Time to circle the calendars. The dead period is over and the prep work for the 2023 football season has begun.
While the start of the regular season is still a little over a month away, let’s get the juices flowing a little bit with what will be the or one of the top games on a week-by-week basis.
August 18 — Dixie Heights at Simon Kenton
No longer a district matchup, do the Pioneers continue the trend of winning streaks between the two? Since 2000, the streaks have gone like this: Dixie Heights seven straight from 2001-07, Simon Kenton three straight from 2008-10, Dixie Heights two in a row from 2011-12, Simon Kenton two in a row from 2012-13, Dixie Heights winning two in 2014, Simon Kenton six in a row from 2015-19, Dixie Heights four in a row from 2020-21 and Simon Kenton winning the last battle, getting revenge after the Colonels had ended their season the prior two years in a row.
August 25 — Covington Catholic at Highlands
The two have combined for 31 state championships and for the first time in a long time will be meeting this season as non-district opponents as the Colonels moved down to 4A. CovCath had won nine in a row before the Bluebirds were able to stop the winning streak last season with a 32-21 victory.
September 1 — Cooper at Ryle
Ryle has made this rather one-sided, 13-3 since Cooper opened its doors. But with the amount of talent the Jaguars will feature this year, can they turn the tides?
September 8 — Campbell County at Cooper
A rather evenly played series, Campbell County 8-7 all-time in the matchup. Can the Jaguars get to .500 in the series?
September 15 — Covington Catholic at Beechwood
The Tigers lone loss last season on their way to a third straight title came at the hands of the Colonels. Beechwood plays up in class here as they’re dealt with an enrollment disadvantage, but that certainly hasn’t kept the Tigers away. CovCath has had their number as of late, winning seven of the last eight battles.
September 22 — Conner at Scott
The Eagles jump up in class and open up Class 5A, 6th District play with the Cougars. The two haven’t met since 2017, Conner 17-1 in the last 18 meetings. If the Eagles want to show they’ll be a tough out in district play, this is a good place to start.
September 29 — Walton-Verona at Beechwood
Will Beechwood have any competition in its newly aligned Class 2A, 5th District? On September 29 we’ll find out. With Lloyd Memorial moving up to 3A, the Bearcats might be the only path of resistance for the Tigers in the district.
October 6 — Bellevue at Dayton
When these two meet on October 6, it will be the 149th meeting as Bellevue leads the all-time series 98-47-3. Dayton has won the last three meetings, including last year’s 46-0 triumph. It’s the most played rivalry in the history of high school football in Kentucky. Bellevue will be led by Chad Montgomery, who coached Dayton from 2011-18 while Jesse Herbst enters his fifth season with the Greendevils.
October 13 — Lexington Catholic at Lloyd Memorial
The Juggernauts return quite a bit from a 10-4, state semifinal appearance last season. Now as they move up in class, Lex Cath is in their district in what could be the battle for the top spot in the Class 3A, 5th District.
October 20 — Simon Kenton at Ryle
Maybe not the old school traditional rivals like some in this piece, but they’ve certainly developed quite the rivalry as of late. Throw in the implications this one will have on playoff seeding, it magnifies the game even more. The Pioneers took last year’s battle, 38-31.
October 27 — Ryle at Dixie Heights
These two have met in the playoffs three times in the last four seasons, but with the new KHSAA alignment, the meeting will have to be a week before the postseason as Dixie Heights has moved down to 5A.