As a sort of twist on our regular series Friday Night Weekly Winners, since there are some incredibly big match-ups this particular upcoming Friday which figure to prominently impact the title picture in all six classifications, we decided to name this week’s article Judgment Day. For many of these teams below, this is the week where they will either “put-up” or be forced to “shut-up.” Make no mistakes where you are, This is It! Kenny Loggins.
We thought it would be fun to include with this article the way in which the CalPreps.com algorithm sees the games hashing-out, so to speak, this coming Friday. On some of these match-ups we agree and on others, well, we will dare to be different. However, we are including the information from CalPreps.com as included on the MaxPreps.com’s weekly matchups for your edification. We would also like to thank our friends at @KyHighFootball on Twitter who identified the below as its games of the week. Incidentally, the numbers to the left of the school’s name is the AP ranking in this week’s poll for its classification.
(7) Simon Kenton 3-2 @ (2) Johnson Central 4-0…
On the computer it looks as though this game will be an easy one for the Eagles of Johnson Central. This is another example of how classification in Kentucky is practically meaningless. Simon Kenton is ranked 7th in this week’s Class 6A poll and Johnson Central is ranked 2nd in the Class 4A poll. You will see how little that matters Friday night…
KPGFootball weekly winner…Johnson Central
(4) Williamsburg 4-1 @ (4) Lexington Christian 4-1…
This match-up pits one of the premier programs in Class 1A in Williamsburg against LCA, one of Class 2A’s premier programs. Anyone who thinks stepping up to Class 2A isn’t tough should ask three-time defending Class 1A football champion, Beechwood (1-4, Yikes), how they are liking it. LCA is on a roll and we believe will factor prominently in the 2A State Football Championship with the horses to win it all. Class 2A is still playing really good football in Kentucky even without the teams which defected for 2019 to the 3A classification.
KPGFootball weekly winner…LCA
(6) Logan County 5-0 @ (3) Madisonville-North Hopkins 5-0…
Here is a premier match-up in the 4A classification against two teams who each could win the whole thing. That is, excepting the fact they are in the same district and Hoptown, also in the district is ranked just one slot lower than Logan County in this week’s AP poll. District 1 may be one of the best in the 4A classification. This is a coin-toss really. We are taking Logan County to upset the Maroons. Everyone has been critical of the Logan scheduled implying they haven’t played anyone. After this week, that will no longer be fairly said.
KPGFootball weekly winner…Logan County
(3) Breathitt County 5-0 @ Middlesboro 4-1…
Speaking of teams criticized for having a light schedule, let me introduce you to the Breathitt County Bobcats. Breathitt County has beaten South Laurel handily (43-8, Honey Bowl) and South Laurel did receive some Class 5A, top-10 votes in the AP poll this week. Middlesboro has it rolling under coaching legend, Larry French, in his first year at Middlesboro with first-year, varsity football player, Jabari Kyle. Breathitt County will prove this week they are truly back and, light schedule or not, the Bobcats will have to be dealt with coming out of the East in the Class 2A State Football Championship hunt.
KPGFootball weekly winner…Breathitt County
(7) Newport Central Catholic 3-2 @ (8)Newport 5-0…
Here’s another pick-em game between two schools who both play really good football. Speaking of Class 2A East Kentucky teams who figure to be in the Championship hunt, don’t forget about Newport. We like Newport to win this game largely because they are at home.
KPGFootball weekly winner…Newport
(6) Owensboro Catholic 4-1 @ (9) Todd County Central…
The conventional wisdom here is to pick Catholic. They always win Class 2A’s second district and Todd County Central is always fighting for the bottom in the same district. This is a strange year in Kentucky high school football and nothing is stranger than Todd County sitting at 5-0, with wins over two, Class 4A football teams. This is the first time, since 1974, the Rebels have started a season 5-0 and the first time in program history the Rebels have spent 4 consecutive weeks in the AP’s weekly Top-10, Class 2A poll. The Rebels can’t turn the ball over and they need to keep Ja’Twan Graham powering the football down the field and keep the ball out of the hands of Catholic’s All-State QB candidate, Drew Hartz. It goes against every fiber of our picking inclination but, what the Hell, we are drinking the Rebel Kool-aide.
KPGFootball weekly winner (and we will likely be the only entity in Kentucky picking this game this way)…Todd County Central
(7) Bowling Green @ (8) Corbin 2-2…
Coach Haddix shared with me preseason he was somewhat concerned with his QB play with Estep having taken his talents onto the college baseball diamond. Through the first four games one thing is apparent, Cameron Combs is no Chase Estep. However, Corbin is Corbin and they are always tough. Bowling Green on the other hand is 3-2 on the year having lost to Father Ryan out of Nashville, Tennessee, at team 2-10 in 2018 and 1-4 so far in 2019. In other words, this wasn’t some Nashville powerhouse coming into Bowling Green and beating the Purples in week zero. It was a cause for concern and we sounded the alarm bell. Since then, it can be fairly said Coach Spader has the Purples playing better with a 28-14 set-back to Saint Xavier the only blemish.
KPGFooball weekly winner…Bowling Green
(4) South Warren 5-0 @ (2) Glasgow 5-0…
Let’s just clear the air here. We believe South Warren may be Kentucky’s best high school football team at any classification. We know them to be exceedingly well coached. The Spartans may not be quite as good as Male or Trinity, which we dispute, but they aren’t too far off and the fact they haven’t been getting any consideration for 5A’s top team is surprising to us. We are not the biggest believers in Glasgow but they could radically change that around with a good showing this coming Friday night.
KPGFooball weekly winner…South Warren
(5) Highlands 4-1 @ (1) Boyle Co. 5-0…
Boyle County is intimidating. What they did to CAL on this past Friday night (71-28) is sickening. Highlands’ only loss on the year was by three points on a neutral field to a Knoxville Catholic team ranked 16th in the entire state of Tennessee and 793rd in the Nation. Boyle County is ranked 3rd in Kentucky regardless of classification and 4A’s best team by about a mile. They are ranked 379th in the Nation, well ahead of Knoxville Catholic and this game is in Danville, Kentucky and that field will be anything but neutral.
KPGFooball weekly winner…Boyle County
(2) Trinity 4-1 @ (4) St. Xavier 4-1…
When these two teams meet you literally can throw out the record-books, there is no telling what will happen. Saint Xavier would never admit this but David Wallace was brought to Louisville by the catholic school to compete with Trinity with the Louisville urban athlete looking for a premier program at which to play high school football and on the football field itself. Well, in Wallace’s first year Saint Xavier won this same match-up 21-7. However, that being said this isn’t last year’s Shamrock squad and it took Louisville Male two overtimes to overcome them. Sorry Saint Xavier, we think Trinity is just better than you.
KPGFooball weekly winner…Trinity
(3) Scott County 5-0 @ Frederick Douglass 5-0…
Scott County and Frederick Douglass are two of the best football teams at any classification in the Lexington area. Both teams are undefeated and both teams are now Class 5A football teams and both are highly ranked in the Class 5A AP poll, week after week. Can’t imagine how good this Frederick Douglass team would have been had Dekel Crowdus not up and moved to IMG virtually in the middle of the night before the season opener. Even without Crowdus, Frederick Douglass is crazy good what with Burton and Parks around to anchor the roster with D-1, FBS Power-5 talent.
KPGFooball weekly winner…Frederick Douglass
These are Kentucky’s marquee match-ups for this coming Friday night. We will continue to pick games of interest throughout the season. Hope you enjoyed the commentary. We are sure roughly half of you will not.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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