Class 4A football finals preview: Boyle County vs. Franklin County
It’s championship weekend for the 2020 UK Orthopaedics/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl. Here’s a look at Friday’s Class 4A state title game at Kroger Field.
Boyle County (10-0) vs. Franklin County (9-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
RPI ratings: No. 1 Boyle County (.66888); No. 7 Franklin County (.59296).
Cantrall ratings: Boyle County (93.2); Franklin County (86.7)
Championship history: Boyle County (8-2) — The Rebels were runners-up last year; Franklin County (0-0) — This is the Flyers’ first appearance in a state finals.
How they got here: Boyle County defeated No. 12 Hopkinsville 55-0 in the state semis and No. 5 Lexington Catholic for the district championship. Franklin County toppled No. 2 Johnson Central 20-12 in the state semis and beat No. 4 Central for its district championship.
Quick hits:
▪ Boyle County ranks No. 1 in scoring offense and No. 2 in scoring defense in Class 4A with Franklin County coming in third and fourth in the division in those same categories.
▪ Franklin County wide receiver Fred Farrier ranks as a three-star recruit with 23 college offers, most notably Cincinnati and the military academies. His 98 yards receiving per game ranks seventh statewide and second in 4A.
▪ Boyle running back Will McDaniel, was recently named Class 4A player of the year by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association. He’s averaged 114 rushing yards per game.
▪ Franklin’s Nick Broyles edges Boyle’s Jagger Gillis in passing yards per game by a count of 272 to 208 with both ranking in 4A’s top five.
▪ The Flyers were among the teams that had to sit out early in the season due to having a COVID-19 issue within the team, forcing them out of action for nearly a month from Sept. 18 to Oct. 16. Boyle’s first-round playoff opponent opted out of the postseason and its third-round opponent was forced out by a COVID-19 issue.
▪ Boyle County has faced only one close game all season, but it didn’t start that way. The Rebels jumped on Lexington Catholic 28-0 in their district finals three weeks ago, but the Knights battled back and outscored Boyle 41-21 the rest of the way to close within eight points with 16 seconds left. A LexCath onside kick failed.
Boyle County standouts: Jagger Gillis, Sr. QB (1,869 yards/24 TDs passing, 330 yards/11 TDs rushing); Will McDaniel, Sr. RB (1,023 yards/19 TDs rushing, 293 yards/three TDs receiving); Luke Shepperson, Sr. WR/LB (576 yards/seven TDs receiving, 43 tackles/four sacks); Cole Lanter, Jr. WR (593 yards/nine TDs receiving). Tommy Ziesmer, So. DE (40 tackles/six sacks); Coleman Clark, Sr. LB (43 tackles/nine sacks).
Franklin County standouts: Nick Broyles, Sr. QB (2,176 yards/26 TDs passing, 133 yards/one TD rushing; Fred Farrier, Sr. WR — 977 yards/12 TDs receiving; Kaden Moorman, So. RB (568 yards/11 TDs rushing); Zach Claudio, Jr. WR/DB (587 yards/five TDs receiving, 86 yards/one TD rushing, 34 tackles, six interceptions (three for scores)); Phillip Peiffer, Sr. DE (92 tackles/13.5 sacks); Brenton Sears, Jr. LB (94 tackles).
@HLpreps pick: Boyle County 28, Franklin County 24.
This weekend’s championships
Where: Kroger Field
Tickets: Available by advance sale at KHSAA.org. No walk-up sales.
Online: Subscription required for live video stream at KHSAA.tv. Free audio stream at KHSAA.net
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Class A: Kentucky Country Day vs. Paintsville, 11 a.m.
Class 2A: Lexington Christian vs. Beechwood, 3 p.m.
Class 4A: Boyle County vs. Franklin County, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Class 3A: Elizabethtown vs. Ashland Blazer, 11 a.m.
Class 5A: Owensboro vs. Bowling Green, 3 p.m.
Class 6A: Trinity (Louisville) vs. Male, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 7:25 AM.
