Class 2A football playoffs: Can Mayfield be knocked off the mountain?

If all goes to form, Mayfield — ranked 10th statewide in the newest Cantrall Ratings — will become just the third school to win at least five consecutive championships in state history come December. Boyle County won five from 1999-2003 while Highlands has the state record with six from 2007-2012.

The Cardinals stormed through the regular season unscathed for the first time since 2011, the last season to end without a title for the small-school power in Graves County. It won three straight in Class A before defeating Newport Central Catholic for the Class 2A crown in 2015.

Only two teams Mayfield faced this year — Corbin (Class 3A) and McCracken County (Class 6A) — kept the Cardinals’ margin of victory within single digits. Its 485 points scored were second only to Lexington Christian (498) in the class. Senior Trajon Bright has rushed for 1,079 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior while Landon Arnett has thrown for 2,483 yards and 30 TDs with just seven interceptions on the year.

Mayfield appears destined for a meeting with either Louisville Christian or DeSales, the only other two Class 2A programs in the Cantrall Top 25. Those Louisville programs are favored to meet in the regional round; the winner would likely host Mayfield in the state semifinals on Nov. 25.

Louisville Christian (9-1) won the regular-season meeting at DeSales, 12-7, the fewest points in any of its wins this season. The Centurions were the only Class 2A team to score against the Colts (8-2) this season; DeSales allowed a class-low 65 points, more than 40 points better than the next-best mark (Covington Holy Cross). 

Lexington Christian, which put together its first undefeated regular-season season in program history, was ranked second in the season’s final media poll but rates sixth in Cantrall’s Class 2A rankings. Danville, whom the Eagles defeated on the road in October, is rated fourth in the class and would come to LCA in the regional round if the two meet again. In that scenario LCA would have home-field advantage up until the state finals, most likely hosting Covington Holy Cross or Newport Central Catholic in the state semifinals (if Danville doesn’t defeat Leslie County in the second round, then Leslie County would host LCA in the regional round).

Offense has been a calling card for LCA, which produced more than 4,500 yards heading into its postseason opener against Shelby Valley. Junior running back Dillon Wheatley leads the charge, having rushed for 1,264 yards and 20 TDs in the regular season. Five players have caught at least 10 passes and six have accumulated triple-digit yardage through the air. Brayden Miller and Logan Nieves, the signal-callers in LCA’s dual-quarterback system, have combined for more than 2,000 passing yards and 25 TD passes with just five interceptions.

The Eagles, who moved have never advanced past the regional around since moving to Class 2A in 2011, played in two championship games while in Class A. They lost 38-35 to Beechwood in 2007 and defeated Mayfield 55-19 in 2009 for their only title.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Class 2A football playoffs: Can Mayfield be knocked off the mountain?."