It was the biggest week of the regular season and Week 10 did not disappoint.
A team won their first district title since 1975 while others kept undefeated seasons alive and clinched home playoff games. The week also helped clear up a lot of playoff pictures and paths as the postseason is near.
Just one week remains in the regular season before the postseason begins on Nov. 3.
First, a shout out to all the district champions in NKY:
— Ryle in the Class 6A, 6th District
— Highlands in the Class 5A, 6th District
— Covington Catholic in the Class 4A, 5th District
— Beechwood in the Class 2A, 5th District
— Newport Central Catholic in the Class 1A, 3rd District
— Ludlow in the Class 1A, 4th District (first district title since 1975)
Those six are guaranteed at least two home games in the postseason as long as they win the opener and a potential for a third and fourth home game, depending where they are in RPI in their respective classes.
Now for some playoff matchups that are set (*second round matchups assuming top seeds advance):
Class 6A, Districts 4 and 6
No. 1 Male vs No. 4 Great Crossing
No. 2 Simon Kenton vs No. 3 Fern Creek
No. 1 Ryle vs No. 4 Southern
No. 2 Bullitt East vs No. 3 Campbell County
*If Simon Kenton and Male win, Pioneers play at Male the following week. If Ryle wins, they host the Bullitt East-Campbell County winner.
Class 5A, Districts 5-6
No. 1 Scott County vs No. 4 Conner
No. 2 Cooper vs No. 3 Collins
No. 1 Highlands vs No. 4 South Oldham
No. 2 Woodford County vs No. 3 Dixie Heights
*If Scott County and Cooper win, Cooper plays at Scott County the following week. If Highlands and Woodford County win, Highlands hosts Woodford County the following week.
**Scott and Boone County have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Class 4A, Districts 5-6
No. 1 Covington Catholic vs No. 4 Greenup County
No. 2 Ashland vs No. 3 Harrison County
No. 1 Johnson Central vs No. 4 Grant County
No. 2 Mason County vs No. 3 Boyd County
*If Covington Catholic and Ashland win, Covington Catholic hosts Ashland the following week.
** Holmes has been eliminated from postseason contention
Class 3A, Districts 5-6
No. 1 Lexington Catholic vs No. 4 West Carter
No. 2 Russell vs No. 3 Bourbon County
No. 1 East Carter vs No. 4 Pendleton County
No. 2 Lloyd Memorial vs No. 3 Fleming County
*If Lloyd Memorial and East Carter win, Lloyd plays at East Carter the following week.
Class 2A, Districts 5-6
No. 1 Beechwood vs No. 4 Danville
No. 2 Breathitt County vs No. 3 TBD (Owen, Walton-Verona or Bracken)
No. 1 Somerset vs No. 4 TBD (Owen, Walton-Verona or Bracken
No. 2 Carroll County vs No. 3 Leslie County
*If Beechwood and Breathitt County win, Beechwood hosts Breathitt County the following week.
** For Class 2A, District 5, we won’t know until after next week’s final regular season game to determine the three-way tiebreaker between Owen County, Walton-Verona and Bracken County for the No. 3 and No. 4 spot based off RPI.
Class 1A, Districts 3-4
No. 1 Newport Central Catholic vs No. 4 Trimble County
No. 2 Bishop Brossart vs No. 3 Dayton
No. 1 Ludlow vs No. 4 Bellevue
No. 2 Newport vs No. 3 Holy Cross
*If Newport Central Catholic and Bishop Brossart win, NewCath hosts Brossart the following week. If Ludlow and Newport win, Ludlow hosts Newport the following week.
For round three (region championship rounds) the playoffs re-seed for Districts 1-4 and 5-8. The top teams in the RPI at end of season would be the two hosts, with the bottom two teams playing at the top two teams in the RPI standings.
For round four (state semifinals) the playoffs re-seed statewide for each respective class. The top two left would host the bottom two left, regardless of district.
The state championships would come the following week on Dec. 1-2 at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Here goes the weekly top 10…
- Covington Catholic (9-0, Previous Week: 1) — Finished off dominating district opponents by a score of 223-26 in four district contests and now hosts Campbell County to try and finish off an undefeated regular season. The Colonels have moved into the top spot in RPI in 4A, meaning as long as they win, games will be in Park Hills all the way through the state semifinals. That path will not be easy though as projected playoff opponents will be Ashland in the second round, Johnson Central in the region championship and then either Boyle County or Corbin in the state semifinals.
2. Highlands (9-1, Previous Week: 2) — Just beating a dead horse here. Another game, another 50-burger for the Bluebirds. Highlands closes out the regular season with eight straight wins, seven of them where they cleared the 50-point marker. At No. 1 in the Class 5A RPI, the Bluebirds are in a good spot to not have to leave Fort Thomas for the postseason all the way through the semifinals. They’ll host from here on out barring anything drastic to the RPI in the final week, starting with South Oldham on Nov. 3. From there and assuming top seeds win, Woodford County, Madison Southern and then South Warren would all come to Highlands.
3. Beechwood (9-1, Previous Week: 3) — 273-3. That was the final tally of Beechwood’s points for and against in the five district games they played this season. The Tigers sit at No. 3 in RPI in Class 2A with a week to go. That means they’ll get at least three home games in the postseason as long as they keep advancing. There’s a potential for a fourth, if either Owensboro Catholic or Mayfield slip up prior to the state semifinals. With Lexington Christian on the other side of the bracket and playing either Owensboro Catholic or Mayfield in the region championship round, the Tigers have to like their chances of hosting a state semifinal game the day after Thanksgiving, potentially against Cutter Boley and LCA.
4. Ryle (5-4, Previous Week: 5) — I’m still trying to figure out how Ryle won that football game Friday night against Simon Kenton. But sometimes a team just finds a way to win football games and Ryle has done so numerous times this year on their way to a district title. Now they get at least two home games in the postseason if they keep on winning.
5. Cooper (8-2, Previous Week: 6) — The biggest takeaway from the victory over Dixie Heights? Cooper showed they can win ugly and with their running game. When the passing game isn’t clicking on all cylinders (still threw for 212 yards and 2 TDs), the running game and defense helped the Jags to victory, shutting out the Colonels in the second half while Keagan Maher ran for 160 yards and a score. Austin Alexander with five sacks to aid the defense. Now they get a week off before hosting Collins in the playoffs. They win that and it most likely sets up a showdown at Scott County.
6. Simon Kenton (5-3, Previous Week: 4) — Not to harp on it any more, but the Pioneers were really just one first down away in either of their final two drives from defeating Ryle and claiming a district title last week. But moving forward, they still get a home playoff game and a chance on Friday to knock off a top 10 opponent in 4A with a road trip to Ashland.
7. Dixie Heights (4-5, Previous Week: 7) — Another frustrating loss for the Colonels, the fourth one this season where they’ve either led at halftime or lost by seven points or less. Now they know their playoff fate and that’s on the road as they’ll have to take on Woodford County in the opening round. First is the regular season finale with Ryle.
8. Lloyd Memorial (8-1, Previous Week: 8) — The most promising stat in the 47-6 victory over Bourbon County: Kaleb Evans 22/28, 245 yards and two touchdowns. The Juggernauts QB1 is back and that dimension will make Lloyd dangerous as the postseason is almost here. The win clinched a home playoff game and they’ll get one more week to continue to get Evans in rhythm as they play at Scott. They’ll host Fleming County on Nov. 3 in the playoff opener.
9. Campbell County (3-6, Previous Week: 9) — A much needed win for the Camels last week, as they took down Great Crossing in their home finale. Nathan Smith and Garyn Jackson were the standouts on offense while the defense allowed just 213 yards. Hunter Wiseman, Aiden Dowds, Mason Wiseman, Kameron Vickers, Lockland Carmichael and Mason Haywood all recorded at least seven tackles. Now they get a chance to ruin CovCath’s undefeated regular season in Park Hills before they travel to Bullitt East for the first round of the playoffs, the defending Class 6A champs.
10. Conner (5-5, Previous Week: 10) — The Cougars threw the ball twice against Boone County and didn’t really even need to. They averaged nine yards per carry on the ground in the victory, led by Emmanuel Ekpe’s 146 yards and two touchdowns. The final tally was 270 rushing yards and five touchdowns as they closed out their regular season at 5-5 and will make a trip to Scott County to open the playoffs on Nov. 3.
Big School Top 5 (4A-6A)
- Covington Catholic
2. Highlands
3. Ryle
4. Cooper
5. Simon Kenton
Small School Top 5 (1A-3A)
- Beechwood
2. Lloyd Memorial
3. Newport Central Catholic
4. Newport
5. Ludlow
200-Yard Passing Club
Logan Verax, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (37/64, 372 yards, 2 TD)
Clay Hayden, Beechwood vs Bracken County (13/16, 260 yards, 3 TD)
Kaleb Evans, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (22/28, 245 yards, 2 TD)
Tyler Holtz, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (12/20, 244 yards, 4 TD)
Cam O’Hara, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (14/22, 212 yards, 2 TD)
Nathan Smith, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (13/19, 211 yards, 2 TD)
100-Yard Rushing Club
Keagan Maher, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (17 rushes, 160 yards, TD)
Durrell Turner, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (34 rushes, 158 yards)
Miles Garrett, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (5 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TD)
Demetrick Welch, Newport Central Catholic vs Bellevue (3 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TD)
Emmanuel Ekpe, Conner vs Boone County (10 rushes, 146 yards, 2 TD)
Rodzion Thompson, Newport vs Dayton (13 rushes, 136 yards, TD)
Ulysses Porter, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (19 rushes, 121 yards, TD)
D’Angelo Jimenez, Dayton vs Newport (14 rushes, 115 yards)
Jordan Pendleton, Bellevue vs Newport Central Catholic (16 rushes, 113 yards)
100-Yard Receiving Club
Trace Dalton, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (3 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TD)
Mason Hall, Boone County vs Conner (4 receptions, 127 yards)
Luke Schroeder, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (6 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TD)
Garyn Jackson, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (8 receptions, 118 yards)
Rodzion Thompson, Newport vs Dayton (6 receptions, 103 yards, TD)
Defensive Standouts
Grady Reynolds, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (19 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks)
Jacob Savage, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (18 tackles)
Chad Nickell, Dayton vs Newport (16 tackles, tackle for loss)
Felipa Tremble, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (13 tackles, tackle for loss)
Brach Rice, Dixie Heights vs Conner (12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks)
Sean Hurry, Newport (11 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, fumble recovery)
Jack Lonaker, Cooper vs Boone County (11 tackles)
Trevin Figgs, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (11 tackles)
Khalil Buck-Barber, Newport (10 tackles, tackle for loss, fumble recovery)
Blake Dodds, Dixie Heights vs Conner (10 tackles, tackle for loss)
Landon Brown, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (10 tackles, tackle for loss, sack)
Tucker Ober, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (10 tackles)
Blake Puchta, Dayton vs Newport (10 tackles)
D’Angelo Jimenez, Dayton vs Newport (10 tackles)
Seth Moran, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (10 tackles)
Matt Brock, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, .5 sack, 2 fumble recoveries)
Hunter Wiseman, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (9 tackles, sack)
Beau Faul, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (9 tackles, tackle for loss)
Nathan Kitchens, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (interception return for TD)
Dillon Smith, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (8 tackles, interception)
Grant Johnson, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack)
Breckin Ralston, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (8 tackles, tackle for loss, fumble forced)
Matthew Engel, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks)
Kameron Vickers, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Mason Wiseman, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (8 tackles, tackle for loss)
Braydin Powers, Dayton vs Newport (7 tackles, interception)
LJ Warner, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (7 tackles, interception)
Lockland Carmichael, Campbell County vs Great Crossing (7 tackles, fumble recovery)
Aba Selm, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (7 tackles, 2 sacks)
Mason Stanton, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (7 tackles, tackle for loss)
Nathan Heck, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (7 tackles, tackle for loss)
KyRon Carter, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (7 tackles, .5 sack)
Austin Alexander, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (6 tackles, 5 sacks)
Max Neal, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (6 tackles, 2 fumbles forced)
Jonathan Strunk, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (6 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, .5 sack)
Elijah Westwood, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (6 tackles, fumble recovery)
Tyson Beach, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (6 tackles, fumble recovery)
Davonte Ryan, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Nolan Kruse, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Aven Bohms, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Carson Evans, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Carson Sanders, Newport vs Dayton (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Ayden Stachel, Newport vs Dayton (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Quinten Tischner, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Ben Walton, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, sack)
Ryan Elhman, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (5 tackles, tackle for loss)
Luke Schieber, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (4 tackles, interception)
Ethan Powell, Ludlow vs Holy Cross (4 tackles, interception)
Kendall Buck-Barber, Newport vs Dayton (4 tackles, interception)
Cordell Abernathy, Conner vs Boone County (4 tackles, fumble recovery)
Jason Yarbrough, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (4 tackles, fumble recovery)
Zack Chalfin, Holy Cross vs Ludlow (4 tackles, fumble forced)
Colton Graham, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (4 tackles, sack)
Avander Abrams, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (4 tackles, .5 sack)
William Webster, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (4 tackles, tackle for loss)
Kabanza Mwamba, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (3 tackles, interception, fumble recovery)
Kayveion Sharp, Newport vs Dayton (3 tackles, interception)
Gavin Lyons, Ryle vs Simon Kenton (3 tackles, tackle for loss, fumble recovery)
Luke Schroeder, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Dominic Storer, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (3 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, sack)
Mason Baesel, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (3 tackles, tackle for loss, sack)
Shane Willike, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (3 tackles, tackle for loss)
Miguel Rodriguez, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (3 tackles, tackle for loss)
Alexander Yutze, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (3 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss)
Anthony Schuck, Bishop Brossart vs Trimble County (2 tackles, tackle for loss, forced fumble)
Trace Dalton, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (2 tackles, .5 tackle for loss, interception)
Chase Valpreda, Dixie Heights vs Cooper (2 tackles, sack)
Luke Hyden, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (2 tackles, .5 sack)
Eli Diop, Walton-Verona vs Owen County (2 tackles, fumble recovery)
Griffin Taylor, Highlands vs Scott (2 interceptions)
Dylan Gaiser, Covington Catholic vs Mason County (interception return for TD)
Tyler Copeland, Lloyd Memorial vs Bourbon County (interception)
Isaac Brown, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (interception)
Austin Perriman, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (interception)
Tyus McCarter, Highlands vs Scott (interception)
Dominic Gregory, Highlands vs Scott (interception)
Axel Dance, Newport Central Catholic vs Bellevue (interception)
Brayden Schoborg, Simon Kenton vs Ryle (interception)
Patrick Weaver, Beechwood vs Bracken County (fumble recovery)
Jackson Day, Bellevue vs Newport Central Catholic (fumble recovery)
Eddie Bivens, Newport Central Catholic vs Bellevue (fumble recovery)
Chris Meyer, Newport Central Catholic vs Bellevue (fumble recovery)
Nathan Parton, Beechwood vs Bracken County (sack)
Alex Vogelpohl, Cooper vs Dixie Heights (sack)
