Cortez Stone

Markezz Hightower, they always call him ‘Mr. Touchdown;’ soon, they may call him ‘Mr. Football’ @markezz_25, @BlueGreyFB, @All_American_Me, @Maroon_FB_MNHHS, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @LasatersCoffee, @khassfootball, @KyHighFootball

July 15, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Markezz Hightower maybe this season’s Cortez Stone (Central High, Lou., ’25). What do we mean? We mean Hightower might be Kentucky’s elite RB in the commonwealth at any classification of competition. Hightower is 5’10,” 185-pounds who clips off the 40 in the 4.5 range with a vertical (35-inches) that collaborates the running time. Hightower clips off the 100-meters in 11-seconds, squats 450, deadlifts 515, and cleans 230. He may be Mr. Football, or so we think anyway. Enjoy this feature on a kid who we support for “Mr. Football” and who should be in the thick of the race all season long provided he continues to produce at a similar clip to his first three seasons.

Friday Night Fletch

KPGFootball’s Preseason Top-Five (3A) @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 19, 2025 Fletcher Long 1

It is that time of year. It is time to start figuring which teams, entering the ’25 season, figure to factor in the title chase. We have detailed what we think here and it is based on our study of the incoming, ’25 rosters, what players return, what players graduated, and other various factors we have perfected through the years to render such predictions. We plan to do this for all of Kentucky’s six (6) classifications and there is no guarantee we will go in order from the top down, or the bottom to the top. There are good football teams in the KHSAA and there are bad ones and those teams span all of the six classes. Enjoy today’s look at 3A. Keep checking back as we may drop another class any time we feel like it.

Friday Night Fletch

RB Cortez Stone, from Central High (Louisville), is the @minguabeefjerky Protein-packed Performer of the Week @8gocrazzyyRB @AlPopsFootball @KyHighFootball

August 6, 2024 Fletcher Long 0

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.

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

July 26, 2024 Fletcher Long 1

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.

Steve Smith, ’25 QB from Central High, is the @1776Bank Revolutionary Player of the Week @CoachDantzler @Steve2mith @840WHAS @minguabeefjerky

February 16, 2024 Fletcher Long 0

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.

Make no mistake about it, Central High’s (Louisville) Cortez is a Stone-cold Killa on the football field- @8gocrazzyy @CHSJacketFB @1776Bank @PrepSpin @KyHighFootball @MaxPreps @minguabeefjerky @HopkinsCentral @evans02_mike @840WHAS @sfitz_840whas

October 2, 2023 Fletcher Long 1

We have written about Cortez Stone for years. We also were among the very first to recognize him as ’25’s top running back, commonwealth-wide. His junior season hasn’t been changing anyone’s mind around our offices. Enjoy the feature. FL.

Cortez Stone, ’25 RB, has his Yellow Jackets ‘sting-crazy’ and headed to Russellville. Stone is also the @minguabeefjerky ‘Protein-packed Performer’ of the Week. @DLCoach_Danford @LippertScouting @austin_rayno @coachadler @Coach_CotterLWC @BryanAult @RyanRayno3 @1776Bank @PrepSpin @KyHighFootball @kyhighs @HLpreps @MaxPreps @8gocrazzyy @teeroyhowell @CHSJacketFB @loucentralsport @CHSJACKETS

November 16, 2022 Henry Lyon 1

Cortez Stone was the best RB in Kentucky as a freshman among ’25’s in our opinion. He hasn’t slumped any this sophomore season either. In round two he carried his team to a convincing victory. How much farther can he carry the Yellow Jackets? Don’t know, that road through Russellville and Logan County High is a killer. Enjoy this article and don’t forget to make the time to #savortheflavor of the country finest all-beef jerky products. HB.

In the Running…Lots of performances around Kentucky-candidates for @minguabeefjerky ‘Protein-packed Performer’ award. @1776Bank @KyHighFootball @MaxPreps @PrepSpin

October 11, 2021 Henry Lyon 0

We had another big week and so did these guys we have featured in this weekly series. This week we feature 27-current stars, one coach, and two teams among the performances “singled out.” We believe one of these guys is very likely to win the Mingua Beef Jerky Award this Wednesday. We know this…there isn’t a bad choice in this entire article. Enjoy this look at some of the very fine performances we saw this past Friday night. HB.