friday Night Fletch
We have called it the biggest upset in the KHSAA since we began covering it approximately a decade ago. We couldn’t believe it when it was reported to us thinking it almost had to have been a typo. It wasn’t a typo and JP Perryman played a pivotal role in its occurring. If this isn’t worth some of the world’s finest beef jerky, it is hard to imagine what is. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Cash Harney is probably the most dangerous backfield threat in Northern Kentucky. The Beechwood transfer has settled into his new home and has knotted the Colonel’s record at two’s. Beechwood comes to town this Friday Night. If Cash Harney continues to be Cash Money, like he’s been, the Tigers may find the Colonels have sprung a trap. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
It was the singular, most incredible upset in Kentucky HS football since I began covering the topic in April of 2015. If I could have bet my house on North Hopkins winning this game, I would be homeless today. Lots of Cinderellas find themselves at the Ball but very few of them have the wherewithal to actually bag the Prince. Most of the time, the Cinderellas get to the Ball and end up going home with a busboy from the catering company-still not a bad night but not the prize for which you came to the Ball. We will explain that analogy to you in the article. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Trevor Joiner moved over from Butler County to play football at the 5A level with the Mustangs of Muhlenberg County. He has been playing with a cast on his left arm which has been recently removed. Joiner and the “other Trevor (Hardesty)” are both averaging over 5-yards a carry on offense. Look out for Josh Staples’s “Stands,” as they are getting better and better by the week.
Friday Night Fletch.
The Storm have a winnable game coming to the Gap but there are no off weeks for this particular edition of Hopkins County Central’s football program. Crittenden County is among the tougher customers in the 2A classification on this end of Kentucky generally and the Storm will be playing a team in as bad of a need of a “W” as are they. We will break down this matchup and some of the personnel which will factor into the outcome. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
We call him “Q,” and we have written about him for years. What we have never said before now is he may be among the nation’s top 100 players. We know he is Kentucky’s top player in the ’25 class but, as a national prospect, we believe him to be well undervalued. The 5’9,” West Virginia commit will show the world as surely as he just showed the country’s 12th ranked, high school football team (St. Edward’s, OH). Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
We believe Bo Wolford from Belfry is the best OG in the KHSAA. We have bad news for the rest of KY, he’s a ’26 so he’ll be back another year. Bo is 6’3,” and has slimmed to 285-pounds. He bench presses 345, squats 525, and carries a 4.0 GPA. He’s an FBU Adidas All-American. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
Davaree Gude is rounding into one of the very best RB’s in all of KY. Friday night, the Junior etched his name in the Wildcat record book along surnames like Parham and Baker. Folks around Trigg County know just what kind of company that is keeping. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
There are some mighty good football teams standing at 0-2 around the commonwealth of Kentucky. Largely, it all depends on whom you have played. For instance, Central High (Lou.), Pikeville, and Lexington Christian Academy are all 0-2. We promise you, none of the three are “throwing in the towel.” The boys from Russell Springs, Kentucky are in the same class. They are 0-2 but have opened with two mighty tough teams and look to get off that “schneid” this evening, at home, when John Hine’s Cardinals come a’calling. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
The Storm have a huge mountain to climb Friday night as it travels to Badgett Stadium, cross town, to play a red hot Maroons team from North-Hopkins. North is 2-0 and ranked the 22nd best football team in Kentucky regardless of classification. We’re not sure there has ever been a Maroon’s team more highly regarded. We will break down this matchup and some of the personnel which will factor into the outcome. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
Zak Anderson is a 6’5,” 195-pound athlete who is a star on both the gridiron and the hardwood. Anderson had a tremendously efficient outing this past week against Danville completing seven of eight passes, four of which were for TDs. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Tyson Martin is a prospect about whom we have before written. Wait until you read what he did in the opener. If the ’28 two way star keeps doing what he did against Muhlenberg, he may find himself in a Mr. Football race next season. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
Hopkins Central got off to a rocky start here in ’24. The same can be said of Fort Campbells opening loss to Clarksville NE. These two teams meet on Friday night and they both badly need to come out on top. We like Central in this contest, but they can’t make the same mistakes made against Caldwell or the result will be similar. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
Lincoln Acree won this award this past offseason for an incredible outing at the Rivals camp in Atlanta. Once the season commenced, the stud athlete was up to his old tricks. When you play for Graves County, a win over Mayfield doesn’t happen everyday so it should be celebrated and rewarded.
Friday Night Fletch.
We called him the best middle school football player in Kentucky last season. If the opener is an indication, we couldn’t have been any more on the money than we were with Bryson “Mr. B.” Johnson. Johnson had 16-tackles, 1.5-TFLs in the opener against a really good Somerset squad. While Perry County Central fans would have much preferred a different outcome, they still were enthused about the play of the young, freshman, LB.
Friday Night Fletch.
It has been sixteen years since Graves has beaten Mighty Mayfield in a football game. Well, sir; Friday night the Eagles won the battle of the birds over the Cardinals 35-28. We take a minute to reflect on all the things which have occurred since Graves last won this game. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
They have a group of people named “Dotson” around Pike County, KY (Belfry). These boys can flat out ball. We got a note from legendary head football coach, Phillip Haywood, asked us to take a look at Max Boston, his senior offensive center. We like what we saw of this 6’2,” 310 pound blocking machine. He sort of reminded us of UK’s Drake Jackson. I remember him working out pretty well. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We thought we would offer a little pep-talk for the over 200 teams in Kentucky who will take the field this evening. You’re ready. Now go get your money!
Friday Night Fletch
Well, it is the opening weekend of the high school football season in Kentucky. I have gone “hog wild” in picking 32 opening games looking for 28 or more “winners.” Can I do it? We shall see.
Friday Night Fletch
The final preseason tune-up bode well for the near future as the Storm went 4-0 in varsity and JV scrimmages in a three team round robin including Russellville and Ohio County. We will break down the action from that outing and see if we can’t read the tea leaves regarding the upcoming future. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
Here’s something to celebrate. Johnson Central get Zack McCoart back in the rotation at RB for ’24. That is something to celebrate. We thought we might send along some beef jerky and a sweet T-shirt for the party. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch.
Deven Leclercq from Southwestern High is a lineman about whom we warned you this time last year. He was coming off an impressive freshman campaign and entering his sophomore season among the very best the class of ’26 had to offer. A year later, he hasn’t done anything to dampen our enthusiasm about his next level prospects. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
We have been focusing on versatility this offseason. We can’t think of a more versatile specimen than a guy who successfully stars in three varsity sports. This guy is ranked among the Derby City’s very best and is already sporting an offer to play at DePauw in Indiana. We love the Monon Bell Classic. Just thought we would throw that in there. Friday Night Fletch.
We used to say when I was in the law game that nobody knows all the answers but that a wise man knows where the answers may be found. When I need perspective I have a text group I consult. These guys are either already in the KHSAA Hall of Fame or headed there immediately upon becoming eligible. I got a couple to weigh-in on the relative importance of preseason scrimmages and this is what the two gentlemen had to offer. Friday Night Fletch.
We are steamrolling into the season opener on August 23rd. There is still the matter of a scrimmage against the Russellville Panthers. The Panthers were an extremely young, inexperienced team a year ago. These guys are always athletic and the added experience should indicate a different Panther squad than the one we saw limp to a 2-9 finish in 2023. Enjoy this “scouting report.” Friday Night Fletch.
Xavier Woolridge has the pedigree to go as far in this game as he is willing to work to travel. He has made all the prestigious MS all-star teams and is rising up the list of impact ’29 guys. His father, G.J. Woolridge, played at WKU. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch.
Cade Scott is raring to go and improve on what his teammates and he did in ’23. The Green Wave were quick out of the gate, winning five of the first six, then faded down the stretch, losing one of its last games by a solitary point to Pleasure Ridge Park (Lou.). Scott is a 6’5,” 200 pound QB who can play LB (if need be) and punts. He is also a varsity B-Baller. Outside of all that, he is rounding into one of the more sought after athletes, KY-wide, in the 2026 graduating class. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Well, scrimmages are in full swing. This time last year, a 4A team I had predicted would struggle tied a 5A power in a scrimmage which made the 4A coach scream all over social media that I was a complete idiot. The 4A team went 1-9, the 5A team challenged for the title at its level of play. Obviously, that scrimmage was meaningless. Well, Friday night Johnson’s Apollo squad pasted Logan County, at 4A team usually in the hunt. What does it mean? Does it mean anything? We’ll discuss. Friday Night Fletch.
Mason Fields has looked this offseason like a rising junior QB on the rise. Only problem is Armani Gregg performed very well a year ago and isn’t out of eligibility. What we have brewing in Edgewood, Kentucky may be a first-rate QB controversy. Either that or we may be adding to the TE position room. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Two scrimmages are upcoming and they will feature primetime performers on the opposing sidelines. There have been some position shuffling ongoing and one of Central’s top athletes will get a look in the return game. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
This is a kid many believe may be the definitive running back in the commonwealth of Kentucky in the class of ’25. He gained close to 1,900 yards a year ago and added another couple hundred receiving. His Central team is yearly in the running for a title in its classification and we don’t believe ’24 will be any different. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
Two teams talented and well coached sufficiently to factor into their respective title races square off in Union, KY We picked Cooper to challenge for the 5A title as they did in ’23. Many people were surprised we didn’t ranked Bardstown in our preseason, 4A, top five. We believe the […]
We often hear, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” relating to sons who look poised to repeat (or even surpass) the exploits of their father. David Jones, Jr. has some mighty big shoes to fill. However, he is a “Jones.” Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Coming into the season we have a variety of news to report. First, Cajun Hayes is looking like we predicted back on May 24, 2024. He is pushing for starter’s reps and has looked fantastic, particularly after the hitting started. Central has lost some coaches. Our Morton’s Gap agent tells us he sees a pathway to seven or eight wins this regular season. Enjoy this installment. Friday Night Fletch.
’26 ATH ranked among Kentucky’s best and set to ‘take off’ in 2024 They have had some great football players grace the field at Johnson Central High School in Paintsville, Kentucky. Logan Music just looks to be another in a long and distinguished line. Music is a 6,’ 170-pounder who […]
We believe 5A may be a repeat of last year’s title game in 5A. Both Bowling Green and Cooper have most of their primetime guys returning. Owensboro, Southwestern, and Scott County could all three challenge. Enjoy the look at 5A, Friday Night Fletch.
Surely, Boyle County can’t win 4A every year. They are coming off a four-peat looking to five-peat and they have a very good chance. However, there is a leviathan building on the western-end of Kentucky and it is hungry and ready to be let loose. Enjoy this look at 4A. Friday Night Fletch.
We like the Aces to get back to Lexington this coming season and believe they will escape with the crown. We also believe programs like Beechwood, LCA, and Mayfield will have a bunch to say about it. Somerset is lurking around and are coming off a fine season with weaponry coming back from last season’s roster. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Well, it is time for us to pick the 3A classification and how it will “shake out” this coming Fall. We could take the coward’s way out and pick last year’s champion, Christian Academy-Louisville, to repeat. Instead, we took the coward’s way out and picked eight-time title holder, Belfry. Enjoy. Friday Night Fletch.
Demarkese Harris stepped away from the game in ’23 for reasons for which we wouldn’t be so bold as to fathom a guess. We can tell you “Kese” is back in a big way at Christian County and no two coaches are any happier about that than head man, Ethan Atchley, and defensive coordinator, Tony “Cheese” McCombs. Look for Kese to put up monster production in the coming Fall and look for his Colonels to be a much improved outfit than the one you remember from the year prior. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
This article here will prove “we’re out there” as much as any we have published maybe ever. Getting a handle on whom will be manning any team’s OL is a challenge. We can’t comment on all five slots, but feel confident we can predict three of the five slots. Enjoy this edition of Storm Warning. Friday Night Fletch.
Landon Yoak was one of Kentucky’s leaders in yards gained rushing from scrimmage a season ago. He was only a sophomore and helped lead his team to a 9-3 finish and near upset of Bell County, a 3A finalist, in the regional championship game. The Raiders lost 38-36 in overtime. Well Tim Champlin’s team looks to be loaded and ready for an even deeper run. Having the Yoak kid back for his junior season, at the pace he is setting, will be HUGE. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
We are going to do the unthinkable. We are going to attempt to tell you the candidates to win the 1A title this coming season before the first team has donned the first pad. We like them in the order here and have included a few “others” to consider. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Players defecting hither, tither, and yon is a common occurrence and problem these days. Simon Kenton should be enjoying the benefits of having the classification’s top rusher returning. Instead, they are left to “pick up the pieces” as Turner has bolted to another school which may, or may not be, “greener pastures.” Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
The Colts were among the more feared teams in HS football. Then, all of a sudden, they weren’t. It has been a long battle back up the ladder but St. Francis DeSales looks poised to resume its place among the Kentucky elite. Getting performances like what Desmond Richard did in ’23 has been the key. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
These two teams met a year ago. It was a six-point margin in Morton’s Gap and the margin in Princeton this year figures to be even closer. This game is a real “toss up” and this article will explain that to you. The Storm needs this game badly if it wants to reach the goals set for this coming season. We can’t wait. We’re sure you are as excited as well. Friday Night Fletch.
Kace Eastridge is among the best dual threat QBs in Kentucky’s class of ’26. He is also one of Kentucky’s best baseball players at any level or any graduating year. The 6’1,” 190-pound RHP,OF plays QB on offense and LB on defense for the Eagles. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Every year we like Owensboro Catholic to challenge for a title in 2A. Every year they seem to do just that before dropping a game in a late round. Last year, the Aces had the ball, down five, with a chance to go down the field and win the title and fell just shy of the mark. We like these guys to “do it” in ’24. We are taking them to win it. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
Larry French has built a contender in Middlesboro, Kentucky in the five years he’s been at the helm, going 54-14. The Yellow Jackets were 10-44 the five seasons before his arrival. Graduation riddled the roster somewhat; but, in the end, French is back and that has proven to offset plenty of roster defections over the years. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
Triston “TK” Kay has had quite the career at Hoptown as a performer the Tigers could turn to for production whether on offense, defense, or special teams. He enters his senior year among the most versatile performers in all of the KHSAA. His head football coach swears he is among the best 50-players in all of Kentucky. We certainly would be inclined to agree from a production stand point. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
De’André Watkins is a guy coming off his sophomore season which saw him get plenty of PT for a young guy laboring on a 6A roster. We believe the Colonels will be way more formidable in ’24 then they were at any time in ’23. Matter of fact, one doesn’t have to be too old to remember a time the Colonels were a holy terror upon the western-KY landscape. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
This look at 6A completes our preparation for the season. We have studied rosters, gone over what is coming back, fretted over the losses, and have given an informed opinion about how all six classes will flesh out. We are ready for the season. How ready are you? Let’s get it on. Friday Night Fletch.
Carter Edwards is a guy Coach Manning couldn’t stop raving about when we talked with him after practice number one, post-Dead Period. Here’s the thing, we believe he is about to be nationally ranked as a Long Snapper. Edwards has demonstrated, so far, the spirit and leadership this team will need. Enjoy this version of “Storm Warning.” Friday Night Fletch.
This kid here was easily among the better dual-threats in all of Kentucky’s ’25 graduating class at any level of play in ’23. He accounted for 27-TDs throwing and running. He will head to Toledo to play in college but will first stop off in Columbia, Kentucky to help out Coach Steve Stonebraker’s boys. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
There is a well renown scout who put online that he could take the best middle school players in Georgia and beat the majority of high school teams in 23 of the 52-states. We think that estimation may be a bit modest. We believe we could take the commonwealth’s foremost Middle School stars and beat 150 of Kentucky’s 222 high school football teams. This team we are featuring today is going to be a mighty hard out come playoff time around western Kentucky. They will rely on “the Big Three (Bryson Ford, Kendrick Mainu, and Antonio Ware)” to get there. Friday Night Fletch.
We are going through and featuring a preseason all-state football team position by position. We are featuring players in the small classifications and players in the larger classifications. Today we are featuring the “Big Boys” playing for the Big Boys. This is the preseason, large school, All-State offensive linemen. Enjoy. Friday Night Fletch.
The season is upon us quicker than you would believe. Dead Period is over in two days and there is nothing on the other side of Dead Period apart from Seven’s tournaments, scrimmages, and openers. We are going to put together some preseason all-state groupings. We hope to get to all the position groups, but can’t promise it. Here are the Small School, Preseason, All-State offensive linemen. Enjoy, and let the arguing begin…Friday Night Fletch!
Zane Johnson did the un-thinkable a year ago. He started at QB for one of the country’s premier programs against a nationally prominent schedule and led the team to its 28th title. Wow, what a mouthful! He is entering his sophomore season and he is poised to stake his claim as one of the commonwealth’s very best HS QBs at any level. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Tristin Dillard came out of Middle School ranked by most the pundits among the top three RBs in Kentucky’s 2027 graduating class. Dillard had a solid freshman season but has transferred to 6A, first district, Christian County and looks to us to be set for take off. The Colonels will be vastly improved in ’24 from the team which competed in ’23. Players like Dillard are the reason why. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
We thought it might be fun to take a look at the upcoming ’24 schedule and give you some thoughts on our take. Here we go! Friday Night Fletch
Bryson Rowley very quietly inserted himself in ’23 into the best football player in the Kentucky ’26 graduating class. The 6,’ 175-pounder excelled at both WR and DB for the Rams who took another shot at a 1A title, though came up a bit short. The Rams were laden with senior talent so how good will Coach Salmons crew be this Fall is anyone’s guess. But Hey! It is Raceland. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
In collaboration with News Radio 840 WHAS and our show, “Friday Night Kentucky” our own Friday Night Fletch and the staff at KPGFootball were tasked with creating both a small and big school All-State Football team. This is the big school team and is comprised of players from 4A, 5A, & 6A classifications. Enjoy. Friday Night Fletch.
In collaboration with News Radio 840 WHAS and our show, “Friday Night Kentucky” our own Friday Night Fletch and the staff at KPGFootball were tasked with creating both a small and big school All-State Football team. This is the small school team and is comprised of players from 1A, 2A, & 3A classifications. Enjoy. Friday Night Fletch.
The Red Devils from Russell High lost a ton of production from off its 7-5 football team in ’23. They lost their leading passer, leading rusher, leading tackler, 2nd leading scorer, and 2nd leading back-end defender all in losing the one player, District POY, Ethan Pack. They lost way more than that off a team which was a couple scores from 9-3. However, let’s focus on what they return. One very valuable and versatile weapon returning is ’25’s Elijah Hankins. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Ethan Warder is a prospect the Centre Colonels, among many other programs, is pursuing mightily. Warder fills the stat sheets with statistics which turn around football games. We will be very surprised if the Purples don’t repeat in ’25 as 5A title holders. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Isaac Manning is a rising senior who looks poised to make a run at our end of the year, small-school (1A, 2A, & 3A) All-State football team. He is a versatile player and athlete who has the physical dimensions and speed to thrive on either side of the football or even both. Enjoy this look at the “heir-apparent” to Calil McNary on the Storm playing field this coming Fall. Friday Night Fletch.
There are scores of “volunteers” who selflessly give of themselves for the benefit of the middle and high school programs across Kentucky. They never get any fanfare or recognition. Well, we thought we would change that today by recognizing the incredible contributions of “Doc Long,” Hopkinsville High School’s long-standing team physician from 1976-1996. Little late in coming; but, better late than never. Friday Night Fletch!
The two players we are featuring together in this article are two guys who both relocated to Jackson, Kentucky (as luck would have it) during this summer. Both of their parents found employment in the area and uprooted their respective families. The Collins family has long-standing ties to Breathitt County High School as the Collins boys prior to CA Collins all played at Breathitt. The Longs had never been to Jackson, Kentucky before finding employment in the area and deciding to locate there. It has worked out swimmingly for a team which no media outlet predicted would do much in 2019 but which is absolutely killing it with considerable contribution from the two guys who have (naturally) bonded. Individually they are “CA Collins” and “William Long” but together they spell Double-Trouble for Breathitt opponents.
Well, it is Dead Period. This is our classic “Dead Period” piece we yearly publish at this time. See you guys on the other side of the abyss. Friday Night Fletch.
Editor’s Note: We thought we would go back to 2017 in our Dead Period Time Machine and republish this piece we first published about a hot QB playing for an even hotter HS, 5A program (Christian County Colonels). We think the Colonels will surprise some people this coming season though […]
There is no better time than the present to anoint another Independence Bank player of the week. Independence Bank is proud to sponsor a weekly article highlighting players in the areas where Independence Bank flourishes who embody the same type of revolutionary service to their respective football teams which has made Independence Bank unique and special in the banking industry. This week’s recipient is a player who didn’t suit up last week, and we believe that to be a first for this particular award. Join us next week as we designate another worthy award winner.
Gaige Brasher looks to up the ante regarding both playing time and production in ’23. He demonstrated what kind of athlete he is in baseball season. Those skills will translate to the gridiron this coming Fall we are willing to wager. Enjoy the feature. FL.
Not all middle school players are equally constituted. Some arrive with high school, varsity ready frames to compete immediately. We would put Dylan Branson from Woodford County in that class. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Bardstown High can sure develop some talent. Remember Tyleeq Williams from a year ago. He gained 1,834-yards and scored 20-rushing TDs. HIs backfield mate, Amonti Marshall had quite a year too. Marshall is back in ’24 for a final tour and early indications are he may have a Tyleeq-like impact. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
’26 DL/QB getting tons of looks and offers Jackson Whitten is a 6’3,” 245-pounder who bench presses close to three-hundred, squats close to four-hundred, and power cleans a cool two plates (225-pounds). He has a 4.2 GPA and a registered 25 on his ACT. Bottom line; what’s not to like? […]
Chase Frakes has made virtually very all-star football team available to MS star players. He also participates in Track & Field. We will go over his track times and tell you how those times relate to his “football speed.” You never know, you just might learn something. Friday Night Fletch.
Today we are thrilled to reward the play of perhaps the best OL prospect we have seen play anywhere in the commonwealth since we have been doing this. We are huge Jarvis Strickland fans. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Jeremiah Groves is a guy who couldn’t be framed out much better. He is 6’3,” north of 200-pounds, and has a versatile skill set which has lent itself well to his contributing to the team in a variety of ways. Groves scored a TD receiving, logged a “scoop and score,” was among the team leaders in tackles and sacks. Enjoy this feature about a player in Morton’s Gap who will figure prominently in the program’s success in 2024. Friday Night Fletch.
Mak Hoover is a 6’1,” 175-pound Athlete who plays receiver/SS in football and also stars in basketball and track. In an offseason where we have focused on versatility, this has been just another fine example of this attribute. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Amonti Marshall is among the more versatile athletes running a 4A football team anywhere in the commonwealth of Kentucky. In’23 he threw for nearly a thousand yards (953) and ran for nearly another (862) while being a defensive leader who contributed 9-TFLs and a pair of QB-sacks. He is a 315-pound presser and squats 410. Little wonder this 3.0-GPA student would run 40-yard dashes in 4.6-seconds flat. The Tigers have been preseason picked 5th in Kentucky 4A by NationsElite. Players like Marshall will do that for a coach every time. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch
Leelen Vanover has been judged one of Kentucky’s top five (5) OL in the high school game we would suppose. We believe it must be an overall ranking because we can’t fathom there being four other freshmen/rising sophomore linemen in Kentucky on par with Vanover. Vanover is 6’2,” 280-pounds of grown looking and he has a 4.0 GPA. He is getting Division-1 looks right now and that attention is only going to get more common and fierce as we move along his high school career. He can play any of the five (5) upfront slots along the offensive line. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Zach Ballard is a long, tall drink of water who plays DE mostly now but may thicken into an extremely mobile DT before his playing days are through. He is 6’5,” 225-pound, rail thin edge rushing specialist who plays a considerable amount of time in the opponent’s offensive backfield. If he’s going to be back there that much, might as well invite him into the huddle. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
DJ (Demarcus) Wilson is a three sport, varsity athlete. In addition to being a RB/LB on he football team, he wrestles and runs track. He is the type versatile athlete we have been focusing on this offseason. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Sylas Gunn has been among the more impressive athletes to compete in Western Kentucky sports in several years. The QB, SS, FS prospect can play baseball, basketball, football, and run track. For all we know, he may take up dressage and gymnastics next. This guy is poise to have a huge season upcoming. We will be pleased to monitor it. Friday Night Fletch.
This is one of Kentucky’s very finest RBs in the ’25 graduating class. They call him “Jaws,” and he is a 3-star, nationally rated prospect in Rivals and 247Sports. He’s one more thing too, he is the Protein-packed Performer of the Week. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Not all future stars got varsity run the year prior. This is even more true of young guys on 5A finalists who were, themselves, freshmen. We have young Carson Clark to feature today. While we can’t really report on anything he did (at the varsity level) in ’23; that doesn’t mean he won’t breakout in ’24. Matter of fact, we wouldn’t bet against him. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Jacob Taylor is one of two “Taylors” on the Flyers’ roster. The Flyers, under Head Coach, Eddie James, has been among the more stocked and successful rosters at the 4A level of play. Jacob prefers to go by “Coen” and the 5’8,” 165-pounder carries a 4.0-GPA a believes in hear over height. His 45-receptions a year ago indicate his play backs up his hashtags rather well. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Sometimes a player’s maturation lags behind the player’s frame. This is often true of young bigs who take some time to agile their way into their incredibly large, tall, and long frames. Peyton Collins has a frame which commands respect. With his nearly 7-foot wingspan, 6’7″ of height, and 280-pounds of heft, this guy figures to be among the more recruited linemen in the ’26 graduating class before all is said and done. We are looking for his PT to increase substantially this coming Fall. When his “man muscles and agility” arrives, look out! Friday Night Fletch.
The Hightowers have established themselves as among the first families in western KY, HS football. Marquez is no different than big brother Jariah as both proved among the very best at RB in each of their respective classes. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Isaac Earl is a ’26, multi-sport athlete (football and basketball) who plays a variety of positions on the gridiron (QB/LB). He has become like royalty in Morton’s Gap. Today we will take a look at what role he will likely have to play in ’24 for the Storm to blow at full force gale. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
Lincoln Acree is listed as an ATH on many national sites which feature recruiting. Man is he ever an athlete. Acree is a ’25 guy who can play WR or Corner at the college level. He can play at any division collegiately too. He has been featured and has before won the Independence Bank Revolutionary Player so, in winning this award today, he has been awarded the KPGFootball “hat trick.” Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
There have been famous “Jet(t)s” in popular culture. There are two Bennies among the number. Elton Johns’ Bennie and the Jets and the fictional character from “The Sandlot,” Benjamin Franklin “Benny the Jet” Rodriquez. Well we have added to the list with Jett Reynolds from Bowling Green Jr. High. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Jaxon Wells is a rising 8th-grader with an uncommonly large frame. He is freakishly strong, freakishly powerful, and freakishly explosive. He is also freakishly good at football. He will be among the most talked about 8th graders in the commonwealth this next Fall as his middle school program battles and contends for its 10th title at that level of play. Enjoy this middle school spotlight on the best two-way lineman se have to offer. Friday Night Fletch.
Carter Parsons may be the crowned jewel of our offseason effort to feature versatile high school players. Parsons is a football star and a basketball star who already holds a basketball offer which may promise to pale in comparison to the football offers he is certain to receive. Enjoy this feature about a truly unique mountain athlete. Friday Night Fletch.
Logan Smith has established himself as a Western Kentucky All-Conference caliber player. With his speed and athleticism, there is no reason to not see him become an All-State caliber player. That 3.62-GPA is All-State, All-Day! Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
It is getting time for the now former 8th graders to report to their varsity teams. The Storm, when opening camp, will certainly have some prime timers joining them from middle school looking for PT. KJ Hayes will be one of them. As the reigning KYMSFA, Region I, Division I, Player of the Year, it wouldn’t surprise many to see this kid in the lineup early in his HS career. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Jacob Savage is one of a bevy of superstar LB’s in the ’26 class around Kentucky. Savage is so much more than just a LBer as he is among the top RBs on his team and receivers too. In an offseason where we have focused on versatility, this Savage cat is just right in line with the type talent on whom we have been focusing this offseason. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
“He’s just a punter!” That sentiment will get you beat in a football game. It will literally cost you a championship one day, we promise. Football is a three (3) phase game and each of the three phases are critical and have to superlatively executed for any team to function at a high level. There have been three punters taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Ray Guy became the first punter ever selected in the first round of a National Football League draft when the Oakland Raiders tapped him as the 23rd player chosen in 1973. Punters are important. This one we are featuring here may be the best punter in his class (’27) across the commonwealth of Kentucky. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Kinnett Wills led the team in receiving, receiving yards, scoring, INTs, and IRNYs. The team will be leaning heavily on him entering the ’24 Fall. They will need his athleticism, three-phase contributions, and his moxie if they are to turn things around under first year head man, Steven French. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch!
Zac Carter is a young DE framed out the way we like to see them. He is flourishing on the roster of one of 2A’s more prominent programs. His trajectory is straight up, if you ask us. Enjoy this feature about one of the premier DE’s in KY in the ’26 graduating class. Friday Night Fletch.
Brady Atwell is no stranger to fame. He also is not stranger to this award, having before winning it in August of 2023. He enters ’24 the favorite to win Mr. Football. The contents of this feature should explain that. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Isaac McKnight is a freshman who played 3-games as a freshman in ’23. Notwithstanding the limited run, he still registered 7-tackles, a TFL, and a QB-sack. That is phenomenal, if we are being honest. His production would rocket in ’24. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
We strive to find the stars across the Commonwealth. Some of these guys are on teams which struggle. Hunter Bealmear is a versatile athlete who contributes to multiple varsity sports at his high school in Barlow, Kentucky. Honoring him is only the right thing to do. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Kris Hughes is one bad bunny. Matter of fact, we can’t find where we have before featured him and that is somewhat alarming to us. Hughes had a tremendous sophomore season for first-year head coach Clay Clevenger and he looks to have the Briar Jumpers back on the title track, if last year’s trip to the semis, and 10-4 finish, are any indication. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Dylan Lee just finished his sophomore year. It would be difficult to imagine anyone having a better sophomore season than what we just witnessed out of Lee. He is a sprinter on the track team, plays basketball, and was a three-way contributor to a 6A ball club which made it all the way to the regional finals in Kentucky’s largest classification of competition. What will he do as a junior? Sky is literally the limit here. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Ethan Bowling has been a “high energy guy” since coming out of the middle school ranks one of the better thought of prospects in the region at that level of play. He hasn’t disappointed in high school. Bowling is a two-way star along the Breathitt fronts and plays with the zeal which has transformed him into a fan favorite. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Logan Smith is rounding into the prospect we all felt he would morph into when we covered him in MS. We see nothing but a bright future in store for this prospect. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Sam Clements is among the more versatile, dual-threat QBs playing in the 6A classification. He had a very solid ’23 which has landed the rising senior on quite a few recruiting boards. Clements is looking forward to a very solid ’24 to polish off what has been a fine HS career under center. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Leron Jackson played for the worst team in 5A and perhaps all of Kentucky. The Raiders played 11-games and got drilled 11-times. The Raiders “high water” mark for the year was dropping a game to Trimble County on September 22 by three TDs. That doesn’t mean Keith May doesn’t have some great players in the “hopper.” Matter of fact, Coach May may (pardon the pun) be developing ’27’s premier LB and perhaps its best player at any position. His name is Leron Jackson and he had quite the freshman season. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Rohan Taylor returns at QB for a high school which traces its roots back to the first four-room public school built in Lexington. Taylor threw for nearly 1,000 yards and led the team in passing during a ’23 season which would experience an 0-11 work-slate with only one outcome, the 20-18 loss in the opener to Fleming County, in question. Obviously the play must improve and drastically. Is Taylor the man to lead this team through the wilderness? We think so. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Waylon Abner is a member of one of the best units playing Kentucky football at the HS level, the “Big Blue Wave.” The “Big Blue Wave” is the OL for the Breathitt Bobcats. Sawyer Hall gets the majority of press but perhaps some of us might want to watch Waylon Abner. Abner is a ferocious pulling guard who may be the best at that discipline than any other guard or interior guy in the KHSAA. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
This guys was third on the team in rushing yards, was among the leaders in scoring, and led the team in several important and critical defensive categories. In addition to all of that, he is a first-rate powerlifter and star on the varsity baseball team. This Tyler Kautzman-cat can flat play. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
We featured this guy a year ago, in June of ’23. It was our prediction he would crack the lineup sometime over his freshman season. Well, he got in a game but didn’t exactly crack the lineup. There has been some graduation attrition since then and he seems assured of getting plenty of PT over the course of his upcoming sophomore season. Enjoy this look at Central’s Cruz Cavanaugh. Friday Night Fletch.
We have been featuring versatility this offseason. Today, we bring you a WR/CB who is also a star in basketball. Waryn Ebelhar had quite a junior season and, with the top two receivers out of eligibility, he should flourish as the top QB’s number one down field target in Kentucky’s most prolific passing offense maybe in the history of the KHSAA. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
They have called Kalen Washington “Jaws” since middle school. He has terrorized the football community with the same ferocity as the great white terrorized movie screens in the mid-70s. You can almost hear the music alerting the viewer to the presence of the menace. Opposing defensive linemen can certainly commiserate as can second and third level guys. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Brady Wasik is a ’26 kid whose big brother was one Hell of a QB for the Knights over his career. Centre College, probably the most prestigious small college offer a Kentucky kid can possibly fetch, has taken the older Wasik (Jackson). Can the Colonels pick up a commitment from Brady too? Here’s to hoping…Friday Night Fletch.
Sawyer Hall and Bo Wolford are universally considered among the best five or so interior OL in all of Kentucky’s ’26 class. The two of them have many similarities, all but the heights and length. Both of these guys move a considerable amount of weight in the weight room and both of them dominate defensive linemen every single snap. The two of them are good friends to boot. Enjoy the feature about Sawyer Hall. Friday Night Fletch.
Isaac Manning figures the be “The Man” on the Storm’s roster for ’24. He was a multi-phase contributor in ’23 and has one of the more dynamic skill-sets on this end of Kentucky playing 3A football. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
’26 two-way lineman is a member of the band and quite accomplished at that Garrett Morgan is a 6’1,” 225-pounder who toiled away on the JV in ’23 and made the KMEA All-District Band. Now that is versatility. Morgan figures to play a more prominent role in ’24 as he […]
Zane Cook reminds us of an interior OL who doubled along the defensive front and has played defensively in college at prestigious Centre College. We are talking of the two-way, All-Stater, William Long formerly from Breathitt, which was also a 2A ball club. Cook’s QB from last season, Zane Cartwright has just inked with the Colonels. This guy here is a freaking football playing Jesse. Enjoy the feature. You will be hearing much more about him before it is all said and done. Friday Night Fletch.
There was a Blackburn kid who played at Paintsville High a few years back who was a fine player and a monster of a man. We have no idea of this particular Blackburn and he are related. However, we can confidently say the two of them share certain physical characteristics. This Blackburn (Braxton) is 6’3,” 275-pounds and sufficiently mobile to be a second level defender and the top returning tackler to the Bobcat defense. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Byron Hardesty is entering the Fall the 2nd ranked DE/LB prospect in Kentucky’s 2026 KHSAA class. He plays at a program which has emerged as a top outfit in Kentucky 6A not too far removed from a KHSAA title (2022). Talent like Hardesty ensures the Chargers are finished chasing additional championships. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Battle of the Regions was last month and the Future Stars will be coming up this summer. This is the time of year we learn there are some middle school ballers across Kentucky doing some incredible things. Brady Steward is a ’29 QB about whom plenty will be written before his high school years have been exhausted. Enjoy this feature about one of Kentucky’s best at this grade level. Friday Night Fletch.
Simon Rickman from Murray High is among the more accomplished defensive second level defenders in the Western Kentucky Conference (WKC). He made all conference a year ago and made All-State on the list of one of the major publications covering the commonwealth. We believe you will see him much more on offensive this coming season. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Kamran Harrison is the little brother of a Storm player who fully demonstrated his wares as a varsity football player. Kamran is outstanding and versatile like big brother. He runs track, power lifts, and contributed greatly to the finished product on the field in ’23 while just a sophomore. What will he do as a junior? It just may be mind boggling. Friday Night Fletch.
Nick Osborne has taken versatility to new heights around our offices. This guy was among the leading receivers, rushers, and defenders for his football team in ’23. Osborne was the school’s leading scorer and among the leaders in FT % and rebounds in basketball. Heck, this guy is on the golf team. Is there anything he can’t do? Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
Timmy Emongo may have been the best freshman in Kentucky in ’23. How many freshmen on nine-win, 5A ball clubs are among the team’s leading rushers, leading scorers, and housing both kick-returns and pick-sixes. Not too many. Enjoy this feature about a sprint champion who is stockpiling offers to play collegiate football as you read this article. Friday Night Fletch.
We pride ourselves on the ability to locate Kentucky-wide talent prior to anyone else. We are able to do this because we don’t wait on these prospects to attend our combine. We are out in Kentucky, with boots on the ground, where these guys live. Well here is a ’28 guy who has an FBS frae right now and he is still in 8th-grade. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Aiden Jesse come from a pipeline of receiver prospects. His dad was a star WR for the Hoptown Tigers in the 90s, his brother left Hoptown its all-time leading WR, and Aiden has been doing his thing, though sparingly, as he is just a ’26 player. There is a new Sheriff in town coaching the Colonels in head man, Ethan Athchley, and his brand of offense will produce more passing production which will result in more targets for young Jesse. If we peer into the crystal ball, and consider what the Jesses have done before him, predicting he is about to “go off” really isn’t much of a stretch. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Jeremiah Jones is among the finest athletes competing in the KHSAA in his or any class. He already holds several Power 5 offers and is rated as high as 3rd, overall, among Kentucky ’25s and 580th across the country in his graduating class. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Michael Gossett is a freshman RB/FB who didn’t get any varsity run in ’23 but figures to get quite a bit of PT in ’24 owing to the graduation of two-time, All-State FB, Calil McNary. Gossett, a ’27, may also put his name in nomination for the world’s most famous person named, “Gossett,” and that competition is a bit stiffer than you may realize. Enjoy this edition of “Storm Warning.”
Travis Moten may be the premier DL in Kentucky’s ’25 class. He had 83-tackles, 17.5-TFLs, 10.5-QB sacks, a FF, 2-FRs over his junior year and the 6’5,” DL has already been offered by EKU. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
This isn’t the story of a simple friar who became the patron saint of one of the larger metropolitan areas in the state of California. Ours is a story about a simple sophomore who entrenched himself in the lineup of the most storied and successful 2A football program on the western end of Kentucky. We hope you like our story as well as the other one. Friday Night Fletch.
’25 LB/TE may have played in the shadow of the national rushing leader Hayden Dameron may, in ways, be a bigger college prospect than was his former teammate and now member of the UVA-Wise football team, Daniel Thomas. Demerol has a good frame at 6’1,” 215-pounds for the LB position, […]
Dylan Branson is among the more decorated DL anywhere in KY’s MS ranks. He’s made all the teams, attended the prestigious combines, and established the reputation. Can the 6’2,” 215-pound, two-way lineman get some PT on one of Kentucky’s better 5A rosters? We think so. Enjoy the featured. Friday Night Fletch.
Xavier Burks is a ’25 RB who gained close to a 1,000-yards in ’23. In addition to that he was a defensive leader who was among the top tacklers, top TFL-guys, and top sack-artists. Talk about your versatility. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
We have been focusing on versatility this offseason and Charles “Dylan” Beringer fits that bill. Beringer plays along the OL and the DL and appears to run track and cross country. He may be called upon to contribute mightily in ’24 along the varsity lines of scrimmage. Let’s see if he will be up to that challenge. Friday Night Fletch.
Those of us who follow this sport, KHSAA football, have been hearing about the Sawyer Hall-types for years. These guys come up from the middle school ranks being talked about as “plug-in and play” guys. That is what Hall has been. He may be one of those again in college, we shall see. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
We don’t run across athletes at the high school level who run 4.43-second, 40-yard dashes, 4.01-second pro-agility shuttles, or 6.72-second, three-cone drills. We certainly don’t see too many 37-inch verticals and 9.1-feet broad jumps out of 5’8″ sophomores. When this type dynamic athleticism is encountered it should be featured. So, here you go. Friday Night Fletch.
Some guys just look the part. Jaxson Howell from Bowling Green’s Greenwood High is a prime example for this. Howell is 6’0,” 180-pound DB/WR who is big enough to come up in the box and play LB for you. He has been doing a lot of that for the Gators. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Those Pittman brothers from Monticello, Kentucky sure are tough customers. Big brother Noah, ’24, just signed to play college ball with the University of the Cumberlands and Ethan just finished his sophomore season as a two-way stalwart for Coach Tyler Guffey’s Cardinals. Enjoy this look at another Pittman headed somewhere on a ride for college when this HS eligibility exhausts. Friday Night Fletch.
This prospect has a brother named Caden who showed in Western KY’s bowl game, a year ago, he was nothing at which to sneeze. That particular Veltkamp looks to be headed to the portal, or maybe has already shipped out; we don’t know, we cover the high school game. This Veltkamp is a freaking football player and plenty versatile. He will challenge for “Mr. Football” next season and will likely be the district, region, and maybe even classification’s “Player of the Year.” Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
We called the show Welcome Back, Carter although it was really Welcome Back, Kotter. In any event, the Storm gets Carter Edward back for the ’24 season and this athletic, versatile, and smart player will be welcomed, in deed, when the Storm opens the season. Enjoy this edition of “Storm Warning.” Friday Night Fletch.
We have been featuring versatility this offseason and we have one for you hear. This guy plays LB,G in football as a two-way guy, wrestles, and is a middle infielder, third-baseman, outfielder, right-handed pitcher on the varsity baseball team. He also is a member of the 1,000-pound club in the weight room and all of this while having just completed his sophomore season on Kentucky’s deepest roster. If there was ever anyone deserving of some beef jerky, this guy would have to be it. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Josiah Hope played on a roster which “officially” posted a 1-10 in ’23 notwithstanding its having two “Power Fives” in its lineup. Well, most of the “Ls” were actually “Ws” turned by forfeit for self-reported violations, so don’t cry for North Hardin quite yet. Either way, the Trojans boast another top-flight, in-KY guy that the “big boys” are clamoring to impress and recruit. This feature will help you understand what makes a player a prospect and not just an outstanding Friday Nighter. Friday Night Fletch.
Line play can be hard to evaluate. When evaluating linemen, as the offensive variety really don’t have much in the way of statistics beyond “games played” and “pancakes” (if the team keeps such a statistic and not all do), one often has to look for characteristics of line dominance in making a decision regarding who to offer. Strength, power, feet agility, balance, speed, spacial quickness, hand quickness, punching power are all examples of characteristics sought. Enjoy this look at an under the radar lineman programs would do well to research thoroughly. Friday Night Fletch.
Malik Butler’s handle on Twitter is “THEREALMALIK.” Anyone who was a fan of syndicated game shows, or shows they may be old enough to remember in primetime, should remember the television show, “To Tell the Truth.” Well Franklin-Simpson’s Malik Butler is the truth and he is here to tell it. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletcher.
Kanyon Johnson is an athlete playing football in the KHSAA to whom people ascribe almost mythical feats of athleticism. We have seen him perform some of these feats and can attest to the truth comprising the legend. Still, this guy is a “hard take” if you’re coaching college football in or around the Bluegrass. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Aundreias Murphy reminds us of the late, great Audie Murphy for reasons we will explain in the piece. Our Murphy is a bit undersized and young, like the Murphy who came before him, but perhaps he may put forth such a Herculean effort. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We have been featuring versatility this offseason. It is also time to step away from the seniors graduating this semester and focus on the younger talent coming down the pipeline. Today, we focus on one of the mountain’s better ‘27s in Letcher County’s Mason Stephens. Stephens is a defensive back third guy who figures to play more and more this coming season split out wide on offense. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
The Colonels continue to amass a coaching staff which is the marvel of many around the western part of Kentucky. Coach Greenwell will be using technology to improve individual, team, and staff performance. He’s been doing it at Trinity High and they seem to be doing alright. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Football is just different in the Appalachia Mountains. First of all, football is the primary sport in that part of Kentucky and doesn’t pay “second fiddle” to basketball. They also routinely produce Gavin Johnson types who are ready to contribute early in their careers. Enjoy this feature about one of Kentucky’s better ’27 prospects. Friday Night Fletch.
Durrell Turner is entering his senior season. All he did his junior year was to lead all of 6A in rushing. What will he do in ’24? Perhaps be in the thick of the Mr. Football race. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
’25 two-way guy is one of the better athletes in Kentucky We have been featuring versatility this offseason. Dane Parsley from Warren East may be the poster-child for such an attribute. He was the team’s leading passer, leading rusher, and leading scorer. He led the team in INTs (5), IRNYs […]
Garrett Morgan has a real opportunity ahead of him in ’24. Graduation will ravage the lines of scrimmage and the program will need new opportunists to step up and pick up the yoke. Morgan appears particularly well suited to do just that. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Brooks Kerwin is the total package. He is 6’3,” 275-pounds with a 4.33 GPA and a 26 on his ACT. Kerwin is a can’t miss prospect and has started every game for the previous two years in a pass-heavy offense without allowing a single sack. He is relentless, polished, athletic, and our Mingua Beef Jerky Protein-packed Performer. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Coach Atchley continues to add to his staff at Christian County as the two area high schools march toward consolidation. The new Colonel head man appears bent on bring back on staff coaches from the not too distant past who remember what a championship caliber program resembles. Getting back Greg Abren goes a way towards bring back the program’s swag. Friday Night Fletch.
When last we heard, Catholic was going to have the Devil of a time holding on to its Mr. Football candidate at QB, Brady Atwell. It appears Owensboro Catholic has weathered the storm there. Truthfully, they did a little better than just weather that storm. They have added some big-time 2nd level talent from nearby Owensboro Senior High, Dereon Crowe. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Ian Williams may be the best linebacker in all of the western end of Kentucky. That is the point of the article really. This 6’0,” 225-pounder bench presses 315, squats 545, registered 112-tackles and 3.5 sacks a year ago all while maintaining a 3.943 GPA. Pretty impressive, enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Zach Jordan is among the most impressive OL in Kentucky in the ’26 graduating class. He has a long, thin frame which can easily add bulk without impacting his movement. He played all year along a front which facilitated one of Kentucky’s premier offensive attacks. This guy has a championship ring on his finger right now. Who knows what the future holds? Friday Night Fletch.
Russellville is a program we are accustomed to watching thrive. It wasn’t too many years ago the Panthers were taking Pikeville to the wire in the 1A title game on Kroger Field on the campus of UK. The Panthers limped through a tough season but showed some promise as young players filled spots one usually see filled by young guys. Bodes well for the future. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
The Counting Crows recorded a huge hit entitled “Mr. Jones” in 1993. We wonder if Jaiden Jones has ever heard the song. It is about two guys with dreams and how they can realize those dreams. Jaiden Jones dreams of running out under the Friday Night Lights. Time to make those dreams a reality. Friday Night Fletch.
Bo Wolford in one of the best offensive linemen in the commonwealth of Kentucky playing HS football today. The 6’3,” 280-pounder bench presses three plates, squats 500-pounds and moves meat around a football field like a bull dozer. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Alexander Daniel is similarly shaped as the famous sheriff from Selmer, Tennessee named Bufford Pusser. Pusser was 6’6,” and Daniel is only (presently) 6’3,” but there is nothing to say Daniel’s frame won’t equal or even exceed that of the former McNairy County sheriff and subject of the 1973 feature film, “Walking Tall.” Both of these men Walk mighty tall for sure. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Recruiting for the small college programs is far from over at this point. Because of that, we fear there are some programs overlooking some bone fide athletic talent through the commonwealth still on the “available” list. Kahmani Bush would certainly qualify. Here is a chance for a difference making late addition to any program’s recruiting list. You’ll thank me later. Friday Night Fletch.
Trajdon Davis is a “dude.” We will break that down for you and explain, as best we can, what that means to football people across Kentucky. The Colonels look to be a right hard out again this coming season in 6A, District 1 and Davis will have plenty to say about it. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
Aden Bolden is a prime example why there is some superior coaching going on in Calhoun, Kentucky. Bolden is a ’26 kid who is plenty athletic and outstandingly versatile and productive. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
This guy has a Hudl page but no highlights. Doing an exhaustive search for him online we came away with nothing. This guy needs a feature just to give him some online identity. We hear Mattox Allen is a good-looking athlete with plenty of skill set to find the field over the course of his sophomore season. Enjoy this look at another fine football player on the Hopkins County Central roster. Friday Night Fletch.
We have been featuring versatility this offseason. No one is any more versatile than Edmondson County’s Ace Daugherty. This guy long snaps and plays primary positions very well too. How many long-snappers are also the fourth leading rusher, or among the club leader in tackles, TFLs, and QB-sacks? Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
Grantland Rice once extolled the virtues of four Notre Dame football players he dubbed “The Four Horsemen.” Christian Academy had its own four horsemen in ’23 and they rode them to the title. Two of the four are walking the graduation stage leaving the other two behind. One of those will be RB, Jeffrey Vazzana, and he will be very good next season. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Eli Hawkins HS career is over. His college football career is just dawning. Still, we got to appreciate his prowess a final time at the 41st Annual Kentucky HS Powerlifting Championships. It was glorious as he put on quite the show. Go Cougars! Friday Night Fletch.
Sam Murray was among the most popular Colonels on the Centre roster up until his graduation in the Spring of 2022. He spent a year on the coaching staff at Eastern Washington and has now come home to help his alma mater. Enjoy this special feature. Friday Night Fletch.
This is a 6’5,” 230 pound ’25 DE who is among the most productive on field performers in the KHSAA. He has D-1s already offering and there are many more circling. Enjoy this feature about a guy who will probably make every All-State list in the commonwealth at the end of the upcoming season. Friday Night Fletch.
Trevy Barber is the most productive player at his position anywhere throughout the commonwealth of Kentucky. He was a sophomore in ’23 but that didn’t stop him from registering 84-catches, 16-of which went for TDs, for over a thousand yards (1,189). Get this, the kid also housed a kick. What a jewel for this or any roster. Enjoy this look at this superior WR/ATH in the 5A classification and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
His name is Sylas Gunn. We call him the Gunn-slinger around our offices. He is a versatile athlete with a varied and robust skill set. He is our focus in Storm Warning this week. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Talk about versatility, Tate Kruer from Covington Catholic caught passes, led his defense in stops and FFs, and was tied for the lead in FRs. This guy also sports a 4.27 GPA and has a registered 34 on his ACT. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Bo Wolford is simply the best offensive lineman Kentucky’s class of 2026 has to offer. He is physically imposing, a skilled technician, a dynamo of power, good speed, and explosion, and simply better than all the rest. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We have noticed kids of sports stars often star in the same sport and, many times, to an even greater degree. Dalton Matney is a rising junior coming off a fantastic sophomore year who looks poised to come into his own. However, he is the son of the late, great Jim Matney and those are hard shoes to attempt to fill. Coach would be very proud of how his son has competed and comported himself to this point. Enjoy the feature.
How does a high school program such as 2X defending 3A champion, CAL, replace a QB with over 4,000-yards passing in ’23 and 55-TDs against only 7-picks? How about with a 6’5,” 210 pound rising junior who is a varsity athlete in both football and basketball (just like a taller version of Hodge)! Yeah, that’ll do it. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We attended the Atchley presser. He is an impressive guy and will turn that program around lickety-split. He has some material left over around whom to build. One of those “Dude” is a “Byrd.” Jimmarion Byrd is a ’26 guy who has plus size, plus athleticism, and plus hostility and feel for the game. Jimmarion plays angrily, like anyone would want from a LB/Edge guy. Enjoy the feature and get ready for the Atchley Show. Friday Night Fletch.
Louisville’s Central High enjoys yearly consideration among the best teams in football at its level of play. QBs like Steve Smith coming off strong junior campaigns has a lot to do with that. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
We have been covering the Hopkins County Central this offseason. Frankly, it is a fun cover. For starters, they are among the more up and coming programs in the 3A classification on the western end of Kentucky. Secondly, the Storm compete in an ultra competitive district stocked with good teams and high profile coaches and players. Enjoy this look at a young player we believe will factor mightily in the Storm’s prospects this coming Fall. Friday Night Fletch.
Christian County’s ‘Big Splash’ hire makes his own ‘Big Splash’ During the Civil War, the song, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” was copyrighted and recorded in the Library of Congress in 1863. It celebrated, in song, the expected return of a family member who had left his loved ones […]
Kadence Price is a big, big boy and the son of a grown man who played at WKU himself back in the day. This is Chris Price’s son and even a cursory look at the kid reveals quite a resemblance. Young Price was the runner-up in the 250-pound weight class this past weekend at the 41st Kentucky HS Powerlifting Championships. If that isn’t worth some beef jerky we dare say we don’t know what is. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
’26 OL proving among the best in ’26 class Camden James Burke is 6’3,” and weighs 275-pounds. He got eight (8) games of run on the varsity as a sophomore playing 6A football and was derailed (by injury) from playing even more. Burke was among the club leaders in “pancake” […]
What will Johnson Central’s Eagles do for a running attack in the Fall of ’24. Well, they will turn up the Music, as in Logan Music. This ’26 RB/CB had quite the year in ’23 and really showed of what he was capable in the Breathitt game. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Pedigree may not mean everything when it comes to football but it isn’t meaningless either. We see this with the inordinate amount of former players’ sons and coaches’ sons who go on to star at the various levels of football competition from HS to the NFL. Coming from generations of people accustomed to winning at life pay dividends too, HS coaches tell us. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Trevor is a QB prospect that “QB-Hit List” believes has it all. The nationally circulated QB evaluator touts DeLacey’s accuracy, arm strength, release, his ability to throw on the run, his footwork, his ability to play with poise, and his pocket presence. Trevor has top-shelf decision making and throws the deep ball with tremendous touch. Enjoy this look at this superior QB in the 5A classification and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Michael McDaniel is a player we have before featured. He is a ’25 prospect who had an enviable frame and good length (6’1,” 195-pounds). He is a versatile athlete who also plays varsity basketball. He fits with our practice this offseason of featuring versatile athletes who are multi-phase contributors or who play a variety of varsity sports. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Austyn Lawless is one of ’27s most prolific performers. How many freshmen linebackers can boast of registering more than 100-tackles, 16-TFLs, and 6-sacks while carrying a 4.0 GPA. We wouldn’t think the number would be very big if we are being honest. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch.
Khalil White is a ’25 DE/TE with the frame colleges like to see. He is 6’3,” 200-pounds with plenty of length and the frame to add quite a bit of “good weight” this offseason. White has seen most of his action of defense but that could well change over the course of his senior season depending on what the Patriots need. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We expect a champions effort out of anyone representing Mayfield High and particularly if that person is named “Spacek.” There is a lot in a name we have come to believe. Ashby Spacek, ’25 center/tackle, will enter his senior campaign one of the more reliable, gifted, and physically imposing interior OL guys in the KHSAA. Let’s see if he lives up to the name. We are sure he will. Friday Night Fletch.
It interferes with the recruitment of many a fine prospect. It even costs some of them “offers.” Helicopter parenting is something which must be controlled. It can be helped if properly treated. Friday Night Fletch.
Tilghman ’25 LB/DE may be WKY’s top defender Jimmy Mooney is a load and one of the areas very top, second level defenders in the western-Kentucky region. He is 5/11,” 225-pounds of man. He may be an inch or two shorter than some schools would like at his position; but, […]
Carlos Mason is a very good player for the Storm. He is composed of tough material and his name may give us an indication why that is the case. Mason will be back to help lead the Storm in ’24. We can’t wait to see what that may mean for the success of the program. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Dalton Gambrel is a ’24 guy who contributed mightily to his team’s bottom line in ’23. He was rewarded by being Honorably Mentioned on the Courier-Journal’s All-State Football team. This guy was also a fine defender and contributed on special teams in addition to what he did at receiver. Enjoy this feature and and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky products. Friday Night Fletch.
Ethan Atchley is known throughout Kentucky as a program builder and a football coaching savant. Now he is known as Christian County High’s new football coach. Atchley brings a proven track record of developing college ready talent, winning and competing for championships, and building programs, which have been struggling, to commonwealth-wide prominence. This is a home-run hire for the Colonels. Friday Night Fletch.
Gage Chapman is a ’27 kid who is getting it done in the weight room. However, it needs to translate to the field and we saw glimpses of it doing just that in ’23. I will be perfectly honest here; I am a little surprised this kid didn’t play more over the course of the ’23 season. Every time his number was called, he did something great. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Tanner Wright is a guy who has been out of football, according to him, for a year. Guess what, he misses it. Football is a game one can only play when young. While Tanner is still young, he has decided to get back into a game he thinks he may have quit too early. Enjoy this feature. If you’re a college program looking to add some quality help at RB, call his number listed on his “X” page. Friday Night Fletch.
Davon Rudolph isn’t just nicknamed “Smoke,” he’s the truth. Rudolph was Ballard High’s Nickel/OLB and man; was he productive in ’23. He’s looking for a college home and that search should NOT require too much. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to get by your local Independence Bank and discover why and how our people, financial products, and services have started a revolution in the Kentucky banking industry. Friday Night Fletch.
Hopkins County Central is serious about publicizing the talent on its roster. That is why we have been engaged to write these articles. This young man here is an example of the young roster talent being developed in Morton’s Gap. This is a program headed in the right direction. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Michael Curry Jr. only played in seven (7) games in ’23 but he really played in those seven. He gained 1,124-yards on 134-carries, for 8.4 ypc, with 17-rushing TDs. He is a 3.8 student with a very bright future. Enjoythis feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch
Paducah Tilghman is loaded with athletes. With Kentucky’s top-rated Track & Field program, they are also loaded with speed. D.J. Wilson is one of the class of ’26’s top guys in the offensive backfield. Already a thousand yard rusher in his sophomore season, Paducah fans are excited about what this young man may develop into being. We think he is headed for a position among the more recruited athletes in his graduating class. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
It is hard to imagine any one football player meaning as much to his team’s bottom line as Kelson McKinney did over the course of his high school career. McKinney was the team’s leading rusher, leading scorer, was a scoring threat on special teams and on defense where he was tied for the lead in “pick-sixes.” We are coming close to the end of our coverage for the Kentucky class of ’24 but we couldn’t leave the topic without an article about this guy. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We call him “Alexander the Great” and he may not have an empire stretching from the Balkans to the modern-day Pakistan, but the original Alexander didn’t register 19-QB sacks in a single season or wrack up over 1,000-yards receiving. Who was greater? Well, right now one of the Alexanders is still writing his life’s story. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We believe in the special teams at KPGFootball and at Independence Bank. It is one-third of a football game and deserves to be highlight like the other two phases. This guy here was our all-state kicker. Enjoy the feature and get on by your local Independence Bank and enjoy the people, product, and services which have revolutionized the Kentucky banking industry! Friday Night Fletch.
We feature out of Kentucky talent when that talent is being recruited to Kentucky college programs. Hey, we are fans of the colleges and universities fielding football teams across Kentucky, as are our advertisers, so why not? This kid here is high on the Centre wish list and already holds numerous offers at prestigious schools for his services. Can the Colonels land this guy? We hope so.
The Storm have been dad-burn effective running the football of late. One reason is the bruising, All-State FB the team has enjoyed over the last four years. Another is having young linemen coming through the pipe line like ’25’s Hayden Crick. Enjoy this look at a kid who should anchor ’24’s offensive front. Friday Night Fletch.
Bradlee Baker is among the most productive stars in the Southwestern lineup. Southwestern is routinely in the title-chase in the 5A classification. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor of the country’s very finest beef jerky product. Friday Night Fletch
Shep Esper led the nation this past season in PATs, where he converted 98-straight. That is simply remarkable. The kicking game is mighty important to any football team and we celebrate the third phase of football as much or more than any of our competitors. Enjoy the article. Friday Night Fletch.
Tyson Martin from Horse Cave, Kentucky is an example of a growing trend across the Bluegrass of high school football stars making significant contributions in all three phases of a football game. The 6’1,” 190-pounder led his classification in rushing this past season and contributed mightily in every phase to include the 3.5 GPA he logged in the classroom. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
I went to Middleburg, Tennessee around a week ago to lay to rest a cousin of mine who greatly impacted those of us fortune enough to know him. He did more than that; he should us the right way to live. I shall see you again, Bill Long, in the sweet by and by.
Ulysses Porter was a freshman running back in ’23 and only saw action in eight (8) of the team’s 11-games. In spite of this, he still came perilously close to eclipsing a thousand yards. This guy looks poised to render as “heroic” a performance of the remaining three years of his high school career as the character whose name he bears. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We have had a few, two-time Revolutionary Players of the Week. Jak may well be our first three-timer. Lindsey is a mountain of a man who made our All-State football team and is headed to Souther Illinois for a little Division 1, FCS, football. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry. Friday Night Fletch
Isaac Earl is a QB who is shorter than most people seem to want. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t the perfect field general for the Storm’s offensive attack. He has been very effective running the offense in his first two seasons and there is no reason he won’t enjoy similar success over the course of his junior year. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
Giaonni Hunter has accomplished way more in the sport of football than just figuring a way to fashion a surname with 4 of its seven letters being vowels. Hunter is among the commonwealth’s very best RB/LB tandems. He plays for 4A Shelby County and he is on plenty of radars, particularly with a 3.83 GPA. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch
Sage Dawson led his team to a 15-0 finish and a title playing among the more difficult schedules in the commonwealth. He threw four over 2,500-yards, 29-TDs through the air, and was only picked off 5-times. He was his District’s and Classification’s Player of the Year and made our Large School All-State Football team. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch
This player has made every All-Whatever Team available to him in his short HS career and figures to keep making these teams. He has the nose for the football one would expect from a kid whose dad (Shorty Combs) is considered a mountain football legend and former EKU linebacking star. Kylan is also among the brightest and nicest kids the Appalachias has to offer. Enjoy this feature. Friday Night Fletch!
Steve Partin only got nine-games of run in ’23. We don’t know why he missed the other two games. With him signing with Yale of the “Ancient 8,” Ivy League, FCS, Division 1, we can’t imagine the problems was academic. This kid has used football to achieve the ultimate in distinction. He may be President of the US or a Supreme Court Justice one day. That is what a degree from a Yale or Harvard carries along with it. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch.
I don’t know whether or not you have noticed but the football fortunes of the Webster County program are on the decided “up.” Jackson Edens played a huge part in those reversal of fortunes this past Fall and figures to be prominent again in ’24. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry. Friday Night Fletch
Brasher is a name Strom Chasers are used to relying on for production on a football field or a baseball diamond. Both of the Brashers, Gaige and his big brother Jaden, have thrilled crowds with their athletic exploits for years around Morton’s Gap. Gaige is a guy our sources tell us to be on the look out for in ’24. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch.
We have before said that no All-State Football Team gets them all. We have been in the All-State Football business for years and have never published a team without some glaring omissions we thought back and mused, “Man, we should have included him.” Well, it has happened again as Tre Jackson is a guy we wish we had included. Luckily, he’s a ’25 and we get a chance to evaluate him next Fall. Till then, we offer this gift box of award winning, all-beef jerky product and a sweet T-shirt. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch
If you think we are covering the ’24s a bit longer than we usually cover the outgoing class in an off-season, you are pretty perceptive. Because we published an All-State team, we are featuring as many of those selections this offseason as the consumer base and advertisers will allow. Here is one of our All-State, Small School, RBs, JuJu Starks from Mayfield. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch
Bentley Motors Limited is a British luxury car manufacturer which makes vehicles normal people can merely dream of one day owning. Brady Bentley from Shelby Valley rendered a performance in ’23 normal people can merely dream of one day replicating. Here is a look at one of our Small School All-State WRs. Enjoy the feature. Friday Night Fletch
The Hart County Raiders had an incredible season. What will they have to do to replicate that success? Well, they will have to lean on their ’26 QB/DB it would appear to us. Good thing he is broad at the Shoulders. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch
We last wrote about this particular dual-threat, multi-phase, multi-sport star in June of 2023. In fact he was our Independence Bank Revolutionary Player that week. It isn’t every day someone wins this twice. Anyway, he had the senior season we forecast. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry. Friday Night Fletch
We talked with some departing seniors about Storm players from whom they expected a lot moving on into 2024. The answers were fascinating. One player from whom much was expected was ’26’s Kamran Harrison. In this article we will discuss all he brings to the table.
We love fullbacks at KPGFootball. Teams which employ FBs are the teams who play football the way we like to watch it. This guy here is among the very best FBs to play in Kentucky’s graduating class of 2024. That is one of the reasons he is winning the sweet T-shirt and the protein pack from Mingua Beef Jerky this week. He played for the Cardinals of Scott Count this past year and its coach, Jim McKee. Fryman helped his Cardinals finish 9-3 and just a point away from a 10-win campaign. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Hayes Johnson is wracking up the All-State team selections and has singed early to play for the UK Wildcats. He has all the tangibles an intangibles requisite to being a big-time SEC lineman going forward. Enjoy this feature about an elite player in his graduating class in the entire KHSAA.
Friday Night Fletch
Luke Pennington threw 50 TDs this past season without a single thrown INT. We suppose that is how one registers a QBR of 140.46. Pennington made our Small-School All-State Football team an has D-1s from Marshall to Austin Peay vying for his next-level services. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch
’25 QB from South Warren will enter 2024 an early Mr. Football Favorite Bryce Button made the Large School All-State Football team at QB. He did this during a year which saw records falling all over the Bluegrass from other QBs. Button was the model of efficiency, consistency, and excellence […]
Connor Hodge and his brother, Cole, both just made our Small-School All-State Football team. We collaborated on this team with NewsRadio 840 WHAS out of Louisville. Hodge’s numbers were as sick as his brother’s and both the Hodges are headed to ECU in the AAC to play collegiately together. Maybe the Hodge brothers can replicate, in FBS, Division I, the same magic they performed together in the KHSAA’s 3A classification. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry.
Friday Night Fletch
Isaac Manning had an exciting junior season which would see him make some Sports Center type receptions. He also contributed on defense in spite of limited opportunities on that side of the scrimmage line. In ’24, his senior season, it may be time to drop the reigns and just let him go. This should get plenty exciting. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
This guy here is among the very best athletes to play sports in Kentucky’s graduating class of 2024. That is one of the reasons he is winning the sweet T-shirt and the protein pack from Mingua Beef Jerky this week. He is a three-sport guy who played QB at Lexington’s Bryan Station leading his Defenders to its first Title-game appearance in 24-years. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Kohnner Trent had a special season. Matter of fact, the entire Raider roster had an unprecedented level of success under Chad Griffin, one of Kentucky’s hottest commodities in the coaching community. Enjoy this look at a kid coming off an All-State selection. Who knows what the future will hold?
Friday Night Fletch
College recruiters are always inquiring and searching for an attribute known as “growth potential.” Growth potential is (basically) the likelihood a prospect’s best football and pronounced physical development still lies ahead of him. These are the “late bloomers.” Jacob Parker may embody this attribute better than any player who made either our Small or Large School All-State Football Teams. Enjoy this feature about a kid the Colonels are spending plenty of time trying to lure to Danville.
Friday Nigh Fletch
He’s now know throughout Kentucky as “Friday Night Fletch.” We have known him as Fletcher Long since coming online many years ago. He has personally authored well over 1,300 articles on the topic of middle and high school football and is known throughout Kentucky as the leading expert on middle and high school football and its stars and coaches. He didn’t want us to publish this. He was outvoted. Enjoy this recognition long overdue for my friend and partner. Greg Gough.
Evan Hampton may be the top baseball prospect in Kentucky’s ’26 graduating class. How good is he? Well, he’s already committed to play for UK and that is one of the better programs in the SEC; which is, in turn, the elite conference in NCAA baseball throughout the country. Hampton isn’t just good at baseball. The sophomore RB made the 840WHAS & KPGFootball Big-School All-Sate Football team. Enjoy the feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry.
Friday Night Fletch
He has been the dispositive player at the FB position in the KHSAA for (at least) two seasons. Now, he’s moving on to the college game. We had to spill our last quill of ink on this kid’s making this all-state football team. Enjoy the feature.
Friday Night Fletch
This guy here is off to a great postseason. He made our “Big School” All-State Football Team, was named the ’23 Defensive Player of the Year,” and appears headed to play collegiately at the FBS, Division I level. First we thought we might load him up with some protein-rich, all-beef jerky and a sweet T-Shirt. Congratulations to Bryan Station’s TJ Haskins, JR. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor.
Friday Night Fletch
Garrison McKinney may have been the best offensive lineman on the best offensive line in Kentucky in ’23. The production accumulated behind these guys was phenomenal. LCA played the hardest schedule in Kentucky and McKinney was a constant through it all. Enjoy this feature.
Friday Night Fletch
We don’t know exactly from where the term “Pancake” block originated though we will attempt to trace it in this article. We do know one when we see one and it leaves the defender flat on his back like a pancake. They don’t call this buy “Pancake” Pellman because it sounds swell. They call him that for a very valid reason. Enjoy the article.
William Carrico plays on a team with plenty of star power at Owensboro Catholic. Between his brother, Vince, and Brady Atwell, a guy who may be the best QB in the commonwealth and on his way to a “Mr. Football” award, it can get lost in shuffle, sometimes, just what kind of sensational year William Carrico has given his fans, coaches, and team. We at Independence Bank and KPGFootball have noticed. So will you as soon as you read this article. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to celebrate with us the services, people, and financial products which have caused a revolution in Kentucky’s banking industry. Friday Night Fletch
We have tried to spread the jerky around the commonwealth and attempt to not double-award it too often. Some of these guys make it near impossible. Brady Atwell, who has before won the prize, puts up jerky-worthy numbers nearly every week. Perhaps that is why the team is 14-0 and on the cusp of a 2A title. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor. Friday Night Fletch
