Now it really counts. And matters.
Week 2 of the postseason is when the KHSAA high school football playoffs really begin Friday. And as you might expect, there are lots of interesting, competitive, and not easily predicted contests. And a number of them are right here in Northern Kentucky.
Start with Paintsville at Bishop Brossart and Frankfort vs. Newport Central Catholic (at Covington Catholic) in Class A.
The Colonels’ Dennis Griffin Stadium/Wooten Field is available because CovCath is headed downstate as an underdog in Class 5A to unbeaten Lexington Frederick Douglass that night. That’s the downside of losing the regular season district decider to Highlands which gets to stay home at David Cecil Stadium for a visit from longtime rival Scott County.
Two-time state Class 2A champion Beechwood continues its title defense against Carroll County while a Northern Kentucky 2A rivalry has Lloyd Memorial visiting Walton-Verona.
Then there’s Simon Kenton getting to host the bluest of Kentucky high school bluebloods in Louisville Trinity in a Class 6A game.
On the road after drawing the shorter straws in the cross-district matchups are Dayton at Kentucky Country Day in Class A and Ryle at Louisville Ballard in Class 6A.
Here’s a look at each of Friday’s games:
CLASS A
Paintsville (5-5) at Bishop Brossart (9-2), 7:30 p.m.: It’s the second trip to Northern Kentucky for the Paintsville Tigers who have to hope things go better this time than they did in Week 2 when they were throttled 46-7 by Beechwood in Ft. Mitchell. Bishop Brossart has the better record with a six-game winning streak coming into this one but a warning here: While the Mustangs beat Bracken County 7-6 in the district, Paintsville beat Bracken 36-14 last week in the first week of the playoffs. Should be a good matchup for fans out Alexandria way.
Newport Central Catholic (9-2) vs. Frankfort (7-4) at Covington Catholic, 7:30 p.m.: Nice job by CovCath to make the field available to its sister school after NewCath lost its home field when Newport Stadium was condemned last spring. Both teams have big wins over Ludlow – NewCath by 60-30 in the regular season and Frankfort by 50-13 last week in the playoffs. Maybe a shootout is what we should expect here. If so, NewCath, coming off a 52-0 romp over Eminence, should be ready for it with strong-armer QB Kolton Smith, running back Demetrick Welch, and two-way WR/DB Luke Runyon.
Dayton (6-5) at Kentucky Country Day (8-2), 7:30 p.m.: Since losing 55-0 to NewCath a month ago, Jesse Herbst’s Greendevils have won three straight while averaging 31 points a game with a 22-0 shutout of Berea last week to open the playoffs. Kentucky Country Day has a bit of a weird record after losing its first regular season game and its last and winning eight straight in between. And here it is in Week 2 of the playoffs having not had to play Week 1. The teams share a pair of opponents with similar results. Dayton beat Eminence 43-12 and Berea 22-0 while KCD beat Berea 33-9 and Eminence 44-6. How well the ‘Devils handle the trip to Louisville will be the key.
CLASS 2A
Carroll County (7-4) at Beechwood (10-1), 7:30 p.m.: Not a bad effort for Carroll County to get to Ft. Mitchell this week after losing its first three games and then winning seven of the last eight including a 35-6 playoff opener last week over Holy Cross. Beechwood beat the Indians 55-3 for comparison. And both teams have handled Trimble County – Beechwood by 55-0 last week in the playoffs, Carroll County by 36-14 in the regular season. This one probably won’t be all that close as Noel Rash’s Tigers have adjusted to the loss of Mitchell Berger and the return of QB Clay Hayden, who’s throwing for 183.7 yards a game, as Beechwood looks like it’s getting up to postseason speed. And the Tigers are at home.
Lloyd Memorial (8-3) at Walton-Verona (9-2), 7:30 p.m.: Both these teams deserve to be here after the seasons they’ve had. Lloyd’s physicality and speed will challenge the gutsy competitiveness of the host Bearcats. Lots of common opponents between these two: Both beat Holy Cross (LM by 47-13, WV by 21-14); and Newport (LM by 44-22, WV by 22-12; LM beat Boone County 36-15 while WV lost 35-24; and Owen County (LM won by 44-7, WV by 29-7). If the scores matter more than home field — and they probably do, this looks like Lloyd’s game to lose.
CLASS 5A
Covington Catholic (9-2) at Frederick Douglass (10-0), 7:30 p.m.: Tough deal for CovCath against an unbeaten Frederick Douglass team that hasn’t just been beating people, it’s been crushing them. The Broncos scored more than 50 points against every one of the other Lexington schools, beat a decent Scott County team 41-0 and clobbered the Great Crossing team CovCath beat last week 21-0 by a 54-0 score. Scott County beat a good Boyle County team 37-6. And last week sent Conner home a 50-0 loser in a season where they’re averaging nearly 52 points a game. But CovCath isn’t a newcomer to tough games having played Cincinnati Elder, Highlands, Lexington Catholic, Beechwood and Ryle. And the Colonels did beat Conner 42-3. But they’re going to have to get Owen Leen going in the running game to keep the Douglass offense off the field. And play the kind of defense they did in last week’s shutout. One plus for CovCath: the Colonels of Eddie Eviston have already traveled to Lexington this season and held on for a 7-6 win over a 9-2 Lexington Catholic team.
Scott County (10-1) at Highlands (9-2), 7:30: With the Bluebirds flying high on a nine-game winning streak, and playing at home, this should be a good one. Both teams have soundly defeated Montgomery County (Highlands by 49-0, Scott by 56-0) and Cooper (34-5 for Highlands, Scott by 56-20). Scott County also has an impressive win over 6A power Louisville Ballard. Having this one in Ft. Thomas should be good news for Bob Sphire’s guys with the scoreboard operators on high alert with the Brody Benke throwing it, Charlie Noon catching it, Cam Giesler running it, and Davis Burleigh, with his 12 field goals, kicking it. Big challenge for the Bluebirds will be defending the run as Scott County has three backs with more than 600 yards rushing.
CLASS 6A
Ryle (5-5) at Louisville Ballard (9-2), 7:30 p.m.: With a 14-9 win over Louisville Trinity, Ballard is formidable but not unbeatable. The Bruins beat Dixie Heights, 55-13, last week in the playoffs. Ryle beat the Colonels 48-21 in the regular season. And Ryle has been to Louisville once already this season for a tough game, losing 37-0 to a St. Xavier team that Ballard did not play. This might be the sleeper game of the night as Ryle has the talent to be better than that 5-5 record if the Raiders put it together behind quarterback Logan Verax’s 223 yards of offense a game.
Louisville Trinity (7-4) at Simon Kenton (8-3), 7:30 p.m.: What an opportunity for the Pioneers, to get the Trinity Shamrocks, with a history and tradition surpassing even Highlands’ with their 27 state championships to the Bluebirds’ 23, in Independence for this Week 2 game. But maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising. Simon Kenton is No. 2 in the Class 6A RPI ratings, behind only Louisville St. Xavier. And this isn’t a vintage Trinity team with losses to Cincinnati Moeller, Louisville St. X, Male, and Ballard. Simon Kenton, meanwhile, now that it has all its injured players back behind that gigantic offensive line, is a pretty formidable opponent, especially if the Pioneer fans turn out for this one. Simon Kenton QB Chase Crone is the classic dual threat, Jayden Lawson is a 1000-yard rusher despite missing four games, and Chase Williams can catch it with the best of them. Well-deserved moment for Coach Roy Lucas and his staff here