Picks for every Kentucky high school football playoff game. And a COVID-19 update.
There’s no doubt COVID-19 represents the toughest opponent this season both in everyday life and in Kentucky high school football.
It’s a tortured comparison, but sports have been wedged into the health debate as people struggle for a sense of normalcy during a global pandemic. Football matters less, but still matters to many.
And with only three weeks remaining until champions are scheduled be crowned in each of the state’s six football classes, those involved in the sport know what’s at stake.
“We cannot lose our focus on COVID-19 protocols. We cannot lose focus,” Frederick Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek told his team in their postgame talk after a win over Scott County last Friday. “We’ve got to make sure we stay diligent for three more weeks in everything we do.”
Douglass, like many other high school sports teams in Kentucky, has faced canceled games, isolation protocols on their team and within their school, and has carried with them the knowledge that — at any moment — their season could end if someone in or around the program exhibits symptoms and tests positive for the virus.
That happened to fellow Class 5A regional finalists Madison Southern, and Fairdale this week, and Class 4A finalist Rowan County on Wednesday. The Class 5A withdrawals mean two of Douglass’s potential opponents, if the Broncos advance, have bye weeks leading into the state semifinals.
The prospect of being forced out by COVID-19 is a weight everyone carries.
“This year, even though we’ve played a lot less games, I feel more tired than I even did last year when we played all the games,” Paul Laurence Dunbar Coach Wes Johnson said after the Bulldogs captured their first district championship in two decades. “Just because the mental weight answering every phone call with the possibility of ‘Coach, I have COVID’ or just being shut down and starting and stopping,”
Dunbar had three regular-season games canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The difficulties also make the season more precious.
“I think that to be at this point is a relief in a lot of ways,” Johnson said. “Because we kind of made it through the gauntlet of all the obstacles that this 2020 senior class all over the state has had to face. A lot of those kids out in the state are not so lucky.”
So far, at least 30 teams out of Kentucky’s 224 programs have had their seasons end due to COVID-19 rather than a loss on the field, and 28 of those have been during the playoffs.
Predictions
This week’s regional finals games and @HLpreps’ picks.
CLASS 6A
- Best game: No. 6 Paul Laurence Dunbar (6-2) at No. 3 Bryan Station (10-1), 7 p.m. Note: Bryan Station had its most explosive offensive game, yet, last week with more than 300 yards passing and more than 300 yards rushing. @HLpreps pick: Bryan Station.
- No. 10 St. Xavier (5-2) at No. 2 North Hardin (9-0), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: North Hardin.
- No. 7 McCracken County (5-2) at No. 5 Male (6-1), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Male.
- No. 12 Dixie Heights (6-3) at No. 1 Trinity (7-0), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Trinity.
CLASS 5A
- Best game: No. 9 Frederick Douglass (6-1) at No. 4 Southwestern (10-1), 7 p.m. Note: The Warriors’ run-dominated offense has generated more than 3,200 yards led by Tanner Wright with 1,320. @HLpreps pick: Douglass.
- No. 8 North Bullitt (8-2) at No. 5 Bowling Green (7-2), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Bowling Green
- No. 14 Madison Southern (6-3) at No. 3 Covington Catholic (9-1), canceled due to COVID-19.
- No. 11 Fairdale (7-0) at No. 1 Owensboro (10-0), canceled due to COVID-19.
CLASS 4A
- Best game: No. 14 John Hardin (5-2) at No. 12 Hopkinsville (6-2), 7 p.m. Note: Hoptown turned a corner and avenged a midseason loss to Logan County last week. John Hardin’s Keyandre Strand rushed for 301 yards in their district final. @HLpreps pick: Hopkinsville.
- No. 19 Allen County-Scottsville (5-3) at No. 7 Franklin County (7-1), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Franklin County.
- No. 3 Corbin (8-1) at No. 2 Johnson Central (9-0), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Johnson Central.
- No. 18 Rowan County (4-3) at No. 1 Boyle County (8-0), canceled due to COVID-19.
CLASS 3A
- Best game: No. 9 Christian Academy-Louisville (6-2) at No. 8 Glasgow (7-2), 7 p.m. Note: CAL took a couple of tough losses early and is playing its best football late with a balanced attack and playmakers at QB-Connor Clayton Masters, RB-Brandt Babin, and WR-Easton Messer. @HLpreps pick: Christian Academy-Louisville.
- No. 12 Bell County (6-3) at No. 7 Belfry (6-3), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Belfry.
- No. 17 Fleming County (4-3) at No. 2 Ashland Blazer (8-0), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Ashland.
- No. 19 Union County (5-4) at No. 1 Elizabethtown (10-0), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Elizabethtown.
CLASS 2A
- Best game: No. 11 Owensboro Catholic (7-3) at No. 9 Murray (7-3), 7 p.m. Note: Murray has played in back-to-back win-or-go-home overtime games. Could be another thriller here against a potent Aces offense. @HLpreps pick: Murray.
- No. 14 Metcalfe County (5-2) at No. 1 Lexington Christian (7-1), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: LCA.
- No. 19 Walton-Verona (7-4) at No. 2 West Carter (9-1), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: West Carter.
- No. 12 Breathitt County (6-1) at No. 4 Beechwood (7-2), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Beechwood.
CLASS A
- Best game: No. 19 Hazard (4-5) at No. 4 Paintsville (7-2), 7 p.m. Note: Hazard lost this game 54-0 on Sept. 25, but after beating defending champ and No. 1 Pikeville last week, anything seems possible. @HLpreps pick: Paintsville.
- No. 11 Nicholas County (6-1) at No. 10 Williamsburg (5-2), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Williamsburg.
- No. 7 Newport Central Catholic (7-2) at No. 1 Holy Cross (Louisville) (7-1), 7 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Newport Central Catholic.
- No. 6 Crittenden County (7-2) at No. 2 Kentucky Country Day (8-1), 7:30 p.m. @HLpreps pick: Crittenden County.
Last week’s @HLpreps’ picks record: 35-10. (Three games canceled).
Last year’s @HLpreps regional pick’s record: 21-3.
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 11:41 AM.
