Who wins the Scott Co.-Douglass showdown? Predictions for every Class 5A district final.
It’s district championship week in Class 5A’s 2021 UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals and that means some of the top-rated teams in the state 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 5A is the District 1 battle between No. 7 Graves County and No. 3 Owensboro. The Red Devils have barely skipped a beat since star quarterback Gavin Wimsatt bolted early to Rutgers after just three games played. Junior Kasey Boone has stepped right in and run the offense admirably with nearly 1,000 yards and 16 TDs passing. Graves County has Clint McKee, one of the top rushers in the state with 1,538 yards and 32 touchdowns.
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 5A 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 6
No. 15 Scott County (6-5) at No. 2 Frederick Douglass (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Why Scott County will win: A fast start, defense and turnovers. Scott County must score early and capitalize on turnovers. Playing catch-up against the Broncos with a run-heavy offense has been difficult for the Cardinals in their last several meetings. Scott County’s defense kept their last game with Douglass close for a half, but the offense couldn’t get started. If the Cardinals can run the ball with the standouts that have emerged over the last few weeks — Luke Colvin and Ellis Huguely — and get a great game from dynamic playmaker Jeremy Hamilton (more than 800 total yards and 11 TDs), Scott County could pull the upset.
Why Douglass will win: Ball security and playing smart. In two seasons Douglass has lost three games. All have come down to two issues: turnovers and penalties. The Broncos are talented enough to overcome some setbacks, but they can’t spot teams 21 points like they did against Owensboro in last year’s state semis or 27 points as they did two weeks ago against Boyle County. Samuel Cornett, Douglass’s 6-foot-6 quarterback, on Tuesday announced he would accept a preferred walk-on offer by Louisville. He has thrown for 1,822 yards and 19 TDs and has Kentucky commit Dane Key (667 yards, seven TDs) and the dangerous Cameron Dunn (445 yards, six TDs) among his targets. Douglass’s running back committee has 1,094 yards and 28 TDs. If Douglass can play a clean game, it can beat just about anyone.
Last time: Douglass defeated visiting Scott County 35-0 on Sept. 24.
@HLpreps pick: Douglass.
The rest of the field
DISTRICT 1:
No. 7 Graves County (9-2) at No. 3 Owensboro (10-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: Owensboro won 35-28 at Graves County on Oct. 15.
@HLpreps pick: Graves County.
DISTRICT 2
No. 16 Bowling Green (6-5) at No. 4 South Warren (10-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: South Warren defeated visiting Bowling Green 36-7 on Oct. 1.
@HLpreps pick: South Warren.
DISTRICT 3
No. 21 Fairdale (7-5) at No. 18 Bullitt Central (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Bullitt Central defeated visiting Fairdale 37-14 on Sept. 24.
@HLpreps pick: Bullitt Central.
DISTRICT 4
No. 24 Atherton (6-5) at No. 12 South Oldham (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: South Oldham won 48-14 at Atherton on Oct. 1.
@HLpreps pick: South Oldham.
DISTRICT 5
No. 17 Conner (7-4) at No. 6 Covington Catholic (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Covington Catholic won 27-7 at Conner.
@HLpreps pick: Covington Catholic.
DISTRICT 7
No. 20 West Jessamine (5-5) at No. 1 Woodford County (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: Woodford County defeated visiting West Jessamine 60-14 on Oct. 1.
@HLpreps pick: Woodford County.
DISTRICT 8
No. 11 Pulaski County (7-4) at No. 5 Southwestern (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Last time: Southwestern won 42-14 at Pulaski County on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: Southwestern.
Notes
Last year’s @HLpreps picks in the Class 5A 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 11, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
