Who wins the Frankfort-KCD rematch? Predictions for every Class A district final.
It’s district championship week in Class A’s 2021 UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals and that means some of the top-rated teams in Kentucky face elimination as they square off against familiar foes with win-or-go-home stakes.
Every win from here on earns a bigger and bigger trophy.
Among notable games this Friday in Class A is the District 7 contest between No. 9 Hazard and No. 2 Pikeville, a matchup that yielded perhaps the biggest upset of the year when the Bulldogs stunned the defending state champion Panthers 21-12 in a game sealed by Max Johnson’s pick-six in the final minutes.
There are plenty of other great games as teams aim to prove that their regular-season result between each other just a few weeks ago was either an unlucky fluke or a steppingstone to their crowning glory.
Here’s a brief summary of what I think will be one of this week’s best Class A contests, plus a quick look at the rest of the lineup with my picks. All rankings are according to the final week KHSAA RPI which will be used to seed the next round.
Featured matchup
(All game times local to site)
DISTRICT 3
No. 15 Frankfort (7-4) at No. 4 Kentucky Country Day (9-2), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: KCD won 28-20 at Frankfort.
Why Frankfort will win: Redemption. The Panthers have to feel they let a close contest with KCD get away last time. Frankfort lost the turnover battle 2-1 with a fumble and an interception, and KCD scored the final TD of the first half on a 49-yard pass play with one second left, a huge, back-breaking moment going into the locker room. But Frankfort didn’t quit, scoring in the fourth quarter to get back into the game. Frankfort has two rushers near 1,000 yards: Azeno Williams (971 yards, 11 TDs) and Jaden Morgan (861 yards, 12 TDs) and both had big games last week.
Why Kentucky County Day will win: Experience. While KCD graduated 13 seniors off last year’s state runners-up, the Bearcats have a number of players back from that team, most notably quarterback Luke Russo (709 yards, nine TDs passing; 361 yards, five TDs rushing) and running backs Eric Dickerson (899 yards, 15 TDs rushing) and Nathan Caldwell (606 yards, nine TDs rushing). Russo is a four-year starter at QB. Caldwell gets after it at linebacker as well. Dickerson is also KCD’s top receiving threat with 468 yards and seven touchdowns.
@HLpreps pick: Frankfort.
The rest of the field
DISTRICT 1
No. 16 Crittenden County (5-6) at No. 1 Russellville (9-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: Russellville won 27-0 at Crittenden County on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: Russellville.
DISTRICT 2
No. 8 Holy Cross (Louisville) (9-3) at No. 7 Bethlehem (9-2), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: Bethlehem defeated visiting Holy Cross 34-0 on Oct. 8.
@HLpreps pick: Bethlehem.
DISTRICT 4
No. 21 Dayton (5-6) at No. 11 Newport Central Catholic (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Newport Central Catholic defeated visiting Dayton 23-6 on Oct. 15.
@HLpreps pick: Newport Central Catholic.
DISTRICT 5
No. 18 Nicholas County (7-5) at No. 5 Bishop Brossart (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: Brossart defeated visiting Nicholas County 14-0 on Oct. 1.
@HLpreps pick: Bishop Brossart.
DISTRICT 6
No. 14 Paintsville (6-5) at No. 3 Raceland (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: Raceland won 36-19 at Paintsville on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: Raceland.
DISTRICT 7
No. 9 Hazard (8-4) at No. 2 Pikeville (10-2), 7 p.m.
Last time: Pikeville won 17-0 at Hazard on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: Pikeville.
DISTRICT 8
No. 17 Pineville (8-3) at No. 14 Williamsburg (7-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Williamsburg defeated visiting Pineville 21-13 on Oct. 15.
@HLpreps pick: Williamsburg.
Notes
Last year’s @HLpreps picks in the Class A district finals: 7-1.
Reminder: The KHSAA website’s posted brackets in each class do not reflect next week’s regional matchups accurately at this time. Once all results are in, the brackets will be reset to reflect RPI seedings for next week’s respective east and west regionals.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
