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 Tigers’ omission will be clarified in this article. These two battled, in Bardstown, to open the ’23 season and Cooper started its run to Lexington with a 35-14 triumph. What will be the outcome this year? Why? We’ll get into these answers in this article.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball
Bardstown feels they have something to prove. The preseason, hype-driven literature suggests as much.
Bardstown was 14-1 in ’22 and played for the 3A title, which the Tigers lost to Christian Academy-Louisville (CAL). The Tigers moved up to 4A in ’23, won eight games, and lost the Regional Championship game, in Franklin, KY, to a very stout and tradition-rich, Franklin County Flyers program, but by a relatively slim, eight (8) point margin (37-29).
Cooper, in ’23, won the opening game in Bardstown, Kentucky, 35-14, and marched to Lexington, Kentucky as a 5A finalist, losing to Bowling Green (Senior) High, 28-14. That was last season. It is 2024 now and getting time for kick-off.
Bardstown travels to Union, Kentucky in a few weeks to open with a Cooper team which was “young” a year ago and has many weapons returning. What returns for the Tigers? Let’s get into it.
Bardstown High
'23 record: 8-5
Bardstown's Classification/District: 4A, D-2
This year's tilt: at Cooper (Union, KY)
Cooper's '23 Record: 12-3
Cooper's Classification/District 5A Finalist, D-6)
Last Year's outcome: Cooper beat Bardstown 35-14 in Bardstown in ’23
Bardstown Returns:
QB-Armonti Marshall, ’25, 51 of 94 for 953-yards and 9-TDs; 862-yards rushing for 13-TDs
Alex Wood, 20 of 24-PATs and a FG, ’25
Tylan Spalding, 3-picks, ’27
Jayvon Bailey, 1-INT returned 43-yards, ’27
Tykeem Taul-Williams, ’25, 2-INTs for 46-IRNYs
Bardstown Lost
Tyleeq Williams 1,834-yards and 20-rushing TDs; 25-receptions for 422 and 4-TDs; leading scorer. This loss can’t be overstated. This is a huge, gaping hole on the Tigers being as good as they were in either ’22 or ’23.
Tate Blincoe, 29-PATs and 5-FGs. Hard to overstate the loss of a specialist the ability of Blincoe.
Kris Sauter, 1-FF, 4-FRs, 6-sacks. This is a guy who evinced a penchant for making big plays.
Cooper High Returns
QB, Cam O’Hara, ’26, threw for 3,361-yards and 47-TDs in ’23; ran for a score, completed about 66% of his passes in ’23 (239 of 367).
RB, Keagan Maher, ’26, rushed for 1,204-yards and 18-TDs in 185-carries; caught 28-balls from out of the backfield with 4-TDs receiving.
Isaiah Johnson, ’25, caught 76-passes for 1,372-yards and 21-TDs easily among the most prolific pass-catchers in the commonwealth of Kentucky at any level of competition.
Austin Alexander, Alexander is the nephew of one of the KHSAA’s greatest players in history (Shawn Alexander). Alexander is also an early favorite for “Mr. Football” and the Gatorade, Kentucky Player of the Year. Alexander, ’25, caught 67-passes for 1,138-yards and 19-TDs; had 19-sacks, an INT, and eight (8)-TFLs on defense.
Ryker Campbell, ’26, 5-INTs
Isaac Brown, ’25, four (4)-picks
Austin Perriman, ’26, Two (2)-INTs, one (1)-pick-six, 95-IRNYs
Cooper High Lost
Carson Taylor, PK, converted 67-PATs and was 5 for 5 on FGs. Big miss.
Jack Lonaker, OL/DL, he was as steady as they came, led the team in tackles, forced three fumbles while recovering two. Lonaker will be sorely missed.
Our Call
It is very difficult to pick a “winner” in an opener. We don’t have any data save the data from last season. That being said, the Jaguars from Cooper return nearly in tact and the Tigers from Bardstown graduated one of the better RBs in the Bluegrass from a season ago. Both of these teams are well coached and have plenty of talent. Cooper can hang and bang with anyone.
We like the Jags here over the Tigers, at home, 42-7.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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