Tough draws, Cinderellas, payback games. High school football playoffs hit third round.
Last week, 48 district football champions were crowned — eight in each of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s six classes.
This week, the KHSAA splits each respective class’s field — east and west — for the third round of the UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals, also known as the region championships.
The west has Districts 1-4. The east has Districts 5-8. Each class’s top seeds on either side of the state reap the benefits of the RPI rating they earned during the regular season and get to host their lowest remaining respective seed.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far and some notes on what’s ahead:
Tough regional draws for top teams
While the RPI-seeded system theoretically paves an easier path for top teams to bulldoze their way to Kroger Field’s finals, there are some matchups this week pitting the top flight against each other.
▪ In Class 3A, undefeated No. 3 Bardstown (12-0) travels to No. 2 Glasgow (11-1).
▪ In Class 4A, undefeated No. 3 Corbin (12-0) hosts ever-dangerous No. 4 Johnson Central (10-2), a perennial championship contender.
▪ In Class 6A, No. 4 Daviess County (11-1) must go to No. 2 St. Xavier (11-1).
Meanwhile, in Classes A and 5A, all of the top seeds, Nos. 1-4, control their own destiny against lower-rated opponents.
In Class 2A, that almost holds true as undefeated No. 5 Middlesboro subs in for a No. 4 Danville team that got knocked out by No. 1 Lexington Christian last week in the district finals.
The high school football postseason is unique among KHSAA sports in that its district and regional championship rounds are an integrated part of the overall tournament in each class. We don’t think of basketball that way, for instance, where the state tournament is confined to meaning the Sweet 16 teams left.
Because the KHSAA has been reseeding its football brackets for the regionals and semifinals since 2019, the posted brackets on the KHSAA website for each class do not accurately reflect next week’s state semifinals matchups at this time. So, don’t look ahead — the bracket forward isn’t real. Once all results are in, the brackets will be reset to reflect RPI seedings. In contrast to this week, next week the top-rated team will play the lowest-rated team in each respective class regardless of east/west considerations.
Cinderella teams: real and fake
Class 6A features the most unlikely of underdogs.
Let the KHSAA RPI ratings present to you No. 19(!) Trinity, the two-time defending and 27-time state champion, who will go on the road this week to face No. 6 Ryle.
The Shamrocks’ low ranking owes to their losing record (5-7) and the fact that the KHSAA RPI formula undervalues the out-of-state opponents Trinity typically faces.
Despite the losses, media members participating in the weekly Associated Press poll consistently ranked the Shamrocks in the top 10 during the regular season, much to the consternation of fans of other teams who couldn’t understand how anyone could rank a losing team ahead of their favorite team.
But the Shamrocks have begun showing why.
First-year head coach Jay Cobb has Trinity humming in the postseason as evidenced by their 40-0 shellacking of No. 9 Ballard last week.
Senior running back Armon Tucker rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns against the Bruins. The Shamrocks’ defense not only shut out Ballard, they held an 8-4 Class 6A team to minus-3 total yards. Good luck, everybody.
Traditional Class 3A power Belfry (6-6) also looks a bit out of place with its No. 14 rating. The Pirates rallied in the second half of the season after a putrid 0-5 start against a difficult schedule.
That said, there are a number of more legitimate Cinderellas this week.
▪ In Class A, No. 11 Newport Central Catholic and No. 13 Williamsburg are still kicking.
▪ Class 2A features No. 12 Owensboro Catholic and No. 15 Walton-Verona.
▪ Class 3A has No. 15 Paducah Tilghman and No. 22 Mason County.
▪ Class 4A includes No. 15 Allen County-Scottsville and No. 16 Scott.
▪ Class 5A gives us No. 18 Bullitt Central.
▪ Class 6A has No. 15 Paul Laurence Dunbar and No. 21 North Hardin.
Champs with a chance to repeat
There are three defending state champions remaining in the field.
Beechwood, featuring reigning Mr. Football Cameron Hergott, looks like a lock for the Class 2A finals.
Class 4A champion Boyle County has been playing some of its best football in the last few weeks.
And you already know about Class 6A’s Trinity.
There are actually more runners-up from last year still alive (five) than champions: Class A’s Kentucky Country Day, Class 2A’s Lexington Christian, Class 4A’s Franklin County, Class 5A’s Owensboro and Class 6A’s Male.
Do I know you? Regional do-overs
This week’s regionals bring together a few matchups we’ve seen before at this very stage.
For the third year in a row, Frederick Douglass and Southwestern face each other this round.
Last year, Coach Nathan McPeek’s Broncos survived “the worst field I’ve ever coached on,” with a 21-20 win in a monsoon on Southwestern’s natural grass-field-turned-mud bog. This year, Douglass gets to host on its home artificial turf.
The Johnson Central-Corbin game in Class 4A is also a region repeat with the Redhounds looking to reverse the 28-14 loss they suffered to the Golden Eagles last year.
In Class 3A, Belfry and Bell County meet for the third straight year in the playoffs. Last year, it was also for a regional championship. The year before, it was for a state championship. Belfry won both.
The Avengers: Teams who flipped the script last week
The oft-criticized district playoff format produced seven results last week that turned a regular-season outcome on its head.
Madison Central’s 41-18 district finals win over Bryan Station avenged its 21-13 loss to the Defenders in the regular season. Indians Coach Mike Holcomb downplayed revenge as a motivating factor for his team. But he acknowledged it is tough to beat a team twice in a month.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure it did a little bit,” Holcomb said of the revenge factor playing a role in their victory. “It’s the second game, but when you get into the playoffs, each game is important. It was nice for our kids to get a win against Station and win a district title. Now, it’s just each week.”
Mayfield, Green County, East Carter, Paducah Tilghman, Mason County and North Hardin also turned the tables on their regular-season district losses.
Early knockouts among top teams
Being rated in the KHSAA’s RPI top four is no guarantee you’ll be able to advance in the postseason. So far, highly rated teams gone too soon have included Class 2A No. 4 Danville, Class 3A No. 4 Mercer County, Class 4A No. 2 Lexington Catholic and Class 6A No. 3 Bryan Station.
Deep-sixed
A No. 6 rating has been especially unlucky for some teams, with three already knocked out and the other three facing monumental tests this week.
In the district finals, Class 3A No. 6 Union County had a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter before No. 15 Paducah Tilghman turned up the Blue Tornado for a 31-28 win.
Class 2A No. 11 Owensboro Catholic lost five straight games to start the season, but blasted No. 6 Hancock County in both the regular season and district finals.
Class 4A No. 6 Rowan County was a top-seeded district team that got stunned 34-21 by No. 33 Harrison County in the first round.
This week, the rest of the sixes might be in trouble: Class 2A No. 6 Green County faces No. 3 Mayfield at the Cardinals’ War Memorial; Class 3A No. 6 Covington Catholic has to go through No. 1 Woodford County at Community Stadium; and Class 6A No. 6 Ryle welcomes the comically underrated No. 19 Trinity Shamrocks.
KHSAA region championships schedule
(Friday’s game times subject to change)
CLASS A
▪ No. 7 Bethlehem (10-2) at No. 4 Kentucky Country Day (10-2), 7 p.m.
▪ No. 13 Williamsburg (8-3) at No. 2 Pikeville (11-2), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 5 Bishop Brossart (12-0) at No. 3 Raceland (11-1), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 11 Newport Central Catholic (9-3) at No. 1 Russellville (10-1), 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A
▪ No. 15 Walton-Verona (9-3) at No. 2 Beechwood (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 12 Owensboro Catholic (7-5) at No. 1 Lexington Christian (12-0), 7 p.m.
▪ No. 6 Green County (11-1) at No. 3 Mayfield (11-1), 6:30 p.m.
▪ No. 7 West Carter (9-3) at No. 5 Middlesboro (12-0), 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
▪ No. 14 Belfry (6-6) at No. 8 Bell County (10-2), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 15 Paducah Tilghman (6-6) at No. 1 Christian Academy-Louisville (11-1), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 22 Mason County (9-3) at No. 5 East Carter (10-3), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 3 Bardstown (12-0) at No. 2 Glasgow (11-1), 7 p.m.
CLASS 4A
▪ No. 16 Scott (8-4) at 1 Boyle County (11-1), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 4 Johnson Central (10-2) at No. 2 Corbin (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 15 Allen County-Scottsville (8-4) at No. 5 Franklin County (9-3), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 8 Spencer County (9-3) at No. 7 Logan County (9-4), 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A
▪ No. 5 Southwestern (11-1) at No. 2 Frederick Douglass (11-1), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 18 Bullitt Central (9-3) at No. 3 Owensboro (11-1), 7 p.m.
▪ No. 12 South Oldham (9-3) at No. 4 South Warren (11-1), 7 p.m.
▪ No. 6 Covington Catholic (9-3) at No. 1 Woodford County (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 6A
▪ No. 15 Paul Laurence Dunbar (7-5) at No. 7 Madison Central (9-3), 7:30 p.m.
▪ No. 21 North Hardin (5-7) at No. 1 Male (11-0), 7:15 p.m.
▪ No. 19 Trinity (5-7) at No. 6 Ryle (9-3), 7 p.m.
▪ No. 4 Daviess County (11-1) at No. 2 St. Xavier (11-1), 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 10:16 AM.
