Big Hype 25 week as Class 5A’s best, Woodford and Scott County top the slate
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Scott County vs Woodford will decide a district crown and 5A No.1 status.
- Both teams feature DI-caliber skill talent: Emongo, Tomlin, Coons and Perez.
- Winner will gain KHSAA RPI leverage that could translate to home-field edge.
Since the renewal of the Scott County-Woodford County rivalry in 2023, each team has a win over the other and a district title to show for it.
On Friday at Community Stadium in Versailles, their district championship will be on the line again as will the Class 5A No. 1 media poll ranking.
The Cardinals have been the media darling No. 1 all season, even after a shocking loss to Class 6A Madison Central at home. Woodford ranks No. 2, despite both the Courier Journal’s Jason Frakes and myself voting the Yellow Jackets in the top spot this week. My Herald-Leader Hype statewide rankings have host Woodford at No. 11 and Scott County at No. 18.
Scott County coach Jim McKee downplayed Friday night’s result as an indicator of how things might shake out in the playoffs.
“It is an important game, and I told our kids that if we win, we’re going to be thrilled, but if for whatever reason we lose, we’re not going all over the panic button like the world’s ended,” McKee said. “If you win, it’s not like it’s a sure-fire, easy path. And if you lose it’s not like things are over.”
But the winner will get an important boost in the KHSAA RPI Standings, where Scott County ranks No. 3 and Woodford ranks No. 5. Those rankings will keep changing until the regular season ends but could mean home-field advantage at region championship and state semifinals time.
“I think it’s good for football in Central Kentucky for us and Woodford to have the success that we’re having,” McKee said. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun. The weather’s going to be great, and there should be a huge crowd.”
Scott County and Woodford County have wildly contrasting styles of offense, but both can light up the scoreboard with NCAA Division I-caliber talent.
Scott County junior Timmy Emongo, whose offers include Kentucky and Louisville, has 17 touchdowns and more than 1,000 total yards from scrimmage in the Cardinals’ run-first wing-T attack.
Woodford County junior Darrian Tomlin, whose offers so far include Toledo and Eastern Kentucky, has 600 yards rushing and nine TDs alongside junior QB Foxx Coons, who has thrown for 1,942 yards and 22 TDs.
They have protection from three-star offensive lineman Justyn Perez, a 6-foot-11/2, 300-pound junior with offers from Arkansas and Kentucky, among others. On defense, Woodford three-star junior safety Jordan Holman has offers from Missouri and Kentucky and ranks second on the team in tackles.
Defenders next up to take on the Douglass streak
Bryan Station broke into both the Class 6A top 10 (No. 9) and the H-L Hype 25 (No. 25) after improving its record to 4-3 and 1-0 in the 8th District with a 28-25 win over George Rogers Clark last week.
This week, the Defenders host No. 5/10 Frederick Douglass (4-3, 1-0) in a game that could decide their district title. But Bryan Station, like every other Lexington rival Douglass has faced, is winless against the Broncos.
Douglass’ win streak over Lexington foes (everyone but Sayre) stands at 37 games since the school opened in 2017.
LCA and Lexington Catholic face top 10 district foes
Class 2A No. 4 Lexington Christian (4-3, 2-0) hosts resurgent No. 10 Danville (7-1, 3-0).
First-year Admirals coach Steve Stonebraker has his team in contention for a district crown, but LCA is always tougher than its record suggests. The Eagles haven’t ceded a district title since 2019.
Class 3A No. 4 Lexington Catholic (5-2, 2-0) goes to No. 9 Bardstown (6-2, 2-1), which suffered a stunning 35-32 overtime loss to unranked Garrard County last week. The Knights defeated Garrard 38-0 in Lancaster a week earlier.
This will be LexCath coach David Clark’s first game against the school he coached for 27 years. Clark led the Tigers to the Class 4A state finals in 2022.
Herald-Leader Hype 25
Kentucky high school football top 25 rankings by sports writer Jared Peck after Week 8 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) and KHSAA RPI.
Rank. Team (Record)… Prv…Class-KMP/RPI
1. Trinity (Louisville) (6-2)…1…6A-1/4
2. South Warren (7-0)…2…6A-2/1
3. Christian Academy-Louisville (8-0)…3…3A-1/1
4. Boyle County (6-1)…4…4A-1/2
5. St. Xavier (4-3)…5…6A-3/3
6. Paducah Tilghman (6-1)…6…4A-2/4
7. Franklin County (8-0)…7…4A-2/3
8. Johnson Central (8-0)…9…4A-5/1
9. Manual (5-2)…8…6A-4/2
10. Frederick Douglass (4-3)…11…6A-5/6
11. Woodford County (6-1)…12…5A-2/5
12. Highlands (6-2)…10…4A-4/8
13. Male (4-3)…14…6A-7/17
14. Ryle (4-3)…15…6A-6/8
15. Covington Catholic (5-3)…16…4A-6/12
16. Beechwood (6-1)…13…2A-1/6
17. Madisonville-North Hopkins (7-0)…17…5A-3/2
18. Scott County (7-1)…24…5A-1/3
19. Cooper (4-3)…18…5A-4/13
20. Owensboro Catholic (7-1)…19…2A-2/1
21. Mayfield (6-1)…20…2A-3/3
22. Pulaski County (5-2)…22…5A-6/1
23. Atherton (6-1)…21…5A-6/11
24. Owensboro (5-2)…25…5A-5/4
25. Bryan Station (4-3)…WL…6A-9/7
Dropping out: Madison Central.
Watch list (alphabetical order): Belfry, Bell County, Lexington Christian, Lexington Catholic, Madison Central, Murray.
H-L Hype games of the week
Friday’s top games, according to our H-L rankings.
- No. 10 Frederick Douglass (4-3) at No. 25 Bryan Station (4-3), 6:30 p.m.
- No. 18 Scott County (7-1) at No. 11 Woodford County (6-1) 7 p.m.
Media Poll games of the week
Friday’s top games between teams ranked in their respective class top 10s in the latest Kentucky High School Football Media Poll.
- Danville at Lexington Christian, 7:30 p.m.
- Lincoln County at Boyle County, 7:30 p.m.
- Lexington Catholic at Bardstown, 7:30 p.m.
- Paris at Raceland, 7:30 p.m.
- Pulaski County at North Laurel, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s other Lexington games
- Lafayette at Tates Creek, 6:30 p.m.
- Paul Laurence Dunbar at Henry Clay, 6:30 p.m.
- Sayre at Frankfort, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s other Central Kentucky games
- Anderson County at Collins, 7:30 p.m.
- Berea at Eminence, 7:30 p.m.
- Carroll County at Bourbon County, 7:30 p.m.
- East Jessamine at West Jessamine, 7:30 p.m.
- Madison Central at George Rogers Clark, 7:30 p.m.
- Ryle at Great Crossing, 7:30 p.m.
- Western Hills at Franklin County, 7:30 p.m.
Where the Herald-Leader will be this week
- Freelance writer Josh Moore heads to the Northside once more as Class 6A No. 9 Bryan Station attempts to break No. 5 Frederick Douglass’ hold on the 8th District and put an end to the Broncos’ 37-game win streak over its Lexington foes. Follow on X @JoshMooreHL.
- Freelance writer Bill Caine will be on hand for the top-ranked Class 5A showdown between No. 1 Scott County and No. 2 Woodford County at Community Stadium in Versailles.
Check out our streaming and updates guide: Each Friday, Kentucky.com posts our “Friday Night Lights” streaming guide, which includes a ScoreStream updates feed providing scores from across the state.
