The Scribe
11-11-2008, 01:26 AM
Bluegrasspreps.com Class 5A Football Playoff Preview
Special to BGP
Region 1
The first region battle could see any one of four teams emerge as the champion, with the winner a solid candidate to visit the turf at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in December.
Christian County (9-1) will host Barren County in the first round. The Colonels knocked off Owensboro for the district title and have only a road loss at Male as their only blemish.
Junior running back Vashun Banks has over 1,000 yards rushing and compliments quarterback James Bauer, who is nearing 1,000 yards through the air.
The Colonels have overcome some early season injuries to enter the post season on an eight-game winning streak.
Christian County could meet up with cross-town rival Hopkinsville in the second round if the Tigers can get past surprising Grayson County.
The Tigers (6-4) feature one of the state's best receivers in Victor Moulden, who has set several season and career receiving records at Hoptown.
They also have enough speed on defense to challenge Christian County, who already owns a 35-13 win over the Tigers this year.
Marshall Stewart and Joe Harris provide the offensive punch for the Tigers.
Grayson County (7-3) has put together one of the best seasons in school history and finds themselves hosting a playoff game for the first time since 1982.
Bradley Harrison has rushed for 839 yards and 11 touchdowns in the Grayson County veer option offense. Quarterback Hunter Grey has rushed for six touchdowns and thrown for four more.
Owensboro (9-1) came into the season as the favorite to win the region but coughed up a big lead late to Christian County in suffering their lone loss of the season.
However, Joe Prince's Red Devil squad is picked by many to win the region despite the earlier loss.
The Devils have as much team speed as anyone in the first two regions. Receiver Yante Williams and running back Yorel Shemwell give the Red Devils speed on the outside, with Shemwell rushing for 1,236 yards this year.
Williams is tough to throw against on defense, picking of eight passes on the season.
Owensboro hosts a Warren Central team that has staggered to a 3-7 record.
The Dragons will try and get the football into the hands of Tabarus Mitchell and Quenton Smith in hopes of pulling off the first round upset.
If Owensboro gets past Warren Central as they should, a potential second round game at Bowling Green looms large.
The Purples were rolling right along until hitting a speed bump last week in a loss to Henderson County.
The Purples (8-2) have some minor injuries to overcome and may be able to rest some players during their first round game with Ohio County.
Tevin Barksdale rushed for 1,113 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season, while quarterback J.P. Jackson is closing in on 1,000 yards through the air.
Bowling Green has prided themselves on defense in their recent runs to Louisville but have been prone to give up points to athletic teams this year.
Region Championship: Bowling Green 34 Christian County 28
Region 2
The Doss Dragons haven't advanced to a region title game in a dozen years and have never won a football region title.
Doss (8-2) features a nice one-two punch on offense in Jaquan Persley and Demitric Unseld who have combined for 1,200 yards. Unseld has also passed for 1,452 yards.
The Dragons appear to have the easiest path to the region championship game of any team in Class 5A.
Anderson County (6-4) averages 40 points a game but staggers into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak.
Quarterback Jacob Russell has thrown for 1,500 yards and spreads the football to three receivers -- Grant Cox, B.J. Robinson, and Jordan Alves.
Robinson has also rushed for over 900 yards for the Bearcats.
If Anderson County can rediscover their defense, they could give Doss a nice second round surprise.
Oldham County (8-2) is trying to make consecutive trips to the region championship for the first time in school history. Last year, the Colonels lost a hard fought 14-6 decision to Owensboro in the region title game.
The only blemishes on the Oldham County slate are a pair of losses to 6A powers St. Xavier and Madison Central. The Colonels also notched a win over 6A Scott County.
Dylan Underwood and Chad Dennis are the offensive stars for the Colonels and look to lead them back to the region title game and a potential showdown with Doss, which would be their first meeting in 30 years.
However, Oldham County would have to get past a battle-tested John Hardin (9-1) in the second round.
John Hardin's lone loss came to Doss a few weeks ago, which dropped them to a two seed.
John Hardin’s 3,800 yards of offense have come from several different weapons. Elias Camper and Landon Savoy have accounted for most of the 2,500 yards rushing, while Alex Dingle has provided 1,300 yards passing.
Tim Marcum has 30 receptions for 542 yards receiving. Calab Mitchell and Stanley Johnson have been a big part of the John Hardin defense, with both combining for nearly 80 tackles.
Region Championship: Doss 21 John Hardin 14
Region 3
The defending Class 5A state champion Highlands Bluebirds are perhaps the biggest favorite to win their respective class when the playoffs begin.
Highlands (9-1) hasn't lost to a Kentucky team this year and only Ryle has come within 20 points of the Bluebirds.
Highlands’ balanced offense has 2,079 passing yards and 1,938 rushing yards.
The bulk of the running game has been on the shoulders of Clint Crawford, who has 86 carries for 700 yards. Crawford has rebounded well since an early-season injury.
Tony Guidugli has been a very efficient quarterback with 1,841 passing yards.
His main main targets have been Austin Collinsworth, Nick Buten and Brandon Roller, with Collinsworth a threat to take the ball to the house on special teams.
Barring significant injuries, the Bluebirds should have little problem winning their 18th state title.
Highlands will have a little tougher game in the first round then they are used to in Bryan Station.
The Defenders (6-4) are led by running back Patrick Cornett, who has 1,281 yards.
On defense, Earl McCann has picked off a team-high eight passes.
Awaiting Highlands in the second round will be the winner of an intriguing first round game between Ashland and Dixie Heights.
The Tomcats (6-4) utilize the running of Rashard Carter and Josh Alber on offense, while quarterback Sam Hunter has stepped into the starting role at quarterback and done a nice job of directing the Ashland offense.
The Tomcats were on a roll until ending the season with district losses to Johnson Central and Bryan Station.
Ashland will have to find a way to stop Dixie Heights quarterback Ryan Wilson, who has accounted for over 1,500 yards of offense.
Dixie has struggled with physical teams, and both teams can put points up on the scoreboard. Don't expect a 7-6 first round game out of these two teams.
Holmes (2-8) travels to Johnson Central (9-1) to face and Eagle squad that suffered their first loss last week to Belfry.
The Eagles' smash-mouth style of football doesn't suit the style of Holmes, who enters the playoffs on a six-game losing streak.
Leading the Johnson Central rushing attack is Chase Richardson (1,224 yards) and Nathan Dillion (738 yards).
With Holmes giving up nearly 34 points a game, Johnson Central's running style shouldn't be tested much in the first round.
The Eagles would await the winner of Covington Catholic and Woodford County in the second round.
The Colonels have stumbled to a 4-6 record and have struggled to keep the ship adrift at times this year.
Covington Catholic hasn't lost a first round playoff game since 2003 and face a Woodford County (5-5) team capable of putting points on the scoreboard.
Woodford has been effective at passing the football, piling up 1,872 passing yards behind QB Steven Duckworth, who has completed 149 passes for 18 touchdowns.
Duckworth has well distributed the ball to Chris Jones, Bob Neal, Alex Forknr, Jordan Carter, and Steven Deavler. Woodford County has also made a habit of defending the pass, only allowing 752 passing yards all season.
Region Championship: Highlands 34 Johnson Central 21
Region 4
Put a bunch of teams in a bag, pick out a name, and that may be the best way to determine the Region 4 winner.
Whitley County (9-1) appears to be the frontrunner after rolling through the district unbeaten.
Jason Powers leads the Colonel offense with 1,177 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Cody Jones added 638 yards and 16 touchdowns.
While Whitley County has to be able to sidestep a few landmines along the way, they could be in position to host the playoffs all the way to Louisville if they can avoid the upset bug.
Getting past South Laurel (4-6) and their record setting quarterback Ricky Bowling (3,307 yards and 37 touchdowns) is their first objective.
Pulaski County (7-3) appears to have nearly everyone back to health, led by quarterback Chris Muse (1,027 rushing yards and 1,369 passing yards).
Winston Hines is approaching 1,000 yards on the ground and along with Tyler Stone leads the team in tackles on defense.
The Maroons will advance only as far as their defense can allow.
They must stop Clay County (6-4) and their record-setting quarterback Zach Lewis.
Mercer County hosts Perry County Central in a battle of 5-5 teams in the first round.
Jordan Yeast is the primary playmaker for Mercer County, who average 220 rushing yards a game.
Yeast and Matthew McCloud have combined for 1,700 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Mercer County's defense could give Perry Central's running game fits. The Titans allow just 88 rushing yards a game.
Demetri Travis (1,088 rushing yards) and Jordan Amis (1,312 passing yards) lead a Perry Central team that was in every game except a blowout loss to Whitley County.
Hillard Howard's Letcher County Central (8-2) squad wasn't challenged much by their non-district schedule, but they hope to repeat last year's long playoff run.
Quarterback Charlie Banks has accounted for over 2,000 yards of offense, while Greg Collins provides a nice offensive compliment to the signal caller.
LCC will play a Southwestern (5-5) team that has seen four of their games decided by a touchdown or less.
The Warriors give up 29 points a game, which doesn't appear to be a good matchup against the 41 points per game average of Letcher Central.
Region Championship: Whitley County 28 Mercer County 21
Sleeper team: Johnson Central. Johnson Central has a potent rushing attack, accumulated 3,229 yards on the ground.
The Eagles have been just as good at stopping the run, only allowing an average of 100 yards per game on the ground. Chase Richardson has proven to be hard to stop on the ground, rushing for 1,224 yards and equally as tough to stop on defense with over a hundred tackles this season.
State Semifinals
Doss 34 Bowling Green 21
Highlands 42 Whitley County 14
Championship
Highlands 35 Doss 21
Special to BGP
Region 1
The first region battle could see any one of four teams emerge as the champion, with the winner a solid candidate to visit the turf at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in December.
Christian County (9-1) will host Barren County in the first round. The Colonels knocked off Owensboro for the district title and have only a road loss at Male as their only blemish.
Junior running back Vashun Banks has over 1,000 yards rushing and compliments quarterback James Bauer, who is nearing 1,000 yards through the air.
The Colonels have overcome some early season injuries to enter the post season on an eight-game winning streak.
Christian County could meet up with cross-town rival Hopkinsville in the second round if the Tigers can get past surprising Grayson County.
The Tigers (6-4) feature one of the state's best receivers in Victor Moulden, who has set several season and career receiving records at Hoptown.
They also have enough speed on defense to challenge Christian County, who already owns a 35-13 win over the Tigers this year.
Marshall Stewart and Joe Harris provide the offensive punch for the Tigers.
Grayson County (7-3) has put together one of the best seasons in school history and finds themselves hosting a playoff game for the first time since 1982.
Bradley Harrison has rushed for 839 yards and 11 touchdowns in the Grayson County veer option offense. Quarterback Hunter Grey has rushed for six touchdowns and thrown for four more.
Owensboro (9-1) came into the season as the favorite to win the region but coughed up a big lead late to Christian County in suffering their lone loss of the season.
However, Joe Prince's Red Devil squad is picked by many to win the region despite the earlier loss.
The Devils have as much team speed as anyone in the first two regions. Receiver Yante Williams and running back Yorel Shemwell give the Red Devils speed on the outside, with Shemwell rushing for 1,236 yards this year.
Williams is tough to throw against on defense, picking of eight passes on the season.
Owensboro hosts a Warren Central team that has staggered to a 3-7 record.
The Dragons will try and get the football into the hands of Tabarus Mitchell and Quenton Smith in hopes of pulling off the first round upset.
If Owensboro gets past Warren Central as they should, a potential second round game at Bowling Green looms large.
The Purples were rolling right along until hitting a speed bump last week in a loss to Henderson County.
The Purples (8-2) have some minor injuries to overcome and may be able to rest some players during their first round game with Ohio County.
Tevin Barksdale rushed for 1,113 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season, while quarterback J.P. Jackson is closing in on 1,000 yards through the air.
Bowling Green has prided themselves on defense in their recent runs to Louisville but have been prone to give up points to athletic teams this year.
Region Championship: Bowling Green 34 Christian County 28
Region 2
The Doss Dragons haven't advanced to a region title game in a dozen years and have never won a football region title.
Doss (8-2) features a nice one-two punch on offense in Jaquan Persley and Demitric Unseld who have combined for 1,200 yards. Unseld has also passed for 1,452 yards.
The Dragons appear to have the easiest path to the region championship game of any team in Class 5A.
Anderson County (6-4) averages 40 points a game but staggers into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak.
Quarterback Jacob Russell has thrown for 1,500 yards and spreads the football to three receivers -- Grant Cox, B.J. Robinson, and Jordan Alves.
Robinson has also rushed for over 900 yards for the Bearcats.
If Anderson County can rediscover their defense, they could give Doss a nice second round surprise.
Oldham County (8-2) is trying to make consecutive trips to the region championship for the first time in school history. Last year, the Colonels lost a hard fought 14-6 decision to Owensboro in the region title game.
The only blemishes on the Oldham County slate are a pair of losses to 6A powers St. Xavier and Madison Central. The Colonels also notched a win over 6A Scott County.
Dylan Underwood and Chad Dennis are the offensive stars for the Colonels and look to lead them back to the region title game and a potential showdown with Doss, which would be their first meeting in 30 years.
However, Oldham County would have to get past a battle-tested John Hardin (9-1) in the second round.
John Hardin's lone loss came to Doss a few weeks ago, which dropped them to a two seed.
John Hardin’s 3,800 yards of offense have come from several different weapons. Elias Camper and Landon Savoy have accounted for most of the 2,500 yards rushing, while Alex Dingle has provided 1,300 yards passing.
Tim Marcum has 30 receptions for 542 yards receiving. Calab Mitchell and Stanley Johnson have been a big part of the John Hardin defense, with both combining for nearly 80 tackles.
Region Championship: Doss 21 John Hardin 14
Region 3
The defending Class 5A state champion Highlands Bluebirds are perhaps the biggest favorite to win their respective class when the playoffs begin.
Highlands (9-1) hasn't lost to a Kentucky team this year and only Ryle has come within 20 points of the Bluebirds.
Highlands’ balanced offense has 2,079 passing yards and 1,938 rushing yards.
The bulk of the running game has been on the shoulders of Clint Crawford, who has 86 carries for 700 yards. Crawford has rebounded well since an early-season injury.
Tony Guidugli has been a very efficient quarterback with 1,841 passing yards.
His main main targets have been Austin Collinsworth, Nick Buten and Brandon Roller, with Collinsworth a threat to take the ball to the house on special teams.
Barring significant injuries, the Bluebirds should have little problem winning their 18th state title.
Highlands will have a little tougher game in the first round then they are used to in Bryan Station.
The Defenders (6-4) are led by running back Patrick Cornett, who has 1,281 yards.
On defense, Earl McCann has picked off a team-high eight passes.
Awaiting Highlands in the second round will be the winner of an intriguing first round game between Ashland and Dixie Heights.
The Tomcats (6-4) utilize the running of Rashard Carter and Josh Alber on offense, while quarterback Sam Hunter has stepped into the starting role at quarterback and done a nice job of directing the Ashland offense.
The Tomcats were on a roll until ending the season with district losses to Johnson Central and Bryan Station.
Ashland will have to find a way to stop Dixie Heights quarterback Ryan Wilson, who has accounted for over 1,500 yards of offense.
Dixie has struggled with physical teams, and both teams can put points up on the scoreboard. Don't expect a 7-6 first round game out of these two teams.
Holmes (2-8) travels to Johnson Central (9-1) to face and Eagle squad that suffered their first loss last week to Belfry.
The Eagles' smash-mouth style of football doesn't suit the style of Holmes, who enters the playoffs on a six-game losing streak.
Leading the Johnson Central rushing attack is Chase Richardson (1,224 yards) and Nathan Dillion (738 yards).
With Holmes giving up nearly 34 points a game, Johnson Central's running style shouldn't be tested much in the first round.
The Eagles would await the winner of Covington Catholic and Woodford County in the second round.
The Colonels have stumbled to a 4-6 record and have struggled to keep the ship adrift at times this year.
Covington Catholic hasn't lost a first round playoff game since 2003 and face a Woodford County (5-5) team capable of putting points on the scoreboard.
Woodford has been effective at passing the football, piling up 1,872 passing yards behind QB Steven Duckworth, who has completed 149 passes for 18 touchdowns.
Duckworth has well distributed the ball to Chris Jones, Bob Neal, Alex Forknr, Jordan Carter, and Steven Deavler. Woodford County has also made a habit of defending the pass, only allowing 752 passing yards all season.
Region Championship: Highlands 34 Johnson Central 21
Region 4
Put a bunch of teams in a bag, pick out a name, and that may be the best way to determine the Region 4 winner.
Whitley County (9-1) appears to be the frontrunner after rolling through the district unbeaten.
Jason Powers leads the Colonel offense with 1,177 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Cody Jones added 638 yards and 16 touchdowns.
While Whitley County has to be able to sidestep a few landmines along the way, they could be in position to host the playoffs all the way to Louisville if they can avoid the upset bug.
Getting past South Laurel (4-6) and their record setting quarterback Ricky Bowling (3,307 yards and 37 touchdowns) is their first objective.
Pulaski County (7-3) appears to have nearly everyone back to health, led by quarterback Chris Muse (1,027 rushing yards and 1,369 passing yards).
Winston Hines is approaching 1,000 yards on the ground and along with Tyler Stone leads the team in tackles on defense.
The Maroons will advance only as far as their defense can allow.
They must stop Clay County (6-4) and their record-setting quarterback Zach Lewis.
Mercer County hosts Perry County Central in a battle of 5-5 teams in the first round.
Jordan Yeast is the primary playmaker for Mercer County, who average 220 rushing yards a game.
Yeast and Matthew McCloud have combined for 1,700 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Mercer County's defense could give Perry Central's running game fits. The Titans allow just 88 rushing yards a game.
Demetri Travis (1,088 rushing yards) and Jordan Amis (1,312 passing yards) lead a Perry Central team that was in every game except a blowout loss to Whitley County.
Hillard Howard's Letcher County Central (8-2) squad wasn't challenged much by their non-district schedule, but they hope to repeat last year's long playoff run.
Quarterback Charlie Banks has accounted for over 2,000 yards of offense, while Greg Collins provides a nice offensive compliment to the signal caller.
LCC will play a Southwestern (5-5) team that has seen four of their games decided by a touchdown or less.
The Warriors give up 29 points a game, which doesn't appear to be a good matchup against the 41 points per game average of Letcher Central.
Region Championship: Whitley County 28 Mercer County 21
Sleeper team: Johnson Central. Johnson Central has a potent rushing attack, accumulated 3,229 yards on the ground.
The Eagles have been just as good at stopping the run, only allowing an average of 100 yards per game on the ground. Chase Richardson has proven to be hard to stop on the ground, rushing for 1,224 yards and equally as tough to stop on defense with over a hundred tackles this season.
State Semifinals
Doss 34 Bowling Green 21
Highlands 42 Whitley County 14
Championship
Highlands 35 Doss 21