We have wandered through the abyss that is the KHSAA “Dead Period” and into now the third day of real preparation for the 2019 season. While June practices are volitional, there is nothing volitional about July. We will be hard at it all the way up and to the August openers.
This is our third and final installment of a three part series where we will (boldly, we might add) predict each and every district winner before the season even begins. Today, we will pick the district winners from Classes 2 and 1A. We have enjoyed doing this and it has sparked the type of spirited debate we hoped it would.
Predicting the respective district champions for all 6 Kentucky classifications was as fun as we hoped and we shall see at the end of the year how we did…
Class 2A…
District One…
Well Mayfield is the class of district one, year in and year out, but they may have some competition out of Caldwell County who has moved down from the 3A classification. Caldwell will run a completely different offense with the departure of superstar QB Joby Jaggers but the Tigers from Princeton are always tough and always very well coached. Layton Davis, who made our KPGFootball freshman All-State team, is a budding superstar as an interior defensive lineman and running back DeEric Hollowell, who gained nearly a thousand yards a year ago will be the emphasis of the offense in 2019 instead of Jaggers to Parker or Jaggers to Riley. Russ Beshear and Tate Vanhooser will run the defense and they are really good and will only be juniors next year. As for Mayfield, well they went 14-1 last season and lost the State Championship to a team which has been re-classified. QB Jaden Stinson returns and all he did last year was throw for 2,931 yards and 35 TDs against only 4 thrown interceptions. With his completing 145 of 222 passing attempts, his QB rating had to have been just sick. Kent Trey Matthews and Connor Gutherie are both departed to play on Saturdays and they take a ton of ground production with them (over 3,100 yards rushing and 41 rushing TDs between the two) so that can’t be ignored. However, Stinson will still have Neely, Perry and Diaz to target down the field so the passing game returns almost completely intact. Murray High School was pretty good a year ago and has a super-star returning in Sebastian Lawrence at DE. Ballard Memorial and Fort Campbell are non-factors in this district though Fort Campbell can point to a time when they were elite. Ballard Memorial gets scheduled for a lot of homecomings if that tells you anything. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Mayfield.
District two…
One would think Owensboro Catholic would be the odds-on favorite to win this district like virtually every other year. They have Drew Hartz back and he has been one of the classification’s very best QBs for the two previous years. Hard to conceive he won’t be outstanding again in 2019. Catholic is a team which is coached up to an incredible level and they take run of the mill talent and develop the talent to where it plays exceptional football. Hats off to that coaching staff. It would appear McLean County and Todd County would battle it out for the 2 and 3 slots. McLean is also very well coached and coming off an 8-4 2018 season. Peyton Caraway, who ran from scrimmage for over 1,000 yards in 2018, will be back and Coach Wagner always seems to find some big boys to clear the way for the RBs. Todd County is an interesting team. First of all we love JaTwan Graham at RB. Graham is a 5-10, 240-pounder who is pretty darn fast (4.78 forty). He doesn’t have any shake but he really doesn’t need it, he’s going to run over you. Teams will get plenty tired of getting pummeled by him before everything is said and done. KPGFootball has seen Todd County practice a few times this year and they are disciplined, hard-nosed, and absolutely huge. Dakota Foster who plays offensive center is a 6-2, 270 pounder who bench presses 365. Justin “The Big Show” Waldrop is a 340 pound monster who isn’t sloppy and can play on both sides of the ball, Darrion Woodruff has the chance to be special at ILB and Omarion Riddick, a transfer from Class 5A Christian County High School is a true sub-4.5, forty guy. Don’t know how long Todd County Central can keep Coach Darell Keith as his star is certainly on the rise and his son, Joshuah Keith is entering 8th grade as Kentucky’s top dual-threat QB in his graduating class. Assuming Keith stays and Joshuah comes up and assumes the reins next year, the Rebels are poised to go on an unprecedented run. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Owensboro Catholic, by a hair over Todd County Central.
District Three…
We believe Clinton County will be the team to beat in District three which pits Clinton and Edmondson County with three teams none of whom were very good in 2018 in Green, Metcalfe, and Monroe Counties. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Clinton County.
District Four…
Historically, Danville has been a very tradition rich team in the 2A classification. Just in 2017, Danville was 15-0 and took home the trophy. The Admirals still have one of the best linebackers in Kentucky in Darrian Bell. Lexington Christian went 9-4 a year ago with 8 freshman principally participating, and, by the end of the year none of the freshmen were freshmen any longer. Now they are sophomores and LCA is poised to make an incredible run. Anthony Johns, Xavier Brown, Tyler Morris, and Elijah Hammond will all be special, special players before it is said and done and they are really good now. Somerset has two of the better players in 2A football. Kaiya Sheron has been offered by UK to play QB, when he is no longer a Briar Jumper, and Kade Grundy is a U of L baseball commit who may be the best athlete in his graduating class. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Lexington Christian.
District Five…
Walton Verona was 11-3 a year ago and a state semi-finalist in the 2A classification. They appear to be a clear choice in the fifth district. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Walton Verona.
District Six…
Beechwood is the reigning State Champion in the 1A Classification. They also won it in 2017 and 2016, while playing for it and losing to Pikeville in 2015. Plainly stated they are darn good. How much difference with the up-tick in classification make? Not enough. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Beechwood.
District Seven…
It would appear to us “Bloody Breathitt” is back and the days of glory may be upon us on the River Bank once more. District Player of the Year Braxton O’Hara is back from leading the team on an 8-game winning streak in 2018 before dropping out of the 3A playoffs courtesy of Bell County. Dalton Manns is returning with O’Hara and he carried it 55 times in 2018 for 413 yards and three scores. In the offseason, the Bobcats have added a star player from Indiana in Lane Weddle who, playing for Salem High School in Indiana’s playoffs against Charlestown, caught 7 passes for 162 receiving yards and a score in a game Salem won 27-20. The Bobcats also got a transfer in Charles Collins at RB. All he has done the past two years is gain 3,478 yards rushing and score 50 rushing TDs playing football in the 5A classification. The Bobcats also add the AP’s first team all-state center from 2018 in William Long who also happens to be a two-time Kentucky Powerlifting Champion in the 250-pound weight class in spite of only recently exiting his second year in high school. If it is true that Brandon Slaughter will return with his 37 receptions for 785 receiving yards and 8 TD receptions he contributed offensively in 2018, and his two interceptions he contributed defensively, look out! Breathitt’s main competition will come via the trifecta of Morgan County, Middlesboro, who has added Larry French from Southwestern High to coach this year’s team, and Leslie County, who boasts two-time KPGFootball All-State LB Preston Spurlock. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Breathitt County.
District Eight…
There is a player at Shelby Valley we call “Choke-Slammer.” His name is Peyton Blackburn and his patented combine, one on one move is to choke-slam his defensive counterpart to the turf. It’s really impressive and has gained him quite a lot of notoriety. That move might draw a flag in a game, but it would appear to us Blackburn has learned some impressive moves to deploy on Friday night too. For one, he has become the premier RT/G prospect in all of Kentucky’s 2020 graduating class; and, for two, he helped lead Shelby Valley to a 10-2 finish in 2018 by choke-slamming, figuratively if not literally, at least 10 of its opponents. We believe Shelby Valley will choke-slam district 8 and if they have any potential threat it will come from Bath County. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Shelby Valley.
Class 1A…
District One…
Crittenden County has been the best team, at least historically, in this district. Crittenden County was 11-2 in 2018 and bowed out of the playoffs in the Regional Finals at the hands of Campbellsville who has one of the better QBs in Class 1A in Aaron Hash. Sean Thompson’s Rockets will face some stern competition this year in the face of HC James Bridges and his hard-charging Fulton County Pilots. The Pilots have the best RB on the western end of the commonwealth by many accounts in Caleb Kimble and Broc Bridges is a player whose length, speed, and athleticism have many forecasting big things out of this DE/TE combo standout. If they get good QB play in 2019, the Rockets may find a new Pilot steering the district one ship. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Crittenden County.
District Two…
Louisville Holy Cross landed the biggest prize in Louisville last year when Kentucky’s very highest regarded prospect in the Class of 2022 enrolled there to play LT. Kiyaunta Goodwin is 6-8 and weighs around 330-pounds and you won’t see his like around the 1A classification that often. Goodwin’s presence, sadly, wasn’t enough to offset the “other stuff” they didn’t have as Holy Cross, 6-6 in 2017, slipped to 4-6 a year ago. Campbellsville was 12-2 last year and advanced to the Semi-finals where they bowed out to State Champion Beechwood. Well, Beechwood, 2A’s dilemma now, won’t stand in the way in 2019. Aaron Hash is one of the best QBs in his class having been named to both our freshman and sophomore All-State Football teams. His old buddy Reggie Thomas, a favorite target of his in middle school, is rounding into form too. Campbellsville is in a week district and will get no fight from any of its district counter-parts. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Campbellsville.
District Three…
Frankfort should have its way with district three but could see some competition come out of Kentucky Country Day which has been known to field some strong teams in its history (11-2 in 2017 before going 6-6 last year). Still, Frankfort handled KCD at home last year 41-15 and we believe the district championship is still trending that way. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Frankfort.
District Four…
Newport Central Catholic comes down from Class 2A to be re-aligned in Class 1A, District 4. Ludlow was the District bully in 2018 but Ludlow played Newport last year with Newport beating Ludlow thoroughly 43-19. Was that a precursor for times forthcoming? We think so. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Newport Central Catholic.
District Five…
There are two things in this District you have to wonder. First, when is the district’s most storied program, Paris, going to be back to where it customarily used to be? Second, how badly will the David Jones’ hire at Bourbon County hurt Paris? A lot of the more urban talent which has traditionally attended Paris may feel an attraction to play for Bourbon and Jones’ staff. It’s just too early to tell. Still, this district appears to be a contest mainly between four well-matched and relatively equal teams. Brossart was 6-5 a year ago and returns many important pieces from the 2018 team. Still Nicholas County was 8-4 in 2018 and the “Kings of the District” in 2018 though they lost to Paris, in Paris, 26-8. Bracken County can’t be discounted either as they were 6-5 in 2018 and lost to Nicholas County by a margin of 6 points in Carlisle. This one is a toss-up with all four teams in the district able to beat the other on any given night. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Nicholas County.
District Six…
Paintsville is one of the elite teams in the 1A Classification. So is Raceland. The two teams are pretty equally matched with Raceland beating Paintsville in the Regional Finals in 2018, 14-7. Just weeks earlier, Paintsville went to Raceland and beat the Rams on its own turf 6-0. For the year, the teams played twice and the score ended up Raceland 14, Paintsville 13. This one could go either way. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Paintsville.
District Seven…
Hazard is a darn good football team which, in any district not including Pikeville, would be an easy pick. However Pikeville, which lost a year ago to Beechwood by a single point in the State Championship Game, features the best QB in Kentucky’s Class of 2022 in Isaac McNamee, two of the best WR/DB combos in Jackson Hensley and Seth Pugh, two stud linebackers who happen to be related in Carson and Connor Wright, and have had two elite 2023 offensive guards transfer in from Hazard, of all places, in the Sayers twins, Peyton and Mason. Oh yeah, we know they are freshmen, but the Sayers twins start, day-one/snap-one, for 99% of Kentucky high schools regardless of its classification, just saying. While we would like to pick Hazard, because they are really a talented, well-coached bunch, Pikeville is the best football team in all of the classification and our favorite to win the whole thing. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Pikeville.
District Eight…
Lynn Camp showed in 2018 they really had a high-powered offense when they torched Williamsburg for 44 points in October. Problem is, Williamsburg scored 72 in that same game we dubbed the “No-Defense Bowl.” Williamburg made it to Pikeville last year to play for the Regional Championship and got drubbed 57-16 in a game not that close, believe it or not. Still, Pikeville is in District Seven, not Eight, and Williamsburg was 9-3 a year ago with many important pieces returning. KPGFootball’s predicted district champion is Williamsburg.
There it is folks, the 2A and 1A classifications broken down for you. We hope you enjoyed this look at who we think will take home district crowns this year and some of the teams we believe will be right on the cusp should they not win the title.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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