These are the best Kentucky football Class 6A 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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Clark County Coach Oliver Lucas has a unique perspective on Kentucky high school football’s Class 6A as someone who has led teams both in Louisville and, now, out in the state.
Worrying about how Louisville teams have largely dominated the large-school division is not something he does. But he has kept them in mind as he’s built Clark into a winner.
“From the experience I had from being at DuPont Manual … I kind of coach my team toward that,” said Lucas, who took over the George Rogers Clark program in 2017 after a six-year stint at Manual where he went 44-24. “You can give them all the background, you could give them all the ins and outs, but they’ve still got to play the game and mentally they’ve got to be prepared and not be in awe of the Louisville thing.”
Scott County is the only team outside of Louisville to claim the Class 6A state championship since the division was formed in 2007. Only five schools outside of Louisville in that span — Scott County (three times), Lafayette (twice), Dixie Heights, Meade County and Simon Kenton — have made it to the finals. Scott County now competes in Class 5A.
Lucas has built the Cardinals from a team that had one win in two seasons before he got there to an 8th District contender that has had back-to-back winning seasons and now plays and practices in a sparkling new athletics facility and stadium.
The Cardinals split their two matchups with district rival Oldham County last year, losing in the playoffs, but Lucas has almost every starter back from that squad, including senior running back Azariah Israel, who rushed for more than 2,346 yards and 28 TDs. Quarterback Jordan Manley, a 6-foot-4 senior, whom Lucas believes has an NFL-type arm, also has a tall, talented receiving corps.
“We’re a much better team now than last year,” Lucas said. “My team, this year is really, really the team to beat.”
Lucas’ confidence will be put to the test early against Southwestern, a Class 5A defending district champion, in Week 2. Then, the Cardinals will get their shot at a ranked Louisville team in No. 6 Ballard in Week 3.
Here are some of the best games in Class 6A this season involving many teams in the Herald-Leader preseason top 10 against other teams in this division. For 6A games against top Class A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A opponents, see those respective stories.
All kickoff times are local to site.
Week 1 (Sept. 11)
Game of the week: Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), Ohio at No. 1 Trinity, 7 p.m. Normally Trinity spends a month or more playing out-of-state juggernauts before starting its in-state slate. This year, because of the pandemic, it just gets Moeller, which it routed 41-0 last year. That’s not the norm for this series.
Week 2 (Sept. 18)
Game of the week: No. 2 Male at No. 1 Trinity, 7:30 p.m. They played each other last year for the Class 6A state title. They might do so again. Male is one of only three teams besides Trinity who has won Class 6A since the division was established. Male’ has won it twice, Scott County once, St. Xavier once and Trinity … nine times. Now, say that again like you’re the principal from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — Nine times.
No. 6 Ballard at No. 7 Fern Creek, 7:30 p.m. Ballard has an experienced offensive line and 28 seniors, but will be looking for players to step up in their new leadership roles. Fern Creek’s defense is almost all new, but offensively they might be set, especially with returning 1,100 yard rusher Terrance Mitchell.
No. 9 Central Hardin at Henderson County, 7:30 p.m. Central Hardin has questions on offense and returns only five starters overall. Henderson Coach Josh Boston has nine starters back on defense, but similar issues. This game will help both figure some things out.
Week 3 (Sept. 25)
Game of the week: No. 3 St. Xavier vs. No. 1 Trinity 8 p.m. A high school rivalry so big the game has to be played in Cardinal Stadium. The Shamrocks lead the series 46-38-2 and have won 15 of the last 17 games.
Clark County at No. 6 Ballard, 7:30 p.m. The Cardinals are capable of shaking things up in Class 6A. A win here would assuredly vault them into some top 10 rankings, but this will be Ballard’s first home game in more than a year after the reconstruction of their stadium.
Week 4 (Oct. 1-2)
Game of the week: No. 7 Fern Creek at Oldham County, 7:30 p.m. The Colonels are coming off a district championship and has dual-threat junior QB Sam Young back, who accounted for more than 2,300 yards of offense and 38 TDs in 2019. This would be a quality win for either.
No. 9 Central Hardin at Butler, 7 p.m. Butler Coach Gary Wheeler acknowledges he has a young team but believes his strengths are the offensive line and defense. Those are good places to start as the Bears look for a bounce-back season.
Week 5 (Oct. 9)
Game of the week: No. 5 Manual at No. 3 St. Xavier, 7:30 p.m. Coach Scott Harmony feels his Crimsons have the depth and talent to thrive in Louisville’s brutal high school football scene, and they are looking to build on last year’s 9-3 campaign with 1,000-yard rusher JaWaun Northington among those returning. They split with St. X last year, winning the regular-season matchup.
No. 6 Ballard at No. 1 Trinity, 7:30 p.m.
Paul Laurence Dunbar at Tates Creek 6:30 p.m. It could be the Bulldogs’ turn to take the lead among Lexington’s Class 6A teams. Both teams are coming off their best seasons in years.
Week 6 (Oct. 16)
Game of the week: No. 7 Fern Creek at No. 2 Male, 7 p.m. Fern Creek had the lead in the third quarter of this game last year before Male scored 20 unanswered.
Week 7 (Oct. 23)
Game of the week: No. 9 Central Hardin at No. 4 North Hardin, 7:30 p.m. Stuck in the same district, this game likely determines who has home-field advantage in the playoffs. North Hardin appears to have an edge in who they have back.
Henderson County at No. 10 McCracken County, 7 p.m. Henderson County returns nine defensive starters and will need that experience against the potent Mustangs offense, which features dynamic running back Hunter Bradley.
Oldham County at Clark County, 7:30 p.m. After a narrow regular-season loss, the Colonels turned the tables on Clark in the playoffs. But this game came down to Clark halting a two-point conversion with 2.7 seconds remaining last year for a 28-26 win.
Week 8 (Oct. 30)
Game of the week: No. 5 Manual at No. 2 Male, 7 p.m. This Old Rivalry (which dates to 1893) came down to a fourth-quarter field goal last year as Manual nearly ended a seven-year drought against the Bulldogs.
Butler at No. 6 Ballard, 7 p.m. This battle of Bears and Bruins should be a good one if Butler regains form.
Week 9 (Nov. 6)
Game of the week: No. 2 Male at No. 6. Ballard, 7 p.m. Ballard looking for first win in this series since 2009.
No. 8 Simon Kenton at Bryan Station, 7:30 p.m. New Defenders Coach Phillip Hawkins’ rebuild at Station gets its final regular-season exam.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 7:48 AM.
