Both have scheduled tough games, both have good teams; who wins tonight?
To say these two teams don’t like each other is grossly understated. I have mistakenly tied the other’s mascot to a feature about the opposite team and fielded calls chewing my backside over the error. Both of these teams field outstanding athletes and football players. Both of these teams benefit from the very best in high school coaching in both head coaches and assistants. Both of these teams benefit from the very best in facilities and support. At the end of the day, these teams are pretty evenly matched in spite of Catholic being 3-1 and Christian being 1-3. We will break down this matchup and give you our unique perspective.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Lexington, KY: They call this game The Holy War all over the commonwealth of Kentucky. Lexington Catholic travels across town to play Lexington Christian in a game which has major implications for bragging rights and in the lives of the athletes, their families, their friends, classmates, faculties, and coaching staffs.
It has major implications to both communities. It may not share actual characteristics with real Holy Wars; but, you would be wasting your breath, at Lexington Christian tonight, attempting to explain away the difference.
We researched it and a Holy War “…is a conflict primarily fought for religious motives, where participants believe they are fulfilling a divine command and may receive spiritual rewards for their efforts.” That part of the definition (from Wikipedia) seems to fit.
Throughout history, a prime example of a Holy War includes, but isn’t limited to, the Christian Crusades from the Middle Ages (which they may choose to re-christen this rivalry). The Christian Crusades comprised the several and varied attempts to wrestle back control of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Empire. On second thought, may not be as fitting a name for this rivalry as Holy War after all.
Regardless, both staffs and players from both programs would tell you they are responding tonight to a divine mandate, a characteristic of Holy Wars, and the mandate directs them, requires them, to win this football game! It is a near religious goal which brings with it a special set of spiritual rewards to the side finishing on the winning side of tonight’s scoreboard.
The Combatants;
Lexington Catholic comes into tonight’s game 3-1 on the year. Catholic is ranked 28th in the commonwealth, among all classes, according to MaxPreps.com.
Catholic lost its opener to a very good 6A program in Ballard (Louisville), 19-6. The Knights have rebounded to beat 6A Dunbar (Lexington); 4A multi-state title holder, Boyle County, in Lexington; and 6A Great Crossing, also in Lexington.
Lexington Christian comes into tonight’s game 1-3. Christian is ranked by MaxPreps.com the 23rd best football team in the KHSAA, regardless of enrollment size. The Eagles have played a tough schedule and are battle tested and ready for about anything.
Christian beat a good (and ranked in 6A) North Hardin team to open the season before traveling to Danville and losing to Boyle County by seven (7). LCA was blown out by Christian Academy-Louisville. Being blown out by the Centurions isn’t as bad as it sounds.
Christian Academy-Louisville (CAL) is ranked second (2nd) in KY (all classes), according to MaxPreps.com, and CAL is the 3A defending champions. The Centurions are undefeated (4-0) and have blown out Pikeville and Owensboro Senior (5A) and traveled to Union, KY and beat the Ryle Raiders, one of the top 6A programs in the commonwealth.
Saying the Eagles are 1-3 is a bit misleading, albeit true. If you are handicapping this game, we aren’t sure what their record, to this point, actually tells you.
Players to watch;
Brady Wasik, ’26, is having a tremendous season for the Knights. He has thrown for 321-yards and a pair of TDs without a thrown INT and has rushed for 362-yards with four (4) TDs on the ground.
Wasik is the second leading tackler with 28-stops, seven (7) TFLs, and three and a half (3.5) QB-sacks. Wasik’s sack total is second only to Mark Hosinski’s (’27), who has four (4) sacks on the year through his first four (4) games of action.
Look out for Baird Woodall (’28) in the back third. Woodall has a pair of INTs, in his four games, and he has returned these INTs 80-yards, one of which he housed for a “pick-six,” the club’s only one of those on the year.
As for Lexington Christian, the team sort of goes as its front goes for the Eagles. The Eagles retooled this offseason an offensive front which graduated five guys off of last year’s team all playing college football this year.
A guy who played a lot as a freshman, and who is having an All-State-caliber year as a sophomore, is Matthew Montgomery. Montgomery (6’1,” 230-pounds) anchors a line of scrimmage which has thrown for 616-yards and three (3) TDs while rushing for 585-yards and 11-TDs through its first four (4) games.
Nash Whelan (’27), much like his counterpart (Brady Wasik), leads the team in passing (513-yards, pair of TDs) and rushing (344-yards and 6-TDs) while also netting top honors on the ball club in “scoring.”
Thomas Sizemore leads the defense in tackles (37) and is among the leaders in TFLs (2). Logan Mays (’26) leads the club in sacks (2) and TFLs (3).
Our Call;
We like the homesteading Eagles in the game. They are at home, certainly don’t want to slip to 1-4, and are (at the very least) as good a ball club as the visiting Knights.
Both teams played Boyle County to vastly different outcomes. Catholic beat the Rebels in Lexington by 10-points while Christian lost to Boyle County in Danville by seven (7).
Playing Boyle County in Danville is an altogether different proposition than playing them at your place. If you don’t believe Danville is a tough place to invade and escape with a victory, ask Fort Thomas Highlands.
The Bluebirds just dropped a game last weekend to the Rebels (21-20) and were among the hottest teams in Kentucky entering that game. Highlands had beaten Frederick Douglass (6A) and Cooper (5A defending finalist from ’24) prior to traveling to Boyle.
We like the Eagles to hold home ground over the Knights tonight by 3-points...the final score will be 27-24
Go out tonight and support your team. We will see you at the game…
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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