Herald-Leader Hype 25: High school football rankings after Week 2

Louisville’s No. 1 Trinity (2-0) asserted its reign over Kentucky high school football last week with a dominating 37-0 win over visiting Frederick Douglass (0-2).

The Broncos’ two losses to open the season pushed two-time Class 6A state semifinalist (and 2022 Class 5A champion) down the Herald-Leader’s Hype 25 rankings this week.

But as Douglass coach Nathan McPeek has said before when his team has gotten off to rocky starts against difficult schedules: “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”

And there’s no time for pity with H-L No. 15 Manual (1-1) coming to Lexington Friday for a big-school clash on The Farm.

“I didn’t want to be 0-2, but the errors we’re making are inexperience errors. This is going to be a process for us,” McPeek said earlier this week. “I think we can get there. It’s just going to take some reps and some gains and going through some adversity.”

Douglass has gone into the past two Class 6A playoffs with records of 5-4 and 6-4, respectively, and still won district and region trophies on the way to the state semis.

Below are this week’s Herald-Leader top 25 rankings followed by a glance at some of the big games on tap Friday.

Herald-Leader Hype 25

Kentucky high school football top 25 rankings by sports writer Jared Peck after Week 2, with season record followed by last week’s Hype 25 ranking (Prv) and each team’s class with its latest Kentucky High School Football Media Poll ranking (KMP).

Rank. Team (Record)… Prv…Class-KMP

1. Trinity (2-0)…1…6A-1

2. St. Xavier (2-0)…2…6A-2

3. Paducah Tilghman (2-0)…3…4A-1

4. Ryle (2-0)…5…6A-3

5. South Warren (2-0) … 8…6A-5

6. Highlands (2-0)…6…4A-3

7. Boyle County (2-0)…4…4A-2

8. Male (2-0)…7…6A-4

9. Christian Academy-Louisville (2-0)…11…3A-1

10. Franklin County (2-0)…10…4A-4

11. Beechwood (1-0)…15…2A-1

12. Corbin (2-0)…16…4A-5

13. Woodford County (2-0)…17…5A-2

14. Scott County (2-0)…18…5A-1

15. Manual (1-1)…12…6A-6

16. Frederick Douglass (0-2)…9…6A-7

17. Owensboro Catholic (2-0)…19…2A-2

18. Covington Catholic (0-2)…14…4A-6

19. Atherton (2-0)…22…5A-6

20. Mayfield (2-0)…23…2A-3

21. Pulaski County (2-0)…NR…5A-4

22. Bowling Green (0-2)… 20…5A-2

23. Ballard (1-1)…25…6A-8

24. Cooper (0-2)…13…5A-5

25. Raceland (2-0)…NR…1A-1

Dropping out: Lexington Christian, Owensboro.

Watch list (in alphabetical order): Belfry, Bell County, Collins, Johnson Central, Murray, North Oldham, South Oldham.

Herald-Leader sports writer Jared Peck has been covering high school sports since 2016 and has led the H-L’s coverage of every KHSAA football state championship since 2019. Follow on X at @HLpreps.

H-L Hype games of the week

This Friday’s top games, according to our H-L rankings.

• No. 8 Male (2-0) at No. 2 St. Xavier (2-0), 7 p.m.
• No. 15 Manual (1-1) at No. 16 Frederick Douglass (0-2), 7:30 p.m.
• No. 20 Mayfield (2-0) at No. 3 Paducah Tilghman (2-0), 7 p.m.
• No. 22 Bowling Green (0-2) at No. 14 Scott County (2-0), 7:45 p.m.
• No. 24 Cooper (0-2) at No. 4 Ryle (2-0), 7 p.m.

Media Poll games of the week

This Friday’s top games between teams ranked in their respective class top 10s in the latest Kentucky High School Football Media Poll.

• Boyle County (2-0) at Lexington Catholic (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Covington Catholic (0-2) at Simon Kenton (2-0), 7 p.m.
• Hazard (2-0) at Prestonsburg (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
• Johnson Central (2-0) at Belfry (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
• Lexington Christian (1-1) at Christian Academy-Louisville (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
• North Oldham (2-0) at Oldham County (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
• Raceland (2-0) at Pikeville (1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Friday’s other Lexington games

• Corbin (2-0) at Bryan Station (0-2), 7:30 p.m.
• East Jessamine (2-0) at Paul Laurence Dunbar (0-2), 7:30 p.m.
• Franklin-Simpson (1-1) at Lafayette (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Henry Clay (0-2) at Henderson County (0-1), 7 p.m.
• South Oldham (2-0) at Tates Creek (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Bye week: Sayre.

Friday’s other Central Kentucky games

• Atherton (2-0) at Mercer County (0-2), 8 p.m.
• Berea (0-2) at Fairview (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Bourbon County (2-0) at Harrison County (0-2), 7:30 p.m.
• Danville (2-0) at Anderson County (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Frankfort (0-2) at Williamsburg (1-0), 7:30 p.m.
• Franklin County (2-0) at Pleasure Ridge Park (0-2), 7 p.m.
• George Rogers Clark (1-1) at Montgomery County (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Lincoln County (2-0) at West Jessamine (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Madison Southern (1-1) at Madison Central (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
• Pineville (1-1) at Paris (2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Where the Herald-Leader will be Friday night

• The Danville Admirals (2-0) snapped a 23-game losing streak to start the season under new head coach Steve Stonebraker. That run of defeats is hard to believe for an 11-time state champion that gave rise to the name “Title Town.” Danville visits Anderson County (1-1) under third-year coach David Buchanan.
• Woodford County (2-0) hosts Great Crossing (0-2), last season’s shock Class 6A state semifinalist who has standout senior running back Luke Ballard.
• Keep up with both games on X with staff writer Jared Peck (@HLpreps) and freelancer Josh Moore (@JoshMooreHL).

Jared Peck

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-488-2883

Jared Peck, the Herald-Leader’s Digital Sports Writer, covers high school athletics and has been with the company as a writer and editor for more than 20 years. Support my work with a digital subscription