These are the best Kentucky football Class 5A games each week in 2020
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2020 Kentucky high school football preview
The 2020 high school football season kicked off Friday, Sept. 11. High school sports beat writer Jared Peck wrote numerous stories in the Herald-Leader and on Kentucky.com previewing the season around the city, region and state and highlighting the top players and games and rankings. Click below to read all of his stories in case you missed any of them.
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As the high school football schedules across the state shifted in response to cancellations and postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic, something unique happened to many.
They got tougher.
That’s certainly the case for Herald-Leader preseason No. 2 Frederick Douglass in Class 5A, where a routine season has turned into something extraordinary on paper.
When Nov. 6 was tacked onto the end of the season as an open date as the game calendar was adjusted by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, Douglass filled it with Class 6A No. 3 St. Xavier.
When two city rivals canceled their games against it in the first two weeks to have more time to practice, Douglass filled their home opener with Class 6A No. 4 North Hardin.
Both new opponents were their respective district champions last year and are favored to repeat. And neither matchup was even thought of before schedules got jumbled due to the pandemic.
“Obviously, we’re playing a really good opponent (to start), Broncos Coach Nathan McPeek said of the North Hardin game. “In my opinion, other than Trinity, who we scrimmaged last year, I think they’re the best team coming in here, the toughest that we’ve ever played.”
North Hardin boasts two Kentucky commitments in running back La’Velle Wright and safety Jordan Lovett. But Douglass has its own UK talent in commits Jager Burton, one of the nation’s top offensive guards, and four-star wideout Dekel Crowdus.
Here are some of the other best games in Class 5A this season against teams at or above these teams in Kentucky’s class system. For 5A games against top Class A, 2A, 3A and 4A opponents, see those respective stories.
All kickoff times are local to site.
Week 1 (Sept. 11)
Game of the week: North Hardin at No. 2 Frederick Douglass, 7:30 p.m.
No. 3 Bowling Green at St. Xavier, 7:30 p.m. The Purples feature Kentucky target Jordan Dingle, a 6-foot-5 tight end who has multiple Division I offers. This game against Class 6A’s No. 3 Tigers is just the tip of a harrowing 2020 schedule for Bowling Green.
Apollo at No. 6 Owensboro, 7 p.m. The Red Devils have Gavin Wimsatt, regarded as one of the best dual-threat junior quarterbacks in the nation and welcome back senior linebacker Austin Gough from a year off due to injury. He led the team in tackles as a sophomore. Class 6A’s Apollo has a new coach in John Edge and a monster senior running back in Harold Hogg, who topped 2,100 yards last year.
Simon Kenton at No. 7 Highlands, 7 p.m. Class 6A’s No. 8 Pioneers are on a two-game losing streak in this northern Kentucky classic. The Bluebirds will find out what they have quickly after turning over much of the starting roster.
Bullitt Central at North Bullitt, 7:30 p.m. A county rivalry will reveal which team will begin making a climb into the rankings. North Bullitt Coach Adam Billings thinks he has the team to do it this year with 20 seniors who played massive roles throughout their careers, including running back Cole Durbin, who scored 33 TDs last season.
Week 2 (Sept. 18)
Game of the week: Pulaski County at Madison Southern, 7:30 p.m. Last season saw the Eagles round into shape and the Maroons have the wheels come off as injuries took a toll. Both should be healthy for this early matchup. Pulaski brings back junior QB Drew Polston and Purdue commit Tristan Cox as a running/receiving threat. Madison Southern junior AJ Jones rushed for nearly 1,400 yards last year.
No. 8 South Oldham at Oldham County, 7:30 p.m. The Dragons demolished their county Class 6A rival last year 49-0 but lost a lot of seniors. Coming off a district championship, the Colonels will be looking to snap a nine-game losing streak in this series. Oldham County has starting QB Sam Young back, who had 34 TDs as a sophomore.
Clark County at No. 10 Southwestern, 7:30 p.m. There’s no nuance to Class 6A’s Clark County. The Cardinals will run you over with senior RB Azariah Israel if you let them. The Warriors will be tested.
Week 3 (Sept. 25)
Game of the week: No. 2 Frederick Douglass at No. 4 Scott County, 7:30 p.m. Even though the Broncos have changed head coaches, all Douglass’s materials and quotes still refer to Scott County only as “The Team Up North,” a nod to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, and an indication of how much they value this young rivalry. The Cardinals are always tough and have new playmakers stepping up this year, including 6-1 junior Jeremy Hamilton, who figures to rack up yards in Scott County’s run-heavy system.
West Jessamine at East Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. The Jaguars had a breakout 2019, but graduated much of their running attack. The Colts have a new coach and a new quarterback in sophomore Jacob Jones, who already has an offer from his dad Pookie Jones’ alma mater.
Week 4 (Oct. 2)
Game of the week: No. 5 South Warren at No. 3 Bowling Green, 7 p.m. It’s almost criminal that these two multiple state champions are in the same district. But that’s good for everyone else. South Warren junior quarterback Caden Veltkamp can sling it and already has offers from Western Kentucky and Kentucky. The Spartans also have Ohio State commit Jantzen Dunn, a 6-2 safety.
No. 7 Highlands at Conner, 7 p.m. Conner needs experience, but garnered some votes in the Herald-Leader preseason poll of coaches. Here’s where that gets meted out.
East Jessamine at Madison Southern, 7:30 p.m. They split the series last year with the Eagles taking the one with the trophy.
Week 5 (Oct. 9)
Game of the week: McCracken County at No. 3 Bowling Green, 7 p.m. The Purples were routed last year by Class 6A’s No. 10 Mustangs on the road. They’ll be looking to contain McCracken running back Hunter Bradley who had 1,669 yards and 22 TDs in 2019.
No. 8 South Oldham at North Bullitt, 7:30 p.m. Here’s where the Eagles must make a stand in the 4th District.
No. 10 Southwestern at Whitley County, 7:30 p.m. The Colonels went 8-4 in 2019 and have top rusher Woody Lawson and much of their offensive line back. The next step will need to be through the Warriors.
Collins at East Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. This will be a district positioning battle.
Conner at Cooper, 7:30 p.m. Ditto, but to avoid Highlands in the first round.
Week 6 (Oct. 16)
Game of the week: No. 7 Highlands at No. 1 Covington Catholic, 7 p.m. Don’t expect CovCath to have a big drop-off. Senior quarterback Caleb Jacob will have this offense humming, and the defense was the toughest in the class last year.
No. 9 Pulaski County at East Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. If Pulaski County stays healthy, it should return to the bruising form it had at the start of last season. This game will tell a lot.
Week 7 (Oct. 23)
Game of the week: No. 9 Pulaski County at No. 10 Southwestern, 7:30 p.m. On paper, it looked like fourth-seeded Southwestern stunned district leader Pulaski in the first round of the playoffs last year. In reality, the Warriors pushed them to overtime two weeks prior. This will be tense.
No. 4 Scott County at Ballard, 7:30 p.m. Tighten your chin strap. This game went to a 46-45 OT decision for the Cardinals last year against this year’s Class 6A No. 6 Ballard and had more than 900 rushing yards combined — 512 for Scott County. Passing yards? Fifty-five. And they were all Ballard’s.
Week 8 (Oct. 30)
Game of the week: No. 1 Covington Catholic at Simon Kenton, 7 p.m. If you don’t like northern Kentucky cross-class rivalries, you’re wrong.
No. 3 Bowling Green at Trinity, 7:30 p.m. I’m firing the Purples’ schedule maker. The defending champion Shamrocks are Class 6A preseason No. 1 and have almost their entire 2019 team back for more.
No. 6 Owensboro at Henderson County, 7 p.m. This is an “are we playoff ready” game against Class 6A’s Henderson, who should be pretty good.
Week 9 (Nov. 6)
Game of the week: St. Xavier at No. 2 Frederick Douglass, 7 p.m. Here’s a possible battle between two out-of-state transfer QBs: Samuel Cornett, a 6-7 junior from Washington for Douglass and Giles Pooler, a 6-4 senior transfer from Colorado for Class 6A No. 3 St. X. It should also be an exceptional playoffs tune-up for both teams.
No. 5 South Warren at North Hardin, 7:30 p.m. North Hardin, obviously, has Class 5A powers on speed dial in case of an open date.
No. 10 Southwestern at Paul Laurence Dunbar, 7:30 p.m. Lexington’s Bulldogs have vastly improved over the last few years under Coach Wes Johnson and are probably the favorites to win their district title.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 7:53 AM.
