2009 Kentucky High School Football Class 6A Playoff Preview

[Bluegrasspreps]

Class 6A Football Playoff Preview

By Oxnard

In 2009 the KHSAA has once again spun the wheel of fortune shuffling the eight districts among the four regions. With this year’s alignment, it is once again possible for perennial powers, Saint Xavier and Trinity to meet in the state finals. However, if either or both of these schools reach the finals this season, they will no longer find themselves in the friendly home environment of Louisville’s Papa John’s Stadium. In an even bigger move than realigning district contests, the KHSAA has moved the final site to Western University’s stadium in Bowling Green. Given the fact that the talent level seems to be much more evenly matched amongst the top 10-15 contenders than usual, this movement of site venue may open the doorway for a non-Jefferson County school to grab the gold ring.

There are no undefeated teams in the 6A playoffs, and, as stated earlier, there are at least 10-15 teams capable of beating any others on any given day, as has occurred so often during the regular season.

Now it is time to look at the road to the championship. Please note that all statistics mentioned in this preview include only those games reported to the KHSAA unless otherwise noted.

Region 1 (District 1 vs. District 2)

Although these may be the two weakest districts in Class 6A this season, the regional games may be the most competitive and difficult to predict. There are no BGP Top 10 teams in this Region.

From District 1 the #1 seed, Henderson County (7-3), enters the playoffs off of a close 17-14 loss to BGP #5 5A Owensboro, after having previously run off six straight victories against a mediocre schedule. Through their first nine games, the Colonels have outscored the opposition 267-169. They rely on a strong running attack for 65% of their yardage led by RB Javaris Lewis with 722 yards. QB Kolby O’Daniel leads the Colonels’ air attack with 40 completions in 89 attempts for 862 yards and 12 TDs. The Henderson County defense has been a major source of strength yielding only 854 yards rushing and 1380 yards passing.

The #2 seed behind Henderson County is Graves County (7-3). Not much was expected from the Eagles in preseason, but after a 13-0 loss to Henderson County, they have finished strong with three straight victories. Coach Gregory’s squad has outscored the opposition by an average of 17-10. As you can tell by this score, Graves County relies heavily on their defense. P-TE-LB Rex Coleman, RB-LB Colby Riley, and C-DT Hunter McGuire are three of the Eagles key players. No stats were available.

The #3 seed in this WKY district goes to Apollo (6-4). Coach Paul Bates’ Eagles got off to an excellent start with a 5-1 record, before being dealt three tight losses in a row. They closed the season with a 22-6 win over Madisonville-North Hopkins. Apollo has outscored its opponents by 220-126. OT-DT Harris Bivin is a force on the line of scrimmage and has already committed to Louisville. Other players of note include QB Hunter Cannon, WR-DB DJ McHenry, and RB-LB Nick Laster. No stats were available.

Newly formed Muhlenberg County (3-7) claimed the #4 seed for District 1. Although Coach Josh Staples’ first-year team has been outscored 300-178 in the regular season, they enter the playoffs with two consecutive victories over Daviess County and Breckinridge County. The team’s main vulnerability was on the ground, as they yielded 2,094 yards rushing while only giving up 763 yards in the air. No stats were available.

Greenwood (7-3) claimed its third consecutive and first outright District 2 title this year, The Gators of Coach Mark Nelson were flying high on a four game winning streak until losing the finale to their cross-town rival, Warren Central 22-21 in OT. They have almost doubled the score on their opponents with a 270-139 seasonal margin. Greenwood seems to prefer the pass over the run with a 60/40 ratio. QB Ty Downing has completed 79 of 176 passes for 13 touchdowns, but has also been intercepted 7 times. Downing’s main receiving targets are Ricky Adams and Nehemiah Mkanta with about 25 catches each. Sam Wilson leads an outstanding linebacker group with about 90 solo tackles.

Meade County (5-5) finished very strong at the end of the season with five straight victories for Coach Larry Mofield to get the #2 seed. The “for and against” scoring for the Green Wave was perfectly balanced also at 226-226. The strong early season schedule against teams like John Hardin, Fern Creek and Ballard seemed to sharpen them for their stretch run as well as raise their playoff expectations. The Green Wave is a grind it out team who likes to wear you out both offensively and defensively in the trenches. LB Ricky Funk and OL-DL Brandean Kenealy are two players of note. No stats submitted.

Nelson County (5-5), the preseason district favorite, ended with the #3 seed. Their “for and against” scoring was 217-220. The formerly ground-oriented Cardinals tried to adopt a more balanced offense this season under new Coach Jamie Eglie and were fairly successful. QB Tyler Martinez ran for 270 yards and completed 50% of 170 passes for 1,029 yards and 11 TDs, but he also gave up 10 interceptions. Alex Downs and Quinton Brooks led the ground assault, each averaging about 5 yards per carry. LB Ryan Wimsett led the defensive charge. The Cardinals were hampered a lot during the season with injuries to key personnel, but they are starting to heal now.

Central Hardin (6-4) claimed the forth and final district playoff spot. The Bruins season was almost the reverse of Meade County, as they began hot with six straight victories and ended with four straight defeats. For the season, Coach Mike Lawson’s spread offense won the scoring battle 299-228, while accumulating 65% of its yardage in the air. QB Dylan Beger completed 132 out of 219 attempts for 20 TDs, but was picked off 16 times. Tristan Long was Beger’s main target with 44 receptions for 750 yards. John Wallace proved that he was one of the best kickers in Kentucky by hitting nine field goals.

In the Region 1 first round games, Henderson County will secure the only win for District 1 by holding on for a 7-point margin over a revived Central Hardin team.

In a major low-scoring battle in the trenches, Meade County will continue its late season charge by upending Apollo by about 10 points.

Greenwood will take out its frustration for the Warren Central loss by crushing Muhlenberg County.

Nelson County will have most of its players back, and that will spell trouble and the end of the road for Graves County.
In second round action, Meade County utilizes a late goal line stand to upset Henderson County on their home field, while Greenwood proves that it just has too much defense for Nelson County to overcome.

Greenwood defeated Meade County 28-13 at Greenwood in mid-season, but the Green Wave finished undefeated from there on out. Both teams have excellent defenses, which should result in a low-scoring slobber knocker. However, Greenwood has the better offense.

Region 1 Final Prediction: Greenwood 13 – Meade County 10

Region 2 (District 3 vs. District 6)

A lot of the heavyweights of Kentucky high school football will compete in Region 2 this year. One of the top two teams in the BGP Final Rankings will not survive to even reach the playoff semi-finals. Within District 3 BGP #1 Saint Xavier and #10 Manual reside. Stacked against them in District 6 is BGP #2 Simon Kenton, #9 Ryle, and a Conner team which barely missed the Top 10. Attention to detain, injury avoidance, and some degree of luck, may determine who survives to advance.

Saint Xavier (9-1) once again won the #1 seed in District 3. Coach Mike Glaser’s Tigers only loss came at the hands of nationally ranked Cincinnati Saint Xavier. Although not as dominating as last year, against a very tough schedule St. X. still outscored their opponents by an average of 39-12. With a 70/30 ratio, the Tigers depend heavily on their fast and powerful rushing attack. The ground forces are led by the triple-headed dragon of Jeremiah Neal, Mike Montano, and LaMont McMurray, all of whom have rushed for between 500-600 yards. Without doubt, the leader of this team is QB Brian Buehner, who is very dangerous on both the pass and the run. They are led defensively by LB DeVontae Beach, S Nick Sears, and CB Daylen Hall. The Tigers also have one of the best K/P combos in Wyatt Gray.

Manual (4-6), who beyond doubt played the toughest schedule in Kentucky, earned the #2 seed. The Crimsons of Coach Joe Nichols were outscored for the season 212-195. However with the exception of Cincinnati Colerain, they were close in every loss, including a 28-21 defeat by St. X. Manual’s wing-t offense has been about 75% on the ground and 25% through the air. QB Derek Woodmore is equally dangerous on the pass and run. The rushing attack is led by RB’s Demontre Warr and Marcus Helm, while the strength of the 4-4 defense is the linebacking corps.

Pleasure Ridge Park (3-7) upset Butler to claim the #3 seed. The Panthers of Coach Jason Heiser have been outscored 223-142 against a tough schedule. Instability at the QB position has hurt PRP all season offensively, so their main moments have come via the run. Aaron Shelton and Jacque Taylor are carrying most of the rushing load for the Panthers.

After starting the season with six straight victories, Butler (6-4) skidded to the finish line with four straight losses and the #4 seed. The Bears of Coach Scott Carmody ended regular season with a 249-206 scoring advantage. The offense obtained 80% of its yardage on the ground, led by hard-charging DeAngelo Thomas who averaged over 6 yards per carry. An excellent offensive line is one of the major strengths of the Bears. They also have an outstanding kicker and punter in Kevin Carrillo.

In strong District 6, the Pioneers of Simon Kenton (9-1) crushed their opposition to claim the #1 seed and a hoped for return to the state finals. Their only loss came against BGP #4 Henry Clay 42-31 early in the season. Coach Jeff Marksberry’s squad rolled up the highest victory margin in 6A, winning by an average of 49-18. Their potent spread option offense is led by the front runner for Kentucky Mr. Football, RB Miles Simpson, who has rushed for 1,777 yards while averaging 10.8 yards per carry. Stopping Simpson alone will not derail the Pioneers, since QB Chad Lawrence has passed for 1,390 yards and ran for 846 more. In addition, massive tackle, Jordan Hansel is generally conceded to be one of the best linemen in the state. Defensively, the Pioneers run a confusing 3-5 scheme, which is astoundingly quick in pursuit to the ball.

A potent Ryle (7-3) team is the #2 seed, after having lost only to Simon Kenton (49-29) and 5A power Highlands (twice). The Raiders of Coach Bryson Warner rolled up an impressive victory margin of 38-22 over their opponents using a fairly balanced attack. The rushing game is led by RB Travis Elliott who rambled for over 1,500 yards. QB Conner Hempel leads the air attack with over 1,600 yards, 16 TDs and only four interceptions. Court Mace and Logan Carney lead the defense with over 100 tackles each.

Conner (8-2) was stuck with the #3 seed because their two losses were to district foes, Simon Kenton (56-14) and Ryle (31-22). The Cougars rolled to an average victory margin of 35-18 for Coach Trosper.
Running a 60/40 pass to run offense, super QB Nick West is the key linchpin, having passed for 2,166 yards and 18 TDs, while also running for 970 yards and an additional 18 TDs. RB Austin Pugh provides the main support for the run, and Anthony Boden and Michael Gill provide most of the pass receptions. Huston Dockery, Austin Pugh, and Brady Fogel lead the Cougar defense in tackles.

Boone County (4-6) won the last seed at #4 after being one of the preseason district favorites. After starting the season well with a 31-23 away victory over a good Lafayette team, the Rebels seemed to stumble often from there on out. Coach Rick Thompson’s squad was outscored 341-218 for the season. Although the Rebels returned two outstanding RBs in Charles Quainoo and Jordan Oppenheimer, who rambled for 1,557 and 602 yards respectively, the offensive line was not strong enough to provide the openings when most needed. In addition they were only able to generate 676 yards through the air for the entire season. The usual tough defense was burned for a per game average of 258 yards on the ground and 128 yards through the air. The Rebels are hoping for a new start as the playoffs commence.

In the first round games, the higher seeded teams should all emerge victorious. St. X. and Simon Kenton should easily dispose of Boone County and Butler with runaway wins. Ryle should follow suit by soundly trouncing an overmatched Pleasure Ridge Park team.

The regional highlight game of this first week should be the Manual/Conner contest. Although the field at Manual Stadium is a mud-mired mess from overuse, the forecast is no rain for five days prior to the game. A wet field would have greatly benefited Manual in being able to stop Conner QB Nick West, but it looks like now the Crimsons’ defense will have to do it all on their own. With the dry field, I look for this to be a high scoring affair. Manual’s overall superior team speed will prove decisive in a heart-pounding 41-38 Crimson victory.

In the second round games which are both rematches, Saint Xavier confronts Manual on field-turf instead of mud. The sure footing allows the Tigers to flex their speed muscles and gain a three touchdown victory. In the other rematch, Ryle comes out stronger against Simon Kenton in the first half this time and only trails by seven at the break. However, in the second half Simpson and Lawrence start finding bigger holes as the Ryle defense wears down. At the same time the Pioneers defense kicks into high gear against the Rebel attack.. In the end it’s Simon Kenton again by 20 points.

In a regional final made in heaven, BGP #1 Saint Xavier faces BGP #2 Simon Kenton at St. X. The Tigers strong and quick 4-3 defense will be supremely challenged trying to contain the running of Simpson, while at the same time keeping a mindful eye on the running and passing of Laurence, as Simon Kenton attacks St. X. behind an excellent offensive line. In a like manner, the Pioneers attacking 3-5 defense will be confronted by more speed than they have seen all season as the Tigers shuffle Neal, Montano, McMurray, Hayden and Hall in a wide variety of alignments led by ever-dangerous Brian Buehner at QB. This game will go back-and-forth in a high scoring affair, which will be decided in the end by team depth and a field goal.

Region 2 Final Prediction: Saint Xavier 38 – Simon Kenton 35

Region 3 (District 4 vs. District 5)

This regional contest also contains four highly ranked teams, three of whom will see their championship hopes dashed earlier than they would like. In District 4 we have BGP #6 Male, #8 Shelby County, and a Fern Creek team which has been in and out of the Top 10 all year. Opposing them from District 5 are the four-time reigning champions and current BGP #3 Trinity and BGP #5 Ballard. When teams are so evenly matched, the games are often decided by injuries, turnovers and luck.

Perennial power Male (8-2) laid claim to the #1 seed in District 4 after blasting through a hard schedule with losses only to Ballard (7-3 in the mud) and St. X. (62-21), when nothing seem to go right for the Bulldogs. Under longtime Coach Bob Redman, they piled up a 386-221 scoring advantage during the regular season. Undersized and inexperienced offensive linemen are a thing of the past, as the youngsters have matured to form a cohesive group which averages 230 lbs. across the front. Male is blessed as always with speed, but this year they have incorporated the run much more than usual in the offense, using it 60% of the time. RB’s John Giddens and Ronjae Morris have both run for 700 yards and average 7 yards per carry. QB Dexter Britt has assured everyone that the pass has not been forgotten by completing 71 of 119 for 14 TDs and only one interception. The Bulldogs have beefed up their press defense by using some OL on the DL, and have been stingy on the run this year yielding only 886 yards.

Shelby County (8-2) surprised almost everyone this year and won the #2 seed. After suffering horrendous injury losses last season, the Rockets of Coach Todd Shipley returned a lot of experienced talent this year, who stormed to a 366-212 scoring advantage over their opponents. Their only losses came to # 7 Bryan Station (38-26) and #6 Male (35-21) as their spread formation passing attack proved too much for the other teams. With Ben Axline and Travis Elzy getting most of the receptions, QB Branden Cresap passed for 1,356 yards, 21 TDs, and only 2 interceptions in the first seven games. In these same games, RB Quinten Cottrell provided 591 rushing yards on 103 carries. Michael Brooks and Logan Forrest lead an improving defense in tackles.

Fern Creek (7-3), expected to challenge Male for district supremacy, fell short and got the #3 seed. The Tigers of Coach Curtis Higgins were very inconsistent as they got excellent wins over Manual (31-28) and Scott County (27-19), but were soundly beaten by Male (59-13) and Shelby County (39-13). Operating mostly out of the spread formation, the attack was balanced with 1,850 yards coming on the ground and 1,720 yards coming through the air. QB Bryan Hynes completed 89 of 148 attempts for 17 TDs while being intercepted six times. Super-quick RB’s Jerrell Moore and Taj Jarrett rambled for over 9 yards per carry as they rushed for 838 and 450 yards respectively. Fern Creek’s defense proved somewhat vulnerable to ground attacks, yielding almost 200 yards per game. Cortez Mack led the team in tackles with 84.

Southern (1-9) was fortunate enough to be in a four-team district, which enabled them to claim the fourth and final seed. The Trojans were battered and had a horrible time trying to generate any semblance of an offense, as they were outscored 361-144 for the year. TE Chris Richard is a player of note for Southern, and Cole Compton was the best RB. No stats were available.

There was nothing new in District 5 as Trinity (6-4) secured the #1 seed, but their final record was somewhat surprising. The talent level in the upper classes for the Rocks was not near as high as usual, and this year’s schedule was a bear. Their losses came to Lawrence North, IN (31-14), Cincinnati Elder, OH (26-7), Cincinnati Saint Xavier, OH (43-13), and rival Louisville Saint Xavier (31-7). Although the Rocks finished with four straight wins, they struggled in the last two games against Ballard (21-14) and 4A Lexington Catholic (14-13). Nevertheless, the four-time reigning champion, will still be one of the title favorites. Coach Bob Beatty is infusing the team with highly talented sophomores and freshmen for the stretch run. The offense has relied much more on the run this year with RB’s Xavier Thomas and Derek Bishop supplying the yardage. QB Brad Kragthorpe triggers a very diverse passing scheme. Wide receivers Rob Melillo, Darick Nix, and James Quick are the main targets. Defensively Trinity has only surrendered 48 points in their last four games.

Ballard (7-3) matured early to grab the #2 seed. The Bruins of Coach Jackson were expected to be one year away from title contention, but they only fell to St. X. (35-6), 3A #1Central (32-29), and Trinity (21-14). Ballard has outscored the opposition by 245 -158. Operating mostly out of a no-huddle spread formation, the Bruins major weapon is the pass from run/pass QB Dominique Dickerson to tall, fast, sure-handed WR DeVante Parker. On the ground, defenders must be made aware of the scrambling ability of Dickerson, while also keeping an eye on RB Greg Harrison. No stats were available.

Seneca (4-6) gets the #3 seed after major injuries deflated their expectations. Quarterback DaMarcus Smith, the most highly rated junior in Kentucky, was lost to a knee injury shortly before the season began. Shortly thereafter, top RB and LB Devin Mitchell, also was lost for the season. Coach Louis Dover was forced to do some major personnel shuffling to fill the voids in his high octane spread passing attack. RB/WR Jordan Bender was rushed to QB where he hopefully could get the ball into the hands of super receivers Aaron Nance and Jordan Jacobs. Other injuries depleted a formerly strong line and further scrambling ensued. As one can tell from the team record, the moves were only partially successful. No stats were available.

#4 seed Eastern (3-7) was another team rated high in the preseason, which never seemed to fit the pieces together. The Eagles under Coach Jim Whalen were only able to claim victories over Oldham County (22-21), Bullitt Central (27-25) and Jeffersontown (29-7), all 5A teams. Over the season, Eastern was outscored 316-212. Much like Seneca, the Eagles were bitten badly by the injury bug. All-State candidate, WR/RB/LB, Jon Davis was limited to only 162 yards rushing and 264 yards receiving for the entire season. The rotation at QB between Joe Kenn and Tanner Evans proved unproductive as interceptions outnumbered touchdowns by 14-11. Josh Hayden was the leading receiver with 427 yards, and Chris Parks and James Reed led in rushing with 521 and 459 yards respectively. Linebackers, Nick Hamilton and Jon Davis, are the defensive leaders.

In first round action in the regional, Trinity will blow out to a big early lead over Southern, allowing Coach Beatty the chance to build the experience level of his young talent in this Rock victory. In a like manner, Male will quickly frustrate Eastern with its pesky press defense while rolling to a running clock early in the 2nd half.

The other two contests will be much more competitive. Fern Creek and Ballard will have footballs flying all over the field, and the lead will change multiple times. However, in the end, Ballard super WR DeVante Parker will provide the Bruins with a 7-point victory.

The final first round game is a rematch between Shelby County and Seneca, where Shelby County squeaked by 31-30. While the Redhawks can still be dangerous despite their injuries, Shelby County has improved on both offense and defense. Shelby County will win 28-14.

The second round games are both virtual tossups. Shelby County’s passing attack will expose a lot of holes in Trinity’s secondary, and the Rockets finally have enough strength at running back to keep the defense honest. The only problem for the Rockets is that the Rocks sophisticated passing routes will befuddle the Shelby County defensive backs, resulting in big completions. This contest in the end will boil down to who has the better ground game, and I give the slightest of margins (1-3 points) to Trinity.

Male versus Ballard is another rematch of a recent mud game won 7-3 by Ballard. This time, however, the field is projected to be dry which I believe helps the Bulldogs more than Bruins. Male emerges the victor 20-14.

Male and Trinity will face each other for the first time in many years. The offensive and defensive schemes have not changed much, but the level of personnel is considerably down from their last confrontation. Male could very well derail the Rocks in this game. However, for some strange reason I see that 10-man in the box press defense causing their downfall once again.

Region 3 Final Prediction: Trinity 35 – Male 28

Region 4 (District 7 vs. District 8)

This region contains two of Bluegrasspreps Top 10 teams in #4 Henry Clay and #& Bryan Station. In addition, Scott County was a Top 10 team until the final week of the season when they lost at home to Fern Creek. Finally, there are two other teams competing, George Rogers Clark and Lafayette, who have scored some big wins this season, including inflicting Henry Clay’s only two losses.

Bryan Station (8-2) walked away with the #1 seed in District 7, after moving up from 5A last year. The Defenders of Coach Oliver Lucas started strong with five straight victories, including wins over George Rogers Clark (56-24) and #10 Shelby County (38-26). They then suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of Henry Clay (27-6) and Scott County (37-25) before closing strong with three more wins. For the season they outscored the opposition 293-188. When preparing to defense the Defenders, get ready for a concentrated infantry assault. They have rushed for 2,583 yards and passed for only 460. Super RB Tevin McCaden claims 2,004 of those yards on 277 carries and 26 TDs. LB Chris Bolton leads the defense with 76 solo and 26 assisted tackles.

Scott County (7-3) held on for the #2 seed. Coach Jim McKee has built a strong program at the Georgetown school, and seems to just reload every year. The Cardinals have impressive wins over 5A #6 Oldham County (33-20), George Rogers Clark (40-0), and Bryan Station (37-25). They lost to Henry Clay (21-7) early and fell both times in their last two games against Lafayette (22-21) and Fern Creek (27-19). They out pointed the opponents for the season 299-158. The leader of Scott County’s strong ground attack is RB Josh Walls. Kicker Jay Willmott, OL/DL Forrest Baker, and OL/DL Cody Hudson are other players of note on the Cardinals team. No stats were available.

An up and down Lafayette (6-4) team secured the #3 seed. The Generals, coached by Rob Sayre, seemed to always live on the brink as almost all their games were close. They achieved good wins over Henry Clay (12-9) and Scott County (22-21), but dropped close games to also strong George Rogers Clark (13-10) and Bryan Station (14-7) teams. Their seasonal scoring margin is only 199-181. Lafayette’s acknowledged leader is RB/LB Eric Shaw, who leads the team in both yards gained and tackles made. The passing combination of Brett Durbin to Nick Fergerson has also proved troublesome for opponents. No stats were available.

Paul Dunbar (2-8) limped into the playoff as the #4 seed in a four team district. After starting the season with two losses, the Bulldogs pulled themselves back to .500 with two straight victories over 5A Woodford County (24-17) and surprisingly a strong George Rogers Clark (13-7). From there on out the Dunbar season fell apart as they lost six in a row by an average of 31 points. For the season, Coach Jason Howell’s squad was outscored by a 355-134 margin. Players of note for the Bulldogs include WR Kendall Davis and OLB Thad Johnson. No stats were available.

The champion and #1 seed in District 8 is surprise-surprise George Rogers Clark (7-3). After getting off to a poor 2-3 start, the Cardinals used a 35-30 win over 2A #4 Corbin to close out with five straight victories. The three early season losses came at the hands of Bryan Station (56-24), Paul Dunbar (13-7), and Scott County (40-0). Coach Paul Columbia’s team got their biggest wins over Lafayette (13-10) and BGP #4 Henry Clay (12-6). Because of the large margins in two of the three losses, the Cardinals were actually outscored for the season 227-216. As a team they rushed for 1,714 yards and passed for 1.172 yards. Their leading runners were Tavon Lay, Chris Gibson, and Mason Jones. Darius Skinner and Jason Curry were the leading targets for passes from QB Andrew Dini.

The highly ranked Blue devils of Henry Clay (8-2) were relegated to the #2 seed due to their narrow loss to George Rogers Clark. Their only other loss was 12-9 to Lafayette. Their major wins were over 3A #1 Central (34-21), Scott County (21-7), Bryan Station (27-6). The biggest win of all, however, came in the fourth game of the season when they dealt #2 Simon Kenton a 42-31 loss on their own home field, the only loss they suffered all year. Coach Sam Simpson’s Blue Devil team is young, but blessed with the speed of track champions. The run/pass ability of QB Jerry Williams ignites the attack. In his last game he ran for 157 yards and passed for 92 yards and two TDs. Blake Green, Branden Johnson, Vinny Miller, Bo Brooks, and Shannon Coofer provide for yardage mainly on outside sweeps and pass receptions. No stats were available.

The #3 seed goes to Tates Creek (5-5). The Commodores of Coach Mike Harmon lost to all the teams in the regional with the exceptions of Paul Dunbar and Madison Central, whom they defeated. The other three victories were over lower level, weaker teams. They were outscored for the season by 273-243. The offense is balanced with about 1,200 yards passing and 1,200 yards rushing. Brandon Shrout and Jontez Jones are the leading rushers with about 400 yards each. QB Dee Christopher completed 11 passes in 190 attempts for 11 TDs. Larobert Bett and Jonathon Diliberto are the leading receivers. Defensively, Tates Creek yielded 1,600 yards on the ground, but only 900 through the air.

The fourth and final seed went to winless Madison Central (0-8), who was even two games short on their schedule. This is very unfamiliar territory for the Indians of Coach Kenny Turner, who is used to his team being among the Top 10 in the state. They were massively outscored 281-95 in the eight games. Hopefully they can put the pieces back together for a better run next year.

The first round games in Region 4 should all go to the higher seeded teams. Bryan Station should explode against Madison Central, but the remaining three games should be closer with the wins going to Henry Clay in a reversal over Lafayette, George Rogers Clark in a reversal over Paul Dunbar, and Scott County in a repeat over Tates Creek.

In round 2 Henry Clay and Bryan Station will lock horns in what should be an outstanding game. Henry Clay’s main advantage is that they have much more diverse pass/run offense, while the fortunes of Bryan Station are tied to the strong but solo legs of RB Tevin McCaden. The victory margin for Henry Clay will be lower than the mid-season result, but still be a win.

In the other second round game, George Rogers Clark will run afoul of a Scott County team who has recovered its focus. Although Scott County will not be able to repeat the magnitude of its earlier 40-0 victory, RB Josh Walls will provide three scores to give Scott County a 21-7 win.

In the region final, Henry Clay will have to many athletes for Scott County to be able to contain.

Region 4 final prediction: Henry Clay 27 – Scott County 13

Sleeper Team: Simon Kenton - Although I show them being eliminated by Saint Xavier in the Region 2 final, I think that the Pioneers have a team this year which is quite capable of winning the title. The only team that stands in their way in the West is the Tigers. If they get some strong defensive stands and excellent performances from Simpson and Lawrence, the Pioneers can carry the day.

WKY State Semi-Final Prediction: Saint Xavier 42 – Greenwood 14

EKY State Semi-Final Prediction: Trinity 21 – Henry Clay 20

State Title Prediction: Saint Xavier 35 – Trinity 21