Preseason Top Five in 3A plus a few more @BelfryFootball1, @TriggFootball, @centurions_fb, @CHSJacketFB, @echsfb, @LexCath @AlPopFootball @840WHAS @sfitz_840whas

Can Christian Academy-Louisville (CAL) be unseated from the top spot?

Some teams seem to absorb losses with little to no impact. This seems doubly true of private schools, particularly in the Lexington/Louisville areas. CAL has some pieces returning but they lost a very big piece we will below discuss. Will they enter the season in the top spot in the 3A classification? Who better in Kentucky than the great “Friday Night Fletch” to lead us through this discourse? Let’s talk about it!

HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”

’24 3A Champions…We Like Those Pirates from Belfry High

2023 Record: 8-4; lost to a finalist, Bell County High, in round two by a two point margin on Pond Creek in the CAM

Returning:

First and foremost, the Pirates return Kentucky’s all-time, winningest head football coach, Phillip Haywood. Haywood, by our count, is sitting around 480-or so wins with 8-titles to his credit. Any year he is at the helm, his team is in contention.

Great teams are built on upfront players. Belfry features one of the top OLs in football and the premier guard in the KHSAA, Bo Wolford (’26, G, 6’3,” 290-pounds), anchors that line and may end up a “Mr. Football” candidate before his time on Pond Creek is done.

Wolford clips off 40-yard dashes in 5.4-seconds, runs the short shuttle in 4.9-seconds, and didn’t allow a QB-sack the entire ’23 season. 

Wolford benches 345, squats 525, power cleans 265 and has never made as much as a “B” in all the years he has attended school. Wolford would be his class’s valedictorian, if the ’26’s graduated today (unweighted). 

Linemen with the physical prowess of a Bo Wolford don’t come along every day. Linemen who can move like Wolford don’t come around every day. Linemen as cerebral as Wolford come around once a career, if the coach is extremely lucky. 

Wolford didn’t allow a sack in ’23

Friday Night Fletch

Chase Varney was effective (’26, QB) throwing the football in ’23 and threw for 877-yards, a robust figure for a Belfry team. He completed nearly 62% of his passing attempts and had a 10:1 TD to INT ratio. 

Ace Caudill, 26 RB, figures to fill the shoes left by Caden Woolum and Dre Young. 

Nick Savage, ’26 PK, 92.3% conversion rate on PATs (48 of 52)

Dante Davis, ’27, 67-tackles, 3-sacks, a FF, abd 2-FRs

Eli Caudill, ’27 DB, 3-picks

JB Woolum, ’27 DB, 2-picks

Gone:

Caden Woolum, 1,102-yards rushing 12-TDs; 25-receptions, 511-yards an 7-TDs receiving

Dre Young, 932-yards rushing and 19-TDs

Coy Queen, 109-tackles, 7-sacks

Runners-up: Union County Braves, seemingly always in the hunt without ever actually “getting there”

2023 Record: 11-2; lost by three points to Hart County in the Regional Championship Game

Returning:

Jarren Johnson, ’25 dual threat QB, returns and he had a 2:1 TD to INT ratio, throwing the football and was the team’s leading rusher in ’23 with 2,091-yards gained from scrimmage and 33-rushing TDs. Johnson averaged close to 9-yards per rushing attempt over 233-carries.

William McPeake, ’26 FB, 148-carries, 1,084-yards and 11-TDs; 2nd on the team in scoring, had one of the team’s two pick-sixes

Abreyan Fletcher, ’26 WR, led the team in TDs receiving and second in number of receptions and yards gained receiving; 3rd on the team in ’23 in scoring 

Kevin Sabino, ’25 PK, 93.5% PAT conversion rate

Kamden Davis, ’25 OL/DL. 7.5 TFLs and 11-sacks to go with 2-FFs and an INT

Amare Black, ’25 LB, 7-TFLs and 8.5-sacks with 3-FFs

Luke Thomas, ’26 DB, 6-INTs, 

Koleby Schroeder, ’25 DB, 4-INTs

Gone:

Leading receiver Duncan Mills

Rylan George, DB

No. 3, Christian Academy-Louisville (CAL)

How does a high school, 3A team replace 4,000-passing yards, its leading rusher, and a QB who threw for 57-TDs?

14-1 record in ‘123, 3A KHSAA Champions

Returning:

The answer to the above question may be, with his brother. Connor Hodge caught 23-receiving TDs, housed two (2)-pick-sixes, four (4)-two pointers, a safety, and scored or accounted for 160-points; The younger Hodge also caught 114-receptions for 1,494-yards while contributing 11-INTs, 177-IRNYs, 2-pick sixes on the defensive side of the ball.

Jeffrey Vazzana, ’26, gained 613 yards and scored 11-TDs on 95-carries; caught 25-balls and scored 6-TDs receiving while compiling 284-yards in receptions.

Madden Miller, PK, ’27, 44-PATs, 91.7% conversion rate on PATs, 50% on FGs

Garyon Hobbs, ’27, LB, 90-tackles, 26-TFLs, 7-sacks, a FF, 2-FRs making him among the best defenders, his age, in Kentucky

Gone:

Cole Hodge, 4,104 yards passing and 57-TDs; also leading rusher

Justin Ruffin, 86-receptions, 1,379-yards receiving, 18-TDs, 2nd leading scorer

No. 4, Always Tough, Lexington Catholic

9-5 in ’23, losing in the semis to the 3A Champions, CAL

Returning:

Joaquin Pereira, ’26 RB, leading rusher in ’23

Jackson Kreutzer, ’25 WR, 59-receptions, 872-yards receiving, 9-TDs

Matthew Kern, ’25 WR, 28-receptions, 455-yards and 5-TDs

Finnegan Wedding, ’25 PK, 63-PATs, 2-FGs, led team with 69-points scored

Brady Wasik, 88-tackles, 9-TFLs, 1-sack

Gone:

Jackson Wasik, QB, 2,785-yards passing and 31-TDs against 3-picks

Sam Clements, WR/DB, second on the team in scoring in ’23

Cannon Mackley, Small-School All-Stater a year ago, 2-picks with a pick-six

Central’s Cortez Stone may be the premier RB playing in the KHSAA at any classification

Friday Night Fletch

No. 5, One can never count out Central High (Louisville) and Marvin Dantzler

7-6 in ’23, lost the Regional Championship Game to CAL

Returning: 

Perhaps Kentucky’s premier RB in the entire commonwealth regardless of classification. Cortez Stone, ’25 RB, 278-rushes, 1,871-yards rushing, 23-TDs; averaged 16.58-yards per reception swinging out of the backfield. Stone scored 158-points in ’23 to lead the team, to include a whopping seven (7) two-pointers.

Steve Smith returns at QB where he threw for 1,203-yards and 14-TDs. Smith was the team’s second leading rusher from scrimmage.

Keivon Smith, ’25 WR, also returns from a season which would see him lead the team in receptions, yards gained receiving, and TDs receiving. Keivon Smith is the PK and converted on 66.7% of his PATs a year ago. 

Amontez Woolfolk, the second leading receiver is also returning

Avaion Johnson-McNeal was the ball club’s top tackler and he is back at his DB post for the ’24 season. Johnson-McNeil is a ’25 guy who also led the team with 4-INTs.

Justin Brents, ’25, Javion Wallace, ’25, and Jermaine Walker, ’26, all return in the defensive back-four and comprise one of the better back thirds in the KHSAA. Together with Johnson-McNeil, the four picked 13-passes in ’23. Can you say “no-fly zone?”

Gone:

Gemel Smith, OL/DL, Smith led the front in ’23 with 8-sacks. He was an extremely active player along the defensive front and will be sorely missed.

You better also look out for…

Trigg County, the Wildcats have a young phenom at QB in Timmy Williams (’28) and one of the better RBs on the western end of Kentucky in ’26’s Devaree Gude. The Wildcats were a QB away from a much better season last year. They may have just found “the Guy.”

East Carter, Coach Tim Champlin’s boys were 9-3 and an overtime away from beating Bell County, a 3A finalist in ’23, and moving on to the next round. Landon Yoak returns, ’26 RB, and he gained 1,434-yards in ’23 and scored 21-rushing TDs.

Bell County, We are big believers in HOF coaching. Dudley Hilton makes such a big difference on any sideline that his being there, alone, is enough to merit consideration. Bell County suffered huge losses to graduation, including “Mr. Football,” Daniel Thomas. But, hey, they still have Dudley Hilton. I would take that predicament any year.

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

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