Douglass return to Class 6A among many changes in proposed high school football realignment
A draft proposal for Kentucky high school football’s new classes and districts for the next four-year cycle has been posted online by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
Revised regularly due to changing enrollments at its member schools, the proposal shifts Frederick Douglass, last season’s Class 5A champion, back to Class 6A for the state’s largest schools. Douglass was a Class 6A team during its first two seasons.
The proposal also breaks up some longtime district rivals for Lexington Christian and Lexington Catholic. LCA remains in Class 2A but would lose Danville and Somerset as district foes. Lexington Catholic drops from Class 4A to 3A and loses Boyle County as a district rival.
In Class A, Sayre would move to a more geographically sensible district and be grouped with Berea, Eminence and Frankfort. As a late-comer to varsity football after the last realignment in 2019, Sayre had been placed in an eastern Kentucky district with back-to-back state champion Pikeville the last two years.
Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Tates Creek would remain together in the new Class 6A District 7. Douglass would replace Oldham County in Class 6A District 8 and would join Bryan Station, George Rogers Clark and Madison Central there.
Other notable changes in the proposal: Great Crossing would move from Class 5A to Class 6A; Woodford County and Scott County would be grouped together in Class 5A District 5; Covington Catholic would drop to 4A, while longtime rival Highlands would remain in Class 5A.
Last month, the KHSAA released the enrollment figures that are used as a starting point for classification and gave schools the opportunity to weigh in. Schools may choose to play up a higher classification than their enrollment suggests, but cannot request to play down.
The realignment proposal is on the agenda to be discussed at Wednesday’s KHSAA Board of Control meeting. Final approval of the proposal could happen Wednesday or at the board’s next scheduled meeting on Feb. 22 at the latest.
Proposed realignment
District-by-district draft of 2023 high school football alignment (Lexington teams in bold):
Class A
1: Ballard Memorial, Caverna, Fulton County, Russellville
2: Bethlehem, Campbellsville, Holy Cross (Louisville), Kentucky Country Day
3: Bellevue, Dayton, Newport, Newport Central Catholic
4: Bishop Brossart, Holy Cross (Covington), Ludlow, Trimble County
5: Berea, Eminence, Frankfort, Sayre
6: Fairview, Nicholas County, Paris, Raceland
7: Lynn Camp, Middlesboro, Pineville, Williamsburg
8: Harlan, Hazard, Paintsville, Pikeville
Class 2A
1: Caldwell County, Crittenden County, Mayfield, Murray
2: Edmonson County, Fort Campbell, Owensboro Catholic, Todd County Central
3: Clinton County, Green County, Metcalfe County, Monroe County
4: Fort Knox, Lexington Christian, Shawnee, Washington County, W.E.B. DuBois Academy**
5: Beechwood, Bracken County, Carroll County, Gallatin County, Owen County, Walton-Verona
6: Breathitt County, Danville, Leslie County, Somerset
7: Floyd Central, Knott County Central, Martin County, Prestonsburg
8: Betsy Layne, East Ridge, Pike County Central, Shelby Valley
Class 3A
1: Hancock County, Hopkins County Central, McLean County, Trigg County, Union County, Webster County
2: Adair County, Butler County, Franklin-Simpson, Glasgow, Hart County
3: Central, Christian Academy-Louisville, Elizabethtown, LaRue County
4: Casey County, Garrard County, Marion County, Mercer County, Rockcastle County
5: Bourbon County, Lexington Catholic, Lloyd Memorial, Pendleton County
6: Bath County, East Carter, Fleming County, Lewis County, Russell, West Carter
7: Bell County, Clay County, Knox Central, McCreary Central
8: Belfry, Estill County, Lawrence County, Magoffin County, Morgan County, Powell County
Class 4A
1: Allen County-Scottsville, Calloway County, Hopkinsville, Logan County, Paducah Tilghman, Warren East
2: Bardstown, Breckinridge County, John Hardin, Nelson County, Thomas Nelson
3: DeSales, Doss, Jeffersontown, Valley, Waggener, Western
4: Franklin County, Henry County, North Oldham, Shelby County, Spencer County, Western Hills
5: Covington Catholic, Grant County, Harrison County, Holmes, Mason County
6: Ashland Blazer, Boyd County, Greenup County, Johnson Central, Rowan County
7: Boyle County, Lincoln County, Russell County, Taylor County, Wayne County
8: Corbin, Letcher County Central, Perry County Central, Whitley County
Class 5A
1: Apollo, Graves County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Marshall County, Muhlenberg County, Owensboro
2: Bowling Green, Grayson County, Greenwood, Ohio County, South Warren
3: Atherton, Butler, Fairdale, Iroquois
4: Bullitt Central, Moore, North Bullitt, Seneca
5: Anderson County, Collins, Scott County, South Oldham, Woodford County
6: Boone County, Conner, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Highlands, Scott
7: East Jessamine, Madison Southern, Montgomery County, West Jessamine
8: Harlan County, North Laurel, Pulaski County, South Laurel, Southwestern
Class 6A
1: Christian County, Daviess County, Henderson County, McCracken County
2: Barren County, Central Hardin, North Hardin, Warren Central
3: DuPont Manual, Meade County, Pleasure Ridge Park, St. Xavier
4: Bullitt East, Fern Creek, Male, Southern
5: Ballard, Eastern, Oldham County, Trinity (Louisville)
6: Campbell County, Great Crossing, Ryle, Simon Kenton
7: Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Tates Creek
8: Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, George Rogers Clark, Madison Central
**: Not eligible for district postseason competition until at least 2024
Withdrawn from districts: Jackson County, Phelps.
