Who wins the Madison Central-Bryan Station rematch? Predictions for every Class 6A district final.
It’s district championship week in Class 6A’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.
Class 6A features three games in which a top 10 team will go home because of how the second round is structured. Some are coin flips, others have clear favorites, but all are popcorn worthy events from the top of the card featuring No. 1 Male against No. 8 Bullitt East to lowest combined rating game between No. 23 Tates Creek against No. 15 Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Here’s a brief summary of what I think will be one of this week’s best Class 6A 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 8
No. 7 Madison Central (8-3) at No. 3 Bryan Station (10-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: Bryan Station won 21-13 at Madison Central on Oct. 22.
Why Madison Central will win: Ground and pound. Coach Mike Holcomb’s offense is more than happy to punish opposing defenses 4 yards at a time and keep the other team’s offense off the field. The Indians rank second in Class 6A with 2,436 yards of rushing offense led by Brady Hensley’s 1,196 yards and 21 TDs. Hensley’s 120 yards per game average ranks fourth in Class 6A. His backfield mate Adrien Parks averages 71 yards per game and has six TDs. The best way to limit Bryan Station’s big play offense might be to keep them off the field as much as possible.
Why Bryan Station will win: Big-play ability. The Defenders have a lot of ways to hurt you offensively as Madison Central found out last time. JaeVon Hurt scored on pass plays of 58 and 78 yards in that game and the other TD was a 67-yard pass to J’Marious Lindsay. Wideout Damin Green has had big games rushing and receiving this year. And sophomore quarterback Trenton Cutwright has been a sensation, throwing for 1,974 yards and 21 TDs while helping a still very potent ground game with 396 yards and four scores. Station offers two very different looks at running back with the 5-5 Joseph Bond alternating with the 6-1½ Jeremiah Mundy-Lloyd to the tune of 1,336 combined yards and 10 TDs rushing.
@HLpreps pick: Bryan Station.
The rest of the field
DISTRICT 1
No. 13 Henderson County (7-4) at No. 4 Daviess County (10-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: Daviess County defeated visiting Henderson County 38-17 on Oct. 15.
@HLpreps pick: Daviess County.
DISTRICT 2
No. 21 North Hardin (4-7) at No. 14 Central Hardin (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Central Hardin defeated visiting North Hardin 26-21 on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: North Hardin.
DISTRICT 3
No. 10 Manual (8-3) at No. 2 St. Xavier (10-1), 7 p.m.
Last time: St. Xavier won 42-10 at Manual on Oct. 8.
@HLpreps pick: St. Xavier.
DISTRICT 4
No. 8 Bullitt East (8-3) at No. 1 Male (10-0), 7 p.m.
Last time: Male defeated visiting Bullitt East 55-14 on Oct. 22.
@HLpreps pick: Male.
DISTRICT 5
No. 9 Ballard (8-3) at No. 19 Trinity (4-7), 7 p.m.
Last time: Trinity won 20-17 at Ballard on Oct. 8.
@HLpreps pick: Trinity.
DISTRICT 6
No. 11 Dixie Heights (7-6) at No. 6 Ryle (8-3), 7 p.m.
Last time: Ryle won 13-12 at Dixie Heights on Oct. 15.
@HLpreps pick: Dixie Heights.
DISTRICT 7
No. 23 Tates Creek (3-8) at No. 15 Paul Laurence Dunbar (6-5), 6:30 p.m.
Last time: Dunbar defeated visiting Tates Creek 35-26 on Oct. 7.
@HLpreps pick: Dunbar.
Notes
Last year’s @HLpreps picks in the Class 6A district finals: 6-1 (One game canceled because of COVID-19).
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 12:00 PM.
