Who wins 4A? Better find a storm shelter, a Blue Tornado looks like it is on the way! @pths_football, @BCRebelFootball, @FootballJCHS, @Tomcat_football, @CovCathFootball, @PCCHSFootball, @AlPopsFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @840WHAS, @sfitz_840whas

Martels Carter, photo credited on image

’24 may be the year of inclement weather as the “Blue Tornado” look poised to make a charge

Class 4A is a tough one to pick as it is, like last season, among the deeper classifications with good teams located all over the commonwealth. Paducah Tilghman has tremendous talent and Boyle County may boast the best overall football player in the ’25 graduating class. Covington Catholic lost a ton, but they are the Colonels (after all) which means they are always formidable. This is a deep, deep level of competition and winning this classification is significant.

HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”

Likely 4A Champions in '24: 
Paducah Tilghman's "Blue Tornado",
'23 record: 13-1 losing in the semis on the road at Covington Catholic

The “Blue Tornado” are due and have the most stacked roster in the classification. Boyle is always tough; but hey, they can’t win this thing every year, can they?

Returning: 

Jack James, ’25 QB, 255 for 375 for 4,019 ad 56-TDs against 6-picks; second leading rusher with 247-yards on 52-carries, 6-rushing TDs 

Demarkus Wilson, ’26 RB, 1,054-yards from scrimmage in 138-carries with 14-TDs; 15-receptions, 2-aerial TDs

Martels Carter, ’25 WR/DB, “Mr. Football Contender;” 17-rushes, 214-yards, 3-TDs; 43-receptions, 1,066-yards receiving, 10-TDs; housed 5-punts and a KO to lead the team in scoring (114-points); 44-tackles, 1-TFL, FF, 2-FRs, 3-INTs

Jimmy Mooney, ’25 LB, 90-tackles, 6-TFLs, 2-sacks, FR

Xavier Cleary, OL/DL ’25, 55-tackles, 10-TFLs

Vanzale Hinton, ’25 safety, committed to Vanderbilt; three-star, nationally ranked prospect, transfer from Tennessee

Jarvis Strickland, ’26 OL, led the team in pancakes and is the highest rated prospect in his class, at any position, among Kentucky ’26s

Gone: 

Shep Esper, PK, 98-made PATs, this could end up being one Hell of a miss. Overlooked part of the game.

JoeAvion Starks, 17-Receiving TDs, 102-points scored

Uriah Virzi, 11-TFLs

First Runner-up: Boyle County High Rebels, 
'23 record: 15-0, 4A Kentucky Champions,
4th Consecutive Title

Boyle is going to miss the Bodner kid who contributed to the bottom line in many different ways. They still have Quisenberry and the best coaching staff in the KHSAA. Sage Dawson will be felt too, as his play at QB last year was often overlook and under-appreciated.

Returning:

Justin Haddix, one of the best coaches in the game presently. His being on the sideline can’t be discounted.

Montavin Quisenberry, ’25 WR,DB, an odds-on “Mr. Football” preseason favorite, he contributes to a team in a multitude of ways. In ’23, “Q” had scored in a variety of ways; Q had 800-rushing yards in 82-carries with 18-rushing TDs; Q had 43-pass receptions, 864-yards receiving, and 12-TDs receiving; Q scored 210-points (18-TDs rushing, 12-TDs receiving, 3-punt returns, 2-KOs); Q registered 51-tackles, 4-TFLs, 2-FFs, a FR, 2-INTs

Austin Bodner, 47-tackles, 3-TFLs, a FF and a FR, 1-INT he returned 26-yards

Gage Feltner, ’25 LB, 5.5-TFLs, 5-sacks, 2-FFs, 1-FR

Bryce Bullock, DL ’25, 10-TFLs and 4-sacks

Demauriah Brown, ’25 DB, 5-INTS, 88-IRNYs, 30-receptions and 5-TDs receiving

Gone: 

Avery Bodner, 1,274-yard rusher, 22-ground scores, 29-receptions 4-TDs, 2nd leading scorer, leading tackler, 2-FFs, 2-FRs, 1-INT, 7-QB sacks, 15-TFLs

Sage Dawson, QB, 137 of 194, 2,509-yards passing, 29-TDs against 5-picks, 385-yards rushing, 4-TDs rushing, 24-tackles, 2.5-TFLs

Josh Bixler, DE, 6-sacks, 4-TFLs

Ranked 3rd in 4A: Paul Blazer High, Ashland, KY; 
'23 record, 10-2, lost to Cov. Cath. in round two (2)
by seven (7), 35-28 in Covington

These guys are just a few years off a 3A title before moving up to 4A. These guys can flat ball and weren’t too far off from getting to Kroger last season. They have some real weapons at their disposal.

Returning:

LaBryant Strader, QB ’25, threw for 1,813-yards and 20-TDs against a lone pick; ran for 201-yards and seven (7) TDs

Braxton Jennings, ’25 WR/DB, 104-rushing attempts for 807-yards and 15-TDs, 22-receptions for 536-yards and 5-TDs, leading scorer, 3-INTs on defense and a pick six

Cameron Davis, ’26, RB, DB, caught 20-passes for 362-yards and 4-TDs, ran for 460-yards and 6-TDs, was the second leading scorer scoring in all three phases (6-rushing, 4-receiving, 1-pick six, 2-KOs and a 2-point conversion for 80-points)

Maverick Ashby, ’27 DB/RB, 59-tackles, 3-picks, 1-pick six, 5-rushing TDs from his RB post, averaging 12.5-yards over 28-carries

Gone: 

Brandon Houston, WR, leading receiver

Asher Adkins, WR, 7-receiving TDs

Sawyer Edens, leading tackler

Jake Sexton, 3-sacks and 10-TFLs

Tucker Rogers, 3-sacks and 5-TFLs

Ranked 4th, 4A, Preseason; 
The Corbin High Redounds '23 Record, 12-1;
Lost to Boyle in Round Two, 21-14, in Danville

If we’re being honest, Corbin and Boyle were the two best teams in 4A in 2023. Too bad they met in the second round in stead of later down the road.

Returning:

’25 QB, Kade Elam returns after completing 149 of 210-passing attempts for 2,443-yards and 27-TDs against 3-picks; Elam rushed for 267-yards and 9-ground scores

Cam Estep, ’26 QB, WR, DB, averaged over 10-yards a carry, scored a TD every sixth or so carry, caught 37-passes for 483-yards and six (6)-scores, 

Noah Cima, ’25 WR/DB/PK, converted on 60 of 61-PATs and 3 for 3 on FGs.

Gone: 

Guy Bailey, leading rusher/leading scorer

Carter Stewart, 53-receptions, 1,071 yards receiving, 14-TDs/second leading scorer

Jacob Smith and Jared Smith, pair of ’24 four-star rated, national recruits the pair registered 25-TFLs and 13-sacks between them; they will NOT be easy to replace

Jeremiah Gilbert, 4-picks

Tied for 5th, 4A, Preseason, 
Johnson Central's Eagles, '23 record 9-4,
lost to Covington Catholic in the Regional Finals

This team is accustomed to making playoff runs, particularly in Kentucky’s 4A classification. The Eagles boast some of the best ’27s around and they may be a year or two away. However, that being said, they can never truly be discounted in this or any season.

Returning: 

Logan Music, ’26 RB/DB, 813-yards in 93-carries 7-TDs, 2nd leading receiver, 4th leading scorer in ’23, 1-INT

Logan Morrow, ’26 RB, 620-yards rushing and 11-TDs

Dalton Matney, ’26 RB/LB, close to 7-yards a carry and a TD every 14-carries, 63-tackles, 6-TFLs, 2-sacks

Seth Davis, ’25 LB, 52-tackles, 4-TFLs, 2-sacks, 3-FRs, an INT

Brayden Shepherd, ’27 DB, 2-INTs

Dylan LeMaster, ’27 LB, 55-tackles, 3.5-TFLs, 2.5-sacks

Gone: 

Jacob Grimm, QB, 607-passing, 135-rushing

Carter Conley, 1,101-yards and 10-TDs

Christian Barnes, 998-yards from scrimmage and 13-TDs

Connor Music, DL,  6.5 TFLs, 6-sacks

Tied for 5th in 4A, Preseason, 
Covington Catholic Colonels, '23 record 14-1;
4A Finalist last season losing big to Boyle (41-0)

Covington Catholic suffered some huge, personnel losses as we will discuss. Still, at the end of the day, they are Covington Catholic and they expect to be there at the end.

Returning:

Joseph “Cash” Harney, ’26 QB, DB, 5-INTs, 138-IRNYs, and a pick-six; 

Tate Kruer, ’25 LB/TE, 112-tackles and two sacks, 3-FFs, 2-FRs, 1-INT, close to 24-yards per reception at TE and a pair of TDs

They are still Covington Catholic

Gone:

Evan Pitzer, QB, threw for 2,592-yards and 32-TDs; ran for 637 and 11-TDs, big loss

Owen Lean, leading rusher, 860-yards and 12-TDs rushing 

Braylon Miller, 62-receptions 881-yards and 8-TDs

Willie Rodriquez, TE/LB, 29-receptions 12 of which were TDs, 3rd leading scorer, 48-tackles, 3-TFLs, 3-sacks, 1-FF, 1-FR, 

Josh Flood, 2nd leading tackler

Ben Reeves, 7-sacks

Others to watch:

“Mr. B”

Perry County Central: These guys are very well coached and have been stockpiling quite a bit of talent. They won 7-games in ’23 and lost to Boyle County in the second round. Tough draw. Kizer Slone has moved along at the QB position but we have a prediction for you. Transfer, Aaron Johnson ’26 QB, from Breathitt can do it! He makes all the right reads, can make all the throws, and has been excellently trained to play the position. Little brother, Bryson “Mr. B” Johnson, ’28 LB is very likely to see the field night one, snap one.

Franklin County seems to always be in the thick of things. They were 13-1 a year ago and lost to Boyle in the Regionals. We nearly ranked them in our top five, being honest, we just thought the Flyers were in a bit of a rebuild mold. They are very likely to make us look foolish.

Taylor County is coming off a nine (9) win season and Scott Parkey can flat coach. Look for these guys to vie for consideration as they should begin the year in the top-10 easily.

This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!

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About Fletcher Long 1669 Articles
Two-time winner of Kentucky Press Association awards for excellence in writing and reporting news stories while Managing Editor of the Jackson (KY) Times-Voice

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