Who wins the 7th grade, KYMSFA Crown? Here’s how we see it!

It is the biggest weekend in Middle School football in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and it is an event not too many states can boast of hosting. Yes, we have middle school football state Champions in Kentucky and yes, it is both legitimate and quite an accomplishment. These programs are the lifeblood of the high school programs they will supply with players, and most often, teams with strong middle school football programs also are heavyweights in the KHSAA as well. We will tell you what we know of the Semis and forecast which two teams we believe will play for the 7th Grade, State Championship trophy and which one is most likely to emerge with the Championship.

Region 1 Champion, McCracken County vs. Region 3 Champion, Johnson County;

Like we have before said, middle school football, because of the rather speculative way in which it is seeded, is often times rife with upsets in its playoff brackets. Here’s a for instance…McCracken was the 6 seed in Region 1. They beat 11th seeded Marshall County, 36-14. They beat 3rd seeded Edmondson County, 30-8. They beat 15th seeded Logan County, which had gotten to the Regional Semis by beating the 2nd seeded, Franklin-Simpson, 22-5 (in what might have been the upset of the tournament), 58-6. For the finale, McCracken humiliated top-seed Bowling Green Junior High’s 7th grade team, 36-0, to win the Regional 1 Championship. We talked to some Logan County coaches last evening who assured KPGFootball McCracken is the best 7th grade team it has ever seen. Of course losing to a team 58-6 does lend itself to that perspective.

McCracken will face Johnson County‘s 7th grade team, the Region 3 Champion. JCMS has to be one of the most unlikely stories to ever make a State Semi-final. In 2018, Johnson County came out the gate 1-3 in its first 4 games before rebounding to win 6 of its next 8 and beating Elkhorn for the Regional Crown. The Eagles enter the Semis with an understated, and misleading 7-5 seasonal record. To be fair, JCMS did play 4, 8th grade squads, going 1-3 over the four games, which is why we call the record misleading. JCMS beat Bondurant, 40-0, before dispatching Lexington Catholic, 38-22. In the Region 3 Championship Game, Johnson County outlasted Elkhorn, 18-12.

KPGFootball’s Call…McCracken has been described to KPGFootball as the fastest team in Kentucky at its level of play. How they got seeded 6th in the Region is an example of the flaws in the KYMSFA seeding process. Johnson County has defied all the odds in just getting to Lexington. We think it is time to turn out the lights…the party’s over for Johnson County. We are taking McCracken in the Region 1 vs. Region 3 Semi-final.

Region 2 Champion, Caudill, vs. Region 4 Champion, South Pulaski;

Right off the bat, KYMSFA fans should note Caudill has been here before, and won, advancing to the State Title game in 7th grade football just last year. Caudill beat Woodford in the 2 versus 3 game, 52-0, before winning the Region 2 Crown, 38-6, over Clark County. Caudill will enter the game with South Pulaski having not been seriously challenged in its Regional bracket. How will Caudill respond to encountering a team it isn’t likely to run out of the stadium? Well, that is the rub now isn’t it?

South Pulaski had a tougher road to get to the Semi-final against Caudill. South Pulaski, seeded 3rd in Region 4, had to beat 6th seeded, Wayne County, which it did, 41-0. The sledding got considerably tougher when it got matched up with 2nd seeded and Defending 7th Grade State Football Champion, Corbin. However, South Pulaski answered any lingering questions about its legitimacy in dispatching the Redhounds, 14-6. In the Regional Championship, South Pulaski entered the game with neighboring North Pulaski, the Region’s 5th seed, North Pulaski, was fresh off eliminating the Region’s top seed, North Laurel, who entered bracket play the favorite to win the Region 4 Championship. The tough part about North’s eliminating the top-seeded club in the Regional Semis is it still had another game to play. In the Championship game, South Pulaski beat North Pulaski, 28-0, for the right to face Caudill in the Region 2 vs. Region 4, Semi-final, this weekend.

KPGFootball’s Call…We may be totally wrong here and both these teams made light work of its Regional bracket (for the most part) but we are more impressed with the road traveled by South Pulaski (and its win over Corbin) and, therefore, we believe South Pulaski will advance to face McCracken.

Who wins the Trophy? It is KPGFootball’s firm believe that speed, in football, both thrills and kills. We are taking the collection of greyhound, freaky-fast, athletes on the McCracken Mustangs 7th Grade roster to win it all in 2018.

Reporting for KPGFootball, this is Fletcher Long reminding all of the ballers out there that #WeGotUCovered and to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE.