Hype 25: No. 4 Boyle County comes haunting at The Farm against No. 10 Douglass
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boyle County visits Frederick Douglass at The Farm Friday in rivalry renewal.
- Boyle seeks No. 1 RPI boost; a win could secure region home-field advantage.
- Douglass relies on junior RB Dakari Talbert and freshman QB Jayden Guzman.
It’s the final week of high school football’s regular season, which means there are some top-flight tuneup games across the state.
It’s also a Halloween weekend, which has prompted a number of schools to move up their game to Thursday night to avoid All Hallows’ Eve, including Lexington Christian and Paul Laurence Dunbar in town.
But Boyle County (8-1) will come haunting at The Farm on Friday as it renews its annual cross-class rivalry with Frederick Douglass (6-3), a showdown that has become a late October fixture.
The Rebels, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by the media and No. 4 in this week’s statewide Herald-Leader Hype 25, have won three of the four meetings with Class 6A’s No. 5 Broncos (H-L No. 10), including the last two in a row.
“When we were able to beat them in ‘22, we were able to make some plays in the passing game, and we haven’t been able to do that in the last couple of years,” Douglass coach Nathan McPeek said. “Obviously, Dakari (Talbert) has got to get loose and have a good game against them for us to win.”
Talbert, the Broncos’ junior two-way standout in football and basketball, has 956 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing, so far, and is a threat whenever he touches the ball. Talbert racked up 197 yards and two TDs against H-L No. 13 Male in a 14-0 road win on Oct. 3.
The Douglass offense has steadied over its six-game win streak with freshman quarterback Jayden Guzman behind center since the second week of the season. His nine touchdown throws include five to senior wideout Terry Cayson.
Boyle County also called an underclassmen in as signal-caller after an injury to their Week 1 QB. Sophomore Jhet Raleigh has guided the Rebels to six straight wins since their stunning upset loss at Lexington Catholic on Aug. 30.
Those wins have included H-L No. 12 Highlands, a Class 4A rival, and H-L No. 5 St. Xavier, a Class 6A juggernaut. Those are two of the most tradition-rich programs in the state. But Boyle County knows about tradition, too, as 12-time state champions.
“It’s a great measuring stick for us against one of the best programs historically in the state of Kentucky,” McPeek said. “I told my kids at practice this week that we’re playing one of the highest standards of high school football. It’s just like when you’re playing Trinity.”
The game has real stakes, too, thanks to the KHSAA’s RPI Standings.
A win against a Class 6A team for Boyle could be enough to boost the Rebels to No. 1 on Class 4A’s RPI, meaning potential home-field advantage for both the region finals and state semifinals. Boyle County sits No. 2 behind Johnson Central.
Douglass, No. 3 in this week’s Class 6A RPI, might drop slightly with a loss, McPeek said.
That could be the difference between a home game or road game against the likes of Madison Central, Ryle or Trinity if the Broncos make it past the first two rounds.
Douglass has played its last two Class 6A state semifinals on the road at Trinity’s Marshall Stadium in Louisville, and both were losses.
Herald-Leader Hype 25
Kentucky high school football top 25 rankings by sports writer Jared Peck after Week 10 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 (8-2)…1…6A-1/5
2. South Warren (9-0)…2…6A-2/1
3. Christian Academy-Louisville (9-0)…3…3A-1/1
4. Boyle County (8-1)…4…4A-1/2
5. St. Xavier (6-3)…5…6A-3/4
6. Paducah Tilghman (8-1)…6…4A-3/5
7. Franklin County (9-0)…7…4A-2/3
8. Johnson Central (10-0)…8…4A-5/1
9. Manual (7-2)…9…6A-4/2
10. Frederick Douglass (6-3)…10…6A-5/3
11. Woodford County (8-1)…11…5A-1/3
12. Highlands (8-2)…12…4A-4/4
13. Male (6-3)…13…6A-7/9
14. Ryle (6-3)…14…6A-6/6
15. Covington Catholic (7-3)…15…4A-6/10
16. Beechwood (8-1)…16…2A-1/6
17. Cooper (6-3)…18…5A-2/11
18. Owensboro Catholic (8-1)…19…2A-2/1
19. Mayfield (8-1)…20…2A-3/3
20. Owensboro (7-2)…23…5A-3/2
21. Pulaski County (7-2)…21…5A-5/1
22. Scott County (7-3)…17…5A-4/5
23. Atherton (8-1)…22…5A-6/9
24. Madison Central (6-3)…24…6A-8/7
25. Bell County (9-0)…NR…3A-2/4
Dropping out: Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Watch list: Belfry, Bowling Green, Lexington Catholic, Lexington Christian, Murray.
H-L Hype games of the week
This week’s top games, according to our H-L rankings.
- No. 24 Madison Central (6-3) at No. 5 St. Xavier (6-3), 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- No. 4 Boyle County (8-1) at No. 10 Frederick Douglass (6-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday
- No. 12 Male (6-3) at No. 9 Manual (7-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday
- No. 21 Pulaski County (7-2) at No. 25 Bell County (9-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Media Poll games of the week.
This week’s top games between teams ranked in their respective class top 10s in the latest Kentucky High School Football Media Poll.
- Woodford County at Ballard, 8 p.m. Thursday
- Atherton at North Oldham, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Bowling Green at Franklin County, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Central at Mayfield, 6 p.m. Friday
- Sayre, vs. Middlesboro, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Somerset at Hazard, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Other Lexington games
- Eastern at Paul Laurence Dunbar, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Pleasure Ridge Park at Lexington Christian, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Bryan Station at South Oldham, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Conner at Henry Clay, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Lexington Catholic at Ashland Blazer, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Oldham County at Lafayette, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Tates Creek at West Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Other Central Kentucky games
- Frankfort at Western Hills, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Green County at East Jessamine, 8 p.m. Thursday
- Iroquois at Berea, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Whitley County at Madison Southern, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Caverna at Danville, 8 p.m. Friday
- Corbin at Great Crossing, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- DeSales at Anderson County, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Mercer County at John Hardin, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Morgan County at Paris, 7:30 p.m. Friday
- Logan County at South Warren, 7 p.m. Thursday
