Who wins the Nicholas-Brossart rematch? Predictions for every Class A district.
It’s district championship week in the UK Orthopaedics/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl featuring some Kroger Field-worthy games in just the second round of the playoffs.
These are familiar foes, who, if they got their regular-season game despite COVID-19, knew they could get a rematch and a chance to either redeem themselves or prove their dominance.
Regardless, the KHSAA starts handing out trophies this week and each week until the biggest trophy gets awarded in December.
Here’s a brief summary of the 5th District championship, plus a quick look at the rest of this week’s Class A slate with predictions. All rankings are according to the final week KHSAA RPI which will be used to seed the next round.
Featured matchup
5TH DISTRICT
No. 11 Nicholas County (6-1) at No. 12 Bishop Brossart (5-3), 6 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Visiting Bishop Brossart won 42-34 in triple overtime on Oct. 2.
Why Nicholas County will win: Redemption. The Blue Jackets have to feel like they let their first meeting with the Mustangs get away after driving from their own 5-yard line to the Brossart 10 in the closing minutes. But Nicholas County doesn’t have a trusted kicker and time expired on that shot to win it. In overtime an interception ended the bid as they tried to answer Brossart’s third TD of the extra frame. Nicholas County racked up 472 total yards, with a balanced attack and got 102 yards rushing from Seth Tincher, 248 yards passing from Tate Letcher (a season high) and 53 yards and a pair of TDs from Spencer Neace.
Why Bishop Brossart will win: They have a kicker. In a close game, details matter. And while Brossart had an extra point that would have won their Oct. 2 game against Nicholas County blocked in the first overtime, more times than not, Andrew Schwartz has put them through. And those extra points are usually easier than two-point conversions. Running back Trevor Schadler leads a rush-dominated offense that punishes opposing defenses with more than 1,800 yards on the season. Schadler has 852 of that with 14 TDs.
@HLpreps pick: Nicholas County
The rest of the field
1ST DISTRICT
No. 9 Russellville (5-3) at No. 6 Crittenden County (6-2), 7 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Visiting Crittenden County won 47-6 on Oct. 23.
@HLpreps pick: Crittenden County.
2ND DISTRICT
No. 8 Bethlehem (6-2) at No. 1 Holy Cross (Louisville) (6-1), 6 p.m. Saturday.
Last time: Host Holy Cross won 54-43.
@HLpreps pick: Holy Cross.
3RD DISTRICT
No. 16 Eminence (4-5) at No. 2 Kentucky Country Day (7-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Visiting KCD won 49-16 on Oct. 23.
@HLpreps pick: Kentucky Country Day.
4TH DISTRICT
No. 20 Ludlow (4-5) vs. No. 7 Newport Central Catholic (6-2), 7 p.m. Friday at Newport Stadium.
Last time: Visiting NCC won 59-21 on Oct. 9.
@HLpreps pick: Newport Central Catholic.
6TH DISTRICT
No. 4 Paintsville (6-2) at No. 15 Raceland (4-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Host Raceland won 23-20 on Oct. 23.
@HLpreps pick: Paintsville.
7TH DISTRICT
No. 19 Hazard (3-5) at No. 3 Pikeville (6-2), 7 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Host Pikeville won 43-7 on Oct. 16.
@HLpreps pick: Pikeville.
8TH DISTRICT
No. 14 Pineville (5-2) at No. 10 Williamsburg (4-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Last time: Visiting Williamsburg won 40-0 on Oct. 16.
@HLpreps pick: Williamsburg.
Last year’s Class A district finals @HLpreps picks: 8-0.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 8:29 AM.
