Dixie Heights put things together at the right time, going to Versailles and taking out the Woodford County, 60-14.
The Colonels (5-6) led 34-14 at halftime and pulled away from the Yellow Jackets (6-4). Brach Rice had two rushing touchdowns including a 60-yarder and Armani Gregg added two with David Anderson rushing for one touchdown and Hudson Blank hauling in two touchdown passes.
“We’ve been close all year. We’ve had some games that were letdowns a bit with Ryle and Highlands,” said Pat Burke, Dixie Heights head coach. “We finally came out and put all three phases together. We were rolling. We were very physical in the run game. We took advantage of what they gave us in coverage. Special teams came up big.”
Dixie Heights travels to Highlands (10-1) on Friday.
Class 6A
Ryle 59, Southern 0
The Raiders shut out the Trojans in Union to open the playoffs.
“We were definitely ready to go,” said Mike Engler, Ryle head coach. “We played well. We’re hitting our stride at the right time. We executed really well. Our guys came out focused and took care of business early.”
Landon Lorms had seven catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 78 catches for the season, breaking the program record mark of 77 set by Mike Setters in 1999.
Gavin Lyons, Jacob Savage, Carson Jenkins and Donovan Chambers had rushing touchdowns for the Raiders (7-4). Dylan Lee and Jaden Galicia had receiving touchdowns as the Trojans (4-7) lost five straight.
Ryle welcomes the Class 6A defending state champion Bullitt East (9-2) to Union on Friday in the second round.
Bullitt East 20, Campbell County 17 (overtime)
The Camels took the defending Class 6A champions to the brink before losing another tough one.
Campbell County finished 3-8 on the season. But three of the last four losses came by six or fewer points, two of those losses in overtime and one on a Hail Mary.
Class 5A
Highlands 43, South Oldham 0
The Bluebirds rolled to their ninth straight win, handling the Dragons and recording their second shutout of the season.
Highlands (10-1) outgained South Oldham 382-178 in total offense. Cam Giesler rushed for 83 yards on four carries and one touchdown with Carson Class hauling in three passes for 57 yards and one touchdown while Davis Hinegardner caught a 70-yard touchdown pass. Brody Benke completed 4-of-6 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns and Rio Litmer completed all seven attempts for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
South Oldham (6-5) gained all of its yards on the ground. Luke Hatcher led the Dragons with 17 carries for 70 yards.
The Bluebirds play host to Dixie Heights (5-6) on Friday in the second round. Highlands won the first meeting between the two, 51-21 on Sept. 29.
Scott County 63, Conner 13
The Cougars could not contain Scott County’s vaunted Wing-T offense losing on the road.
Conner finishes the season 5-6, a three-win improvement from last year.
Class 4A
Covington Catholic 49, Greenup County 13
The Colonels built a 42-6 halftime lead, playing the game with a running clock for the second half.
CovCath outgained Greenup County, 325-185, including a 237-114 advantage on the ground. Owen Leen led the Colonels (11-0) with eight carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Vinson, Evan Pitzer and Andrew Bessler added rushing touchdowns.
Pitzer completed 7-of-9 passes for 79 yards. Braylon Miller and Noah Johnson caught touchdown passes.
Ben Reeves led the Colonels with nine tackles and JP Sullivan had six. Tucker Evans recovered a Greenup County fumble for the game’s lone turnover.
CovCath plays host to Ashland Blazer (10-1) on Friday in the second round.
Class 3A
Lloyd Memorial 55, Fleming County 7
The Juggernauts dominated the first round of the playoffs in Erlanger.
Yurii Collins-Comer and Isaiah Sebastian scored two touchdowns for Lloyd (10-1). Seth Moran, Tyler Copeland, Nishawn Golsby and Mohammed Lafi scored one each.
Lloyd Memorial travels to District 6 champion East Carter (8-2) on Friday in the second round.
Class 2A
Beechwood 49, Danville 0
The Tigers shut out their fourth straight opponent to move on to the second round.
Beechwood (10-1) put up 409 yards of total offense including 243 on the ground, leading 43-0 at halftime.
Luke Erdman had three touchdowns of 49, 55 and 56 yards. Chase Flaherty had two scores, Clay Hayden with a rushing TD and Brody Aylor the final one of the night.
Beechwood plays host to Breathitt County (5-6) on Friday in the second round.
Class 1A
Ludlow 46, Bellevue 14
The Panthers outgained the Tigers, 323-190 in total offense in the rematch, including a 272-24 advantage on the ground.
Ludlow (7-4) saw Dameyn Anness rush for 114 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Byron Conley added 67 yards on two carries and a touchdown with Spencer Brandenburg, Breckin Ralston and Brendan Branham rushing for one touchdown each. Anness and Ralton had tackles for a loss.
Ludlow takes on either Newport (7-3) or Holy Cross (5-5) in the second round of the playoffs.
Bellevue finishes the season 4-7, the most the Tigers have won in a season since going 5-6 in 2018.